You, Too, Can Wear Bunny Slippers at Work
Okay, so I don’t actually have bunny slippers on my feet, but I do telecommute. And I love it!!! You can’t beat the drive or the dress code. And for people who are blind or visually impaired, telecommuting can offer something much more valuable, namely access to jobs that would otherwise be inaccessible due to a lack of public transportation options.
Until fairly recently, telecommuting was not an option for any blind employee who needed to access company computers remotely. Whereas sighted telecommuters have been using products like PC Anywhere, Citrix, and Microsoft Terminal Services for years, blind users have not. They couldn’t.
The problem was that these solutions work by sending images of the remote computer’s screen to your computer screen, and then sending your keystrokes and mouse clicks back to the remote computer for execution. Historically, screen reading software could only provide access to the objects on your computer. In a terminal-server environment, the object on your computer is essentially a giant graphic. Things like menus, dialog boxes, and documents—objects screen readers can provide access to—are all on the remote computer.
In Fall 2003, GW Micro’s Window-Eyes became the first screen reader to provide access to Citrix, Terminal Services, and Remote Desktop. I found a copy of [GW Micro’s press release](http://www.connsensebulletin.com/res092303.html “Read the press release for Window-Eyes 4.5”), in case you are interested. This was very exciting news. With the release of JAWS 6.0 in January 2005, even more users gained the ability to telecommute just like their sighted colleagues. Here is [Freedom Scientific’s press release](http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_news/PressRoom/en/2005/%20nr_JAWS-ATIA_1-11-2005.asp “Read the press release for JAWS 6.0”).
My job does not require the use of terminal-server applications—even if it did, I happen to be sighted. And none of my colleagues who are blind telecommute (at least not yet!). So this new access was a thrilling concept, one that I’ve been meaning to check out, but it just kept landing on the backburner.
On February 16th, the Carroll Center hosted an all-day event in which Freedom Scientific’s Mark Reumann and Eric Damery demonstrated the PAC Mate and JAWS 6.0. When Eric logged on to his office computer, my jaw literally dropped. It was slick! The only way you could tell that what we saw on the screen and heard from the speakers was coming from a computer 1400 miles away was the fact that it said “Remote JAWS” rather than “JAWS” in the task pane. Wow! Until Eric’s presentation, if someone asked me if it was possible for someone who is blind to work in a terminal-server environment, I would have to answer “theoretically,” because all I knew is what I had read. Now if someone asks, my answer will be a resounding, “Yes!” I’m hoping that we can host a GW Micro training before too long, now that Window-Eyes 5.0 is out, and I cannot wait to see their implementation.
Sometimes you just have to sit back, kick up your bunny slippers, and marvel at how far access technology has come.
If you are using a screen reader to access Citrix, Terminal Services, or Remote Desktop, please add a comment. I’d love to hear how it’s working for you.
—jd