Welcome to the exciting
new JAWS for Windows 5.0 Public Beta English Version release.
The
JAWS team at Freedom Scientific and its dedicated Private Beta
Testers have been working hard for months on this project. The time has
finally come to give everyone a look into the great new features,
changes and fixes included in this new version.
Before
you download and install this beta software you should carefully read
the following information:
You
should be informed that this beta version still is going through its testing
phases and is not yet a final release version. Freedom Scientific cannot
warranty the software and you should be aware that any beta software can
cause problems to your system. While we have not experienced any serious
problems during our initial testing, you must bear the entire risk as
to the quality and performance of the entire contents of the beta version
on any machines you choose to install it on.
Technical Support is not available for our beta versions. We request that
any questions and problems are only reported via the online beta report.
There is a link at the bottom of the page to find this report form.
We do not recommend you install beta software on any computers running
other Access Technology products, specifically screen readers or magnifiers.
The only exceptions to this would be previous versions of JAWS for Windows
and updated versions of MAGic 8.02. The update for MAGic is found at:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_downloads/magic.asp
The MAGic update is called "MAGic 8.02 Patch required to run with
JAWS 5.0."
In the event you choose to avoid our warnings and install JAWS Beta Software
on a computer with screen readers or magnification products other than
those from Freedom Scientific, you should check with those manufacturers
to be certain the products you are using are DCM compatible products.
JAWS users who have
authorization for JAWS 5.0 or higher can install and test the beta. All
others can install this beta and it will run for 40 minutes at a time.
This expires October 30, 2003.
Since this Public Beta does not contain a completely updated Online Help
listing of the new features yet, we strongly suggest you take some time
to read the details of all the new Features and Enhancements via the link
below. You can save this page to your computer to review off-line as it
is fairly lengthy but will give you a very good understanding of all the
new things to try out once you have it installed.
There are several known issues or areas we are currently addressing. We
request you refrain from reporting on these areas at this time. We are
working with a group of Private Beta Testers to resolve these issues before
release.
- If you have script
files you have created, you will need to recompile them in JAWS 5.
- JAWS Merge Utility
(Avoid doing a merge with other versions until final release.)
- Acrobat Reader
6
- Adobe Acrobat 6
Pro
- MSN Messenger 6
- Using SAPI 5 Real
Speak with JAWS
- Forms mode toggles
on and off several times after opening a combo box
- Runtime JAWS may
ask you to reboot when uninstalling the JAWS
5.00.265 Public Beta 1 or the 5.00.297 Public Beta 2. This is a known
issue and will be resolved prior to release.
For Focus Braille
Display users: The drivers for the Freedom Scientific Focus Braille Display
in this 5.00.296 build are the same as those in build 5.00.186. These
drivers are for Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP. When installing JAWS, you will
receive a message asking you to unplug the Focus Braille display so the
driver can be updated. Please unplug the device and activate the OK button
to continue the installation. After you complete the installation and
start JAWS, reconnect your Focus display and complete the New Hardware
Wizard. You can then restart JAWS and your Focus will work properly.
Features
and Enhancements in JAWS 5.0 Public Beta
Changes
and Fixes in JAWS 5.00.584 Public Beta #3
Form
to Report any issues found
List
of Authorized Serial Numbers
Download
JAWS 5.0 Public Beta # 3 now
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