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JAWS (screen reader): Difference between revisions

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JAWS was originally released in 1989 by [[Ted Henter]], a former motorcycle racer who lost his sight in a 1978 automobile accident. In 1985, Henter, along with a {{US$|180,000|link=yes}} investment from Bill Joyce, founded the ''Henter-Joyce Corporation'' in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]. Joyce sold his interest in the company back to Henter in 1990. In April 2000, Henter-Joyce, Blazie Engineering, and Arkenstone, Inc. merged to form [[Freedom Scientific]].
 
JAWS was originally created for the [[MS-DOS]] [[operating system]]. It was one of several screen readers giving blind users access to text-mode MS-DOS applications.<ref>{{Citation | author1=Girard, Kim | author2=Dillon, Nancy | title=Market grows for voice applications. (Industry Trend or Event) | journal=Computerworld | publication-date=1997-08-11 | publisher=Computerworld, Inc | volume=v3131 | issue=n3232 | pagespage=p5555(2) | issn=0010-4841}}</ref> A feature unique to JAWS at the time was its use of cascading menus, in the style of the popular Lotus 1-2-3 application. What set JAWS apart from other screen readers of the era was its use of [[Macro (computer science)|macros]] that allowed users to customize the user interface and work better with various applications.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}
 
Ted Henter and Rex Skipper wrote the original JAWS code in the mid-1980s, releasing version 2.0 in mid-1990. Skipper left the company after the release of version 2.0, and following his departure, [[Charles Oppermann]] was hired to maintain and improve the product. Oppermann and Henter regularly added minor and major features and frequently released new versions. Freedom Scientific now offers JAWS for MS-DOS as a [[freeware]] download from their web site.<ref name="Trace" /><ref>[http://www2.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-previous-downloads.asp More JAWS downloads]. Freedom Scientific. Retrieved August 31, 2008.</ref>