[gui-talk] Fw: E-Access Bulletin: June 2006

[Christopher McMillan]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Jellinek" <dan at headstar.com>
To: <eaccess at headstar.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 7:21 AM
Subject: E-Access Bulletin: June 2006


++E-ACCESS BULLETIN.
- ISSUE 78, JUNE 2006.

Technology news for people with vision impairment
( http://www.headstar.com/eab/ ).
Sponsored by RNIB ( http://www.rnib.org.uk ).

NOTE: Please forward this free bulletin to others (subscription details
at the end). We conform to the accessible Text Email Newsletter
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++Special Notice: 'e-Access '06' - Technology For All
- 14 September 2006, Central London
- Early Bird Offer Until 30 June
- http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess06/

'e-Access'06,' hosted by E-Access Bulletin and supported by RNIB
and Scope, is the UK's leading annual event on access to all
technologies, including internet, PCs, mobile phones and digital TV
and radio, by people with disabilities.

The conference focuses on how digital technology is enabling people
with disabilities to achieve greater independence. It also looks at the
problems people face with access to technology including accessible
banking and broadcasting. Sponsors include BSkyB, Jadu and Ford.

Places normally cost 195 pounds plus VAT for public sector, 295
pounds plus VAT for private sector and 145 pounds plus VAT for
small charities and not for profit organisations (turnover below
300,000 pounds). However if you register before 1 July you will save
50 pounds per delegate by typing 'eb-offer' after your name. For more
information see:
http://www.headstar-events.com/eaccess06/ .

[Special notice ends].


++Issue 78 Contents.

Section One: News.

01: Football Fans Will Lose Out, Web Sites Review Finds
- home goal for World Cup's online presence.

02: Accessible Automatic Tellers To Be Deployed Across Italy
-  audio-enabled bank machines installed in post offices.

03: Resource For Accessible Media Players Launched
- portal for MP3 player users.

04: First Online Multiplay Board Game Released
- Lords of the Galaxy ride out.

News in Brief: 05: TV Trial - Bolton digital TV report; 06: Audio
Entries - New Statesman award nominees; 07: Virtual Conference -
assistive technology presentations online.

Section Two: 'The Inbox' - Readers' Forum.
08: Expense Debate - technology cost debate continues; 09: Braille
Exchange - Elba users sought; 10: Group Request - online forum
information sought; 11: Number Puzzle - number pad query; 12:
Reader Query - screen reader question.

Section Three: Opinion - Procurement
12: In Search Of The Holy Grail: Kevin Carey suggests  we should
abandon the habit of relying on independent developers of accessible
technologies. We should instead put pressure on service providers to
include accessibility in their procurement criteria.

Section Four: Seminar Report - Location-Based Services.
13: Carving A Path For Navigational Aids: A recent seminar
showcased current international research and development on location-
based services for people with a disability. Mel Poluck was there to
report on the findings.

[Contents ends].


++Section One: News.

+01: Fans Will Lose Out, World Cup Web Sites Review Finds.

Official web sites for the 2006 World Cup are so poorly designed that
most vision impaired fans won't be able to use them to buy tickets for
matches or souvenirs, and will have difficulty finding even basic
information like match results, according to accessibility consultants
AbilityNet.

The World Cup web sites for England's Football Association (FA -
http://www.TheFA.com/WorldCup2006 )
and the competition's governing body Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA -
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/ )
were found to fail even the most basic accessibility requirements, the
study found. On a five-point scale, where three indicates a base level of
accessibility, the FIFA and FA web sites were rated one and two
respectively, leaving both organisations at risk under anti-
discrimination law, said AbilityNet.

The results are particularly disappointing given the landmark legal case
over the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when sports fan Bruce Maguire won
a legal case against the organisers because their web site was
inaccessible, said AbilityNet's Head of Web Services Robin
Christopherson. "It really shows the lack of progress they have made
over the last six years," he told E-Access Bulletin.

The web sites were evaluated using automated checkers and human
testers for compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
( http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/ )
the internationally recognised standard drawn up by the World Wide
Web Consortium
( http://www.w3.org/ ).

Both web sites suffered problems with their display, structure and
navigation, making even the most basic services unavailable to even
experienced web surfers, according to AbilityNet. "Many areas of
FIFA's site were difficult or impossible to use and, despite my best
efforts, I was unable to buy a ticket.I think I'll follow the Cup on the
radio," said one.

Typical problems included failing to enable text to be resized or the
colours of displays adjusted, poor labelling of images, use of
inaccessible Flash animations at key points, embedding pop-ups in
pages with no warning, and extensive use of JavaScript, which is
inaccessible to users of older browsers. Both sites failed to adequately
cater for people who rely on keystrokes rather than a mouse for
navigation.

Although the FA web site was more accessible than that of FIFA, some
accessibility features like audio news reports were spoilt because they
weren't well signposted, and could easily be missed, according to
AbilityNet. "I'll do what I did last time, and follow it on the BBC web
site," said Christopherson.

"We have made a number of changes to the site already to ensure
accessibility but we are aware there is still more to be done and these
have been incorporated into the overall review of our web site which is
taking place at present. We do appreciate hearing from any user who
has a specific issue with the web site," an FA spokesperson told E-
Access Bulletin.

The World Cup study is one of several 'State of the eNation' reports
looking at web accessibility across a range of sectors. For more details,
see the 'News and Events' section of AbilityNet's web site:
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/content/home.htm


+02: Accessible Automatic Tellers To Be Deployed Across Italy.

Accessible Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) aimed at vision
impaired users are being deployed across Italy.

Around 400 ATMs have already been installed across the country at
Poste Italiane
( http://www.poste.it/en/ )
post offices, with a further 600 to be installed by October. The ATMs
will allow vision impaired people to withdraw money independently
and, for the first time in Italy, enable payment of council tax and
speeding fines and allow pensions to be collected, among others.

Vision impaired users plug their own headphones into a socket located
on the 'Personas M series' machine to receive all on-screen content as
audio output to guide them through cash withdrawals and bill
payments. The screens automatically blacken while a transaction is
underway to ensure privacy.

Additionally, the machines' 'number five' key has a raised profile to
assist orientation when typing in number sequences such as pin codes
and the function keys have tactile markers. There is also strong
contrast between the written text and the screen background for low
vision users.

Following a trial last year, machines using Braille were scrapped after
it emerged only a small percentage of vision impaired people can read
Braille, due to the fact the majority acquire blindness later in life.

The new dual purpose machines, which look like regular ATMs, aim to
cut queues in post offices and increase efficiency as part of a wider
modernisation of the Italian postal service.

The new machines have been developed by global technology
company NCR, who are working in collaboration with Italian postal
service Poste Italiane
( http://www.poste.it/en/ )
and national blindness organisation Unione Italiana Ciechi
(http://www.uiciechi.it/vecchio/ibu.html ).


+03: Resource For Accessible Media Players Launched.

Vision impaired people wanting to know more about the accessibility
issues to take into account when using portable media players such as
Apple's iPod have a new online resource with the launch of the
Portable Media Player Portal
http://www.hartgen.org/portable.html .

The web site gives an overview of issues such as the cost, functions,
and accessibility for mass-market media players like Apple's iPod
family and the iriver products from Korea as well as those purpose-
built for vision impaired users, such as the BookPort and BookCourier
products.

"Products designed for the seeing market can be accessible because
there are products available that make them talk. The specialist
products have the advantage of being designed for vision impaired
people but they have the drawback of high price and limited storage
capacity," Brian Hartgen, technical consultant at T and T Consultancy
told E-Access Bulletin. Typically, specialist products provide four
gigabytes of storage compared with the 40 or 60 gigabytes available
with mass-market products, he said.

According to Hartgen, interest in portable media players has grown
rapidly in recent months, but many people want guidance on what is
available. "The bottom line is that if you want a player with large
storage, that handles a variety of formats and is fully accessible, there's
nothing currently available," he said.

However, the accessibility of the iTunes software has been improved
for users of Jaws screen readers with the launch of new scripts from T
and T Consultancy, enabling easier navigation around the iTunes
system, said Hartgen
http://www.tandt-consultancy.com/itunesscripts.html .


+04: First Online Multiplay Board Game Released.

The world's first accessible multiplay board game has been released
and is available for free online.

The game can be played online by up to five gamers who play the
entire game using sound alone. For those playing the offline version of
the game, the computer imitates co-players.

Developer Igor Khmelevtsov describes the game, Lords of the Galaxy,
as "an economic strategy game like Monopoly." Players are given a
space ship in which they move between planets which, among other
assets, are bought and sold while battling against meteorites and galaxy
monsters. Players can buy weapons to defend themselves from
enemies. The goal is to become Lord of the galaxy by accruing more
money then other players.

"I've found a couple of accessible online card games for blind and
visually impaired people," said Khmelevtsov. "I have [developed]
three online accessible games two gamers can play [but] I haven't
found any accessible online board games for [several] gamers."

Lords of the Galaxy is available from Igor and Alina Khmelevtsov's
accessible gaming web site VIP Games Zone
( http://www.vipgameszone.com/ ),
which has previously released online educational games for vision-
impaired school children in the Ukraine and beyond. All VIP Games
Zone games are free and can be played without special software.


++News in Brief:

+05: TV Trial: Some 83 per cent of vision-impaired participants in
recent digital TV trials in Bolton, England said they would "definitely"
need help installing new digital TV packs. Participants with and
without disabilities took place in the trials ahead of the deployment of
digital TV across the UK scheduled for between 2008 and 2012. The
report of the Bolton Digital Switchover Trial can be seen at:
www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/publications/pub_boltondigtv.html .

+06: Audio Entries: Roaring Girl Productions and Your Local Cinema,
providers of audio description for DVD releases and cinema
respectively are among nominees for the accessibility category of the
New Statesman Media Awards. This year's theme is 'The power of
ideas.' Judges announce the winners in July:
http://www.newstatesman.com/nma/nma2006/nma2006nominate.php .

+07: Virtual Conference: Accessible web logging ("blogging") and
video magnifiers are among topics covered by a set of free audio
podcasts of presentations from this year's Assistive Technology
Industry Association conference in the US. Once registered, users can
"visit" exhibitors, as well as listen to presentations on topics relating to

assistive technology:
http://www.letsgoexpo.com/expos/Ocusource/ATIA01182006/index.cf
m?page=attendeelogin .

[Section One ends].


++Special Notice: Building the Perfect Council Web Site
- An E-Government Bulletin/Socitm Seminar
- 11 July, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), London.

A partnership between E-Government Bulletin and the Society of IT
Management's Socitm Insight Programme, this conference will attempt
to encapsulate every aspect of how to create the perfect council web
site: accessible, easy to use and compelling.

The event will draw on the collected wisdom of seven years of
Socitm's annual 'Better Connected' review of all UK council web sites,
bringing together experts and practitioners to share tips and warn
against pitfalls. Registration costs just 125 pounds for delegates from
Socitm Insight subscriber authorities; 195 pounds for other public
sector delegates and 295 pounds for private sector delegates (all rates
exclude VAT).

For more information and to register see:
http://www.headstar-events.com/council/ .

[Special Notice ends].


++Section Two: 'The Inbox'
- Readers' Forum.

Please email all contributions or responses to
inbox at headstar.com .

+08: Expense Debate: Asim Rauf from Pakistan continues the debate
on the high cost of technology: "The problem with visually impaired
people living in the third world is that we don't have access to modern
technology because of its cost. When we convert the currency into our
own, then it goes beyond reach, or even beyond thinking. There is an
[imperative] need for the world to put its efforts together to improve
the standard of living of people with visual impairment in third world
countries."

And Estelita Clayton in Derbyshire, England adds: "In response to the
high cost of assistive technology issue: yes, it is so frustrating to some
of us like myself who cannot afford to buy the assistive equipment we
need because of the sky-high cost. So, the only alternative is to wait
until a second-hand one comes around. Sometimes you are lucky if the
item is in working order, or if you can get the manual with no problem.
[please send further responses to inbox at headstar.com]

+09: Braille Exchange: Estelita also writes in with a request: "I'm
looking for Braillex Elba users to chat with. I hope I will meet Braillex
Elba user pals to learn more about this machine as this is quite new to
me."
[responses to inbox at headstar.com]

+10: Group Request: Women in London (WiL -
http://www.womeninlondon.org.uk/ ),
an organisation that aims to promote awareness of new technologies to
women with disabilities, has received an enquiry on the accessibility of
email groups. Deborah Hart from WiL group Microsyster writes: "Are
you aware of how accessible Yahoo [and other] e-groups are? If not
maybe its time for a survey! On behalf of a group of disabled women
who are having difficulty locating an appropriate tool for themselves, I
would like to know information about any accessible e-group
functions. The e-group moderator uses a talking browser. We are very
much hoping to hear of recommendations or new initiatives. Direct
questions to Yahoo and Smartgroups are so rarely answered."
[responses to inbox at headstar.com].

+11: Number Puzzle: Barry Blomkamp, professional public speaker,
trainer and corporate entertainer writes: "I am a totally blind fellow
from Cape Town, South Africa and I am a user of Window-Eyes
version five, SoftVert on my old but fast DOS machine, Talx on my
mobile phone and a talking Sharp calculator among others. My
question to you is: is there a movement in our world to push for an
international standardisation of number keypads? For instance, my
calculator and computer keyboards on my desk have numbering
starting from the bottom left while all the phones' numbering starts
from top left.

"I personally don't really battle with the different number pads. I am
thinking of young blind people in the future. Thanking you."
[responses please to inbox at headstar.com].

+12: Reader Query: Sue Buckley writes in response to a contribution
from Roger Wilson-Hinds, director of UK-based Choice Technology
( www.screenreader.co.uk )
from the April issue. Roger wrote on the high cost of assistive
technology and his attempt to redress the balance by developing a free
screen reader. "I have a friend who would need to find out about your
free screen reading software. Also, do you know of any free screen
enlargement software programs? Thank you."
[responses to inbox at headstar.com]

[Section Two ends].


++Sponsored Notice: QAC Sight Village 2005
- Birmingham, UK
- 18-20 July 2006

The latest in cutting edge technology for people who are blind or
partially sighted will be on show this July at Sight Village at Queen
Alexandra College in Birmingham.

Now in its thirteenth year, the event includes presentations covering
tactile graphics and employment as well as panel discussions and high
quality displays from companies and organisations from around the
world and all over the UK. Sighted guides and tactile maps will
be available for delegates.

Registration for this major international exhibition is free. For details
and to register go to:
http://www.viewplus.com/sightvillage-registration/

[Sponsored Notice ends].


Section Three: Opinion
-  Procurement

+12: In Search Of The Holy Grail
by Kevin Carey

I am writing this piece from the Royal Geographical Society, London.
The LBS4all project
( http://www.lbs4all.org/ )
- which aims to develop a personal navigation aid for people who
experience difficulties travelling on foot - is holding a user day for
location-based services.

In prototype, this allows vision impaired people using a personal
digital assistant (PDA) and screen reader software from Dolphin
Computer Access Pocket Hal, to undertake independent navigation
with a stream of local information received on the web from adapted
Ordnance Survey digital maps.

Whether or not this will be overtaken by standard satellite navigation
systems, built for cars but adapted for foot travel, is a really interesting

question.

But the "Holy Grail" is a blind person arriving in a strange town
enabled to find any building she wants on foot (using, of course, a
mobility aid if necessary).

Ah, the Holy Grail! I have been in accessibility now for more than a
decade and am just a little weary of holy grails: a fully usable word
processor; a bug-free Braille translator with an intelligent approach to
layout; across-the-board web accessibility based on statute and
regulation; a fully accessible mobile phone; full electronic programme
guides (EPGs) and audio description for digital TV; an upgrade that
upgrades. I have said before - and it is sad that this still holds true -
the
only fully accessible digital products that I own are my kitchen scales
and microwave!

What are we to do about these frustrated ambitions? The key point is
that the sector must stop worrying about technology; it should, simply,
stop doing any speculative or loss-making research. Agencies like the
RNIB and a host of niche developers have struggled and only the
RNIB and a handful of commercial developers are still in the access
technology business. Selling ambition and aspiration has proved to be
of very limited use. There has been far too much concentration on the
question: "Can you do it?" rather than on the questions: "How badly do
you want it and how much of it do you want?"

In other words, instead of starting with technological research we
should start with generic user requirement research and meet the needs
of procurers. If we push for accessibility to be a user requirement in
public sector services, public utilities, financial services, retail,
broadcasting and telecommunications, consumer electronics, housing
design and leisure (and that lot accounts for the vast majority of all
digital transactions) you can be sure that there will be funding to
realise the requirement.

Forget the technology and think about services. You want to talk to the
Government, shop effectively, use a cash point, locate an entry phone,
weigh self service potatoes, cross the road safely, send a message and,
I suppose, pay your bills.

So lay off the Microsofts of this world; they only supply the providers
of goods and services. If the procurement criteria change to include
more accessibility than they currently supply, they will supply it.

In some instances the precise opposite applies; software companies are
providing accessibility that suppliers are ignoring. We should never
forget the farce of the audio described programmes waiting for a set
top box to decode them.

In summary, we need to turn the whole, traditional sequence on its
head. Techies working on flimsy budgets with miniscule markets (with
the exception of the Department for Work and Pensions' Access To
Work items -
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/HelpForDisabledPeo
ple/AccesstoWork/ )
have largely failed. Even the few remaining major players provide
scandalously expensive and unreliable solutions. The sector should
concentrate on campaigning for generic, platform neutral, user
requirements-based accessibility and should then make a respectable
profit meetineg the need.

[Section Three ends]


++Seminar report - Seminar Report
- Location-Based Services

+13: Carving A Path For Navigational Aids
By Mel Poluck

Navigational devices installed with location-based services enable
vision impaired people to independently plan journeys and find routes
on foot or by public transport. But many such services or devices are
yet to reach the vision-impaired community.

Some local communities or authorities, for example, have installed
units mounted at bus stops or lampposts providing location-related data
activated by wireless fobs. And portable devices on the market
specifically designed for vision-impaired users, such as the BrailleNote
and Trekker both from Humanware
( http://www.pulsedata.com/products/Notetakers/BrailleNoteGPS.asp )
are wonderful devices but are unaffordable to the majority of people
who need them.

Both products are enabled by Global Positioning System (GPS). And
with this technology, along with General Packet Radio Service
(GPRS), wireless and bluetooth available even on everyday devices
such as mobile phones, the potential for location-based services or
navigational aids is broadening. "All big companies are engaging in the
delivery of location-based information to the consumer: Google,
Yahoo, Microsoft. . . ," Professor Mike Jackson of University of
Nottingham told the audience of a seminar on location-based services
for people with disabilities in London last month, hosted by
PhoneAbility, the UK arm of European organisation COST 219ter
( http://www.tiresias.org/cost219ter/ )
which aims to ensure next generation services and terminals are
accessible to all. "The intellectual and technological challenge we have
today is with multiple streams of data which could communicate with
each other to build up rich, timely data," Jackson said.

Nevertheless, research and development on navigational aids for the
mobility-impaired is blossoming around the globe. Later this year, for
example, user groups with disabilities will test a navigational device in
the Swedish cities of Stockholm, Malmo and Gotheberg. The trials are
part of a research study
( http://www.pts.se )
from the Swedish National Post and Telecom Agency, led by the
Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, the Swedish Handicap Institute
and government and industry bodies, Dr Jan-Ingvar Lindström told
delegates. The pilot device provides audio mapping data to users via
bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and GPS
technologies and will link users to a contact centre with staff via the
mobile phone network to assist users requiring additional help. In
future there are plans to introduce a facility enabling users to add their
own data about the environment or points of interest as they encounter
them.

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, US, the Wireless Rehabilitation Engineering
and Research Centre (Wireless RERC-
http://www.wirelessrerc.gatech.edu/ ),
which promotes universal access to wireless technologies, is working
on developing a location-based service prototype. "We encourage the
industry to realise not all users of technology are 20 year olds with
nimble fingers," said Dr John Peifer, WRERC co-director.

Their Mobile Accessibility Guide (MAG -
http://www.wirerc.org )
aims to provide tailored data to meet individuals' transport and route
planning preferences. The device's memory contains location-related
data gathered from various sources, including the local council and
accessibility guides to public spaces. It provides information such as
whether entrances have ramps or stairs - and if so how many - and
doorway width for wheelchair users, among others. Users can choose
to receive audio information about their environments and can receive
updated alerts on recent, undocumented news such as broken lifts in
buildings. MAG even allows its users to become "mobile reporters,"
recording changes to locations and objects in the environment while on
the move.

But in trials, this particular feature was unsuccessful. "People won't
spend time recording changes in the environment if they have to spend
a long time doing it," he said. "We need to research how long people
are willing to spend on it." Other aspects of MAG were found to need
further development too. "The initial prototype was expensive and
complex. The hardware was too clunky, interfaces were too complex,"
Peifer also said volunteers needed more training on how to use the
device.

Another MAG prototype is under development and the team are
looking to incorporate geographical information service 'Google
maps,' from software giant Google, to include markers highlighting
accessibility of information, such as Braille menus, or buildings.

With the European Commission project, 'Ambient Intelligence System
of Agents for Knowledge-based and Integrated Services for Mobility
Impaired users (ASK-IT -
http://www.ask-it.org/ )
developing a navigational system which will next year be tested in
eight European cities, and with further technological developments in
the pipeline, the future of navigational services looks promising.
Mobile phones will pick up voice over IP (VoIP) over wi-fi networks,
allowing cheap or free calls and the possibility for data relevant to the
user's location to be streamed direct to devices in wireless "hotspots."
Additionally, more satellite launches are planned, adding to the
multitude of location-related data sent to the planet.

But there is a way to go before devices are readily available on the
market and problems do remain, such as users of GPS-enabled devices
losing signal when they enter "urban canyons," say, between tower
blocks or when they are inside buildings.

But as University of Nottingham's Mike Jackson said, the key
challenge now is to unite multiple data streams to ultimately provide
portable, refreshable, interactive and information-rich navigational
devices which could improve the daily lives of vision-impaired people
in extremely important ways: by boosting confidence in mobility,
increasing independence and providing the chance for spontaneity.

[Section Four ends].


++Special Notice: Web Accessibility Forum.

Accessify Forum is a discussion forum devoted to all topics relating to
web accessibility. Topics cover everything from 'Beginners' and 'Site
building and testing' through to projects such as the new accessibility
testing tool WaiZilla and the accessibility of the open source forum
software itself.

All you need to register is a working email address, so come along and
join in the fun at:
http://www.accessifyforum.com .

[Special notice ends].

++End Notes.

+How to Receive the Bulletin.

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Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek at:
dan at headstar.com .

Copyright 2006 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .
The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including this
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+Personnel:
Editor - Dan Jellinek
Deputy editor - Derek Parkinson
Senior reporter - Mel Poluck
Technical advisor - Nick Apostolidis
Editorial advisor - Kevin Carey.

ISSN 1476-6337 .

[Issue ends.]