I'm in Iran as you have seen, and I'm using JFW as well. JFW is the most used screen reader and after that comes Window Eyes, Hal, and etc.

... Hal is much better though.
However, I'd like to know whether you're using a braille display or not.
Oh Arjan, how about that display you're using? I've to decide which I'll use in a few weeks.

I can do that with my current braille display. I can even type or play a game without the keyboard.
Hal offers great support for almost all displays.

Well, I don't want to argue about which one is the best. I just want to know who is using what.

For example, you never have to turn of Hal when you start playing a game, but with JAWS/JFW you should do this sometimes.

There's no need for that with Hal.

Hmmm Cx2, I'm slightly surprised with what you say about Hal's key layout, sinse unless your using a laptop, Just about all of Hal's keys should work through the number pad.

though with keys, a large part of it is what your used to. When I got my desktop Pc last year, I actually stil used Hal's function key set for quite a while, sinse having only had laptops before that was what I was used to. however, deactivating the keys whenever I wanted to play an audiogame became a pest so i just adapted myself to the numberpad instead.

As you've probably gathered by now, I'm using Hal (Hal v6.53 as it happens). I don't have a braille display, and at the moment I'm using the dolphin orphius voice alan (sinse I'm in the Uk, I prefer an English synthesisor), though when I get together the time, cash and general gumption I'd like to buy one of the realspeak voices for reading things like Interactive fiction.

Strangely enough, I tried Jaws but just couldn't get on with it, ----- all those curser modes, and I couldn't seem to find a basic settings panel. But then again, I have used Hal for about twelve years, ----- in fact I've used every single version going right back to 3.1, so I'm well and truly used to the way hal works (virtual focus and all), but as Cx2 said, debating pros and cons of screen readers just isn't a good idea, if it works for you, use it!

Well, there's an option to change your keyboard layout and every hotkey that is used.

I just like Hal because you don't have to navigate through menus. The only drawback is that almost every key that you can think of is used by Hal, but that's easy to change.

But I didn't post this topic for screenreader discussion purposes, so we'd better stop that.

cx2, that sounds like the shift from Hal version 4 to version 5. Hal V5 was an almost total rewrite, with many, many added features for net navigation. the only major change I remember in the laptop function key settings was F2 changing from read line to find in Vf mode, with F5 being read line. It took a litle getting used to, but wasn't too much hassle after a week or so.

I've tried braille displays, but sinse the one I was trying was only 40 cell, it did take a while to read things. Also, at that time I updated Orphius, so reading with speech wasn't quite as much of a torment. Reading people like Nietzsche, Satre and Kierkegaard with synthetic dave was rather murderous!

I'd stil like to change my voice though, sinse i now do lots of reading on the net, and something like the works of H.P. lovecraft just doesn't sound right, even using Alan.

I'll hazard to say that I don't know of any reason, based purely on features etc, to bother moving to Vista. It will be less secure until microsoft have patched it for at least the best part of a year, and will likely have backwards compatibility issues. I also don't believe it has anything of much use beyond that which is already in XP.

Hmmmm? I've never noticed hal having any trouble with windows Xp, provided that you've got windows configured optimally for Hal ----- having windows classic menues etc. Check in the "windows settings" section of the configuration menue of Hal's control pannel that all the optimal windows settings are being used.

Of course, if your using a version of Hal below 6, I'm not certain as to how well it works with Xp.

As to windows Vista, last time I spoke to Dolphin they said that Hal version 8 will be geared to work with it, but that probably won't come out until next year anyway. Stil, I'll probably only switch to windows vista when I have to ie, when I run into programs that won't work with Xp which will probably be a very! long time (I've seen new sotware written that stil works with Windows 98).