You may wonder as you read this how a blind person uses a computer, but mine is standard with an additional speech application called JAWS, writes Paul Traynor.
I like to say that it gives me a pair of eyes within the computer.
When I open my Windows desktop, it tells me what's on screen so I can use it for word processing, e-mail accounts packages, utility software and general access to most of the Windows operating system. Each key is spoken as I press it.
The biggest breakthrough for me as a blind person is access to the internet. Since its inception in the early 1990s people have marvelled at its potential. Universities were the main users. Technology moved on and blind and visually impaired people have been no different in their hunger to explore this avenue. Since it has become an essential part of life, we are no longer denied the pleasure of it or, are we? Believe me, blind users have had it far from easy in seeking access to the internet.
In the mid- to late-1990s things were moving at a fast pace with the introduction of a range of operating systems from Microsoft, each new version promising to further enhance our internet experiences. While we were paid lip service by the mainstream software manufacturers, we were considered small-time players with many aspects remaining inaccessible to us.
A major difficulty faced by the blind is poorly designed Web pages. Others see what's on screen; we must rely on a speech program to interpret graphics, badly marked links and list boxes. To me as a blind internet surfer I go to a Web page with forms on it and hear: "Edit, edit, edit or click here, click here, click here."
Those references to where I am on the Web page mean nothing to me as my screen reader does not understand them as anything other than boxes and links without labels to indicate what they are or where they will take me.
Here's hoping that Web page designers will keep everyone in mind when designing future websites as I want to access all the advantages the Web offers. such as shopping, exploring my interests, thus giving me an equal footing with my sighted counterparts.
Paul Traynor operates the helpline of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland
