End of the Thunder Screenreader

I can now announce the end of Thunder, the first free Windows screenreader. Thunder will no longer be actively maintained, supported or developed, but you can still download installers from the WebbIE site.

Thunder was launched in April 2006 and was the first fully-functional free screenreader: Windows Narrator had launched in Windows 2000, but had never been given the features needed to make it a true alternative to the dominant commercial players. Thunder had all of:

  • Worked with Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, so you could use standard business applications.
  • An offscreen model, so more applications spoke, even when they didn’t comply with accessibility APIs (MSAA)
  • Scripting, so you could write application-specific support, including hotkeys and spoken messages and access to all the accessibility and offscreen model information provided by the screenreader.
  • A reading toolbar, magnifying the current text to display in large, high-contrast at the top of the screen.
  • Integration with UAC, so you could do admin functions on your machine and log in and out without sighted help.
  • Full support and translations for many languages, including Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, Greek, English, Spanish, Estonian, French, Italian, Polish, Slovak and Turkish.

Technically, Thunder used a combination of the MSAA API (and UIA through the MSAA bridge), an offscreen model that hooked Windows messages, and specific COM APIs. At the time of its launch the accessibility APIs like MSAA and UIA were not as mature so the offscreen model and COM APIs were required. Other screenreaders still take this approach. Thunder also relied on WebbIE for web browsing, though we wrote in support for direct use of Internet Explorer at one point (using the MSHTML DOM).

Thunder was not open-source/free software, though it was zero cost. This allowed closed-source components to be used in Thunder, such as the powerful third-party offscreen model, and some code that could not be publicly distributed and was provided by application and operating system vendors.

Sounds great! So why end it?

Thunder was never a commercial proposition, though versions were sold with additional features or add-on voices. The aim was to make a real screenreader available to end users for nothing, compared to the very expensive commercial alternatives. But there are now three strong free (zero-cost) alternatives:

  • The great NVDA launched in 2007, and provides a free and open-source screenreader for download. It’s written by blind developers (unlike Thunder) and has attracted a loyal following (as it should).
  • Microsoft licensed WindowEyes for free with anyone with Microsoft Office. Which is pretty much anyone. So you can get a fully-fledged commercial solution.
  • Windows 8 finally improved Windows Narrator enormously, and the MSAA/UIA interfaces on which it depends have increased in utility hugely (for example, they are now available in Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer), so you can probably often get away with the onboard assistive technology much more than you could.

In parallel, we’ve seen fewer innovations in Windows GUI toolkits – XAML was nine years ago, for example, and most toolkits provide UIA and/or MSAA interfaces. So there is perhaps less need to update your copy of JAWS regularly than there was ten years ago.

And finally the huge change: blind users may not be on Windows at all any more. The iPhone and iPad with VoiceOver built in, touch interfaces, and rigorously-controlled walled-garden apps have provided a more accessible and productive environment for many blind people than the free-for-all mouse-and-keyboard world of Windows.

So new, free alternatives, and changes in the marketplace, have meant that the need for Thunder has simply reduced over time. All great news for blind users, which is the important thing. Thunder is dead, long live free screenreaders!

6 thoughts on “End of the Thunder Screenreader”

  1. When college wouldn’t fund the network with a screen reader I used Thunder and it saved me more times ththan I can count. Thank you for all of your hard work and tru dedication to the screen reading world.

  2. LookOut. That was one of yours too, wasn’t it? I owned that, just because.

    The important thing for a screen reader like Thunder was that it be accessible to the beginning masses. I’d just like to congratulate you for that kind of commitment. I didn’t use the screen reader much, because I’d long since been spoiled by commercial ones, and I’m now mostly on OS X anyway, but I was always moved by its elegant simplicity and approachability. So, thank you lots for the great work you did for the people there. I’d agree NVDA is the new awesome, but Thunder really had its place and I’m sorry to see it disappear.

  3. I used Thunder a couple times and while it was basic it was great for its time. I now use NVDA and think it’s amazing but thunder as the first free screen reader was still awesome. I used NVDA first then came across thunder. I thought NVDA was better but to find out that Thunder was the first free screen reader for windows, (not counting narator;) that is quite touching and leaves me a little sad to find out that they are not updating it anymore. I really feel this poster is an amazing person for admitting that there are better more up to date free screen readers out there and would like to thank them for that. While I’ll always be an NVDA user, I’m sure quite a few people will miss Thunder. Thank you for a very honest post and I hope you achieve everything you can with future products.

  4. (I should make clear that I did a little maintenance and built installers for Thunder, but wasn’t the originator or main developer, so your kind words are appreciated but will be passed on to the actual Thunder coder!)

  5. I only heard of thunder because it was a free alternative to dolphins supernova. however even though it actually works to some extent on windows 10, NVDA is a better alternative, however supernova has come a long way and I would argue that it out performs NVDA in a lot of ways, first of all it doesn’t crash a lot which NVDA has been doing lately but discover that for yourself.
    consider this, your employer probabally wants you to use supernova at work and hates open source, forget NVDA. your work life requires you to use supernova.
    but thank you for raizing awareness of free screen readers, because of this we now have free screen readers like orca on linux, and even talkback on android

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