spiderwebwoman : Accessibility

Google launches an Accessibility web site

Kathleen Anderson — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:43:00 GMT

Google has launched a new web site, Google accessibility, where you can find information on the accessibility of their products and other technologies. Included are: Android, Calendar, Chrome, Docs, Earth, Gmail, Maps, Reader, Spreadsheets and Video. For most of these they have a section focused on keyboard and mouse shortcuts, which I have always found very helpful. They also have information on Web 2.0 and YouTube accessibility. You can also keep up with this at the Official Google Blog.

Creating Accessible Online Forms with Expression Web 2

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:24:00 GMT

I’ve had another article published in the Microsoft Expression Newsletter - Creating Accessible Online Forms with Expression Web 2. This article focuses on what makes an online form not accessible and how to create accessible forms.

More at: Creating Accessible Online Forms with Expression Web 2

Designing Web Sites for Accessibility with Expression Web 2

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:09:00 GMT

I’ve just had an article published in the latest issue of the Microsoft Expression Newsletter - Designing Web Sites for Accessibility with Expression Web 2. The article covers the reasons why you should make your web site accessible to people with disabilities, and how to use the tools in Expression Web 2 to make your web content accessible. I’m hoping this is the first in a series – there are many topics to be covered that there wasn’t room for in this article. You can subscribe to the Expression Newsletter and receive it by email every other month.

Microsoft Announces New Accessibility Tools and Resources for Developers

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:19:23 GMT

New Web site and open-source accessibility testing tools will help developers meet the growing worldwide demand for accessible technology.

Microsoft Corp. today launched a new online resource and released two new open-source accessibility testing tools for developers who want to create accessible and assistive technology products that make it easier for everyone —including people with impairments and disabilities — to see, hear and use computers and other devices.

As the demand for accessibility increases, driven by a rapidly aging work force and an increasing number of people who use accessible technology to customize their computers for greater comfort and productivity, so does the need for more developer resources and better testing tools that have the capacity to evolve.

“We are helping to create a developer community that is focused on accessibility, and to improve the ability of developers around the world to share their experiences and build more accessible desktop, server and Web applications,” said Norm Hodne, Windows Accessibility lead at Microsoft. “Microsoft has been a leader in accessibility for over 20 years, making our products more accessible and providing resources that other companies can use to develop their own accessible technology products. Today’s announcement is another example of our long-standing commitment to accessibility.”

Microsoft Accessibility Developer Center

Microsoft PressPass: Microsoft Announces New Accessibility Tools and Resources for Developers: New Web site and open-source accessibility testing tools will help developers meet the growing worldwide demand for accessible technology.

Vista accessibility

Kathleen Anderson — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:08:02 GMT

Teenage gaming heroes apart, few of us are perfect when it comes to dexterity, sight and hearing.

In 2003, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Research to ‘measure the market’ for accessibility technology and present findings about computer users who could benefit from it.
The results were surprising. One quarter had a visual impairment, nearly the same percentage had dexterity difficulties, and one fifth had hearing problems.
All in all, Forrester found that nearly two thirds of the survey sample would be likely to benefit from accessibility technology in one way or another. The real eye-opener was that the survey sample consisted entirely of 18- to 64-year-olds. You don’t need to be a market analyst to realise that accessibility is even more important for young children and the elderly.
Windows has had accessibility features since version 95, and even before that there was a separate ‘Access pack’ available for Windows 3, so many of the utilities and features we’ll be looking at here are not new.
However, Vista sees several improvements - particularly in the way accessibility functions are organised - and one new killer feature.

Read the complete article at Vista accessibility - 19 Feb 2008 - IT Week

Nonprofit Launched to Bring Free Accessibility Worldwide

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:22:00 GMT

The AIR Foundation committed to ‘accessibility is a right’

Orlando, Florida – January 31, 2008 – The AIR Foundation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. was announced today at a press conference held during the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2008 National Conference at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The mission of the foundation is to promote universal accessibility so that every blind and low-vision person in the world has access to digital information over the Internet and Worldwide Web.

The foundation’s executive director, Art Schreiber, also announced that the organization’s first offering will be free usage of a Web 2.0 accessible screen reader. The product is provided through an exclusive license in perpetuity granted to The AIR Foundation from Serotek Corporation, the leading provider of Internet and digital information accessibility software and services. The screen reader is called SA To Go and is powered by Serotek’s award-winning System Access software which provides immediate text to speech, magnified visual, and Braille access to digital information presented through the Web or other means, while the user is directly connected to the Internet. The software does not remain resident on the user’s computer when the connection to the Internet is interrupted or terminated. Users can obtain access to the free software by calling 877-369-0101 or visiting www.AccessibilityIsaRight.org.

“The basic tenet of The AIR Foundation is that accessibility is a fundamental human right, regardless of financial or geographic constraints” said Art Schreiber, executive director of The AIR Foundation, “by allowing the blind and visually impaired to have equal access to computer and Internet information through the free use of an advanced screen reader like SA To Go, we have already taken great strides toward our mission.”

The AIR Foundation will solicit funds and contract development of product enhancements including availability in other languages. The organization’s first priority is to make SA To Go available in Mandarin Chinese.

“SA To Go is highly intuitive and requires minimal training to use,” said Serotek CEO, Mike Calvo, “the user not only has access to information displayed on Web pages, but to Web-based applications such as Internet telephone service, and to applications resident on the host computer. The user can also access PDF files, fill out forms, and otherwise interact with information with the same facility as a sighted person.”

The AIR Foundation will operate through the generosity of organizations donating their time, expertise, and funds. It invites other nonprofits, assistive technology vendors, mainstream hardware and software companies and anyone interested in promoting accessibility as every person’s right, to align with the AIR team.

The AIR Foundation

The AIR Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advocate, teach, and deliver information accessibility tools. We focus on the accessibility needs of blind and low-vision people. Our mantra is “accessibility is a right” and we work with corporations and agencies worldwide to deliver free accessibility to all. For more information, call 877-369-0101 or visit www.AccessibilityIsaRight.org.

Eleven Tips For Optimizing PDFs For Search Engines

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:14:00 GMT

If you must put PDF documents on your web site, here's a good article about how to make them findable by search engines. What's pretty cool is that many of the tips will also help make your PDFs accessible to people with disabilities.

Technology Accessibility in Higher Education: Facilitating Learning for All Students -- A Day for Exploring the Possibilities

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:24:00 GMT

On Fri., Oct. 12, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., the Disability Resource Center and the Access Computing Team (ACT) at Southern Connecticut State University will hold a conference on "Technology Accessibility in Higher Education: Facilitating Learning for All Students -- A Day for Exploring the Possibilities."

I will be participating in the Roundtable discussion: "Building Access into the Implementation of Campus Technology" from 10:45 - 11:45 am, but I will be there all day - the rest of the sessions all sound interesting and I'm sure I will learn a lot.

The registration deadline is October 5, 2007. A conference brochure and online registration form are available at: http://www.southernct.edu/drc/upcomingevents/

Free Microsoft Accessibility CD set

Kathleen Anderson — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 23:31:00 GMT

Discover How to Make the Computer Easier to See, Hear, and Use

This free CD set shows you how to make your computer more comfortable and easier to use with accessibility settings and programs. The free Microsoft Accessibility CD set includes:

Windows Vista Accessibility Demonstrations and Tutorials CD featuring a video and eleven demonstrations of accessibility. See the new Ease of Access Center, Windows Speech Recognition, and Internet Explorer 7.
Accessibility Resources CD which features Windows XP accessibility demos and tutorials, accessibility solutions, tutorials and training, and resources for businesses. Learn about accessibility in Microsoft products such as Office and Internet Explorer.

Expression Web VPAT is now available

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:59:00 GMT

The Expression Web Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT, is now available. The VPAT outlines how Expression Web meets key regulations of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

IE7 and Screenreaders - here's the latest info

Kathleen Anderson — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:24:00 GMT

Check out this post on the IE Blog about what the screenreader vendors are doing to catch up with IE7.

I voted today - I got Inspired

Kathleen Anderson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:43:00 GMT

I did vote today, but this post is not about Who I voted for or Why. This is about How I voted.

I had heard about a new way of voting for people who are blind or visually-impaired, so I decided I would try it out today at my local polling place. The system is called Inspire Vote-by-Phone, and it's the first time I've seen it used in my town.

The people running the system seemed to know what they were doing - they said they tested it yesterday - and said I was the first one to use it today. The operator gave me the headset, dialed a number, punched in their access code, and the process started. It took about 12 minutes (there were 11 offices on the ballot). The offices and candidates were spoken, and after each I was asked to press a number on the telephone keypad. The spoken voice was clear and easy to understand, and spoke at just the right speed - for me anyway. The keypad had large buttons with large numbers, and appeared to be Braille embossed as well.

When I was done, I hung up and about a minute later a fax came through with my choices printed out. The operator showed it to me and asked if it was right, and then placed it in the file drawer where they were storing completed absentee ballots. From what I understand, if I could not read the fax, they are supposed to scan it and then it would be read to me by the scanner. They did not offer me this option.

All in all, it seemed to work well, but I do have some suggestions for improvement. The system should offer the voter the option of saying the number, instead of just pressing the number, like a lot of IVR systems do these days. The area where the system was set up was not private or enclosed, and everyone walking into the high school gym where I voted was able to see me. And the fax should have been immediately read into the scanner for my confirmation, instead of being shown to me. I do live in a small town, and I had the uneasy feeling that my privacy could have been compromised.

I also think, in time, that this is an process that can and should be available on the web, to make it accessible to all kinds of people.

Legal Precedent Set For Web Accessibility

Kathleen Anderson — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 13:28:00 GMT

Federal judge sustains discrimination claims against Target; precedent establishes that retailers must make their websites accessible to the blind under the ADA

Berkeley, CA (September 7, 2006): A federal district court judge ruled yesterday that a retailer may be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. The ruling was issued in a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind against Target Corp. (Northern District of California Case No. C 06-01802 MHP)

The suit charges that Target's website http://www.target.com is inaccessible to the blind, and therefore violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ADA), the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act. Target asked the court to dismiss the action by arguing that no law requires Target to make its website accessible. The Court denied Target's motion to dismiss and held that the federal and state civil rights laws do apply to a website such as target.com.

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Target_Sept_Release.asp?SnID=1985711710

Please sign the Google Word Verification Accessibility Petition

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 14:26:00 GMT

The petition is asking Google to provide an accessible alternative to the visual verification scheme that currently locks the blind and visually impaired out of participation in all the company's services. Google's implementation of word verification currently denies users who are blind access to such important features as the ability to create accounts and blogs, change passwords, and post comments to most blogs that use the Blogger service. Please sign the peititon.

Target.com sued by the U.S. National Federation of the Blind (NFB)

Kathleen Anderson — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 15:23:00 GMT

The NFB has filed a lawsuit against Target.com because their web site is not accessible to people with disabilities. More info at Taking Aim at Target.

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Ready for Download

Kathleen Anderson — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 12:07:00 GMT

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Accessibility: Firefox 1.5 delivers easier navigation for everyone, including those who are visually or motor-impaired. Firefox is now the first browser to support DHTML, which enables Web content to be read aloud - even new kinds of graphics-rich content. Users may navigate with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks, reducing the tabbing required to navigate documents such as spreadsheets. Firefox 1.5 is also the first browser to meet government requirements that software be easily accessible to users with physical impairments.

"Office 12" will do PDF and the PDFs will be accessible

Kathleen Anderson — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 15:51:00 GMT

At the MVP Summit, Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Microsoft(r) Office at Microsoft Corp., made a major announcement about the next version of Office - currently known as "Office 12". PDF support will be built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, Visio, and InfoPath - and yes, the PDF documents will be accessible. Sinofsky said that this was the second most requested feature in Office - we didn't get a chance to ask what the first most requested feature was.

http://blogs.msdn.com/brian_jones/archive/2005/10/01/476067.aspx

A Survey of State Accessibility Initiatives

Kathleen Anderson — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 18:07:00 GMT

I was in Albany this week, participating in a panel called A Survey of State Accessibility Initiatives at the GTC East 2005 Conference.
It was a good seesion, I talked about the approach we've taken in Connecticut, and, in turn, learned about how they've done it in the State of New York. I brought back some ideas and resources that I think our Committee can use.

I'd never been to Albany before; it's nice looking city - but boy do they have a problem with parking.

Feel Free: Opera Eliminates Ad Banner and Licensing Fee

Kathleen Anderson — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 12:06:00 GMT

Oslo, Norway - September 20, 2005

Opera Software today permanently removed the ad banner and licensing fee from its award-winning Web browser. The ad-free, full-featured Opera browser is now available for download - completely free of charge – at http://www.opera.com.

"Today we invite the entire Internet community to use Opera and experience Web browsing as it should be," said Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "Removing the ad banner and licensing fee will encourage many new users to discover the speed, security and unmatched usability of the Opera browser."

Opera was previously available free of charge with an ad banner. Users had the option of paying a licensing fee to remove the ad banner and receive premium support.

"Opera fans around the globe made this day possible," said von Tetzchner. "As we grow our userbase, our mission and our promise remain steadfast: we will always offer the best Internet experience to our users - on any device. Today this mission gains new ground."

IBM contributes open source code to make Firefox browser more accessible

Kathleen Anderson — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 01:28:00 GMT

August 15, 2005, Armonk, NY . . . IBM today announced that it is contributing software to the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox Web browser to make it easier for more users -- including those with visual and motor impairments -- to access and navigate the Web.

In addition to contributing code that will make it possible for Web pages to be automatically narrated or magnified, and to be better navigated with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks, IBM is contributing Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language (DHTML) accessibility technology to the upcoming Firefox Version 1.5. This will allow software developers to build accessible and navigable "Rich Internet Applications" (RIAs) -- a new class of applications that are particularly visual and interactive. DHTML will also allow users to efficiently navigate content more easily using keystrokes rather than a mouse.

This is being done in support of ongoing work at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative, and as part of IBM's commitment to open standards and open source.