The transition to Windows 7 often seems very difficult, and this write hasn’t found it much easier either. Just when it seems we’ve turned the corner in our relationship, something like the old Canon scanner, which has now Windows 7 driver reminds me.
A wonderful presentation, offered by trainer Gene Asner on Accessible World Tek Talk for the week of February 6, 2012, entitled Moving From Windows XP to Windows 7 made it all sound so much easier…even the ribbons! Asner does a great job, putting this material in a sequential fashion, and the audio presentation is very detailed and easy to follow. One of the great features of the audio is that Asner will point out some of the differences user’s will experience using JAWS or Window Eyes screen readers. A follow-up to the presentation may be found with Asner’s brief text file guide, which assembled the most basic guidelines for the transition, such as how to display file extensions in the directories or use the split menus, etc. Download this tutorial from http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25812011/windows7%20messages.zip.
Another great free resource for making the transition to Windows 7 are the free audio training materials from Access Technology Institute and Cathy Anne Murtha: Windows 7 With JAWS for Windows and Windows 7 With Window Eyes.
One of the most interesting features of Windows 7 is the expanded screen magnification features for users with sight. A brief list of the most common shortcuts and a link to a useful video can be downlaoaded from http://www.lowvisiontech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Windows-7-Screen-Magnifier-Shortcuts.doc.
Rumor has it that Windows 8 will be out in July, so now is a great time to put aside your differences with Windows 7 and move forward.