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While praising Windows for having built-in tools that make the screen more comfortable to use, you’ve missed mentioning a significant lost feature for those aging eye balls. Every version of Windows from 95 through to Vista had the option to change colors for background, title bars and message boxes (Personalize – Windows color – Advanced appearance settings). For reasons only known to Microsoft that feature has been removed. Also, it seems that they are doing their utmost to sway anyone that has to work with a computer for many hours a day from using not only their operating system but also Office. With Windows 10 you can have any background color you want as long as it’s white, and that coupled with their use of light grey fonts can make for some irritating eye-strain. As someone who works with a computer day in day out I am staying with Windows 7 and Office 2010 primarily because of the ability to adjust the colors and better contrast. Built-in accessibility in Windows has never been one of its strongest features and with Windows 10 they seem to have taken a step backwards. Without those features it probably means a Linux or Apple system for me in the future.

Hi Fred: Regarding changing the background color of applications (A Win7 feature that’s missing in Win8/10). This was not a Win7-specific Aero desktop feature. It is feature that has been available in Windows versions going all the way back to Windows 95. It disappeared with the introduction of Windows 8 and doesn’t appear to be coming back any time soon. It seems that the programmer designers at Microsoft feel that stark white backgrounds work well for those with great eyesight. Others may choose to dim their monitors or select the only other option going to high-contrast. This is just another good reason to stick with Windows 7 for as long as possible.

What is often missing in articles regarding software applications is the issue of accessibility. Specifically, access with screen reading software for users with low vision or blindness. I have been in the business of building and configuring computer systems with access technology long enough to remember using CP/M and Apple Dos 3.3. (Yes that’s Apple II) Within that time advances in speech and screen reading technology have come close to catching up with the latest user interface to grace the screen but never completely. When it comes to anti-virus software accessibility simply never seems to be considered. Almost all AV applications use some form or another of the graphic-click-to-do-anything button. Of course this means that people using screen reading software are either restricted in their use of the program or simply can’t use it at all.

We have tested the common free and otherwise AV packages and with the exception of Microsoft Security Essentials (and the promising Clamwin) found none that would provide enough functionality for access with a screen reader. There is certainly more form than function with all those color gradients, shimmering icons and cute bars running across the screens. Clearly the eye-candy has little to do with the efficacy of the product itself.

When Windows Defender was first introduced we finally had an accessible piece of anti-malware software and when MSE was released it just got better. The fact that it’s free is icing on the cake. MSE can be installed and used with screen access software unlike the other packages that use some form of HTML or other graphics screens.

I commend Microsoft for their MSE product and sticking to some of their own standards. Accessibility in MSE is far from perfect but it works and that says a lot more than anything that can be stated about the other products. With Clamwin coming into the mix there may now even be some choice available for people using screen access technology.