OK?

So are you actually claiming, that however modern the screen is, it will take no power if you let it stay permanently on? Or, how could you say that a modern screen doesn't need a screen saver, when we are talking about power saving. Far as I know, even modern screens still draw power, to lit all the pixels. If you have no screen saver, the pixels keep lit, hence draw power, consequently battery time is shortened. Or, do you have any modernized info on this matter, I will be all ears.

I did burn some text into a screen - though that is a few years ago. So would be quite interesting to know, what technology would prevent that from happening in today's screen. Hope you could point me to more updated info on your statements.

David

On 12/1/2016 3:41 AM, Gene wrote:

Modern screens don't need any sort of screen-saver and haven't for quite some time.  And I don't know if it's possible for anything to be burned into screens any more. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:23 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Which of course seems the easiest. Yet, I am not a fan of doing that.

The technology in modern screens might be a bit vulnerable to this "easy way out".

Whenever you leave your computer unattended for a while, the picture of the screen will be statically staying unaltered. This means that all the tiny lightening dots - what is named pixels - on the screen will be in a static position. Each pixel has a certain lifetime, and the longer you leave it turned on, the faster it will outburn. In the end, your screen will develop "dead" spots, which will render it useless for sighted people.

The text that stays on the screen for such excessive periods of time, might also end up being "burned" into the screen material. That is to say, the shaddow of it will stay on the screen, even when the picture is altered. Nothing that happens for a day or two, but over time, and again something that will disturb the screen appearance for sighted persons.

Lastly, Turning off the screen saver altogether, will do exactly the opposite of what the initial user was looking for. Think of it this way.

The user wanted a way to save battery.

The screen uses power to lighten all pixels needed for showing a picture.

Leaving the screen always on, by turning off the screen saver, will definitely drain the battery. The screen then will use power to keep the current picture frozen.

Choosing a BLANK screen saver, on the other hand, means the screen is forced to show an empty page. That is, it is going to turn each and every pixel off, way across the whole screen. Lights that are turned off, do not consume any power. Light that is turned off, cannot be outburned. It saves battery power, and it saves the screen's lifetime.

Then, what about a standard screen saver?

It typically will show a picture, that every so often changes. Some tend to scroll across the screen, others are more like a live movie showing some kind of nature, acting characters, or a burning fireplace. Even, some make a live camera picture come up, whenever they are not using the screen. For instance, you could have a wireless camera installed in the trees in your garden, and whenever you are not using the computer, it will display a live picture of the birds feeding their chicks out in the nest, realtime.

Sum of it all, the screen saver's main mission is, to have the screen permanently altering. Namely to save the pixels from staying static, namely to prevent the screen from outburning. A screen saver consequently does consume power, and not very little either. Turning it off, still means the screen is showing a picture. Choosing a blank screen saver, will mean the screen goes blank, and is by far the most effecient way to save both battery and screen lifetime.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

David

On 11/30/2016 9:21 PM, Gene wrote:

I meant to say just turn the screen-saver completely off. 

 

gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:03 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Unless you have something connected to your USB ports, which really draws power - like an external hard disk - I am ready to say the USB ports may not give you much for power saving. Again, if you have something that draws a lot from the ports, learn to disconnect it, whenever you do not need it for a prolonged time.

Turning off Wireless and Bluetooth? Sure, that might give you a few minutes more on run-time, but cannot tell exactly how much. It would depend on how much you use the Wireless, and how good coverage you have, where you are at any given moment. Poor coverage, will demand the computer to resend information over the net, multiple times, and thereby consume some power.

In the old days, we used to turn off the screen, when there was no sighted people around. The screen is a power-consumer, hence if you can have it turned off, or at least lower the light on it, that might lengthen your battery life. On modern computers, it is not all that easy. Old models used to have a slider, to turn up and down the brightness of the screen. Turning it all down, meant the screen in practical terms was turned off. On modern models though, you will typically have to go to the control panel of Windows, and turn it on or off. Someone, on another list, suggested a while ago, that you could connect an empty monitor cable to the External Screen Connector on your laptop. To what extend that would help, in making the computer think it is on an external screen, therefore turning off the internal display - I am not able to tell for sure.

One thing though, that you could do, and which definitely will reduce power-consumption, is to change your hard disk to an SSD. The SSD has no mechanical parts, hence far less power is needed to operate it. Less power, no mechanics, you have a much cooler run of the computer. That in turn, results in the fan spinning far less. Less power consumption for the disk, less power consumption for the fan; it all amounts into quite a boost on your battery life.

I recently did the upgrade on my laptop. Before, with a standard hard disk installed, it would keep just about 2.5 hours on one charge. Now, with the SSD installed, I can run the computer more like 4 hours before it tells me it is hungry for some recharge. Add to it the faster computer I have got from it all, besides the far less noise I experience. And, of course, it is nice to not be cooked just because you happen to have your laptop in your lap.

As for general battery saving, I do suggest that you go to the control panel of Windows. Here, under Power Management, put your screen, disk and other equipment, into idle mode fast as you find it convenient. A screen that stays on for a whole hour, even if there is no activity, certainly will draw a lot of unnecessary power. Shorten the ON-time, to something like 10 or 15 minutes. Also, use a BLANK screen saver. If you do go for any screen saver that shows a picture, they are by definition constructed the way that the screen is being updated every so often. Such updating definitely eats battery power, for absolutely no good reason, since you won't have any enjoyment of the picture scrolling across the screen anyway. Besides, many screen savers do trouble the screen readers.

Hope any of this will bring you a tiny step further.

David

On 11/30/2016 8:27 PM, Gene wrote:

Those with more technical knowledge may agree or disagree with the following remarks.  These are my guesses but I have no experience to support them. But they may be useful as discussion points.

 

I don't know if there are any such programs or if they make enough difference to matter.  I don't know how you use your computer but I believe even something like turning off WIFI, which is the equivalent of airplane mode on phones, might save enough time to amount to something.  I'm not sure about this but I believe either disconnecting or turning off USB devices if they can be turned off, would save more power.  Using efficient headphones or amplified external speakers and keeping your play sound levels low would probably save more power.  Taken together, such things might save enough power to amount to something.

 

If battery life is significantly insufficient, I doubt anything will give you a lot more time.  Those with experience in these matters can tell you.  That's my guess but its just a guess.  My guess is that it probably would be necessary to carry an extra battery. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Bhavya shah

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 1:10 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Hi Travis,
Yes, I have checked out the battery related configuration settings
present in Windows's own Control Panel, was just wondering if there
were more advanced and feature-rich programs that could perhaps
provide perhaps a slight battery life extension. I was looking mostly
at utilities similar to third-party battery saving apps that one uses
on Smartphones, for laptops.
Thanks.

On 12/1/16, Travis Siegel <tsiegel@...> wrote:
> I'm not sure what kinds of management you'd want to do, since generally,
> most things you can do to the laptop are configurable from the windows
> control panel under screen saver (or something similar).  Generally,
> there's battery status in the system tray, though if you specifically
> need a program to show you battery status, I have one I wrote years ago
> because it wasn't convenient for me to keep going to the system tray
> just to check my battery status, this program just pops up, shows me my
> charge, and time left (I think, it's been a while since I've had a
> windows laptop), then allows me to exit and go back to what I was
> doing.  Unless a utility came with your laptop though, it's probably not
> a good idea to try to mess around with any other battery settings, since
> that has a tendency to break things, and I don't know any programs that
> do that anyway, though I'm sure there are some out there, especially for
> these smart batteries they have these days.
>
> Anyway, if the windows sleep/screen saver screens don't give you the
> control you want, I don't have any suggestions on what else to try.
>
>
>
> On 11/30/2016 1:35 PM, Bhavya shah wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I was wondering if there exist battery management, optimization and
>> saving utilities for PCs. If so, could you folks recommend an
>> accessible and free software of that sort?
>> I would appreciate any assistance.
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Best Regards
Bhavya Shah

Avid Enthusiast and User of the Free NVDA Screen Reader (www.nvaccess.org)

Contacting Me
E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125@...
Follow me on Twitter @BhavyaShah125 or www.twitter.com/BhavyaShah125
Mobile Number: +91 7506221750

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gene" <gsasner@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 4:30 AM
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser


I'm not sure what you are referring to. Do you mean something that might say something with an extension such as gif? If so, such items are negligible..

Gene
----- Original Messagge -----

From: Rosemarie Chavarria
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 10:06 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser


I'm talking about images that you see on some web pages. I don't use webbie that much because I do know how to navigate most web pages.







From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Gene
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:01 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



If you know how to navigate web pages effectively, what you are discussing isn't a problem. I don't know what you are referring to. You see links and various fields in Webbie as you do in other browsers. I don't know how Webbie describes image links but image links often contain useful information even if they aren't labeled properly. I don't know what you are describing as graphical. Aside from image links and at times, this or that image I may see on screen, I do not see graphical clutter.



Further discussion might allow us to know what you are describing but at present, I don't know.



I don't know what the newer version of Webbie is like. The old version used a very different interface than is now standard in screen-readers when used with browsers.



Webbie used to have a useful place before a capable free screen-reader was available. Before NVDA, free screen-readers were very limited and couldn't work with standard browsers. But those days are long gone.



Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Rosemarie Chavarria

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:41 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



Hi, Quentin,



The nice thing about the webbie browser is that it takes the extra clutter from a site that has graphics. I mainly use internet explorer but I have used firefox or the webbie browser on occasion.



Rosemarie



From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Quentin Christensen
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:33 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



Hi Rosemarie,



You are absolutely correct - and it's not something that's specific to screen reader users either. I haven't looked at Webbie for awhile, I must try it again. I didn't mention Edge originally as the question was specifically related to Windows 7. Our support for Edge has been higher than other screen readers to date, but Edge itself is not yet at a point where we'd recommend it generally.



Regards



Quentin.



On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Rosemarie Chavarria <knitqueen2007@...> wrote:

Hi, Quentin,



I have firefox, the webbie browser, edge and internet explorer. It never hurts to have more than one browserin case something doesn't work with your main browser.



Rosemarie





On 11/30/2016 1:50 PM, Quentin Christensen wrote:

Hi Glenn,



The short answer is that it pays to have access to several browsers. There are sites which, for various reasons, just work better in one browser over others. NVDA works in Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. I had an example just before where a particular site / aria element worked better with NVDA in Chrome than Firefox.



On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 3:18 AM, <glenn.bradford@...> wrote:

Hello - Is Firefox the recommended browser in for NVDA in Windows 7? Wondering if IE11 is considered a viable option as I am testing accessibility for a number of sites. Per the SSB Bart site "The second most widely used screen reader, NVDA, is hard coded to work best in Firefox. This includes ARIA support." Is that still an accurate statement?


SSB Bart article is at http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/how-browsers-interact-with-screen-readers-and-where-aria-fits-in-the-mix/





--

Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer

Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/



Ph +61 7 3149 3306

Direct: +61 413 904 383
www.nvaccess.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess









--

Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer

Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/



Ph +61 7 3149 3306

Direct: +61 413 904 383
www.nvaccess.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess

----- Original Message -----
From: "Quentin Christensen" <quentin@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 4:08 AM
Subject: Re: [nvda] Question Regarding the Schedule for 2016.4 RC 1

Yep, it should be out soon. Apologies for the minor delay, no serious
problems.

On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 3:04 PM, Rosemarie Chavarria <knitqueen2007@...

wrote:

It could be just a minor delay. Hopefully it'll be out tomorrow.



-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of David
Goldfield
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:44 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] Question Regarding the Schedule for 2016.4 RC 1

Hi. Usually, RC 1 of the next build would be out by now and I'm just
wondering if the release schedule was changed or if it's just a minor delay.


--
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info

--
Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer
Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available:
http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Ph +61 7 3149 3306
Direct: +61 413 904 383
www.nvaccess.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rosemarie Chavarria" <knitqueen2007@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 4:06 AM
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser


I'm talking about images that you see on some web pages. I don't use webbie that much because I do know how to navigate most web pages.







From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Gene
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:01 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



If you know how to navigate web pages effectively, what you are discussing isn't a problem. I don't know what you are referring to. You see links and various fields in Webbie as you do in other browsers. I don't know how Webbie describes image links but image links often contain useful information even if they aren't labeled properly. I don't know what you are describing as graphical. Aside from image links and at times, this or that image I may see on screen, I do not see graphical clutter.



Further discussion might allow us to know what you are describing but at present, I don't know.



I don't know what the newer version of Webbie is like. The old version used a very different interface than is now standard in screen-readers when used with browsers.



Webbie used to have a useful place before a capable free screen-reader was available. Before NVDA, free screen-readers were very limited and couldn't work with standard browsers. But those days are long gone.



Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Rosemarie Chavarria <mailto:knitqueen2007@...>

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:41 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io <mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io>

Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



Hi, Quentin,



The nice thing about the webbie browser is that it takes the extra clutter from a site that has graphics. I mainly use internet explorer but I have used firefox or the webbie browser on occasion.



Rosemarie



From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io> [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Quentin Christensen
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:33 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io <mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser



Hi Rosemarie,



You are absolutely correct - and it's not something that's specific to screen reader users either. I haven't looked at Webbie for awhile, I must try it again. I didn't mention Edge originally as the question was specifically related to Windows 7. Our support for Edge has been higher than other screen readers to date, but Edge itself is not yet at a point where we'd recommend it generally.



Regards



Quentin.



On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Rosemarie Chavarria <knitqueen2007@... <mailto:knitqueen2007@...> > wrote:

Hi, Quentin,



I have firefox, the webbie browser, edge and internet explorer. It never hurts to have more than one browserin case something doesn't work with your main browser.



Rosemarie





On 11/30/2016 1:50 PM, Quentin Christensen wrote:

Hi Glenn,



The short answer is that it pays to have access to several browsers. There are sites which, for various reasons, just work better in one browser over others. NVDA works in Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. I had an example just before where a particular site / aria element worked better with NVDA in Chrome than Firefox.



On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 3:18 AM, <glenn.bradford@... <mailto:glenn.bradford@...> > wrote:

Hello - Is Firefox the recommended browser in for NVDA in Windows 7? Wondering if IE11 is considered a viable option as I am testing accessibility for a number of sites. Per the SSB Bart site "The second most widely used screen reader, NVDA, is hard coded to work best in Firefox. This includes ARIA support." Is that still an accurate statement?


SSB Bart article is at http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/how-browsers-interact-with-screen-readers-and-where-aria-fits-in-the-mix/





--

Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer

Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/



Ph +61 7 3149 3306 <tel:%2B61%207%203149%203306>

Direct: +61 413 904 383 <tel:+61%20413%20904%20383>
www.nvaccess.org <http://www.nvaccess.org/>
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess









--

Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer

Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/



Ph <tel:%2B61%207%203149%203306> +61 7 3149 3306

Direct: +61 413 904 383
<http://www.nvaccess.org/> www.nvaccess.org
Facebook: <http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess> http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess

----- Original Message -----
From: "sazid" <skstraders.nlr@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 3:14 AM
Subject: [nvda] wanted free synth for my nvda

dear list,
I am need of free/open synthasiser for nvda on my official computer.
hence I request to share this for english language.

thanks and regards,
sazid

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Goldfield" <david.goldfield@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 3:06 AM
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser

Rosemarie,

The Firefox browser also has a feature, known as reader mode, which declutters a Web page by removing extraneous links, leaving you with just the text of an article or blog post you might be reading. It won't work with all pages but works with pages containing a large group of text, such as a news story. It's available in the View menu or you can just press ctrl-alt-R to toggle it on and off.

David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info>

On 11/30/2016 9:41 PM, Rosemarie Chavarria wrote:
Hi, Quentin,

The nice thing about the webbie browser is that it takes the extra clutter from a site that has graphics. I mainly use internet explorer but I have used firefox or the webbie browser on occasion.

Rosemarie

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io<mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io> [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Quentin Christensen
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:33 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io<mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser

Hi Rosemarie,

You are absolutely correct - and it's not something that's specific to screen reader users either. I haven't looked at Webbie for awhile, I must try it again. I didn't mention Edge originally as the question was specifically related to Windows 7. Our support for Edge has been higher than other screen readers to date, but Edge itself is not yet at a point where we'd recommend it generally.

Regards

Quentin.

On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 10:03 AM, Rosemarie Chavarria <knitqueen2007@...<mailto:knitqueen2007@...>> wrote:

Hi, Quentin,



I have firefox, the webbie browser, edge and internet explorer. It never hurts to have more than one browserin case something doesn't work with your main browser.



Rosemarie




On 11/30/2016 1:50 PM, Quentin Christensen wrote:
Hi Glenn,

The short answer is that it pays to have access to several browsers. There are sites which, for various reasons, just work better in one browser over others. NVDA works in Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer. I had an example just before where a particular site / aria element worked better with NVDA in Chrome than Firefox.

On Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 3:18 AM, <glenn.bradford@...<mailto:glenn.bradford@...>> wrote:

Hello - Is Firefox the recommended browser in for NVDA in Windows 7? Wondering if IE11 is considered a viable option as I am testing accessibility for a number of sites. Per the SSB Bart site "The second most widely used screen reader, NVDA, is hard coded to work best in Firefox. This includes ARIA support." Is that still an accurate statement?

SSB Bart article is at http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/how-browsers-interact-with-screen-readers-and-where-aria-fits-in-the-mix/


--
Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer
Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Ph +61 7 3149 3306<tel:%2B61%207%203149%203306>
Direct: +61 413 904 383<tel:+61%20413%20904%20383>
www.nvaccess.org<http://www.nvaccess.org/>
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess




--
Quentin Christensen
Training Material Developer
Basic Training for NVDA & Microsoft Word with NVDA E-Books now available: http://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Ph +61 7 3149 3306<tel:%2B61%207%203149%203306>
Direct: +61 413 904 383
www.nvaccess.org<http://www.nvaccess.org/>
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess
Twitter: @NVAccess

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Goldfield" <david.goldfield@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2016 2:44 AM
Subject: [nvda] Question Regarding the Schedule for 2016.4 RC 1

Hi. Usually, RC 1 of the next build would be out by now and I'm just
wondering if the release schedule was changed or if it's just a minor delay.


--
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology Specialist

Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.Info

----- Original Message -----
From: "Snahendu Bhattacharya" <snahendu@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:18 PM
Subject: Re: [nvda] File Upload Form Field Accessibility

Thanks Jacob!

I tried the example provided by you. But no luck in Mozilla. It doesn't
spell out the field label.

Snahendu Bhattacharya

On 30 November 2016 at 15:04, Jacob Kruger <jacob@...> wrote:

Unfortunately, seems like NVDA doesn't take note of assigned aria and
other attributes - check out this example page:

http://maxdesign.com.au/jobs/sample-accessibility/05-forms/input-file.html


Try jumping/navigating to file upload buttons, and, they'll just be
announced as buttons, and, think this page is trying to make use of various
labelling options - I also tried a few aria-specific attributes here on my
side, and, no-go.


Form of workaround might be to fire an event when those elements take
focus, and, use jQuery to do something like set the text contents of a
division that's role is marked as alert, to thus try notify NVDA, and other
screen readers about the role of that form field?


Stay well


Jacob Kruger

Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
"Resistance is futile, but, acceptance is versatile..."

On 2016-11-30 21:44, Snahendu Bhattacharya wrote:


Hi All!

I am facing some issue while trying to access the <input type="file">element
using a Screen reader like NVDA with Firefox.

The Screen reader doesn't announce the label of the field. In stead it
only speaks the BROWSE button.

This is the form control never read by Screen Reader hence the user
doesn't understand what is the field is all about.


Can somebody help me to understand the accessibility experience of this
field?

--

Snahendu Bhattacharya

----- Original Message -----
From: "Snahendu Bhattacharya" <snahendu@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 7:44 PM
Subject: [nvda] File Upload Form Field Accessibility


Hi All!

I am facing some issue while trying to access the <input type="file"> element using a Screen reader like NVDA with Firefox.

The Screen reader doesn't announce the label of the field. In stead it only speaks the BROWSE button.

This is the form control never read by Screen Reader hence the user doesn't understand what is the field is all about.

Can somebody help me to understand the accessibility experience of this field ?

--

Snahendu Bhattacharya

----- Original Message -----
From: <glenn.bradford@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 4:18 PM
Subject: [nvda] NVDA preferred browser


Hello - Is Firefox the recommended browser in for NVDA in Windows 7? Wondering if IE11 is considered a viable option as I am testing accessibility for a number of sites. Per the SSB Bart site "The second most widely used screen reader, NVDA, is hard coded to work best in Firefox. This includes ARIA support." Is that still an accurate statement?

SSB Bart article is at http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/how-browsers-interact-with-screen-readers-and-where-aria-fits-in-the-mix/ ( http://www.ssbbartgroup.com/blog/how-browsers-interact-with-screen-readers-and-where-aria-fits-in-the-mix/ )

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Beaver" <dbeaver888@...>
To: <nvda@nvda.groups.io>
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 3:28 PM
Subject: [nvda] synthesizers

I am asking under this subject instead of under the Acapela subject.


When are we going to get access to the MS Mark voice? I have used it under other programs and it is very responsive and sounds very good to my ears. It is free and we don't have to pay for it.


When will we get access via NVDA?


Thanks.


Dan Beaver

Even modern screens can get burned out if something is left on a single pixel long enough.  You'll see this more often on something like a point of sale system, where the same screen is up for hours upon hours.  Eventually, you'll get what they now refer to as pixel burn, and some pixels on the screen will literally burn out.  After that, you'll see (albeit a very small one) a gap in the screen at the location of the burned out pixel.  It's actually rather common in certain industries.  That's why when folks look at used monitors, one of the most often asked questions is about the pixels, and if they are all intact.

Of course, bad hardware can lead to dead pixels too, so it's not always a result of image burn, but just to be fair to modern manufacturers, it is way less prevalent than it used to be, especially with the old CRT monitors.

On 11/30/2016 11:08 PM, J Harrington wrote:

This is my understanding as well that current monitors are way less susceptible to any kind of burn.

 

Jeff

 

From: Gene

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:41 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Modern screens don't need any sort of screen-saver and haven't for quite some time.  And I don't know if it's possible for anything to be burned into screens any more. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:23 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Which of course seems the easiest. Yet, I am not a fan of doing that.

 

The technology in modern screens might be a bit vulnerable to this "easy way out".

 

Whenever you leave your computer unattended for a while, the picture of the screen will be statically staying unaltered. This means that all the tiny lightening dots - what is named pixels - on the screen will be in a static position. Each pixel has a certain lifetime, and the longer you leave it turned on, the faster it will outburn. In the end, your screen will develop "dead" spots, which will render it useless for sighted people.

 

The text that stays on the screen for such excessive periods of time, might also end up being "burned" into the screen material. That is to say, the shaddow of it will stay on the screen, even when the picture is altered. Nothing that happens for a day or two, but over time, and again something that will disturb the screen appearance for sighted persons.

 

Lastly, Turning off the screen saver altogether, will do exactly the opposite of what the initial user was looking for. Think of it this way.

The user wanted a way to save battery.

The screen uses power to lighten all pixels needed for showing a picture.

Leaving the screen always on, by turning off the screen saver, will definitely drain the battery. The screen then will use power to keep the current picture frozen.

 

Choosing a BLANK screen saver, on the other hand, means the screen is forced to show an empty page. That is, it is going to turn each and every pixel off, way across the whole screen. Lights that are turned off, do not consume any power. Light that is turned off, cannot be outburned. It saves battery power, and it saves the screen's lifetime.

 

Then, what about a standard screen saver?

It typically will show a picture, that every so often changes. Some tend to scroll across the screen, others are more like a live movie showing some kind of nature, acting characters, or a burning fireplace. Even, some make a live camera picture come up, whenever they are not using the screen. For instance, you could have a wireless camera installed in the trees in your garden, and whenever you are not using the computer, it will display a live picture of the birds feeding their chicks out in the nest, realtime.

 

Sum of it all, the screen saver's main mission is, to have the screen permanently altering. Namely to save the pixels from staying static, namely to prevent the screen from outburning. A screen saver consequently does consume power, and not very little either. Turning it off, still means the screen is showing a picture. Choosing a blank screen saver, will mean the screen goes blank, and is by far the most effecient way to save both battery and screen lifetime.

 

Hope this clears things up a bit.

David

On 11/30/2016 9:21 PM, Gene wrote:

I meant to say just turn the screen-saver completely off. 

 

gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:03 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Unless you have something connected to your USB ports, which really draws power - like an external hard disk - I am ready to say the USB ports may not give you much for power saving. Again, if you have something that draws a lot from the ports, learn to disconnect it, whenever you do not need it for a prolonged time.

 

Turning off Wireless and Bluetooth? Sure, that might give you a few minutes more on run-time, but cannot tell exactly how much. It would depend on how much you use the Wireless, and how good coverage you have, where you are at any given moment. Poor coverage, will demand the computer to resend information over the net, multiple times, and thereby consume some power.

 

In the old days, we used to turn off the screen, when there was no sighted people around. The screen is a power-consumer, hence if you can have it turned off, or at least lower the light on it, that might lengthen your battery life. On modern computers, it is not all that easy. Old models used to have a slider, to turn up and down the brightness of the screen. Turning it all down, meant the screen in practical terms was turned off. On modern models though, you will typically have to go to the control panel of Windows, and turn it on or off. Someone, on another list, suggested a while ago, that you could connect an empty monitor cable to the External Screen Connector on your laptop. To what extend that would help, in making the computer think it is on an external screen, therefore turning off the internal display - I am not able to tell for sure.

 

One thing though, that you could do, and which definitely will reduce power-consumption, is to change your hard disk to an SSD. The SSD has no mechanical parts, hence far less power is needed to operate it. Less power, no mechanics, you have a much cooler run of the computer. That in turn, results in the fan spinning far less. Less power consumption for the disk, less power consumption for the fan; it all amounts into quite a boost on your battery life.

 

I recently did the upgrade on my laptop. Before, with a standard hard disk installed, it would keep just about 2.5 hours on one charge. Now, with the SSD installed, I can run the computer more like 4 hours before it tells me it is hungry for some recharge. Add to it the faster computer I have got from it all, besides the far less noise I experience. And, of course, it is nice to not be cooked just because you happen to have your laptop in your lap.

 

As for general battery saving, I do suggest that you go to the control panel of Windows. Here, under Power Management, put your screen, disk and other equipment, into idle mode fast as you find it convenient. A screen that stays on for a whole hour, even if there is no activity, certainly will draw a lot of unnecessary power. Shorten the ON-time, to something like 10 or 15 minutes. Also, use a BLANK screen saver. If you do go for any screen saver that shows a picture, they are by definition constructed the way that the screen is being updated every so often. Such updating definitely eats battery power, for absolutely no good reason, since you won't have any enjoyment of the picture scrolling across the screen anyway. Besides, many screen savers do trouble the screen readers.

 

Hope any of this will bring you a tiny step further.

David

On 11/30/2016 8:27 PM, Gene wrote:

Those with more technical knowledge may agree or disagree with the following remarks.  These are my guesses but I have no experience to support them. But they may be useful as discussion points.

 

I don't know if there are any such programs or if they make enough difference to matter.  I don't know how you use your computer but I believe even something like turning off WIFI, which is the equivalent of airplane mode on phones, might save enough time to amount to something.  I'm not sure about this but I believe either disconnecting or turning off USB devices if they can be turned off, would save more power.  Using efficient headphones or amplified external speakers and keeping your play sound levels low would probably save more power.  Taken together, such things might save enough power to amount to something.

 

If battery life is significantly insufficient, I doubt anything will give you a lot more time.  Those with experience in these matters can tell you.  That's my guess but its just a guess.  My guess is that it probably would be necessary to carry an extra battery. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Bhavya shah

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 1:10 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Hi Travis,
Yes, I have checked out the battery related configuration settings
present in Windows's own Control Panel, was just wondering if there
were more advanced and feature-rich programs that could perhaps
provide perhaps a slight battery life extension. I was looking mostly
at utilities similar to third-party battery saving apps that one uses
on Smartphones, for laptops.
Thanks.

On 12/1/16, Travis Siegel <tsiegel@...> wrote:
> I'm not sure what kinds of management you'd want to do, since generally,
> most things you can do to the laptop are configurable from the windows
> control panel under screen saver (or something similar).  Generally,
> there's battery status in the system tray, though if you specifically
> need a program to show you battery status, I have one I wrote years ago
> because it wasn't convenient for me to keep going to the system tray
> just to check my battery status, this program just pops up, shows me my
> charge, and time left (I think, it's been a while since I've had a
> windows laptop), then allows me to exit and go back to what I was
> doing.  Unless a utility came with your laptop though, it's probably not
> a good idea to try to mess around with any other battery settings, since
> that has a tendency to break things, and I don't know any programs that
> do that anyway, though I'm sure there are some out there, especially for
> these smart batteries they have these days.
>
> Anyway, if the windows sleep/screen saver screens don't give you the
> control you want, I don't have any suggestions on what else to try.
>
>
>
> On 11/30/2016 1:35 PM, Bhavya shah wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I was wondering if there exist battery management, optimization and
>> saving utilities for PCs. If so, could you folks recommend an
>> accessible and free software of that sort?
>> I would appreciate any assistance.
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Best Regards
Bhavya Shah

Avid Enthusiast and User of the Free NVDA Screen Reader (www.nvaccess.org)

Contacting Me
E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125@...
Follow me on Twitter @BhavyaShah125 or www.twitter.com/BhavyaShah125
Mobile Number: +91 7506221750

---

This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com

OK?

So are you actually claiming, that however modern the screen is, it will take no power if you let it stay permanently on? Or, how could you say that a modern screen doesn't need a screen saver, when we are talking about power saving. Far as I know, even modern screens still draw power, to lit all the pixels. If you have no screen saver, the pixels keep lit, hence draw power, consequently battery time is shortened. Or, do you have any modernized info on this matter, I will be all ears.

I did burn some text into a screen - though that is a few years ago. So would be quite interesting to know, what technology would prevent that from happening in today's screen. Hope you could point me to more updated info on your statements.

David

Modern screens don't need any sort of screen-saver and haven't for quite some time.  And I don't know if it's possible for anything to be burned into screens any more. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:23 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Which of course seems the easiest. Yet, I am not a fan of doing that.

The technology in modern screens might be a bit vulnerable to this "easy way out".

Whenever you leave your computer unattended for a while, the picture of the screen will be statically staying unaltered. This means that all the tiny lightening dots - what is named pixels - on the screen will be in a static position. Each pixel has a certain lifetime, and the longer you leave it turned on, the faster it will outburn. In the end, your screen will develop "dead" spots, which will render it useless for sighted people.

The text that stays on the screen for such excessive periods of time, might also end up being "burned" into the screen material. That is to say, the shaddow of it will stay on the screen, even when the picture is altered. Nothing that happens for a day or two, but over time, and again something that will disturb the screen appearance for sighted persons.

Lastly, Turning off the screen saver altogether, will do exactly the opposite of what the initial user was looking for. Think of it this way.

The user wanted a way to save battery.

The screen uses power to lighten all pixels needed for showing a picture.

Leaving the screen always on, by turning off the screen saver, will definitely drain the battery. The screen then will use power to keep the current picture frozen.

Choosing a BLANK screen saver, on the other hand, means the screen is forced to show an empty page. That is, it is going to turn each and every pixel off, way across the whole screen. Lights that are turned off, do not consume any power. Light that is turned off, cannot be outburned. It saves battery power, and it saves the screen's lifetime.

Then, what about a standard screen saver?

It typically will show a picture, that every so often changes. Some tend to scroll across the screen, others are more like a live movie showing some kind of nature, acting characters, or a burning fireplace. Even, some make a live camera picture come up, whenever they are not using the screen. For instance, you could have a wireless camera installed in the trees in your garden, and whenever you are not using the computer, it will display a live picture of the birds feeding their chicks out in the nest, realtime.

Sum of it all, the screen saver's main mission is, to have the screen permanently altering. Namely to save the pixels from staying static, namely to prevent the screen from outburning. A screen saver consequently does consume power, and not very little either. Turning it off, still means the screen is showing a picture. Choosing a blank screen saver, will mean the screen goes blank, and is by far the most effecient way to save both battery and screen lifetime.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

David

On 11/30/2016 9:21 PM, Gene wrote:

I meant to say just turn the screen-saver completely off. 

 

gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:03 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Unless you have something connected to your USB ports, which really draws power - like an external hard disk - I am ready to say the USB ports may not give you much for power saving. Again, if you have something that draws a lot from the ports, learn to disconnect it, whenever you do not need it for a prolonged time.

Turning off Wireless and Bluetooth? Sure, that might give you a few minutes more on run-time, but cannot tell exactly how much. It would depend on how much you use the Wireless, and how good coverage you have, where you are at any given moment. Poor coverage, will demand the computer to resend information over the net, multiple times, and thereby consume some power.

In the old days, we used to turn off the screen, when there was no sighted people around. The screen is a power-consumer, hence if you can have it turned off, or at least lower the light on it, that might lengthen your battery life. On modern computers, it is not all that easy. Old models used to have a slider, to turn up and down the brightness of the screen. Turning it all down, meant the screen in practical terms was turned off. On modern models though, you will typically have to go to the control panel of Windows, and turn it on or off. Someone, on another list, suggested a while ago, that you could connect an empty monitor cable to the External Screen Connector on your laptop. To what extend that would help, in making the computer think it is on an external screen, therefore turning off the internal display - I am not able to tell for sure.

One thing though, that you could do, and which definitely will reduce power-consumption, is to change your hard disk to an SSD. The SSD has no mechanical parts, hence far less power is needed to operate it. Less power, no mechanics, you have a much cooler run of the computer. That in turn, results in the fan spinning far less. Less power consumption for the disk, less power consumption for the fan; it all amounts into quite a boost on your battery life.

I recently did the upgrade on my laptop. Before, with a standard hard disk installed, it would keep just about 2.5 hours on one charge. Now, with the SSD installed, I can run the computer more like 4 hours before it tells me it is hungry for some recharge. Add to it the faster computer I have got from it all, besides the far less noise I experience. And, of course, it is nice to not be cooked just because you happen to have your laptop in your lap.

As for general battery saving, I do suggest that you go to the control panel of Windows. Here, under Power Management, put your screen, disk and other equipment, into idle mode fast as you find it convenient. A screen that stays on for a whole hour, even if there is no activity, certainly will draw a lot of unnecessary power. Shorten the ON-time, to something like 10 or 15 minutes. Also, use a BLANK screen saver. If you do go for any screen saver that shows a picture, they are by definition constructed the way that the screen is being updated every so often. Such updating definitely eats battery power, for absolutely no good reason, since you won't have any enjoyment of the picture scrolling across the screen anyway. Besides, many screen savers do trouble the screen readers.

Hope any of this will bring you a tiny step further.

David

On 11/30/2016 8:27 PM, Gene wrote:

Those with more technical knowledge may agree or disagree with the following remarks.  These are my guesses but I have no experience to support them. But they may be useful as discussion points.

 

I don't know if there are any such programs or if they make enough difference to matter.  I don't know how you use your computer but I believe even something like turning off WIFI, which is the equivalent of airplane mode on phones, might save enough time to amount to something.  I'm not sure about this but I believe either disconnecting or turning off USB devices if they can be turned off, would save more power.  Using efficient headphones or amplified external speakers and keeping your play sound levels low would probably save more power.  Taken together, such things might save enough power to amount to something.

 

If battery life is significantly insufficient, I doubt anything will give you a lot more time.  Those with experience in these matters can tell you.  That's my guess but its just a guess.  My guess is that it probably would be necessary to carry an extra battery. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Bhavya shah

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 1:10 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Hi Travis,
Yes, I have checked out the battery related configuration settings
present in Windows's own Control Panel, was just wondering if there
were more advanced and feature-rich programs that could perhaps
provide perhaps a slight battery life extension. I was looking mostly
at utilities similar to third-party battery saving apps that one uses
on Smartphones, for laptops.
Thanks.

On 12/1/16, Travis Siegel <tsiegel@...> wrote:
> I'm not sure what kinds of management you'd want to do, since generally,
> most things you can do to the laptop are configurable from the windows
> control panel under screen saver (or something similar).  Generally,
> there's battery status in the system tray, though if you specifically
> need a program to show you battery status, I have one I wrote years ago
> because it wasn't convenient for me to keep going to the system tray
> just to check my battery status, this program just pops up, shows me my
> charge, and time left (I think, it's been a while since I've had a
> windows laptop), then allows me to exit and go back to what I was
> doing.  Unless a utility came with your laptop though, it's probably not
> a good idea to try to mess around with any other battery settings, since
> that has a tendency to break things, and I don't know any programs that
> do that anyway, though I'm sure there are some out there, especially for
> these smart batteries they have these days.
>
> Anyway, if the windows sleep/screen saver screens don't give you the
> control you want, I don't have any suggestions on what else to try.
>
>
>
> On 11/30/2016 1:35 PM, Bhavya shah wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I was wondering if there exist battery management, optimization and
>> saving utilities for PCs. If so, could you folks recommend an
>> accessible and free software of that sort?
>> I would appreciate any assistance.
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Best Regards
Bhavya Shah

Avid Enthusiast and User of the Free NVDA Screen Reader (www.nvaccess.org)

Contacting Me
E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125@...
Follow me on Twitter @BhavyaShah125 or www.twitter.com/BhavyaShah125
Mobile Number: +91 7506221750

Even modern screens can get burned out if something is left on a single pixel long enough.  You'll see this more often on something like a point of sale system, where the same screen is up for hours upon hours.  Eventually, you'll get what they now refer to as pixel burn, and some pixels on the screen will literally burn out.  After that, you'll see (albeit a very small one) a gap in the screen at the location of the burned out pixel.  It's actually rather common in certain industries.  That's why when folks look at used monitors, one of the most often asked questions is about the pixels, and if they are all intact.

Of course, bad hardware can lead to dead pixels too, so it's not always a result of image burn, but just to be fair to modern manufacturers, it is way less prevalent than it used to be, especially with the old CRT monitors.

On 11/30/2016 11:08 PM, J Harrington wrote:

This is my understanding as well that current monitors are way less susceptible to any kind of burn.

 

Jeff

 

From: Gene

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:41 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Modern screens don't need any sort of screen-saver and haven't for quite some time.  And I don't know if it's possible for anything to be burned into screens any more. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:23 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Which of course seems the easiest. Yet, I am not a fan of doing that.

 

The technology in modern screens might be a bit vulnerable to this "easy way out".

 

Whenever you leave your computer unattended for a while, the picture of the screen will be statically staying unaltered. This means that all the tiny lightening dots - what is named pixels - on the screen will be in a static position. Each pixel has a certain lifetime, and the longer you leave it turned on, the faster it will outburn. In the end, your screen will develop "dead" spots, which will render it useless for sighted people.

 

The text that stays on the screen for such excessive periods of time, might also end up being "burned" into the screen material. That is to say, the shaddow of it will stay on the screen, even when the picture is altered. Nothing that happens for a day or two, but over time, and again something that will disturb the screen appearance for sighted persons.

 

Lastly, Turning off the screen saver altogether, will do exactly the opposite of what the initial user was looking for. Think of it this way.

The user wanted a way to save battery.

The screen uses power to lighten all pixels needed for showing a picture.

Leaving the screen always on, by turning off the screen saver, will definitely drain the battery. The screen then will use power to keep the current picture frozen.

 

Choosing a BLANK screen saver, on the other hand, means the screen is forced to show an empty page. That is, it is going to turn each and every pixel off, way across the whole screen. Lights that are turned off, do not consume any power. Light that is turned off, cannot be outburned. It saves battery power, and it saves the screen's lifetime.

 

Then, what about a standard screen saver?

It typically will show a picture, that every so often changes. Some tend to scroll across the screen, others are more like a live movie showing some kind of nature, acting characters, or a burning fireplace. Even, some make a live camera picture come up, whenever they are not using the screen. For instance, you could have a wireless camera installed in the trees in your garden, and whenever you are not using the computer, it will display a live picture of the birds feeding their chicks out in the nest, realtime.

 

Sum of it all, the screen saver's main mission is, to have the screen permanently altering. Namely to save the pixels from staying static, namely to prevent the screen from outburning. A screen saver consequently does consume power, and not very little either. Turning it off, still means the screen is showing a picture. Choosing a blank screen saver, will mean the screen goes blank, and is by far the most effecient way to save both battery and screen lifetime.

 

Hope this clears things up a bit.

David

On 11/30/2016 9:21 PM, Gene wrote:

I meant to say just turn the screen-saver completely off. 

 

gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:03 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Unless you have something connected to your USB ports, which really draws power - like an external hard disk - I am ready to say the USB ports may not give you much for power saving. Again, if you have something that draws a lot from the ports, learn to disconnect it, whenever you do not need it for a prolonged time.

 

Turning off Wireless and Bluetooth? Sure, that might give you a few minutes more on run-time, but cannot tell exactly how much. It would depend on how much you use the Wireless, and how good coverage you have, where you are at any given moment. Poor coverage, will demand the computer to resend information over the net, multiple times, and thereby consume some power.

 

In the old days, we used to turn off the screen, when there was no sighted people around. The screen is a power-consumer, hence if you can have it turned off, or at least lower the light on it, that might lengthen your battery life. On modern computers, it is not all that easy. Old models used to have a slider, to turn up and down the brightness of the screen. Turning it all down, meant the screen in practical terms was turned off. On modern models though, you will typically have to go to the control panel of Windows, and turn it on or off. Someone, on another list, suggested a while ago, that you could connect an empty monitor cable to the External Screen Connector on your laptop. To what extend that would help, in making the computer think it is on an external screen, therefore turning off the internal display - I am not able to tell for sure.

 

One thing though, that you could do, and which definitely will reduce power-consumption, is to change your hard disk to an SSD. The SSD has no mechanical parts, hence far less power is needed to operate it. Less power, no mechanics, you have a much cooler run of the computer. That in turn, results in the fan spinning far less. Less power consumption for the disk, less power consumption for the fan; it all amounts into quite a boost on your battery life.

 

I recently did the upgrade on my laptop. Before, with a standard hard disk installed, it would keep just about 2.5 hours on one charge. Now, with the SSD installed, I can run the computer more like 4 hours before it tells me it is hungry for some recharge. Add to it the faster computer I have got from it all, besides the far less noise I experience. And, of course, it is nice to not be cooked just because you happen to have your laptop in your lap.

 

As for general battery saving, I do suggest that you go to the control panel of Windows. Here, under Power Management, put your screen, disk and other equipment, into idle mode fast as you find it convenient. A screen that stays on for a whole hour, even if there is no activity, certainly will draw a lot of unnecessary power. Shorten the ON-time, to something like 10 or 15 minutes. Also, use a BLANK screen saver. If you do go for any screen saver that shows a picture, they are by definition constructed the way that the screen is being updated every so often. Such updating definitely eats battery power, for absolutely no good reason, since you won't have any enjoyment of the picture scrolling across the screen anyway. Besides, many screen savers do trouble the screen readers.

 

Hope any of this will bring you a tiny step further.

David

On 11/30/2016 8:27 PM, Gene wrote:

Those with more technical knowledge may agree or disagree with the following remarks.  These are my guesses but I have no experience to support them. But they may be useful as discussion points.

 

I don't know if there are any such programs or if they make enough difference to matter.  I don't know how you use your computer but I believe even something like turning off WIFI, which is the equivalent of airplane mode on phones, might save enough time to amount to something.  I'm not sure about this but I believe either disconnecting or turning off USB devices if they can be turned off, would save more power.  Using efficient headphones or amplified external speakers and keeping your play sound levels low would probably save more power.  Taken together, such things might save enough power to amount to something.

 

If battery life is significantly insufficient, I doubt anything will give you a lot more time.  Those with experience in these matters can tell you.  That's my guess but its just a guess.  My guess is that it probably would be necessary to carry an extra battery. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Bhavya shah

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 1:10 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

 

Hi Travis,
Yes, I have checked out the battery related configuration settings
present in Windows's own Control Panel, was just wondering if there
were more advanced and feature-rich programs that could perhaps
provide perhaps a slight battery life extension. I was looking mostly
at utilities similar to third-party battery saving apps that one uses
on Smartphones, for laptops.
Thanks.

On 12/1/16, Travis Siegel <tsiegel@...> wrote:
> I'm not sure what kinds of management you'd want to do, since generally,
> most things you can do to the laptop are configurable from the windows
> control panel under screen saver (or something similar).  Generally,
> there's battery status in the system tray, though if you specifically
> need a program to show you battery status, I have one I wrote years ago
> because it wasn't convenient for me to keep going to the system tray
> just to check my battery status, this program just pops up, shows me my
> charge, and time left (I think, it's been a while since I've had a
> windows laptop), then allows me to exit and go back to what I was
> doing.  Unless a utility came with your laptop though, it's probably not
> a good idea to try to mess around with any other battery settings, since
> that has a tendency to break things, and I don't know any programs that
> do that anyway, though I'm sure there are some out there, especially for
> these smart batteries they have these days.
>
> Anyway, if the windows sleep/screen saver screens don't give you the
> control you want, I don't have any suggestions on what else to try.
>
>
>
> On 11/30/2016 1:35 PM, Bhavya shah wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I was wondering if there exist battery management, optimization and
>> saving utilities for PCs. If so, could you folks recommend an
>> accessible and free software of that sort?
>> I would appreciate any assistance.
>> Thanks.
>>
>
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Best Regards
Bhavya Shah

Avid Enthusiast and User of the Free NVDA Screen Reader (www.nvaccess.org)

Contacting Me
E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125@...
Follow me on Twitter @BhavyaShah125 or www.twitter.com/BhavyaShah125
Mobile Number: +91 7506221750

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Modern screens don't need any sort of screen-saver and haven't for quite some time.  And I don't know if it's possible for anything to be burned into screens any more. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 8:23 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Which of course seems the easiest. Yet, I am not a fan of doing that.

The technology in modern screens might be a bit vulnerable to this "easy way out".

Whenever you leave your computer unattended for a while, the picture of the screen will be statically staying unaltered. This means that all the tiny lightening dots - what is named pixels - on the screen will be in a static position. Each pixel has a certain lifetime, and the longer you leave it turned on, the faster it will outburn. In the end, your screen will develop "dead" spots, which will render it useless for sighted people.

The text that stays on the screen for such excessive periods of time, might also end up being "burned" into the screen material. That is to say, the shaddow of it will stay on the screen, even when the picture is altered. Nothing that happens for a day or two, but over time, and again something that will disturb the screen appearance for sighted persons.

Lastly, Turning off the screen saver altogether, will do exactly the opposite of what the initial user was looking for. Think of it this way.

The user wanted a way to save battery.

The screen uses power to lighten all pixels needed for showing a picture.

Leaving the screen always on, by turning off the screen saver, will definitely drain the battery. The screen then will use power to keep the current picture frozen.

Choosing a BLANK screen saver, on the other hand, means the screen is forced to show an empty page. That is, it is going to turn each and every pixel off, way across the whole screen. Lights that are turned off, do not consume any power. Light that is turned off, cannot be outburned. It saves battery power, and it saves the screen's lifetime.

Then, what about a standard screen saver?

It typically will show a picture, that every so often changes. Some tend to scroll across the screen, others are more like a live movie showing some kind of nature, acting characters, or a burning fireplace. Even, some make a live camera picture come up, whenever they are not using the screen. For instance, you could have a wireless camera installed in the trees in your garden, and whenever you are not using the computer, it will display a live picture of the birds feeding their chicks out in the nest, realtime.

Sum of it all, the screen saver's main mission is, to have the screen permanently altering. Namely to save the pixels from staying static, namely to prevent the screen from outburning. A screen saver consequently does consume power, and not very little either. Turning it off, still means the screen is showing a picture. Choosing a blank screen saver, will mean the screen goes blank, and is by far the most effecient way to save both battery and screen lifetime.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

David

On 11/30/2016 9:21 PM, Gene wrote:

I meant to say just turn the screen-saver completely off. 

 

gene

----- Original Message -----

From: David

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 2:03 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Unless you have something connected to your USB ports, which really draws power - like an external hard disk - I am ready to say the USB ports may not give you much for power saving. Again, if you have something that draws a lot from the ports, learn to disconnect it, whenever you do not need it for a prolonged time.

Turning off Wireless and Bluetooth? Sure, that might give you a few minutes more on run-time, but cannot tell exactly how much. It would depend on how much you use the Wireless, and how good coverage you have, where you are at any given moment. Poor coverage, will demand the computer to resend information over the net, multiple times, and thereby consume some power.

In the old days, we used to turn off the screen, when there was no sighted people around. The screen is a power-consumer, hence if you can have it turned off, or at least lower the light on it, that might lengthen your battery life. On modern computers, it is not all that easy. Old models used to have a slider, to turn up and down the brightness of the screen. Turning it all down, meant the screen in practical terms was turned off. On modern models though, you will typically have to go to the control panel of Windows, and turn it on or off. Someone, on another list, suggested a while ago, that you could connect an empty monitor cable to the External Screen Connector on your laptop. To what extend that would help, in making the computer think it is on an external screen, therefore turning off the internal display - I am not able to tell for sure.

One thing though, that you could do, and which definitely will reduce power-consumption, is to change your hard disk to an SSD. The SSD has no mechanical parts, hence far less power is needed to operate it. Less power, no mechanics, you have a much cooler run of the computer. That in turn, results in the fan spinning far less. Less power consumption for the disk, less power consumption for the fan; it all amounts into quite a boost on your battery life.

I recently did the upgrade on my laptop. Before, with a standard hard disk installed, it would keep just about 2.5 hours on one charge. Now, with the SSD installed, I can run the computer more like 4 hours before it tells me it is hungry for some recharge. Add to it the faster computer I have got from it all, besides the far less noise I experience. And, of course, it is nice to not be cooked just because you happen to have your laptop in your lap.

As for general battery saving, I do suggest that you go to the control panel of Windows. Here, under Power Management, put your screen, disk and other equipment, into idle mode fast as you find it convenient. A screen that stays on for a whole hour, even if there is no activity, certainly will draw a lot of unnecessary power. Shorten the ON-time, to something like 10 or 15 minutes. Also, use a BLANK screen saver. If you do go for any screen saver that shows a picture, they are by definition constructed the way that the screen is being updated every so often. Such updating definitely eats battery power, for absolutely no good reason, since you won't have any enjoyment of the picture scrolling across the screen anyway. Besides, many screen savers do trouble the screen readers.

Hope any of this will bring you a tiny step further.

David

On 11/30/2016 8:27 PM, Gene wrote:

Those with more technical knowledge may agree or disagree with the following remarks.  These are my guesses but I have no experience to support them. But they may be useful as discussion points.

 

I don't know if there are any such programs or if they make enough difference to matter.  I don't know how you use your computer but I believe even something like turning off WIFI, which is the equivalent of airplane mode on phones, might save enough time to amount to something.  I'm not sure about this but I believe either disconnecting or turning off USB devices if they can be turned off, would save more power.  Using efficient headphones or amplified external speakers and keeping your play sound levels low would probably save more power.  Taken together, such things might save enough power to amount to something.

 

If battery life is significantly insufficient, I doubt anything will give you a lot more time.  Those with experience in these matters can tell you.  That's my guess but its just a guess.  My guess is that it probably would be necessary to carry an extra battery. 

 

Gene

----- Original Message -----

From: Bhavya shah

Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2016 1:10 PM

To: nvda@nvda.groups.io

Subject: Re: [nvda] Accessible battery Management Programs

Hi Travis,
Yes, I have checked out the battery related configuration settings
present in Windows's own Control Panel, was just wondering if there
were more advanced and feature-rich programs that could perhaps
provide perhaps a slight battery life extension. I was looking mostly
at utilities similar to third-party battery saving apps that one uses
on Smartphones, for laptops.
Thanks.

On 12/1/16, Travis Siegel <tsiegel@...> wrote:
> I'm not sure what kinds of management you'd want to do, since generally,
> most things you can do to the laptop are configurable from the windows
> control panel under screen saver (or something similar).  Generally,
> there's battery status in the system tray, though if you specifically
> need a program to show you battery status, I have one I wrote years ago
> because it wasn't convenient for me to keep going to the system tray
> just to check my battery status, this program just pops up, shows me my
> charge, and time left (I think, it's been a while since I've had a
> windows laptop), then allows me to exit and go back to what I was
> doing.  Unless a utility came with your laptop though, it's probably not
> a good idea to try to mess around with any other battery settings, since
> that has a tendency to break things, and I don't know any programs that
> do that anyway, though I'm sure there are some out there, especially for
> these smart batteries they have these days.
>
> Anyway, if the windows sleep/screen saver screens don't give you the
> control you want, I don't have any suggestions on what else to try.
>
>
>
> On 11/30/2016 1:35 PM, Bhavya shah wrote:
>> Dear all,
>> I was wondering if there exist battery management, optimization and
>> saving utilities for PCs. If so, could you folks recommend an
>> accessible and free software of that sort?
>> I would appreciate any assistance.
>> Thanks.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Best Regards
Bhavya Shah

Avid Enthusiast and User of the Free NVDA Screen Reader (www.nvaccess.org)

Contacting Me
E-mail Address: bhavya.shah125@...
Follow me on Twitter @BhavyaShah125 or www.twitter.com/BhavyaShah125
Mobile Number: +91 7506221750