Web Site Accessibility Blog

In the category of “WHY”, DisneyUK removes its standards-compliant website and replaces it with one that does not even meet the simplest accessibility functions.

Anyone familiar with this is appreciatively confused by this action. While most companies see the need for accessibility and eventually implement it in newer versions, this is an amazing step for a company this large to take a step backwards.

Really, there are just no explanations or any words that can capture this decision by Disney to leave people out of their website.

Sesame Street has just released a new video, “Sesame Street – Friends to the Rescue.” The Children’s Television Workshop has created a show to help children understand what happens during storms, as Elmo, Zoe, Big Bird and the rest of cast of Sesame Street prepare for a big storm coming their way. This is to coincide with the upcoming hurricane season and hopes to answer some of the children’s fears from seeing last year’s hurricanes.

The wonderful thing about this video release is that there will also be accessibility features built-in to allow blind and visually-impaired children to “see” what is happening through descriptions of the visual elements. The program will include detailed and vivid explanations of facial expressions, colors, costumes, gestures and actions.

Sesame Street has been one of the most innovative children’s programming. All jokes aside, I remember growing up watching it, as Sesame Street came on TV a year before I was born. Now I see the joy my children get out of watching Sesame Street, while I trip over their Elmo toys.

Funny, as I was writing this, Microsoft Smart Tags are asking me if I would like directions to Sesame Street. “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” is now firmly in my mind, and I think I will hear the theme in my head for the rest of the evening.

The Harry Potter series has been hailed as the revival of reading among young children, teens and adults alike, which I think is a great thing. The stories are engaging, well-written, and to see children excited about reading is a very powerful thing. However, there is a lot of drama underlying the Harry Potter series, ebooks and accessibility, that I think this may end up being one of the longest posts I’ve made. So, this post is not really about any comments of mine about the Harry Potter series, only the concerns that surround e-publishing, web site design and the fighting against the digital age that has arisen as a result of the popularity of this international phenomenon.

The E-Book Controversy
The author of the Potter series, J.K. Rowling, and her literary agents, decided against releasing the novel on-line in an e-book format. They cited piracy and lack of interest among young readers in the digital e-book format. However, within 24 hours of the “Half-Blood Prince” release there was a full digital copy of the book online, for free, put together by fans that bought the book, scanned the pages with OCR software, proofread and released. The result of a coordinated effort among people that never met personally, but shared a common goal.

I think in a choice between some and none, the publishers might consider getting some. There is a demand, especially in this series. There are also a number of readers that cannot read the “typical� book. Multiple hindrances prevent people from reading the standard book format. Blindness and physical disabilities are only a few of the reasons. Therefore, how can those who need alternate versions of the book appreciate the release or the excitement surrounding it?

The hesitance of releasing the book is due to the lack of interest of children in reading e-books. The lawyers for the literary agency compared the plight of the great literary works “Princess Diaries� and “Samurai Girls� to average authors, such as Michael Crichton. Whereas Crichton’s books are successfully marketed to adults as e-books, the “Samari Girls� did not fare nearly as well, even when offered for free. Just my guess, but you think the quality of work may enter into the equation at some point? Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me that the demand is not the same for “Samurai Girls� as for “The Andromeda Strain.� Maybe offering something of quality, that appeals to a broad audience, may sell an e-book. But the market would not have created its own e-book, available for free, if the demand were not there, would it? Otherwise, to you publishers and literary agents, zero percent of zero equals zero. (0% x 0 = 0) Get it?

The Accessible Website
The other side to the Harry Potter buzz is the newly “accessabilized� J.K. Rowling web site. The site is the same, but a team of programmers from Lightmaker Group, Royal National Institute of the Blind and Royal National Institute for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People gave it an accessibility overhaul. Apparently, this is being hyped as to “what can happen when high end designers partner with accessibility experts.�

What is overlooked is that this is not a new web site; instead, it is just now accessible. What was previously a Flash-based experience for users is now an Accessible Flash-based web site. I don’t think that I can do better than Jeffrey Zeldman’s prudent observation; “On the one hand, it demonstrates how accessible a Flash-based site can be. On the other, it shows how many expensive experts it may take to make a deep Flash site accessible.â€?

Which is the case in this point, cost. That is the reason so many companies would love to overlook accessibility. But the reasoning of cost neglects the actual issue. The cost factor is minimal, that argument is a red herring, it distracts from the actual problem. It is web sites and news like this that makes people believe it is an expensive venture. If you want to see the reaction to Macromedia patting themselves on the back, check out the comments section in their blog. Which requires a captcha to leave a comment . . . (enough said about that)

If it were so critical and important, why wasn’t it implemented when the site went live years ago? It would have been cheaper. However, the current accessible version is not without hindrances. Just because something is accessible does not mean it performs well in usability. The accessibility features are still difficult to find, and are not able to be used in programs other than JAWS and Window Eyes. Oh, and by the way, the accessibility features are only available in English.

Many feel that, though accessible, the usability is significantly lacking. The text-only version could have simply been enhanced to allow for greater accessibility and usability while still providing an “experience.� While this is being touted as a significant accessibility accomplishment for Macromedia and its Flash technology, to me it raises more questions.
Why not create a standards-based site that uses Flash elements? Wouldn’t the cost be less and not require the services of a horde of “experts,â€? which most sites cannot afford? Doesn’t accessible mean that the site can be used, understood and appreciated, regardless of user agent?

However, all of this does make one simple point. At the core of any marketing effort, designing for accessibility at the beginning of a project will prevent additional costs or additional losses in the future.

Some is better than none, but all is better than some.

OK - I have to admit one of my passions is classic VW Beetles. I have to look when I hear that familiar engine hum, and if it is a convertable - ooooh! even better. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of VW Beetles. My dad had one, but he sold it when I was around 10. My dad had a friend, who owned one as well. His son and I were both the same age and went to school together. His dad was blind from diabetes and I remember when he made the news, as his hobby was repairing VW Beetle engines. He could disassemble, reassemble and install a complete Beetle engine completely by touch.

My current quest is looking for a good Beetle, preferrably a convertable, to restore, or just to have some fun. So, while looking around I found a Beetle available as part of a raffle to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. MS is what has afflicted my father for over 20 years, so I am very supportive of many of the MS fundraisers. The actual car is a ‘58 hardtop, and raffle tickets are $15 a piece and purchased through paypal. I’m heading over to buy a couple of tickets. If someone else wins as a result of following my links, can I at least take it for a spin?

On Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Yahoo! Music debuted the New Stevie Wonder video “So What the Fuss?� The significance of this music video is that Stevie Wonder has used new technology to implement an alternate track for low-vision and blind users. Rapper Busta Rhymes narrates the alternate version of the video, providing an insightful and enjoyable mental picture of the video.

From the press release on the Y! Music site, Stevie comments that “Until now music videos have been very one dimensional for those who are blind or with low vision. Now all music video fans will be able to apply their vision to my video thanks to the descriptive technique.� The video will be able to offer the second version with the new technology which can air on all SAP-accessible TV channels.

While listening to the narration and the background music, Busta Rhymes places an astounding image in one’s mind. His vocal imagery was successful in creating this new technique, as the words and inflections were able to communicate the energy of both the video and the music.

However, the Yahoo! Music site is noticeable unfriendly to blind and low-vision users. No navigation buttons employ alt text, especially in the artist and song search function. Even worse, when selecting a video to view, Y! Music tests the media player connection and asks the user to press the “I see the video� button, which is a graphic button with no alt text. While I don’t expect Y!Music to change their entire video format for one accessible video, it was surprising to see the entire navigation focused on site cues, rather than textual cues for universal access. On a side note, Y! Music is also unable to play videos in a Mozilla browser other than Netscape 4.7x or 7.1, sorry FireFox.

Stevie Wonder has been one of the most talented musicians and innovators of our time. I think it was perfect that he would be the one to unveil an exciting idea and technology that would provide all fans a chance to enjoy a primarily visual medium.