Techinsider recently posted a roundup of rumours expected for the iPhone 7. One in particular has me worried for the future if it comes to fruition. It’s rumoured the home button could be replaced by a touch sensor. Not being able to have a physical button to press would spell the end of the phone’s usefulnessContinueContinue reading “If the iPhone 7 removes the Home button it will become less accessible”
Author Archives: dnw
WordPress Accessibility Team Seeks Testers Using Speech Recognition Technology
Rian Rietveld and the Accessibility team are working to improve the experience of using WordPress with speech recognition software, such asDragon Naturally Speaking (widely considered as one of the best for desktop use.) In particular, the task of adding media to a post has a number of obstacles that make it nearly impossible for thoseContinueContinue reading “WordPress Accessibility Team Seeks Testers Using Speech Recognition Technology”
Talk to the hand!
“However, all that may change. If you believe the doctors, I will lose my speech at some point, although they have been saying that for 20 years, and there will be other jobs that push and challenge me. My commitment is to face those brick wall moments head on and climb the bloody wall ratherContinueContinue reading “Talk to the hand!”
Microsoft celebrates inclusive design with microsite and video – WinBeta
Inclusive design, or universal design, is an important part of the design world. The concept isn’t often enough given focus compared to other disciplines, despite the importance of its application in everyday life to making products accessible to anyone. Microsoft, whose products are used by billions around the world, are of course familiar with the principles of inclusive design, and theContinueContinue reading “Microsoft celebrates inclusive design with microsite and video – WinBeta”
Karlen Communications – PDF and the User Experience Survey
This survey was designed for people with disabilities using adaptive technology. Every attempt has been made to ensure that the survey is accessible. It has been tested by people who use adaptive technology such as screen readers and refreshable Braille displays before going live. There is an e-mail link at the beginning of the surveyContinueContinue reading “Karlen Communications – PDF and the User Experience Survey”
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is coming – here’s what Apple’s doing about it! | iMore
In advance of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Apple has some important updates coming your way! On the App Store, Apple has updated the company’s Accessibility collection. That’s where App Store editors have carefully curated a list of the very best apps, by the very best developers, that are helping make the world a more accessibleContinueContinue reading “Global Accessibility Awareness Day is coming – here’s what Apple’s doing about it! | iMore”
ACMA review of the Captioning Quality Standard
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released the final report on the review it has been conducting of television captioning standards. Remote control pointed at Smart TV Under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, the ACMA was required to conduct a review of the Captioning Quality Standard(link is external), which was introduced in 2013,ContinueContinue reading “ACMA review of the Captioning Quality Standard”
Web Accessibility: The Inclusive Way to Boost Your Bottom Line | Lullabot
A very good read [Ed..] Yes, it is about recognizing humanity in all of its diversity and doing our very best to give everyone the experience they came for. However, making websites accessible isn’t a charitable act. It’s not a nod to an edge-case scenario to satisfy a requirement somewhere, nor is it about spendingContinueContinue reading “Web Accessibility: The Inclusive Way to Boost Your Bottom Line | Lullabot”
Default Implicit ARIA semantics
The question of whether HTML elements need the addition of ARIA role attibutes to expose their semantics, is one that surfaces on a regular basis. The answer is maybe for a subset of elements, but increasingly no. … In some cases the semantics of a HTML element can be expressed by an ARIA role, stateContinueContinue reading “Default Implicit ARIA semantics”
Accessibility in Office 365—progress in 2015 and plans for 2016 – Office Blogs
Our goals are to ensure that: People with disabilities can communicate, consume and create content on any device. Everyone can easily create content that is accessible for all people. We have a strong track record of compliance with accessibility standards for our productivity applications on PCs and for our communication applications, including Section 508 ProcurementContinueContinue reading “Accessibility in Office 365—progress in 2015 and plans for 2016 – Office Blogs”
The Visual ARIA Bookmarklet
Visual ARIA allows engineers, testers, educators, and students to physically observe ARIA usage within web technologies, including ARIA 1.1 structural, live region, and widget roles, proper nesting and focus management, plus requisite and optional supporting attributes to aid in development. … Curated by (Lifekludger) Read full article at Whatsock.com
Accessibility 101 – 8 tips for a better user experience
As designers and developers we usually work with particular people in mind when creating something. This is our target end-user: someone with a certain set of goals, characteristics and motivations that will be accessing your services. Yet, even if you segment your users and consider usage scenarios for various behaviours, there are inherent qualities that,ContinueContinue reading “Accessibility 101 – 8 tips for a better user experience”
Web accessibility will now be the law of the land in Europe – EurActiv.com
On Tuesday (3 May), after a long night of negotiation, and after more than three years since its proposal, it was agreed that web accessibility will now be the law of the land in Europe. This is a victory not only for persons with disabilities, but all of us, writes Dita Charanzová. Dita Charanzová MEPContinueContinue reading “Web accessibility will now be the law of the land in Europe – EurActiv.com”
THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE
Imagine You are in your mid-twenties and your vision is 20/20 or better. You are not color blind and all the devices you own have a ‘retina’ screen. You are standing in a major city and your internet is fast. Imagine Your vision isn’t 20/20 anymore, just like 65% of the population, it’s worse thanContinueContinue reading “THE VEIL OF IGNORANCE”
Twitter Adds Alt-Text Image Descriptions to Extend Tweet Accessibility
At last year’s Twitter Flight developer conference, CEO Jack Dorsey, as part of a wider effort to mend bridges with the developer community, called for ideas for updates to the service. The fourth most requested feature was providing the ability to add alternative text for images, enabling better functionality for people who are visually impaired.ContinueContinue reading “Twitter Adds Alt-Text Image Descriptions to Extend Tweet Accessibility”
Facebook Automated Captions Improve Accessibility, Provide Additional Insights | Social Media Today
… Facebook announced the release of automatic alternative text – or automatic alt text – for images posted to Facebook. Automatic alt text uses object recognition technology to generate a description of a photo, processing each through Facebook’s artificial intelligence engine to establish image content. … At the time of launch, the team has focused the systemContinueContinue reading “Facebook Automated Captions Improve Accessibility, Provide Additional Insights | Social Media Today”
See the New Lego Set That Has Disability Advocates Cheering | TakePart
From mythical characters, such as a werewolf or vampire, to more realistic ones, such as a cheerleader waving her pom-poms or a female scientist, Lego figures have long been a staple of kid toy boxes and a hot property among adult collectors. But out of the hundreds of small, one-and-one-half-inch-tall plastic figures produced by Lego overContinueContinue reading “See the New Lego Set That Has Disability Advocates Cheering | TakePart”
Australia’s first disability-focused tech accelerator launched | Media Access Australia
Australia’s first disability-focused impact accelerator, Remarkable, held its official launch event on 31 March at the University of Sydney. The Remarkable Accelerator program aims to work with inclusive start-up companies by using technology in innovative ways to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Remarkable, a division of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and powered byContinueContinue reading “Australia’s first disability-focused tech accelerator launched | Media Access Australia”
Making Meetings Accessible
The Basics Introductions:When being introduced to people who have vision loss, say hello and wait for them to offer their hand to be shaken. When introducing yourself, simply say something like “Hi, my name is Kevin Jones. Great to meet you. Let’s shake hands.” … A Note About Guide Dogs:Do not pet a guide dogContinueContinue reading “Making Meetings Accessible”
UPDATED: WVU opens gender neutral bathrooms, ignores handicap accessibility
West Virginia University (WVU) celebrated the grand opening of two state-of-the-art gender neutral bathrooms Thursday, in an effort to preserve its commitment to diversity and “remain a national leader in progression and inclusion.” However, the school has failed to remain inclusive for for its students who are handicapped. … Some students at WVU, however, thinkContinueContinue reading “UPDATED: WVU opens gender neutral bathrooms, ignores handicap accessibility”
How to make Font Awesome Accessible
If you use Font Awesome to link to your social media pages then you need to ensure that they are accessible to screen readers by adding anchor text. If you use Font Awesome to link to your social media pages then you need to ensure that they are accessible to screen readers by adding anchor text. IfContinueContinue reading “How to make Font Awesome Accessible”
Are you wasting your time creating an accessible PDF?
The collective knowledge around the creation of accessible PDFs is slowly but surely growing, making this flexible format more widely available to people of all abilities. But what if you make your PDF accessible, yet someone still finds it inaccessible because of the way they open it?PDF button on a computer keyboard In a nutshell,ContinueContinue reading “Are you wasting your time creating an accessible PDF?”
Web Accessibility for Information Architects – Part 2
This post is the second in a two-part series about Accessibility and Information Architecture by Deque Director of Consulting Methodology & Quality, Glenda Sims. Source: Web Accessibility for Information Architects – Part 2
Website Accessibility For Information Architects – Part 1
This post is the first in a two-part series about Accessibility and Information Architecture by Deque Director of Consulting Methodology & Quality, Glenda Sims… Information architecture (IA) is the blueprint for web design. The purpose of information architecture is to analyze, organize, and label information on websites so that real people (not involved with the design andContinueContinue reading “Website Accessibility For Information Architects – Part 1”
While we wait… – disabilityinhighered
Students with disabilities now account for over one tenth of the general undergraduate student population in the US. That figure truly marks progress from the numbers predating the Rehabilitation Act. However, while 58% of students without disabilities graduate with a bachelor’s degree, of college students with disabilities, only 21-34% will do the same (Florida CollegeContinueContinue reading “While we wait… – disabilityinhighered”
