Web Site Accessibility Blog

When I read Chris Hofstater’s post yesterday about his experiences with Apple products, I had a feeling it would grow. I knew Apple had a great track record in Accessibility, as i was a Mac fan for many years. I had the “portable” Mac, as it got me thru college, and I was always amazed by the MacTalk feature.

Chris observes the past record of Apple and how they have sacrificed accessible for cool. The iPod is a classic example of an anti-blind product. There is no capability for voice in the iPod, which it certainly has the computing power to do. From focusing on accessibility to now focusing on cool, Apple has changed the core of their development and left accessibility behind.

Chris follows up yesterday’s post with a new one today, as the response was overwhelming. So, he does what any good blogger would do - talk about the subject even more. So, part 2, More about Apple and Me. I highly recommend this reading as a history lesson about Steve Jobs, Apple, Microsoft and IBM. Solid stuff, and well worth your time.

Courtesy of Blind Access Journal, a presentation from Apple and educators discussing the accessibility features of Mac OS 10.4. The link is a direct link to an MP3 file.

Joe Clark reviews the PAS 78 document; from the font, the purchase, the delivery to the actual recommendations. The PDF was not available when he ordered, so he reviewes the printed guide.

Joe has some serious concerns for though as well as some thought provoking dilemmas that are created by the document. Joe’s ultimate advice is that some additional writing could clear up many of the apparent contradictions in the document and explain things much better to the typical web manager.

On PDF’s, i thought he nailed it with this observation:

” §7.5.2.1, p. 24: “As PDF is not a W3C technology, technically its use does not uphold WCAG.” Actually, Checkpoint 11.1 merely requires developers to “[u]se W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task.” W3C technologies are widely available, but in at least 14 defined use cases, (X)HTML+CSS is not appropriate and PDF is, meaning you are in fact complying with WCAG in those cases.”

Overall, he feels that the guide provides a good resource, and it worth the price to have in your possession (ok, ok, I’m getting it now.) However, I would recommend reading his summary for yourself. There is also a “healthy” discussion about the document over at the Accessify Forums.

Courtesy of Blind Access Journal, Google has enabled a system where blind and vision-impaired users can bypass the dreaded CAPTCHA. Users can request access by email, and have access in 24 hours. According to the NFB, Google has also promised an audio playback alternative by the end of April, 2006.

If you haven’t done so already, please sign the Google petition to request all of their services to be accessible. This is a great first step by Google, and I hope that they are able to keep their timeline and provide a service that is both accessible and enables them to screen automated bots from their system as well. Audio CAPTCHA has issues as well, and is not without its problems, so I am intrigued to see if Google can bring the level of innovation to this problem as they have with information search.

The UK responds to web accessibility problems - nothing short of amazing.

Shortly after the PAS 78 Guide was released by the British Standards Institution (BSI), a reference website was launched on March 16, 2006 that enables organizations to receive timely advice and instant user accessibility testing.

Usability Exchange was founded with the principle of allowing developer to receive instant access from disabled people. The developers will also have the ability to watch as users attempt to navigate the sites and access the information.

Typically, live user testing, especially with the broad range of disabilities has been expensive and hard to arrange. Usability Exchange has lessened the burden of developers, web managers and companies that have to comply with the UK accessibility laws and the PAS 78 recommendations (which include user testing).

Disables testers are encouraged to sign up, as testers are paid for their reviews. This provides a win-win for all involved, as developers can get near instant feedback and testing from a wide variety of users and AT. Testers receive a flexible income for helping others to understand better accessibility actual user feedback.

What an incredible idea, truly a pioneering concept that I hope will gain traction and continue to grow as a new online community of ideas and innovation. I hope that they can keep up with the demand, and I wonder if this is a UK-only service?

I received an email from Chris Hofstater last month, informing me that he has started to blog at http://blindconfidential.blogspot.com/. Chris is a former VP at Freedom Scientific and one of the main forces behind JAWS. He has relocated to Florida and seems to be occupying his time with more things that I could keep up with.

For starters, we both have a love of saltwater fishing. While he likes to go out in a kayak, I prefer to keep my feet on an old pier or breakwall. He has also started a new endeavor, Project Paddle Odyssey, based on his love of outdoor sports, as a way to help other blind people can become independent in outdoor sporting.

His blog is full of both commentary and very insightful stories about dealing with blindness and the expectations or frustrations that one goes though. If you are a sighted person, I recommend reading Chris’ blog even more, as he communicates with honest intensity about his life. He does a very good job of bringing ideas and thoughts to people who have never had to experience what he has, and he is an outstanding representative to do so. His post about learning Braille and the actors in his mind re-awakening is foundational, and should be required reading for any sighted person commenting on blindness.

However, his blog is not just rants, observations and some irreverent humor; he has some solid technical posts about AT, podcasting, blogging and PDA’s. His comments on adapting adaptive technology are telling for anyone that is in the field. The love-hate affair with Audible had me rolling in laughter, yet starting to understand his life even more.

Head on over to Blind Confidential and add it to your subscriptions. You won’t be disappointed.

And Chris, “Braille booth babes for the blind”? That may catch on – I won’t be surprised if they are at the next show that I attend.

There is positive accessibility news out of the UK today. In response to an earlier survey that found 80% of websites were unusable by assistive technology, The the Disability Rights Commission has sponsored a set of guidelines, created by the British Standards Institution for anyone creating a “public-facing” website. Called PAS-78, it is essentially a best-practices guide to commissioning, creating and managing accessible websites.

This quote jumped out at me:

“The DRC also points out that businesses with accessible websites are in a much better position to tap into the estimated £80bn spent by people with disabilities every year.”

Wow. That’s a little chunk of change, especially considering what is happening here in the US with the NFB lawsuit against Target.com. In light of that, the PAS-78 guide is not intended to be a legally binding document, but could be used to “force an organisation to improve the accessibility of its website.”

The PAS-78 document is available for £30.00 (why?) by contacting the British Standards Institution at orders@bsi-global.com.

There is positive accessibility news out of the UK today. In response to an earlier survey that found 80% of websites were unusable by assistive technology, The the Disability Rights Commission has sponsored a set of guidelines, created by the British Standards Institution for anyone creating a “public-facing” website. Called PAS-78, it is essentially a best-practices guide to commissioning, creating and managing accessible websites.

This quote jumped out at me:

“The DRC also points out that businesses with accessible websites are in a much better position to tap into the estimated £80bn spent by people with disabilities every year.”

Wow. That’s a little chunk of change, especially considering what is happening here in the US with the NFB lawsuit against Target.com. In light of that, the PAS-78 guide is not intended to be a legally binding document, but could be used to “force an organisation to improve the accessibility of its website.”

The PAS-78 document is available for £30.00 (why?) by contacting the British Standards Institution at orders@bsi-global.com.

Interesting article about a professor, Brian Rosmaita of Hamilton College in New York. Rosmita has presented a paper, “Accessibility First! A New Approach to Web Design” at the Association for Computing Machinery SIGCSE 2006 Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, held in Houston. He is asking that accessibility be added earlier into Computer Science curriculum.

Rosmita is advocating teaching accessibility before teaching typical web design classes. Currently, students learn to build web pages and then add accessibility later. This change of philosophy places the emphasis on learning accessibility prior to learning thecoding and programming of a site.

I can’t agree enough about this approach. It has long been my criticism of high-school and university curriculum, that they teach WSYWIG programming, but not true coding. Even if they do approach actual code, standards and accessibility are mere mentions. As a result, they turn out thousands of students that can use FrontPage and DreamWeaver, but few who can hand-code a style sheet or adjust a site for IE/FireFox compatibility. Teaching Accessibility may actually turn a standard web page-building class into a creative workshop of ideas.

Search Engine Strategies New York is wrapping up – I’m on my way to the last session of the day. Speaking at the last session of the last day is always an interesting prospect, but it is also the most fun, as everyone loosens up.

Earlier in the week I was on a Site Architecture panel and was able to speak to architecture from an Accessibility standpoint. Audiences seem to be more and more receptive to this message. I’ve been intertwining accessibility into my search engine marketing sessions for almost three years now, and the mood seems to be changing.

Audiences are surprised to hear that basic accessibility is also basic search engine optimization. That creating an accessible site can be done while optimizing a site. The perception is that accessibility is a long, arduous and expensive process, however, anyone who looks at the W3C checklist will see differently. Those checkpoints are not just good accessibility but good marketing techniques as well. What is even more surprising is that the majority of site owners that I have talked to at this conference do not know what their site looks like in a cell phone or mobile device.

Of course, bringing the mobile device into play creates another set of priorities for a site owner. Accessibility is important, but mobile device accessibility brings the point home more effectively. That’s the good and bad of the issue. The mobile device issue is the one that pushes the site owner or manager over the edge. I’m glad people are taking the issue more seriously – part of me just wishes it was for accessibility alone that they would see the potential.