Is there an equivalent to AppleVis for Windows users?

By Luke, 31 January, 2017

Forum
Windows

Hello all,
Apple Viz is such a fantastic resource and I rely on it for my iOS needs. When it comes to the desktop side of things, I am a PC user. Could any Apple Viz members who also use PCs suggest a similarly great forum for discussion of Windows/PC accessibility topics? Thank you.

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Comments

By Apple Khmer on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

So far, I've only seen mailing lists/groups/forums for the WINDOWS side of things. Their all in Google Groups.io type of deal. I'm in all of those groups. I can give you links to them if you want.

By Tree on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

I am a recent convert to Windows, after being a Mac power user for many years. Apple Vis has been a valuable community for me, in the past, and I would love to have a similar resource for Windows.

As has already been mentioned, it seems like the primary windows offerings are either mailing lists, or web sites for specific groups, such as JAWS users etc. I was thinking about trying to create an Apple Vis like web site for all things windows, but I decided that to properly make such a site would be beyond my abilities.

If anyone is interested in collaborating on something like this, I would be very interested. I think having a searchable database of apps, with accessibility ratings and info, would be especially valuable for the Windows platform. In my short time with Windows I have had to do a lot of hunting to fill my app needs, and in the process I have found options that I don't see many blind users talking about. I'm sure there are thousands of apps out there that are accessible on the Windows platform, that are not commonly known about in the blind community.

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject, so hit me up if you want to bounce ideas around.

By Ekaj on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

I've actually been thinking a bit about this too. I was a Windows user for a long time prior to switching over to the Mac platform. At the time, I don't think Microsoft had much of anything in the way of accessibility communities. I've read elsewhere that this has since changed though. The Audiogames site is an excellent resource, but I do think some additional resources need to be put together for Windows users with various access needs. That said, I have found AppleVis to be a good resource. Big kudos to Apple for revamping their accessibility pages, and for including AppleVis in their resource list!

By Luke on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

It sounds like several of us were thinking the same thing. I would be very interested in building a Windows/PC equivalent of Apple Viz. A couple of months ago I actually poked around on this site to try to see what bulletin board engine they use because I find it very accessible but I couldn't figure it out. Perhaps this is a fully built-from-scratch forum? If we can find that out, I will get one started

By Andy B. on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

Applevis is using Drupal from Drupal.org. It has all of the typical signatures Drupal uses. I thought about starting something similar for Android and Android app development. However, I don't think there is much of a demand for it. If you are interested in something similar, get me privately.

By Luke on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 - 18:29

Hey everyone,

I actually put together a new forum I'm calling "PSeeHelp" (That's a letter P followed by the spelled out word "see" and "help.") devoted to all topics concerning Windows / PC accessibility for blind and visually impaired users, inspired by the wonderful Apple Viz, of course. I hope it is not violating any solicitation policies for me to share this. If it helps, my new forum would be a companion resource to Apple Viz rather than a competitor, as many of us use a combination of Apple and Windows-based products.

I used a site called Pro Boards to build it because they're free and offered all the hosting and templates. Hopefully it is fully accessible. I've been getting around on it using NVDA and it seems good to me.

Feel free to come on by:
http://pseehelp.freeforums.net/

By Humberto Avila on Thursday, March 21, 2019 - 18:29

Dear Joe:
I have used Microsoft Windows for over a decade in my short life spam and just thinking about your posting, I can't believe there isn't such a wonderful and community driven site that compiles all of the resources for how to use a Windows computer, or even a Windows tablet / device in general, just as they is for AppleVis for the Apple platforms. Much of what I've learned, and much of what some of fellow windows users have found is just learning through experimentation, help manuals, teaching / training, as in, through employment agencies, schools and the like. Also, much of the learning about Windows / screen reader / accessible app resources is through specific groups, gathered 'round the web corners. There is for instance, a specific list about using NVDA, there's one for JAWS users. There are a couple of lists run by organizations like the National Federation of the Blind here in the United States, that provide supportive communities for using Windows / accessible applications and the like, but, there just isn't a one-stop resource for learning about accessible apps, and forums as well as podcasts in one place, just as there is for AppleVis.
I think there needs to be a one-stop source where everything can be compiled and at least gathered as links to other sources on the Internet on how to use Windows accessibly as well as finding out about the accessibility rating of an app or such, just like we can do here on Applevis.com. From an educational standpoint, it will work so well. I know as a teacher of the blind / visually impaired, I will want to point my students that can use the technology to a resource where all accessibility ratings, and help for specific access features of windows, or screen readers, so that we don't get tired of always just googling and posting redundant questions up to mailing lists (I see this all the time.).
I do hope that there's enough collaborative community support so such a website can thrive. I am sure it can happen in the near future. And, maybe it can even be a companion site to Applevis.com or inclusiveAndroid.com for those of us who use multiple systems from different companies in our daily basis.

By Zoe Victoria on Monday, August 21, 2023 - 18:29

The captcha is not accessible. It won’t allow me to use the audio challenge.