-----Original Message-----
From: main@jfw.groups.io <main@jfw.groups.io> On Behalf Of Ann Byrne
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2018 7:23 PM
To: main@jfw.groups.io
Subject: [New post] Microsoft is retiring Skype 7.4. Here’s important information for JAWS users

Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2018 23:33:12 +0000
To: annakb@sbcglobal.net
From: Freedom Scientific Blog <donotreply@wordpress.com>
Subject: [New post] Microsoft is retiring Skype 7.4. Here’s important
information for JAWS users

Jonathan Mosen posted: "On 1 September, Microsoft will stop supporting
Skype 7. This is the version of Skype most of us have been using in
recent years, and for which scripts are included with every copy of
JAWS. It is our expectation that this withdrawal of support will mean
th"


New post on Freedom Scientific Blog



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<http://blog.freedomscientific.com/?author=4>
[]


Microsoft is retiring Skype 7.4. Here’s important information for JAWS users



by <http://blog.freedomscientific.com/?author=4>Jonathan Mosen

On 1 September, Microsoft will stop supporting
Skype 7. This is the version of Skype most of us
have been using in recent years, and for which
scripts are included with every copy of JAWS. It
is our expectation that this withdrawal of
support will mean that Skype 7.4 will no longer connect to the service at all.

To continue to use Skype, you'll need to upgrade
to something newer. The next time you update,
you’ll get a new version that has a completely
new user interface presenting as a web page inside Chrome.

The best way to interact with this updated
version is with the virtual cursor turned off.
You can turn it off manually each time the Skype
window gains focus by pressing Insert+z, but we
realize that this will be inconvenient.

That’s why prior to September 1, when Skype
7.4 is retired, we’ll be releasing a JAWS 2018
update that ensures that the virtual cursor is off when Skype is in focus.

Microsoft has a document detailing
<https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA12025/what-are-hotkeys-and-how-do-i-use-them-in-skype>hotkeys
for Skype 8. We suggest reading it before you perform the upgrade.

We'll go even further. We know many people rely
on Skype in a professional capacity and to keep
in touch with family and friends. We're using
the power of JAWS scripting to create the most
efficient screen reader experience with Skype,
by adding some additional optimization that will
be useful when working with Skype 8.

For those of you on Windows 10, there is also a
version of Skype available from the Windows
Store. Feel free to try it if you’re feeling
adventurous, but we’re going to focus our
attention on Skype 8 because it can be installed
on all Windows versions and is therefore available to all JAWS users.

Our objective is to ensure that our users can
continue to use Skype once 7.4 stops working, so
there are some time constraints about our
initial support and there may be some rough
edges to begin with. We'll build on the August
support over time, including improvements coming in JAWS 2019.

We would like to extend our thanks to Doug Lee,
a valued member of our JAWS scripting community,
for the work he has already done on scripting
this version of Skype, and his willingness to
share his experiences and concepts with us so that all JAWS users benefit.
<http://blog.freedomscientific.com/?author=4>Jonathan
Mosen | July 20, 2018 at 7:33 pm | URL:
<https://wp.me/s94NCs-skype8>https://wp.me/s94NCs-skype8

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