[gui-talk] Fwd: Microsoft Mobile Accessibility Roundtable

[Mike Arrigo]

I think it's good that Microsoft wants to build a screen reader in to the product instead of it being a third party option. However, with the features windows phone 7 currently lacks, compared to other platforms such as android and IOS, I don't see how windows phone 7 is going to compete in the general market. Some of the features it's lacking are considered basic functions by other platforms, guess time will tell.
On Nov 13, 2010, at 12:01 AM, Steve Pattison wrote:

> From:    erik burggraaf erik at erik-burggraaf.com
> To:      GW-Micro List gw-info at gwmicro.com
> 
> Hi, Thought some here might be interested in this given the recent
> threads on wp7.  Understand that every one has been frozen out.  No
> mobile speak, no talks for windows phone 7.  It also nagates all
> applications that relied on multi-tasking, background processing, and
> any sort of interaction.  not just accessibility tools, but any
> applications.  Even simple interaction such as copying and pasting
> won't be available until the next release of windows phone in about two
> years time.  
> 
> Best,
> 
> Erik Burggraaf
> User support consultant,
> One on one access technology support and training over the phone or in person,
> 1-888-255-5194
> http://www.erik-burggraaf.com
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> Below is a document that captures an event that took place recently and
> which RNIB attended. 
> 
> Steve
> 
> Microsoft Roundtable 26 October 2010
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> I would like to thank each of you for taking the time to travel, in many
> cases, great distances to Redmond, Washington to meet with members of
> Microsoft's mobile and accessibility teams.  Your engagement, feedback,
> and guidance are genuinely appreciated.
> 
> As a follow-up to the Mobile Accessibility Roundtable, I wanted to
> provide you with summary notes from the event and a statement from Andy
> Lees, President of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business, outlining
> Microsoft's accessibility goals for the Windows Phone operating system.
> Please feel free to share the statement with your members and
> constituents.  
> 
> Overview of the event:
> 
> The Mobile Accessibility Roundtable was a daylong event held on October
> 26, 2010, at Microsoft's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington,
> U.S.A.  The event included guests from the following organizations
> representing the blind and low-vision communities: National Federation
> of the Blind, American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the
> Blind, CNIB, Royal National Institute of Blind People, Vision Australia,
> and ONCE.  Microsoft's participation included facilitated dialogue and
> presentations by: Andy Lees, President of Microsoft's Mobile Business,
> Rob Sinclair, Microsoft's Chief Accessibility Officer, Chuck Bilow,
> Microsoft's Senior Program Manager responsible for Windows Phone
> accessibility, and me, Richard Suplee, a Senior Product Planner in
> Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business. 
> 
> Current status of Windows Phone 7 (WP7):
> 
> At the Roundtable event, Chuck Bilow and others discussed some of the
> technical features of WP7, as well as some of the challenges we have
> faced in bringing this new product to market.  Some of these points,
> outlined below, are important to keep in mind as we continue the
> dialogue about the future of WP7:
> 
> Windows Phone 7 is a fundamental top-to-bottom rewrite from previous
> Microsoft mobile operating systems and in many ways is like a first
> version product.  It is an entirely new operating system and user
> interface.  Therefore, no applications from earlier Microsoft mobile
> operating systems will run on Windows Phone 7 and features had to be
> re-created for use on the new platform.  No handset that currently runs
> Windows Mobile 6.5 can run the Windows Phone 7 operating system.  There
> is no upgrade path to Windows Phone 7 for the Windows Mobile 6.5
> operating system, the current hardware or existing applications. Windows
> Phone 7 is a new platform from the ground up.
> 
> We are not yet where we want to be with accessibility features in
> Windows Phone 7.  With that said, we are able to support a number of
> eyes-free calling scenarios, contrast and color adjustments, and pinch
> and zoom support in e-mail, web-browsing and Office applications.  The
> eyes-free calling support utilizes wired headsets, speech recognition
> and text-to-speech in its Voice Activated Dialing scenario.  
> 
> With this first release, because of the inherent increased complexity,
> it was not feasible to build some of the infrastructure we need to
> support a screen reader (for example, multi-tasking, inter-process
> communication, and user interface focus).  These features impact the
> ability to support many types of applications, including accessibility
> applications like a screen reader.  
> 
> Because this is an entirely new system, we are still examining how best
> to implement certain functionality.  For example, we are still examining
> how to enable simultaneous applications (i.e., multi-tasking) in the
> Windows Phone operating system.  This limitation in the V1 platform does
> not allow applications to run in the background and control touch input
> or any other aspect of the user interface.  The initial operating system
> lacks features such as Copy/Paste, support for enterprise scenarios,
> some email and web browsing plug-ins, and some assistive technologies
> like traditional screen readers.
> 
> Feedback from guests at the event:
> 
> The highest product priority is for Microsoft to enable a built-in
> screen reader that works across the Windows Phone experiences.  The
> screen reader should be free to users and work "out of the box" on all
> Windows Phones.
> 
> In addition to a built-in screen reader, Microsoft should provide
> programmatic access for developers, including assistive technology (AT)
> vendors, to extend the capabilities of the built-in screen reader.
> 
> Microsoft should work with its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and
> mobile operator partners to promote the availability of Windows Mobile
> 6.5 phones with optional screen readers until Windows Phones have a
> screen reader.
> 
> The Microsoft mobile team should use the Microsoft's Windows Phone
> "Chassis spec", the hardware guidance Microsoft provides to OEMs, to
> help promote  accessible hardware.  The example given was using the
> chassis to ensure Microsoft's OEM partners use displays with sufficient
> screen contrast. 
> 
> Attendees expressed some skepticism in Microsoft's current capacity to
> build a high-quality screen reader, but felt if Microsoft applied
> sufficient research, design, and usability resources to the problem,
> Microsoft should be able to enable a high quality screen reading
> experience.
> 
> * The Microsoft mobile engineering team should incorporate input from
> people who are blind to ensure a high quality screen reading experience
> is enabled.  
> 
> * Microsoft should engage with external groups that represent the blind
> community to test and review the accessibility features Microsoft
> enables. 
> 
> * Accessibility information is not available on the Windows Phone
> website and should be.
> 
> * Microsoft should continue a dialog with the assembled group.
> 
> Guests also provided rich planning information during a device ecosystem
> workshop and mobile accessibility futures sessions.  This information
> will be used by Microsoft's mobile planning and user research team for
> building out "Day in the life" portraits and scenario development.
> 
> Next steps:
> 
> Provide a meeting summary with guest feedback from the Roundtable and a
> statement from Andy Lees.  Below is a statement from Andy Lees,
> President of Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business, that you should
> feel free to share with your members and constituents:
> 
> o   Microsoft's goal is to deliver platforms, products, and services
> that are accessible.  We recognize that there is more we can do in this
> respect, and our goal is to develop Windows Phone into a compelling
> option for people who are blind or visually impaired.  
> 
> Windows Phone 7 is exciting because it introduces an entirely new way
> for consumers to interact with their mobile phones.  It is a complete
> change from Microsoft's past mobile systems - different than anything
> else on the market.  This new approach presents both challenges and
> opportunities for visual accessibility.  The Windows Phone 7 operating
> system already provides some features that enable basic accessibility
> for blind and low-vision users. As we move forward, we will continue to
> make Windows Phone handsets easier for blind and low-vision individuals
> to use.  These plans include further expanding use of speech
> functionality to create a better eyes-free phone experience, and
> building on this technology to enable screen reading functionality
> specifically tailored to the one-of-a-kind Windows Phone interface.  
> 
> Looking to the future of mobile computing, we believe there is a great
> opportunity to embrace new technologies to help all people better
> navigate their world.  We hope to shape and define this future in
> partnership with the blind and visually-impaired communities. 
> 
> Microsoft will host an additional Mobile Accessibility Roundtable at the
> beginning of the next major Windows Phone product planning cycle.  This
> will give the blind and low-vision communities an opportunity to provide
> feedback and priorities as Microsoft develops its next plan of record
> for Windows Phone.  The next Roundtable would likely be at least a year
> away. 
> 
> * Microsoft will extend its Windows Phone testing program to include
> individuals within your organizations.  We will send details after our
> next Windows Phone testing program is established.
> 
> * Microsoft will communicate accessibility updates through the
> Trustworthy Computing team's newsletter (Accessibility Update).  This
> could include information on operating system updates, new third party
> applications or new phones. 
> 
> On behalf of Microsoft, thank you again for participating in the Mobile
> Accessibility Roundtable.  We think the Roundtable was a positive step
> towards a richer engagement between Microsoft and your respective
> organizations and the blind and low-vision communities you represent. 
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Richard Suplee
> 
> Senior Product Planner, Microsoft
> 
> Regards Steve
> Email:  srp at internode.on.net
> MSN Messenger:  internetuser383 at hotmail.com
> Skype:  steve1963
> Twitter:  steve9782
> 
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