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JAWS Power Tip: How To Speak Text and Background Colors At The Cursor LocationAn image showing the JAWS screen reader logo on a computer monitor, featuring a stylized blue shark with sound waves next to the word JAWS. A software box labeled JAWS Screen Reader is positioned beside the monitor. To the right, a bright yellow speech bubble with black text reads 'Power Tips', surrounded by decorative lines and shapes on a white background.

JAWS Power Tip: How To Speak Text and Background Colors At The Cursor Location

Published January 29, 2026 by Top Tech Tidbits

When in an app such as Microsoft Word or Outlook, JAWS will announce the text (foreground) and background colors at your cursor location. Knowing text color is important when editing or proofing documents because color is often used for emphasis or comments.

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Amazon Fire TV’s New Accessibility Campaign: “Built for How to Watch” (All 5 Videos + Links Inside)A digital interface shows a settings menu with a grid of gray icons representing various functions such as notifications, user profile, Wi-Fi, display, and controls. One highlighted tile in the foreground shows a stick figure icon with outstretched arms labeled 'Accessibility,' indicating the selected accessibility settings option.

Amazon Fire TV’s New Accessibility Campaign: “Built for How to Watch” (All 5 Videos + Links Inside)

Published January 17, 2026 by Aaron Di Blasi

Here, Aaron Di Blasi highlights Amazon Fire TV’s new “Built for How to Watch” accessibility campaign, arguing that accessibility only helps when people can actually discover and understand the features. He points readers to the main campaign video on the Fire TV storefront plus five YouTube videos designed to be easy to watch and share, positioning the campaign as a practical shift that treats accessibility like any other mainstream feature, not a hidden, niche setting.

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JAWS Power Tip: How To Enable Automatic Reading on Web PagesAn image showing the JAWS screen reader logo on a computer monitor, featuring a stylized blue shark with sound waves next to the word JAWS. A software box labeled JAWS Screen Reader is positioned beside the monitor. To the right, a bright yellow speech bubble with black text reads 'Power Tips', surrounded by decorative lines and shapes on a white background.

JAWS Power Tip: How To Enable Automatic Reading on Web Pages

Published January 15, 2026 by Top Tech Tidbits

Prior to the December 2026 update, JAWS automatically read information such as the number of regions, headings, and links on the page. This information was helpful when deciding the best way to navigate the content. Now, however, this behavior has become less helpful when navigating more modern web pages. Due to user feedback, we have disabled automatic reading by default. This keeps focus at the top for immediate use of Navigation Quick Keys and other web navigation features.

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From Screen Readers to Conversation Partners: How Voice-First AI Could Soon Change Everything for Blind and Low-Vision PeopleA blind man wearing sunglasses, a light blue shirt, white t-shirt, and jeans sits on an outdoor step holding a smartphone near his mouth while using a white cane with a red tip. He appears to be speaking into the phone, with modern glass buildings and trees visible in the background on a bright day.

From Screen Readers to Conversation Partners: How Voice-First AI Could Soon Change Everything for Blind and Low-Vision People

Published January 3, 2026 by Aaron Di Blasi

Here, Aaron Di Blasi argues that voice-first AI is nearing an “interface shift” that could be as consequential for blind and low-vision people as the arrival of modern screen readers: instead of painstakingly navigating screen-based obstacle courses (unlabeled buttons, broken forms, CAPTCHAs, kiosk-first workflows), users could increasingly express intent through natural conversation and get outcomes directly. He defines a true “conversation partner” as fast, full-duplex voice interaction that supports interruption and redirection, plus practical layers like transcription, translation, emotional prosody, and (with camera/broadcast modes) the ability to interpret what’s on a screen or in the environment, turning accessibility from “reading interfaces” into “conversing with systems.”

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