The following is a list of software packages that I use and highly recommend. If a piece of software is not on this list, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like it or that I won’t provide training on its use. This is just a list of programs that are on my PC and ones which I wouldn’t want to be without. The following list is comprised of Windows software. I will eventually have another list of iOS apps which I use.
NVDA
Nonvisual Desktop Access is a free and open source screen reader from NV Access. It has been my screen reader of choice since 2009. It’s small in size, free, responsive and reliable. I give it my highest endorsement.
LibreOffice
A free, open source office suite. It includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and other programs, making it similar in functionality to Microsoft Office.
Thunderbird
an amazing, free, open source email program. It’s the only one you’ll ever need.
Firefox
Free and customizable Web browser.
Jarte
A free word processor, based on Wordpad but with extra bells and whistles including a spell checker. For just twenty dollars you can upgrade to Jarte Plus, which gives you even more features.
Still the best Office suite for the best accessibility.
Kaspersky Antivirus
This is one of the best pieces of security software for protection against viruses and other forms of nasty malware. Its accessibility with NVDA isn’t fabulous but it’s good enough as to be somewhat usable.
Another excellent program for protection against malware. It’s fairly accessible/just remember to navigate with tab and shift+tab for just about everything and you should be OK.
Thoughts from David Goldfield 