Window-Eyes' Shutting Causes Challenges, Changes for Users

Last week marked the end of a long-standing text-to-speech engine, Window-Eyes. More than two decades after its creation, this commercial screen reader will no longer be sold in the United States and Canada.

While Window-Eyes never dominated the market like its primary competitor, Job Access with Speech (JAWS), it kept a pretty loyal user base and its manufacturer, GW Micro, was known for decent technical support.

In 2014, Window-Eyes’ popularity increased as it was offered for free to any purchaser of Microsoft Office 2010 or newer. I took advantage of this offer, as it allowed me to evaluate Echidna creations and third-party websites with a third screen reader. Though I still consider myself a Window-Eyes novice, I found that the training tutorials were excellent and I applauded its availability to purchasers of popular mainstream software.

Unfortunately this free offer did little for Window-Eyes' profitability. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the software eventually became owned by the same company as JAWS. This parent company now also owns two competing screen magnification products, so I would not be surprised if one of these also becomes defunct. The most popular screen reader, JAWS, and the most popular screen magnification program, Zoom Text, have already been combined into a fusion product for low-vision users who wish both access to magnification and text-to-speech.

To its credit, the company has extended an offer to those who purchased Window-Eyes that enables them to receive either free or discounted access to JAWS. As well, all existing upgrade agreements are being honoured. Unfortunately, this offer does not extend to the free version of Window-Eyes acquired with Microsoft Office. Though this software (and any other versions of Window-Eyes) will continue to work, they may not be compatible with newer operating systems or versions of third-party applications.

As with any business, adaptive technology companies are, as the economists would say, profit-maximizing entities. It is their prerogative to charge the price that the market will bear. They are also free to add products that they believe will be successful and discontinue those that aren't performing to expectations. And while there is criticism that adaptive technology pricing reflects the prices governments and large agencies will pay rather than individual consumers, it is not a discussion for this post.

Nonetheless, it is unfortunate that end-users lose out on a low-cost, text-to-speech engine.

The response to the discontinuation of Window-Eyes has been mixed. Some decry the fact that there are now fewer choices available; others are angry that a low-cost option is gone; and there are those who suggest that any unhappy Window-Eyes user should have already had more than one screen reader on their system and that they need to "get over it." This latter point is unfair, as only more advanced users would think to use more than one piece of software to achieve similar tasks.

Which brings us to the biggest challenge. Window-Eyes users, in general, are not the most advanced technologically. In fact, a 2015 survey of screen reader users showed that most Window-Eyes users surveyed were less technologically proficient and were more likely to have Window-Eyes as the sole text-to-speech engine on their machine. This suggests that this group will find a transition to a new screen reader challenging. While they could transition to the free and open-source Non-Visual Desktop Access (NVDA), the commercial JAWS has more robust training materials -- exactly what computer and adaptive technology novices require. (Editor's note: following publication, a reader provided us with a link to purchasable NVDA training materials.)

While the loss of Window-Eyes will probably not affect most users, for those for whom it was the only text-to-speech engine they’ve ever used, it will understandably be a big deal. It is good that any paying Window-Eyes customer will have a straightforward transition to JAWS, but it is unfortunate that anyone using the free version is now out of luck. It remains to be seen how the adaptive technology landscape will change in the future.