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First, the recorded webinar is:
Microsoft Edge with Jaws by Brian Hartgen on Tech Talk
http://www.accessibleworld.org/content/tek-talk-welcomes-brian-hartgen-hartgen-consultancy-discuss-topic-%E2%80%9Cusing-microsoft-edge-0
My experiences:
I spent a couple of hours yesterday listening tot he webinar and getting oriented to the new browser.
I found Brian's webinar to be really useful but, sadly, came to the conclusion that the browser itself is nowhere near as accessible as Chrome.
Despite the fact that Edge uses the same Chromium engine as Chrome, familiarity with Chrome gives you almost no advantage whatsoever in getting oriented with Edge. Navigating around the screen is often confusing and frustrating, and when you hear even the expert refer to a screen element as "a menu-like thing," you have to seriously ask yourself about the usability of the browser.
Also, I thought I had installed the new Microsoft Edge, versus the old "legacy Edge," and it's kind of difficult for even sighted people to tell the difference, since they share the same name. Sighties distinguish them from each other because the "E" logos look different. The way I finally figured out that the new Edge hadn't installed was realizing that I couldn't even get to the "About" option to find out which version I was using. If what Brian is describing in the webinar doesn't describe what you are finding as you attempt to navigate the screen, you are probably still on the legacy Edge browser.
Conclusion: Two big steps back for accessibility, and I am truly awed by the potency of whatever the designers were smoking. I know that sounds harsh, but I lost two hours of my life trying to figure the thing out after being assured that the accessibility was there, and time is seeming pretty precious these days.
Microsoft Edge with Jaws by Brian Hartgen on Tech Talk
http://www.accessibleworld.org/content/tek-talk-welcomes-brian-hartgen-hartgen-consultancy-discuss-topic-%E2%80%9Cusing-microsoft-edge-0
My experiences:
I spent a couple of hours yesterday listening tot he webinar and getting oriented to the new browser.
I found Brian's webinar to be really useful but, sadly, came to the conclusion that the browser itself is nowhere near as accessible as Chrome.
Despite the fact that Edge uses the same Chromium engine as Chrome, familiarity with Chrome gives you almost no advantage whatsoever in getting oriented with Edge. Navigating around the screen is often confusing and frustrating, and when you hear even the expert refer to a screen element as "a menu-like thing," you have to seriously ask yourself about the usability of the browser.
Also, I thought I had installed the new Microsoft Edge, versus the old "legacy Edge," and it's kind of difficult for even sighted people to tell the difference, since they share the same name. Sighties distinguish them from each other because the "E" logos look different. The way I finally figured out that the new Edge hadn't installed was realizing that I couldn't even get to the "About" option to find out which version I was using. If what Brian is describing in the webinar doesn't describe what you are finding as you attempt to navigate the screen, you are probably still on the legacy Edge browser.
Conclusion: Two big steps back for accessibility, and I am truly awed by the potency of whatever the designers were smoking. I know that sounds harsh, but I lost two hours of my life trying to figure the thing out after being assured that the accessibility was there, and time is seeming pretty precious these days.
