[gui-talk] Blind Americans demand Web access; Target fights back (fwd)
slerythema at insightbb.com
slerythema at insightbb.com
Tue Jan 9 14:13:42 CST 2007
Please explain your comment. I am at a total loss as to how totally blind people use a mouse.
Cindy
----- Original Message -----
From: Arliedog <ddlmh50 at insightbb.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 14:34
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Blind Americans demand Web access; Target fights back (fwd)
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
> So the NFB thinks that blind people can't use a mouse? WRONG!!!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
> To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>;
> <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>;
> <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>; <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>; <nabs-
> l at nfbnet.org>;
> <promotion-technology at nfbnet.org>; <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 12:33 PM
> Subject: [gui-talk] Blind Americans demand Web access; Target
> fights back
> (fwd)
>
>
> >
> >>
> >>This story appeared on Network World at
> >>http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/010508-target.html
> >>
> >>Blind Americans demand Web access; Target fights back
> >>Court battle expected to heat up in coming months
> >>By Jon Brodkin, Network World, 01/05/07
> >>Retailer Target's refusal to make its Web site more accessible
> to the
> >>blind
> >>has fueled a high-profile court battle that is causing many
> companies to
> >>quietly upgrade their Web sites in the hopes of avoiding negative
> >>publicity
> >>and legal liability.
> >>The case will unfold over the next several months, but a
> federal judge
> >>has
> >>already dismissed Target's claim that Americans with
> Disabilities Act
> >>prohibitions against discrimination do not apply to commercial Web
> >>sites.
> >>This ruling, and other advocacy efforts on behalf of the
> blind, has
> >>caused a
> >>number of "major e-tailers" to upgrade their sites to make them
> >>compatible
> >>with software the blind use to access the Internet, says Paul
> Rosenfeld,>>senior vice president of federal accessibility
> solutions at the SSB BART
> >>Group in San Francisco, a consulting firm founded by
> technologists with
> >>disabilities.
> >>These online retailers contacted SSB BART to assist in that
> upgrade, but
> >>Rosenfeld says he can't identify the companies because they
> wish to
> >>remain
> >>anonymous.
> >>"This Target case, it's been a wake-up call for e-tailers,"
> Rosenfeld>>says.
> >>Before the case, advocacy groups for the blind would often ask
> companies>>to
> >>upgrade their Web sites and not receive immediate results, he says.
> >>Retailers typically don't make those upgrades right away
> "unless there's
> >>litigious action or some need for risk management," he says.
> >>There are 1.3 million legally blind Americans, and nearly 9
> million more
> >>who
> >>are visually impaired, according to the American Foundation
> for the
> >>Blind.
> >>Click to see: A Web site as a sighted user sees it.
> >> Targeting Target
> >>A class action lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind
> >>(NFB)
> >>accused Target.com of lacking alt-text for many graphics, preventing
> >>blind
> >>customers from browsing products and looking for Target locations.
> >>Moreover, Target.com requires that all transactions be
> performed with a
> >>mouse, the NFB said, a barrier that prevents blind people from
> >>purchasing
> >>products online. While a blind person can use a keyboard, just
> as a
> >>sighted
> >>person can type without looking at the keys, a blind person
> cannot use a
> >>mouse because it requires the ability to see the mouse cursor
> on the
> >>screen.
> >>Accessible Web design allows the blind to navigate sites using
> just Tab,
> >>Shift-Tab, and Enter.
> >>The Target lawsuit is unique because most companies, when told
> by blind
> >>people that their Web sites are inaccessible, are willing to
> make the
> >>necessary upgrades, says John Pare, spokesman for the National
> >>Federation of
> >>the Blind. They may not make the change instantly, but
> companies at
> >>least
> >>begin the process of fixing the problems. Legal action is a
> last resort
> >>for
> >>the NFB, he says.
> >>"We really work to resolve it locally," he says. "The only company,
> >>certainly in the last several years, that has said just plain
> 'no' is
> >>Target."
> >>Target's refusal surprised the NFB, because the retailer is
> losing out
> >>on
> >>money blind people are willing to spend, and the lawsuit may
> damage the
> >>company's public image. "We're just completely shocked," Pare says.
> >>When contacted by Network World, Target reiterated a statement the
> >>company
> >>originally issued in October, which reads as follows:
> "Target.com is
> >>committed to providing an online experience that is accessible
> to all of
> >>our
> >>guests. Despite the lawsuit brought forward by the National
> Federation>>of
> >>the Blind (NFB), we have always and will continue to implement new
> >>technologies to our Web site. We are in the process of making online
> >>enhancements that will benefit all of our guests, including
> those with
> >>disabilities. These enhancements will occur regardless of the
> outcome of
> >>this lawsuit."
> >>In court, Target argued that its Web site is not a "place of public
> >>accommodation" the way a brick-and-mortar store is, and that
> the site is
> >>therefore not governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act
> (ADA). A
> >>U.S.
> >>District Court judge in California rejected the argument,
> saying that
> >>restricting the ADA's discrimination provisions to physical
> locations>>"would
> >>contradict the plain language of the statute."
> >>More than three years ago, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
> >>argued
> >>that the ADA requires commercial Web sites to be accessible, while
> >>investigating Priceline.com and Ramada.com. The companies
> agreed to pay
> >>fines totaling $77,500 and implement a variety of upgrades to
> help the
> >>blind
> >>navigate their Web sites.
> >>Despite that agreement, the Target court ruling was the first to
> >>directly
> >>state that the ADA applies to private Web sites, advocates for
> the blind
> >>say. The court has not yet addressed the practical question of
> how to
> >>define
> >>accessibility, Pare says. A court date is scheduled for April to
> >>determine
> >>whether the suit against Target can go forward as a class action.
> >>"This is not going to happen quickly," Pare says.
> >>Tracy Andrews, a 43-year-old resident of Cheshire, Conn., who
> has been
> >>legally blind since she was a child, says she often encounters
> >>difficulty
> >>when searching the Web but is surprised Target has opted to
> fight the
> >>lawsuit.
> >>"I think in the long run, if Web sites can make themselves more
> >>accessible
> >>it's going to be to their advantage," Andrews says. "To fight
> it is only
> >>being a stick in the mud. The tide is moving, you might as
> well go along
> >>with it."
> >>State and federal government Web sites are already required to be
> >>accessible
> >>to the blind due to the ADA and other laws, says Judy Brewer,
> director>>of
> >>the Web Accessibility Initiative at W3C in Cambridge, the
> World Wide Web
> >>Consortium, an international standards organization.
> >>Although the legal requirements for private companies are not
> as clear,
> >>many
> >>commercial Web sites have already made the switch to accessibility.
> >>Amazon.com and Wal-Mart have Web sites that are in good shape, Pare
> >>says.
> >>Organizations can apply to the NFB for a certification demonstrating
> >>that
> >>their site complies with accessibility guidelines. Ten have
> obtained the
> >>certification, including Merck, Legal Sea Foods, HP, General
> Electric,>>Wells
> >>Fargo and the Social Security Administration.
> >>Merck became certified in April 2005, before the Target
> lawsuit. An
> >>external
> >>contract to upgrade the site cost about $35,000, and Merck
> devoted at
> >>least
> >>two employees to the project, says Larry Tattoli, associate
> director of
> >>Merck.com. The process "wasn't that difficult," he says.
> >>A bigger challenge has been maintaining accessibility as the
> Web site
> >>grows
> >>and changes, Tattoli says. Whenever a new image is added, a
> Web site
> >>developer has to add alt-text that can be read to a blind person.
> >>On a positive note, Merck officials found that making the site
> >>accessible to
> >>the blind did not alter the visual presentation, as they had feared.
> >>"It was this feeling that the text would have to be huge, or you
> >>couldn't
> >>have any images on it, it would be text-only pages. It's not true,"
> >>Tattoli
> >>says. "The pages I could show you before it was accessible and
> after it
> >>was
> >>accessible are exactly the same."
> >>The cost of making a Web site accessible usually equals 5% to
> 10% of the
> >>cost of Web maintenance, says Preety Kumar, CEO of Deque
> Systems, a
> >>Reston,
> >>Va., company that helps Web site designers automate the task of
> >>complying
> >>with accessibility standards.
> >>"A very small percentage" of companies have made their sites
> accessible,>>she
> >>says.
> >>"They're overwhelmed, that's what I'm sensing," Kumar says.
> "There are
> >>companies that are responding to the Target lawsuit, and
> they're paying
> >>attention because they realize the risks of noncompliance are not
> >>insignificant."
> >>Beyond the blind
> >>Blind people aren't the only ones with disabilities using the
> Internet.>>Deaf
> >>people, for example, can access visual portions of the Web without
> >>assistance but are often out of luck when it comes to audio
> files or
> >>sound
> >>on video files, even though there are tools Web developers can
> use to
> >>add
> >>captions.
> >>People with severe motor disabilities can use voice
> recognition software
> >>to
> >>surf the Web, as paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve did before
> his death.
> >>If
> >>they still have some ability to use their hands, they can also
> be helped
> >>by
> >>the same accessibility guidelines designed for the blind.
> Someone who
> >>can
> >>type but cannot manipulate a mouse can surf Web sites that are fully
> >>accessible with a keyboard.
> >>"If you do it right and you make your Web site accessible to
> the blind,
> >>you
> >>do cover other [disabled] populations largely," Kumar says.
> >>Among the disabled, Kumar says she thinks blind people are the most
> >>challenged because they need a clean text-to-speech
> translation in
> >>addition
> >>to a mouse alternative.
> >>People who are deaf and blind would be worse off, obviously,
> but they
> >>can
> >>use a Braille display, a strip located in front of the computer
> >>keyboard. A
> >>mechanism inside the strip controls small pins that go up and
> down to
> >>form
> >>Braille letters.
> >>Andrews, the legally blind Connecticut resident, says she's
> using a
> >>7-year-old version of ZoomText, a program that reads text out
> loud and
> >>magnifies the screen. Sometimes text is read to her in a nonsensical
> >>order,
> >>particularly when it is arranged in columns instead of
> paragraph form.
> >>Andrews says her outdated version of ZoomText may be causing
> problems>>but
> >>that poor text-to-speech translation is also often due to the
> Web sites
> >>themselves.
> >>"Newer Web sites are better than older Web sites," she says.
> Learning>>how to
> >>use the Internet when you can't see is something that takes
> time, even
> >>if
> >>the technology is up to date, she says.
> >>"It can be a little slow going. Like anything, you get better
> at it.
> >>It's a
> >>skill you develop," Andrews says.
> >>Web site developers may find it easier to establish
> accessibility if
> >>they
> >>are building a whole new site, rather than upgrading an old
> one. That's
> >>what
> >>officials at Legal Sea Foods found when they decided to
> replace their
> >>Web
> >>site in January 2005 because it had become old and stale, says Ken
> >>Chaisson,
> >>vice president of information technology at the Boston
> restaurant chain.
> >>Starting from scratch is a "heck of a lot easier" than changing
> >>everything
> >>on an existing Web site, he says. Financially, making the site
> >>accessible to
> >>the blind is worth it for Legal even if just five extra groups
> of people
> >>come to one of the restaurants, he says.
> >>But only a small number of companies have upgraded their Web sites,
> >>according to some observers. A March 2006 survey found that
> >>three-quarters
> >>of businesses listed in the FTSE 100 Index in London failed to meet
> >>minimum
> >>Web site accessibility requirements set by British laws to end
> >>discrimination against disabled people.
> >>Observations by Brewer of W3C square with the study's findings.
> >>"The majority of sites on the Web are not fully accessible to people
> >>with
> >>disabilities," she says.
> >>Click to see:
> >>
> >>Can the blind, and other disabled people, use your Web site?
> >>
> >>
> >>Here are 10 quick tests to check accessibility:
> >>1 Make sure informational
> images (like your organization's logo)
> >>have
> >>alternative text. Place the cursor over the image. A box
> should appear
> >>with
> >>a brief, accurate description.
> >>2 Check decorative images
> for alternative text. If the image has
> >>no
> >>function other than to look nice, it should not have any alternative
> >>text.
> >>
> >>3 "Listen" to audio and
> video content with the volume turned off.
> >>This
> >>is the situation faced by a deaf person. Make sure your Web site
> >>supplies
> >>written transcripts for all audio content.
> >>4 Make sure forms are
> accessible. Each item in a form should have
> >>a
> >>prompt text. When you click on the prompt text, a flashing
> cursor should
> >>appear in the box next to the text.
> >>5 Check that text can be
> resized. In Internet Explorer go to
> >>View>Font
> >>size>Largest. If the text does not increase in size, your site
> may be
> >>inaccessible to users with low vision.
> >>6 Check your Web site in
> the Lynx browser. This is a text-only
> >>browser. If a site makes sense in Lynx, it probably fulfills many
> >>accessibility guidelines.
> >>7 Use your Web site
> without a mouse. If you can't navigate your
> >>site
> >>using just tab, shift-tab, and enter, then neither can people
> using only
> >>a
> >>keyboard or voice recognition software.
> >>8 Make sure there is a
> site map
> >>9 Make sure alternative
> text associated with links make sense out
> >>of
> >>context. Blind users often jump from one link to the next with
> the tab
> >>button.
> >>10 Check your Web pages with an
> automated program, such as WebXACT
> >>or
> >>Wave.
> >>11 Use ASCII text that screen
> access software can convert to speech
> >>or
> >>Braille.
> >>12 Provide meaningful text
> labels for hypertext links. Labels like
> >>"click here" aren't good enough.
> >>13 Make sure tables and multi-
> column text does not prevent screen
> >>access software from rendering pages in an intelligible and useful
> >>manner.
> >>Even sophisticated screen access software has trouble with
> tables that
> >>contain many columns, such as bus and train schedules.
> >>Source: Webcredible, London
> >>All contents copyright 1995-2007 Network World, Inc.
> >>http://www.networkworld.com
> >>
> >
> > David Andrews and white cane Harry.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gui-talk mailing list
> > gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
> _______________________________________________
> gui-talk mailing list
> gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
>
-------------- next part --------------
Please explain your comment. I am at a total loss as to how totally blind people use a mouse.
Cindy
----- Original Message -----
From: Arliedog <ddlmh50 at insightbb.com>
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2007 14:34
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Blind Americans demand Web access; Target fights back (fwd)
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
> So the NFB thinks that blind people can't use a mouse? WRONG!!!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
> To: <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>;
> <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>;
> <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>; <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>; <nabs-
> l at nfbnet.org>;
> <promotion-technology at nfbnet.org>; <nfb-science at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 12:33 PM
> Subject: [gui-talk] Blind Americans demand Web access; Target
> fights back
> (fwd)
>
>
> >
> >>
> >>This story appeared on Network World at
> >>http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/010508-target.html
> >>
> >>Blind Americans demand Web access; Target fights back
> >>Court battle expected to heat up in coming months
> >>By Jon Brodkin, Network World, 01/05/07
> >>Retailer Target's refusal to make its Web site more accessible
> to the
> >>blind
> >>has fueled a high-profile court battle that is causing many
> companies to
> >>quietly upgrade their Web sites in the hopes of avoiding negative
> >>publicity
> >>and legal liability.
> >>The case will unfold over the next several months, but a
> federal judge
> >>has
> >>already dismissed Target's claim that Americans with
> Disabilities Act
> >>prohibitions against discrimination do not apply to commercial Web
> >>sites.
> >>This ruling, and other advocacy efforts on behalf of the
> blind, has
> >>caused a
> >>number of "major e-tailers" to upgrade their sites to make them
> >>compatible
> >>with software the blind use to access the Internet, says Paul
> Rosenfeld,>>senior vice president of federal accessibility
> solutions at the SSB BART
> >>Group in San Francisco, a consulting firm founded by
> technologists with
> >>disabilities.
> >>These online retailers contacted SSB BART to assist in that
> upgrade, but
> >>Rosenfeld says he can't identify the companies because they
> wish to
> >>remain
> >>anonymous.
> >>"This Target case, it's been a wake-up call for e-tailers,"
> Rosenfeld>>says.
> >>Before the case, advocacy groups for the blind would often ask
> companies>>to
> >>upgrade their Web sites and not receive immediate results, he says.
> >>Retailers typically don't make those upgrades right away
> "unless there's
> >>litigious action or some need for risk management," he says.
> >>There are 1.3 million legally blind Americans, and nearly 9
> million more
> >>who
> >>are visually impaired, according to the American Foundation
> for the
> >>Blind.
> >>Click to see: A Web site as a sighted user sees it.
> >> Targeting Target
> >>A class action lawsuit filed by the National Federation of the Blind
> >>(NFB)
> >>accused Target.com of lacking alt-text for many graphics, preventing
> >>blind
> >>customers from browsing products and looking for Target locations.
> >>Moreover, Target.com requires that all transactions be
> performed with a
> >>mouse, the NFB said, a barrier that prevents blind people from
> >>purchasing
> >>products online. While a blind person can use a keyboard, just
> as a
> >>sighted
> >>person can type without looking at the keys, a blind person
> cannot use a
> >>mouse because it requires the ability to see the mouse cursor
> on the
> >>screen.
> >>Accessible Web design allows the blind to navigate sites using
> just Tab,
> >>Shift-Tab, and Enter.
> >>The Target lawsuit is unique because most companies, when told
> by blind
> >>people that their Web sites are inaccessible, are willing to
> make the
> >>necessary upgrades, says John Pare, spokesman for the National
> >>Federation of
> >>the Blind. They may not make the change instantly, but
> companies at
> >>least
> >>begin the process of fixing the problems. Legal action is a
> last resort
> >>for
> >>the NFB, he says.
> >>"We really work to resolve it locally," he says. "The only company,
> >>certainly in the last several years, that has said just plain
> 'no' is
> >>Target."
> >>Target's refusal surprised the NFB, because the retailer is
> losing out
> >>on
> >>money blind people are willing to spend, and the lawsuit may
> damage the
> >>company's public image. "We're just completely shocked," Pare says.
> >>When contacted by Network World, Target reiterated a statement the
> >>company
> >>originally issued in October, which reads as follows:
> "Target.com is
> >>committed to providing an online experience that is accessible
> to all of
> >>our
> >>guests. Despite the lawsuit brought forward by the National
> Federation>>of
> >>the Blind (NFB), we have always and will continue to implement new
> >>technologies to our Web site. We are in the process of making online
> >>enhancements that will benefit all of our guests, including
> those with
> >>disabilities. These enhancements will occur regardless of the
> outcome of
> >>this lawsuit."
> >>In court, Target argued that its Web site is not a "place of public
> >>accommodation" the way a brick-and-mortar store is, and that
> the site is
> >>therefore not governed by the Americans with Disabilities Act
> (ADA). A
> >>U.S.
> >>District Court judge in California rejected the argument,
> saying that
> >>restricting the ADA's discrimination provisions to physical
> locations>>"would
> >>contradict the plain language of the statute."
> >>More than three years ago, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer
> >>argued
> >>that the ADA requires commercial Web sites to be accessible, while
> >>investigating Priceline.com and Ramada.com. The companies
> agreed to pay
> >>fines totaling $77,500 and implement a variety of upgrades to
> help the
> >>blind
> >>navigate their Web sites.
> >>Despite that agreement, the Target court ruling was the first to
> >>directly
> >>state that the ADA applies to private Web sites, advocates for
> the blind
> >>say. The court has not yet addressed the practical question of
> how to
> >>define
> >>accessibility, Pare says. A court date is scheduled for April to
> >>determine
> >>whether the suit against Target can go forward as a class action.
> >>"This is not going to happen quickly," Pare says.
> >>Tracy Andrews, a 43-year-old resident of Cheshire, Conn., who
> has been
> >>legally blind since she was a child, says she often encounters
> >>difficulty
> >>when searching the Web but is surprised Target has opted to
> fight the
> >>lawsuit.
> >>"I think in the long run, if Web sites can make themselves more
> >>accessible
> >>it's going to be to their advantage," Andrews says. "To fight
> it is only
> >>being a stick in the mud. The tide is moving, you might as
> well go along
> >>with it."
> >>State and federal government Web sites are already required to be
> >>accessible
> >>to the blind due to the ADA and other laws, says Judy Brewer,
> director>>of
> >>the Web Accessibility Initiative at W3C in Cambridge, the
> World Wide Web
> >>Consortium, an international standards organization.
> >>Although the legal requirements for private companies are not
> as clear,
> >>many
> >>commercial Web sites have already made the switch to accessibility.
> >>Amazon.com and Wal-Mart have Web sites that are in good shape, Pare
> >>says.
> >>Organizations can apply to the NFB for a certification demonstrating
> >>that
> >>their site complies with accessibility guidelines. Ten have
> obtained the
> >>certification, including Merck, Legal Sea Foods, HP, General
> Electric,>>Wells
> >>Fargo and the Social Security Administration.
> >>Merck became certified in April 2005, before the Target
> lawsuit. An
> >>external
> >>contract to upgrade the site cost about $35,000, and Merck
> devoted at
> >>least
> >>two employees to the project, says Larry Tattoli, associate
> director of
> >>Merck.com. The process "wasn't that difficult," he says.
> >>A bigger challenge has been maintaining accessibility as the
> Web site
> >>grows
> >>and changes, Tattoli says. Whenever a new image is added, a
> Web site
> >>developer has to add alt-text that can be read to a blind person.
> >>On a positive note, Merck officials found that making the site
> >>accessible to
> >>the blind did not alter the visual presentation, as they had feared.
> >>"It was this feeling that the text would have to be huge, or you
> >>couldn't
> >>have any images on it, it would be text-only pages. It's not true,"
> >>Tattoli
> >>says. "The pages I could show you before it was accessible and
> after it
> >>was
> >>accessible are exactly the same."
> >>The cost of making a Web site accessible usually equals 5% to
> 10% of the
> >>cost of Web maintenance, says Preety Kumar, CEO of Deque
> Systems, a
> >>Reston,
> >>Va., company that helps Web site designers automate the task of
> >>complying
> >>with accessibility standards.
> >>"A very small percentage" of companies have made their sites
> accessible,>>she
> >>says.
> >>"They're overwhelmed, that's what I'm sensing," Kumar says.
> "There are
> >>companies that are responding to the Target lawsuit, and
> they're paying
> >>attention because they realize the risks of noncompliance are not
> >>insignificant."
> >>Beyond the blind
> >>Blind people aren't the only ones with disabilities using the
> Internet.>>Deaf
> >>people, for example, can access visual portions of the Web without
> >>assistance but are often out of luck when it comes to audio
> files or
> >>sound
> >>on video files, even though there are tools Web developers can
> use to
> >>add
> >>captions.
> >>People with severe motor disabilities can use voice
> recognition software
> >>to
> >>surf the Web, as paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve did before
> his death.
> >>If
> >>they still have some ability to use their hands, they can also
> be helped
> >>by
> >>the same accessibility guidelines designed for the blind.
> Someone who
> >>can
> >>type but cannot manipulate a mouse can surf Web sites that are fully
> >>accessible with a keyboard.
> >>"If you do it right and you make your Web site accessible to
> the blind,
> >>you
> >>do cover other [disabled] populations largely," Kumar says.
> >>Among the disabled, Kumar says she thinks blind people are the most
> >>challenged because they need a clean text-to-speech
> translation in
> >>addition
> >>to a mouse alternative.
> >>People who are deaf and blind would be worse off, obviously,
> but they
> >>can
> >>use a Braille display, a strip located in front of the computer
> >>keyboard. A
> >>mechanism inside the strip controls small pins that go up and
> down to
> >>form
> >>Braille letters.
> >>Andrews, the legally blind Connecticut resident, says she's
> using a
> >>7-year-old version of ZoomText, a program that reads text out
> loud and
> >>magnifies the screen. Sometimes text is read to her in a nonsensical
> >>order,
> >>particularly when it is arranged in columns instead of
> paragraph form.
> >>Andrews says her outdated version of ZoomText may be causing
> problems>>but
> >>that poor text-to-speech translation is also often due to the
> Web sites
> >>themselves.
> >>"Newer Web sites are better than older Web sites," she says.
> Learning>>how to
> >>use the Internet when you can't see is something that takes
> time, even
> >>if
> >>the technology is up to date, she says.
> >>"It can be a little slow going. Like anything, you get better
> at it.
> >>It's a
> >>skill you develop," Andrews says.
> >>Web site developers may find it easier to establish
> accessibility if
> >>they
> >>are building a whole new site, rather than upgrading an old
> one. That's
> >>what
> >>officials at Legal Sea Foods found when they decided to
> replace their
> >>Web
> >>site in January 2005 because it had become old and stale, says Ken
> >>Chaisson,
> >>vice president of information technology at the Boston
> restaurant chain.
> >>Starting from scratch is a "heck of a lot easier" than changing
> >>everything
> >>on an existing Web site, he says. Financially, making the site
> >>accessible to
> >>the blind is worth it for Legal even if just five extra groups
> of people
> >>come to one of the restaurants, he says.
> >>But only a small number of companies have upgraded their Web sites,
> >>according to some observers. A March 2006 survey found that
> >>three-quarters
> >>of businesses listed in the FTSE 100 Index in London failed to meet
> >>minimum
> >>Web site accessibility requirements set by British laws to end
> >>discrimination against disabled people.
> >>Observations by Brewer of W3C square with the study's findings.
> >>"The majority of sites on the Web are not fully accessible to people
> >>with
> >>disabilities," she says.
> >>Click to see:
> >>
> >>Can the blind, and other disabled people, use your Web site?
> >>
> >>
> >>Here are 10 quick tests to check accessibility:
> >>1 Make sure informational
> images (like your organization's logo)
> >>have
> >>alternative text. Place the cursor over the image. A box
> should appear
> >>with
> >>a brief, accurate description.
> >>2 Check decorative images
> for alternative text. If the image has
> >>no
> >>function other than to look nice, it should not have any alternative
> >>text.
> >>
> >>3 "Listen" to audio and
> video content with the volume turned off.
> >>This
> >>is the situation faced by a deaf person. Make sure your Web site
> >>supplies
> >>written transcripts for all audio content.
> >>4 Make sure forms are
> accessible. Each item in a form should have
> >>a
> >>prompt text. When you click on the prompt text, a flashing
> cursor should
> >>appear in the box next to the text.
> >>5 Check that text can be
> resized. In Internet Explorer go to
> >>View>Font
> >>size>Largest. If the text does not increase in size, your site
> may be
> >>inaccessible to users with low vision.
> >>6 Check your Web site in
> the Lynx browser. This is a text-only
> >>browser. If a site makes sense in Lynx, it probably fulfills many
> >>accessibility guidelines.
> >>7 Use your Web site
> without a mouse. If you can't navigate your
> >>site
> >>using just tab, shift-tab, and enter, then neither can people
> using only
> >>a
> >>keyboard or voice recognition software.
> >>8 Make sure there is a
> site map
> >>9 Make sure alternative
> text associated with links make sense out
> >>of
> >>context. Blind users often jump from one link to the next with
> the tab
> >>button.
> >>10 Check your Web pages with an
> automated program, such as WebXACT
> >>or
> >>Wave.
> >>11 Use ASCII text that screen
> access software can convert to speech
> >>or
> >>Braille.
> >>12 Provide meaningful text
> labels for hypertext links. Labels like
> >>"click here" aren't good enough.
> >>13 Make sure tables and multi-
> column text does not prevent screen
> >>access software from rendering pages in an intelligible and useful
> >>manner.
> >>Even sophisticated screen access software has trouble with
> tables that
> >>contain many columns, such as bus and train schedules.
> >>Source: Webcredible, London
> >>All contents copyright 1995-2007 Network World, Inc.
> >>http://www.networkworld.com
> >>
> >
> > David Andrews and white cane Harry.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gui-talk mailing list
> > gui-talk at nfbnet.org
> > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk
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