Nothing But Net For Magic 10.5

I have been using Magic since the old no speaking 6.22 version from years ago. Since that time Freedom Scientific has been working hard to make this program a serious brand to be reckoned with in the Screen Magnification field. And with Magic 10.5 I can say that they have really brought a product to market that not only earns it’s place but with the new Scripting Pro version they may have surpassed a few others out there as well.

Magic 10.5 is a free upgrade for those of you running 10.0. And if you take nothing else from this article today understand that this update is a steal even if you had to use an SMA. Why? Stability, Stability and stability. Not to over emphasize this too much but I found that Magic read more pages on the web than it did before and it really took something like a big Macromedia Flash page to drag it kicking and screaming to the ground. But more than that.. stability is the word of the day.

If you haven’t run Magic before or if you rely on another Screen Magnifier let me give you some reasons to delve deeper into the world of Magic. One of the neatest things that has come over from JAWS to Magic is the Links List and Forms List. If you view a page daily or if you know the name of a link you can jump to it faster with Links List. No more scrolling around hoping to land on the right link or maybe hitting another by accident. Now with Links List you can go to that fave link everytime without fail. Save yourself time and headaches by straining your eyes less on those red with green text pages.

Now if you happen to be a JAWS user... then Magic is even a better call for Screen Magnification as both now will use the Freedom Scientific Scripting language to their, and now your, advantage. It is still kind of new but the power of JAWS scripts will aid Magic in tracking and reading of programs and menus better than a Screen Magnifier by its self.

Another good feature this time around is the Magic Context Menu. It’s like a right click for your Screen Magnifiers. Make simple configuration changes from this neat tool without having to run through piles of menus via the User Interface. And of course old classic tools still are there like the Dynamic Lens or the ability to change the coloring of magnified or non magnified areas.

I can honestly say that I use Lunar, Zoom Text and Magic almost daily. And for a long time I struggled with Magic’s keys and features. But since 9.5 the program has really become something I like to use for some tasks or web reading. And with 10.5 it just gets better.

Again 10.5 is a free update for 10.0 users or you can check out the trial version from Freedom Scientific’s website. Also you should check out the overview with Dusty from the link below to learn just what else is new with Magic 10.5.

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_MAG105.asp