Do blind computer users have monitors?
I am a blind computer user, and I’m friends with many blind computer users and even computer programmers. For the most part, blind computer users do have monitors, even if they are totally blind and could never use one. No, JAWS and other screen reading software do not depend on the monitor at all. The monitor and the speakers are just two different output devices that can be used to access the same information. The reason blind people still have monitors is twofold. First, you’ll be hard pressed to find a Dell rep or other computer store that will sell you a computer or laptop without a monitor, and most people aren’t going to know how or aren’t going to bother to remove a monitor from a laptop or discard a monitor that came with a desktop. Second, and most importantly, computers encounter errors, and sometimes for what ever reason, speech can be disabled or can’t be accessed at all. When this happens, someone has to fix the machine, and that someone is going to need output other than
