Wow, what a big week it has been! NVDACon, NVDA 2017.2 RC1 and a new training module about to drop!
This past weekend saw the annual NVDACon online conference. Full of great presentations and conversations. There were so many great NVDACon highlights. Nektarios Paisios from Google gave an overview of advancements in the Chrome browser. There were updates on Windows 10, Dictation Bridge and tips for new NVDA users. There were sessions from Jamie and Reef from NV Access. Reef shared how the community can participate and make non-code contributions. We look forward to seeing lots of new issues and discussion from that talk! Jamie presented on making audio production accessible with REAPER and OSARA. The growing following OSARA and REAPER are gaining is fantastic. Then, of course, NVDACon was capped off by the inspiring keynote presented by Jamie. If, like me (Quentin), you got pulled in too many directions and missed any sessions, fear not! Keep an eye on the NVDACon website and Twitter for updates. The sessions were recorded and will be made available to listen to in your own time. For myself, I do apologise for missing most of the sessions. To make up for my tardiness, if you missed asking any questions of the team during the keynote, send me your questions at info@nvaccess.org. I’ll be sure to reply and also compile the best questions and answers for the next In-Process.
Now, to the news that everyone is always keen to hear. The next version of NVDA, 2017.2 is getting closer! On Monday, the first release candidate was released for NVDA 2017.2. What is a release candidate? That’s a great question! Here’s a post on release candidates which we prepared earlier!
That’s all well and good, but what’s coming in 2017.2, you ask? Well, let’s have a look! “Highlights of this release include full support for audio ducking in the Windows 10 Creators Update; fixes for several selection issues in browse mode, including problems with select all; significant improvements in Microsoft Edge support; and improvements on the web such as indication of elements marked as current (using aria-current).”
If you think a lot of those are for Windows 10 users, fear not! There is indeed something coming in 2017.2 for everyone. Reading through the what’s new of the RC, you will find references to not 1, not 2, but 42 resolved GitHub issues! As we know, 42 is indeed the ultimate answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything. Coincidence? Almost certainly. Relevant to anything? Well, it was Towel Day on the 25th… In any case, do go check out the NVDA 2017.2rc1 release announcement and download the RC. Finding anything show-stopping now will help give us a chance to resolve it before the final version of 2017.2 comes out!
And did I mention a new training module? Well yes, I did! The “Microsoft Excel with NVDA” training module to be precise. The module is so close to being available on your hot little hard drive! There is a slight delay as it is prepared and uploaded to the server though. So, Excel lovers, your homework for this week, is to check the shop and be the first to snag a copy when it appears! The “Winner” will be announced next In-Process (note: there’s no actual prize, aside from the glory of being first).
If you missed it, Jamie recently penned an insightful post about Microsoft’s Windows 10 S announcement and the opportunities and challenges such a version of Windows could present. Windows 10 S is designed to be a lightweight Windows 10 with restrictions to aim the product at the education sector. Read more in Jamie’s post about Why can’t NVDA run on Windows mobile and Windows 10 S.
That’s all for now. Have a wonderful week, and as always, we look forward to hearing from you. Don’t forget to send in all the questions you wanted to ask at the keynote but didn’t get to (or were too shy).