Editing JAWS (screen reader) (section)

== History ==

JAWS was originally released in 1989 by [[Ted Henter]], a former motorcycle racer who lost his sight in a 1978 automobile accident.  In 1985, Henter, along with a {{US$|180,000|link=yes}} investment from Bill Joyce, founded the ''Henter-Joyce Corporation'' in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]].  Joyce sold his interest in the company back to Henter in 1990.  In April 2000, Henter-Joyce, Blazie Engineering, and Arkenstone, Inc. merged to form [[Freedom Scientific]].

JAWS was originally created for the [[MS-DOS]] [[operating system]].  It was one of several screen readers giving blind users access to text-mode MS-DOS applications.  A feature unique to JAWS at the time was its use of cascading menus, in the style of the popular [[Lotus 1-2-3]] application.  What set JAWS apart from other screen readers of the era was its use of [[Macro (computer science)|macros]] that allowed users to customize the user interface and work better with various applications.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

Ted Henter and Rex Skipper wrote the original JAWS code in the mid-1980s, releasing version 2.0 in mid-1990.  Skipper left the company after the release of version 2.0, and following his departure, [[Charles Oppermann]] was hired to maintain and improve the product.  Oppermann and Henter regularly added minor and major features and frequently released new versions.  Freedom Scientific now offers JAWS for MS-DOS as a [[freeware]] download from their website.<ref name="Trace" /><ref>[http://www2.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-previous-downloads.asp More JAWS downloads].  Freedom Scientific. Retrieved August 31, 2008.</ref>

In 1993, Henter-Joyce released a highly modified version of JAWS for people with learning disabilities.  This product, called WordScholar, is no longer available.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nfbnet.org/files/newsletters/H-J_9309.TXT
|title=Henter-Joyce Newsletter
|date=September 1993
}}</ref>

=== JAWS for Windows ===

In 1992, as [[Microsoft Windows]] became more popular, Oppermann began work on a new version of JAWS.  A principal design goal was not to interfere with the natural user interface of Windows and to continue to provide a strong macro facility.  Test and beta versions of JAWS for Windows (JFW) were shown at conferences throughout 1993 and 1994.  During this time, developer Glen Gordon started working on the code, ultimately taking over its development when Oppermann was hired by Microsoft in November 1994.  Shortly afterwards, in January 1995, JAWS for Windows 1.0 was released.

A new revision of JAWS for Windows is released about once a year, with minor updates in between.