The optacon is dead. Long live the Optacon.
Back in the day there was a way to route some bioses of some boxes
over a serial port--I believe the name of the product was Weasel or
similar--but there is no device I know of that works better for this
than an Optacon in the hands of a proficient user. Unfortunately, the
first sentence of this message is sadly applicable.
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On 10/20/21, Brian Vogel <britechguy@...> wrote:
On Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 07:32 PM, Arlene wrote:
I hope in the future blind users can go in there with Nairator.
-
Not likely.
What folks who use screen readers, as they currently exist, need to
understand is that they are application software. Mind you, a very
specialized application, but still an application. The operating system
(whether Windows or any other one) must be up and running at least to a
certain point before any screen reader can come online.
UEFI/BIOS occur in the boot sequence well prior to Windows (or other OSes
such as Linux) ever being kicked off for loading. While it would be
conceivably possible to have a dedicated screen reader for that environment,
and if memory serves a prototype was once made, long ago, it certainly would
not be Narrator, NVDA, JAWS or any other screen reader as end users know
them. And it would also very likely have commands strictly limited to the
environment at hand, which means it would be very different in that way,
too.
And, as you mention, even if you were to have a screen reader of some sort
available to navigate UEFI/BIOS, you still have to be very, very certain
that what you're doing is precisely what you intend to do and that what you
intend is actually what needs to be done to achieve the result hoped for.
If you can have this certainty, then go for it, otherwise, get assistance.
And this is completely separate from your visual status. Most of my sighted
clients have no idea that UEFI/BIOS even exists nor how to interact with
it. It's just not something most end users ever need to touch.
As far as turning off "media keys" or whatever a maker might call the
actions associated with the function keys, lobbying them to create utilities
such as the one Lenovo already has that allow these to be turned on or off
from within Windows, or asking for some keyboard shortcut, likely a 4-key
press to avoid accidents, to do this are both better ideas than a screen
reader for UEFI/BIOS likely would be. They're safer, too.
--
Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H1, Build 19043
*The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.*
~ John F. Kennedy
--
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