[gui-talk] [gua-talk] Google Search Settings Page No Longer Accessible

Rose Combs rosecombs at q.com
Sat Dec 17 23:44:17 UTC 2011


Wheat ever was accessible labs, the page I have used for several years.  


Rose Combs
rosecombs at Q.com

-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of GREGORY ROSENBERG
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 2:29 PM
To: Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] [gua-talk] Google Search Settings Page No Longer
Accessible

Rose,

Are you speaking of a different page other than
http://www.google.com/accessibility/

On Dec 16, 2011, at 2:55 PM, Rose Combs wrote:

> My question is why should we have to keep changing modes, using 
> different cursors to accomplish something that a sighted person can do 
> with a mouse in a nanosecond.
> 
> I had used the Accessible Google page at work for years, and now 
> suddenly it is gone and now when I do a search I have so much garbage 
> to get through before I find my results that it is hardly worth it.  I 
> just want my simple search and simple results pages, especially at 
> work where I am generally searching for medical equipment or 
> medications, cancer trials etc.  I don't want ads, I don't want to 
> have to wade through over half a page of junk to find 10 results that 
> because I don't know how to spell what I am looking for, why else 
> would I be looking, discover that what I got were people's you-tube 
> pages or blogs when what I want is a manufacturer site or a drug store
site.
> 
> For that alone I am upset with Google for doing away with the 
> accessible page.  At home I don't care usually but at work I need to 
> be fast and true, I don't have time to look through junk, not with the 
> production standers they push out, I cannot spend 15 minutes or more 
> looking for something and with Accessible Google, I never did, less than
two or three usually.
> 
> I still use it, but if I found something with as much going for it 
> that was a simple interface I'd be using it for work at least.
> 
> Why the heck did they take it away is what I want to know.  
> 
> 
> 
> Rose Combs
> rosecombs at Q.com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 2:30 PM
> To: Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Google Search Settings Page No Longer 
> Accessible
> 
> Mike,
> 
> Thank you for the reminder about hos these work.  With Window-Eyes and 
> Internet Explorer 8, I turned browse mode off and then on after 
> pressing ENTER on Options, and they then appeared.  I also found the 
> "slider" that changes the number of results shown.  I routed the 
> Window-Eyes mouse pointer to the slider and then pressed right arrow 
> until I got to the number I wanted and then clicked on it to make the 
> change.  The predictive search can also be turned off on this page.
> 
> This is the kind of thing that makes our lives complicated.  This is 
> certainly less convenient, and I find myself really wondering what has 
> been gained.  Besides screen readers, I don't think these sliders can 
> be manipulated from the keyboard, although I need to investigate that
more.
> Yet, because of how they work, it probably would not be that hard to 
> develop Window-Eyes apps or JFW scripts to make this easier to handle.  
> If these are new controls that are pretty common, expecting our screen 
> readers to handle them is not unreasonable.  If they are controls 
> specific only to certain Google pages, then it seems less reasonable 
> in that screen readers can't keep up with every control anyone can 
> think of even if scripting is possible.  This is definitely a gray 
> area in some ways, and I would also like to hear more what Google has 
> to say about these before making the kinds of claims some are making 
> here.  Whether we like it or not, some of the problem is that the web 
> has changed faster than screen readers can keep up but there have been 
> efforts to make new constructs accessible.  We just don't know for 
> certain at this point what is involved here.  Those having trouble 
> with the search page should go to this page, find the predictive 
> search slider, route the mouse or "JAWS cursor" to it and click on 
> OFF.  I found that I had to clidk on the Save button with the mouse 
> rather than the SPACE BAR as well, but possibly ENTER would have worked.
I don't know for sure.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Steve Jacobson
> 
> On Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:47:10 -0800, Mike Freeman wrote:
> 
>> I did some experimentation this morning and, as I suspected, things 
>> aren't
> quite as simple and cut-and-
> dried as most on this list are painting them. In particular, those who 
> are fulminating against Google should pay close attention to the below 
> as it illustrates perfectly why caution is in order and why venting 
> one's spleen because something is supposedly not accessible may, in 
> fact, be either operator error or the inability of one's 
> screen-reading technology to handle a perfectly legitimate web 
> construct.
> 
>> Using JAWS 12 and IE7 from my work computer, I saw what seemed to me 
>> a
> "normal" Google search page. 
> Below the "Search" and "I'm Feeling Lucky" buttons was an "Options" link.
> JAWS 12 showed it as a link. 
> As Steve says below, clicking on the link seems to accomplish nothing.
> However, this is not the case. If
> one arrows down after hitting the "Options" link, one finds that the 
> page has expanded to include a bunch of new links including one to go 
> to SPreferences and thence to earch Settings where there are 
> constructs to set all the parameters we're used to.
> 
>> I haven't checked this at home with JAWS 13 and IE8 yet but I know 
>> that
> this "Options" construct below
> the search says "Has pop-up" which presumably means that clicking on 
> it (hitting ENTER) expands the page as described above. I'll test this 
> later today when I'm home.
> 
>> So before blaming everyone and everything, it's always a good idea to 
>> ask
> lots of questions and
> experiment a bit and always be ready to be adaptable and acknowledge 
> that something new (but not necessarily inaccessible) is going on.
> 
>> Incidentally, anyone who has searched Microsoft's security pages for
> product bulletins will have
> encountered this "pop-up" construct as it's been around all 2011.
> 
>> Mike Freeman
> 
> 
>> On Dec 14, 2011, at 12:09, "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
> wrote:
> 
>>> I'm a bit confused here.  I see that there are differences on the 
>>> search
> page of Google and that
> there
>>> is no "screen reader" link, but I am not noticing any real 
>>> differences in
> the search.  Am I missing
>>> something?
>>> 
>>> I am not able to find a link to get to the search options, though.  
>>> There
> is an "options" link that
> for
>>> me does not seem to do anything.  From what I have read, I 
>>> understand
> that there are changes there
> that
>>> are not good but am wondering how people are getting there.
>>> 
>>> Best regards,
>>> 
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>> 
>>> On Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:02:28 -0800, hawkeye wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I have had sighted assistance on this.  This is no line to check 
>>>> for screenreaders.  There once was but there isn't now.  Been to 
>>>> the start
> up
>>>> page, been to the homesite, there is no line for screenreaders. 
>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>>>> [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On
>>>> Behalf Of Gerald Levy
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 2:29 PM
>>>> To: Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing 
>>>> List
>>>> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Google Search Settings Page No Longer 
>>>> Accessible
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> This is all well and good if all you want to do is turn off Google
> Instant. 
>>>> But what if you want to change the number of search results per 
>>>> page
> from
>>>> the default of 10 to 20 or 50?  Or specify that each search result 
>>>> opens
> in
>>>> a new browser window?  Apparently, there is no longer any way to
> accomplish
>>>> this.
>>> 
>>>> Gerald
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Jude DaShiell" <jdashiel at shellworld.net>
>>>> To: "Discussion of the Graphical User Interface, GUI Talk Mailing List"

>>>> <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 5:10 PM
> 
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> 
> 
> 
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