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Search Results Page Layout
http://simplyaccessible.org/article/search-results-page-layout
From the Simply Accessible Blog: When we use systems that include searching capability such as back end administration tools, we often see search forms presented both on the page that you search from and the page that displays the search results. This can be very useful for both the user and the programmer:
Contributed on Thu, 03 Nov 2005 23:06:53 GMT.
Simply Accessible
http://accessify.com/2005/10/simply-accessible.php
From the Accessify Weblog: Derek Featherstone has started up Simply Accessible, a new site demonstrating methods for increasing website accessibility without compromising aesthetics or usability. Derek cites cases where a web site or component might be technically accessible, but unusable to one or more groups of persons with disabilities, and explains how to address each issue. Simply Accessible is currently based on Derek's presentation at Web Essentials 05 (Designing for Accessibility: Beyond the Basics). Specific examples include suggested improvements for required form fields, form error messages, search form layout, and search results layout. All are well worth a look, and we are told more examples are forthcoming.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 23:02:19 GMT.
Wanted - Your Accessibility Links
http://accessify.com/2005/11/wanted-your-accessibility-links.php
From the Accessify Weblog: Because of the length of time that this site has languished, waiting for a rebuild, there have been a lot of requests for links to be added that simply haven't happened - because I've been unable to thanks to the inflexibility of the previous system. So, this is a call to everyone who has an accessibility resource they'd like to see added on these pages: 1. Visit the Links and resources page and choose the most appropriate category 2. Head to the foot of the page you pick and add your link details.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 23:01:25 GMT.
Braille PDA Showcased at Technology Fair
http://www.accessibilityblog.com/2005/11/01/braille-pda-showcased-at-technology-fair/
From Matt Bailey 's Accessibility Outlook Blog: The Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Visual Impairment at the College of Education held its 7th Annual Distinguished Lecture Series at Texas Tech Saturday in conjunction with an assistive technology fair to show professionals and the public what tools the disabled can use to facilitate technological interaction. HumanWare, a New Zealand based company, exhibited the BrailleNote and the BrailleNote PK. Both are Braille-displaying PDA's. Users can also play music (in stereo), read books, type papers, use the Internet or sync up to a personal computer to download e-mails or other files. The BrailleNote PK is also Bluetooth enabled and has independent synthesized speech ability.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 23:00:35 GMT.
We Love To See You Smile
http://webstandards.org/buzz/archive/2005_10.html#a000584
From the Web Standards Project (WaSP): Just ten days ago, Dean wrote here about Acid2: "there has been no officially released browser that passes the test" I'm thrilled to say that that's no longer the case - we have a winner! With today's release of Mac OS X 10.4.3, Apple's Safari RSS (version 2.0.2/416.12) is the first (publicly-released, non-beta, non-preview) browser to successfully pass the Acid2 test. On behalf of the Web Standards Project, congratulations to everyone who contributed to Safari and WebKit, and thanks for the hard work! We look forward to the day when Safari isn't the only browser that can make this claim.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 22:59:21 GMT.
The Accessibility Channel goes all out on World Usability Day
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article2756.asp
Inclusive Technologies and the IDEAL Group are launching an "Accessibility Channel" to broadcast for one day on World Usability Day (3rd November). It's going to be a day-long, round-the-world webcast featuring dozens of accessibility experts, policy developers, and advocates for universal design. You will be able to see and hear these presenters on any Windows PC with a broadband connection, and communicate with them by text in a chat window. All presentations and the text dialogue will be archived and put on a blog for continuing discussion. The Usability Professionals Association is promoting it and has published a list of contributors and the slots still to fill. They also have a GMT conversion table for those outside Britain, Ghana, etc. Be sure to tune in to NCDAE's Jared Smith presentation Accessible JavaScript.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 22:58:37 GMT.
Usability Awards Are Just A Start
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4392278.stm
Handing out prizes for usability should not make us think that the battle is won, argues technology commentator Bill Thompson. Earlier this month we were treated to the BT Digital Music Awards, and of course we have just had both the Nobel Prize announcements and the keenly contested Ig Nobel awards for apparently pointless scientific research. One of this year's papers was for an experiment in how fast tar drips that has been going since 1927. This year I am directly involved in two award ceremonies. I was asked to speak at last week's Silver Surfer of the Year event. I will actually be handing out the statuettes this week when the UK chapter of the Usability Professionals' Association gives out awards as part of World Usability Day. The Silver Surfers awards have been going since 2001 and recognise the growing use of the internet by older people. You start being a "silver" surfer at 50, so I am rapidly getting there myself, and since my beard is already mostly white, I suspect that a few members of the audience thought that I was already among their number.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 22:57:40 GMT.
Museum Artist's Depictions Of Ancient Animals, Modern Creatures Go On Display
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05304/597845.stm
Mark A. Klingler was just 8 or 9 years old when he saw a movie about an artist who drew birds that got him thinking about a career as an artist. He doesn't remember the name, but he vividly recalls the part in the movie when the artist took his work to the Smithsonian Institution for display -- and was offered a job. In one of those happy instances when a childhood dream becomes reality, Mr. Klingler today is a full-time scientific illustrator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. "Fur, Feathers & Fossils" will be at the AAAS Gallery from Nov. 1 through March 31, 2006. The exhibition in the AAAS gallery will not only include some of his more notable drawings and sculptures of both contemporary wildlife and long-dead, now extinct creatures, but also reveal the processes he uses to reconstruct animals that no longer exist, based on their fossil remains. One set of panels, for instance, will focus on his reconstruction of an as-yet unnamed species of oviraptorosaur, a 7-foot-tall feathered dinosaur that's been called The Chicken From Hell. Its fossil remains are being studied by Carnegie museum scientists, including dinosaur paleontologist Matthew Lamanna. One panel will feature a cast of the oviraptorosaur's fossil claw, another a drawing of the fossil. Other panels will show skeleton reconstruction, the addition of muscles to the skeleton and the fleshed out version. The final portion of the display will be a three-dimensional, digitized bronze cast of the reconstruction. The panels will be accompanied with explanations in Braille and the artwork itself will feature raised line art, so that even visually disabled visitors can appreciate the progressive stages of the reconstruction. Making the exhibit accessible to the disabled particularly appealed to Virginia Stern, who directs both the AAAS's art program and its Science, Technology and Disability project.
Contributed on Wed, 02 Nov 2005 22:56:36 GMT.
See, Hear and Feel the Music with JazzArtSigns
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=7809
Acclaimed Vocalist Lisa Thorson Improvises with Her Band, American Sign Language Interpreters, and a Painter, Along With Live Audio Describer and Text Captioner: Making Live Jazz Accessible To All People With and Without Disabilities. In celebration of their 25th Anniversary Seasons, VSA arts of Massachusetts and Wheelock Family Theatre are pleased to present JazzArtSigns, Lisa Thorson's groundbreaking multimedia, multisensory and interactive improvised jazz performance piece for all audiences. Created in 1999 by veteran jazz vocalist, composer and Berklee College of Music Associate Professor Lisa Thorson, JazzArtSigns provides a universally accessible, cross-disciplinary concert experience that redefines the way audiences interact with live performances. JazzArtSigns features a group of world-class jazz musicians, an improvisational painter, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, a live audio describer and text captioner, as well as program information in Braille, large print and on tape. This interactive fusion of improvisation, music, visual art, and language encourages all audiences to participate in the spirit of acceptance, innovation and cooperation.
Contributed on Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:34:19 GMT.
After Songs and Videos, Crib Notes Become the Latest Offering for iPods
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/10/2005102702t.htm
With iPods slowly working their way into college classrooms, it was only a matter of time before someone put the devices to use as a way of cutting corners on course work. Now a pair of companies has stepped up, offering a line of iPod-ready crib notes to such literary classics as The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter. The notes are taken from study guides published by SparkNotes -- a company that has marketed itself as a hipper version of CliffsNotes, the giant of the field -- and are sold by iPREPpress, a business that retails reference material that can be viewed on the digital music players. These could be of value to students with disabilities - providing they are designed in an accessible format.
Contributed on Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:33:31 GMT.
New Tech Speaks Many Languages At Once
http://news.com.com/New+tech+speaks+many+languages+at+once/2100-1008_3-5915878.html
Alex Waibel, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and Germany's University of Karlsruhe, plans to demonstrate a host of software and hardware on Thursday at CMU's Pittsburgh campus. The technology could make it far easier for people who speak different languages to understand each other. One application, informally called Lecture Translation, translates a speech from one language into another on the fly and without restrictions. Current translation technologies typically circumscribe speakers to certain topics or a limited vocabulary and require them to train on the application. Another prototype, which hadn't been given a name, uses directional speakers to beam translations of a speech to specific listeners in a variety of languages. "It is like having a simultaneous translator right next to you but without disturbing the person next to you," Waibel said. Prefer to read? So-called Translation Glasses transcribe those translated oral streams into subtitles that appear on a tiny LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen. Then there's the Muscle Translator. Electrodes capture the electrical signals from facial muscle movements naturally made when a person is mouthing words. The signals are then translated into speech. Hypothetically, one could make phone calls in the middle of a movie theater without making a sound. Conceivably, the electrodes could be replaced with wireless chips implanted in a person's face. Could these technologies also be used to assist users with hearing loss or other disabilities?
Contributed on Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:32:36 GMT.
Mobile Web Design: Tips and Techniques
http://www.cameronmoll.com/archives/000577.html
We've examined the mobile web landscape. We've covered four approaches to developing for it. Our discussion now shifts from that of concept to one of execution. How do we designers and code slingers cope with the current state? What slings and what doesn't? This article attempts to present technical advice on a superficial level. Some tips may surprise the reader; others may disappoint. But let's be clear about one thing: We're not aiming to publish a replete guide to advanced mobile development, but rather a starting point for mobile development - both practical and ambitious. Hence, a superficial treatment of the topic. Given methods #1 (do nothing) and #2 (raw HTML) from Part Two require little instruction, we'll focus on the latter two methods: Handheld stylesheets and Mobile-specific sites. Designing for accessibility often has the added benefit of making handheld and mobile devices more usable. When considering design schemas, why not work to enhance the user experience of all users.
Contributed on Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:31:40 GMT.
MSU Expertise Helps Launch Accessibility Consulting Service
http://www.newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/2550/content.htm
EAST LANSING, Mich.: A new southwest Michigan-based consulting service looks to link businesses to a burgeoning market by drawing on more than a half century of Michigan State University experience helping disabled students, faculty and staff. The service is designed to help companies go beyond published guidelines and include hands-on accessibility testing early in the product design cycle. MSU experts from the AgrAbility Project, the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, the Artificial Language Laboratory, and the Usability & Accessibility Center will provide training to consultants from Community Connections, a Benton Harbor nonprofit promoting disability awareness and support. Stephen Blosser, an MSU assistive technology specialist, will describe the service Thursday, Nov. 3, as part of his presentation at the Michigan World Usability Day conference at MSU.
Contributed on Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:28:10 GMT.
Alliance Aims To Digitize Classic Books
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002579521_btscanning24.html
A consortium backed by Yahoo! has launched an ambitious effort to digitize classic books and technical papers and make them freely available on the Web. One of the Open Content Alliance's first projects will be to digitize the approximately 18,000-title collection of classic fiction and nonfiction American books owned by the University of California, the group said. That could be completed by the end of next year. The consortium includes Adobe Systems, Hewlett-Packard Labs, the National Archives of the U.K., O'Reilly Media, the Prelinger Archives, the University of California and the University of Toronto. The announcement of the consortium comes amid furious debate about a similar project called Google Library, in which the Mountain View, Calif., tech giant is scanning and digitizing millions of books at select libraries. Google's effort differs, though, because it intends to digitize material regardless of its copyright status. The members of the Open Content Alliance say they will scan copyright material only if they have the permission of the rights holders. If done accessibly, digitized materials could be of great value to persons with disabilities, allowing them to access the books in a format that best suits their needs.
Contributed on Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:15:23 GMT.
My Bionic Quest for Bolero
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero.html
He's been haunted by Ravel's masterpiece since he lost his hearing. A deaf man's pursuit of the perfect audio upgrade. Born nearly deaf he was hit with "sudden onset deafness" in 2001. Since then, he has been on a crusade to enjoy his favorite opera using modern technology.
Contributed on Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:14:31 GMT.
KDE Accessibility Cooperation
http://dot.kde.org/1127425930/
Recent weeks have seen a lot of cooperative activity between the KDE Accessibility Team and various other Free Software accessibility teams. The Free Standards Group Accessibility Workgroup, KDE Accessibility and GNOME Accessibility teams have now released a joint statement describing some of this cooperation. "We believe users who are persons with disabilities should be empowered to choose technologies from any and all environments which provide accessibility just as other desktop users today routinely use a mix of technologies from different desktop environments. Our goal is seamless interoperability."
Contributed on Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:13:46 GMT.
'Accessibility-ready' MacJournal 3.2 ships
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/09/22/macjournal/index.php
Minneapolis, Minneapolis based Mariner Software Inc. on Thursday announced the release of MacJournal v3.2, a new version of their personal journaling software for Mac OS X. The new version uses the accessibility API Apple has exposed in Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" to improve support for users with disabilities. A free update for MacJournal 3.x users, MacJournal costs US$24.95.
Contributed on Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:13:02 GMT.
World Usability Day + Accessibility Channel / 3 November 2005
http://www.accessify.com/2005/10/world-usability-day-accessibility.asp
From the Accessify Weblog: November 3, 2005 is World Usability Day (WUD), an event that will spread the word about making products and services easier to use. Part of WUD will be the Accessibility Channel - an exciting, 24-hour global conversation about accessibility and usability. Dozens of experts will be sharing their work with you on technology, policy, and consumer involvement. And you can participate right from your desktop. Before the event you can discuss the topics in a blog for each presentation. After the event the dialog will continue. Register for free and tune in on November 3! NCDAE's Jared Smith will be one of the featured presenters - be sure to tune in to hear his discussion on Accessible JavaScript.
Contributed on Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:13:26 GMT.
Elluminate Launches Elluminate Live! 6.5
http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=14179
Elluminate, Inc., a provider of live eLearning and Web collaboration solutions for the real-time organization, has announced the launch of the latest version of its flagship product, Elluminate Live! 6.5. Elluminate Live! 6.5 is designed to provide a comprehensive ADA 508C compliance with improved video, enhanced accessibility, usability, and scalability for a high quality user experience.
Contributed on Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:11:58 GMT.
Building Sites For The Colour-Blind
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,16554227%5E15344%5E%5Enbv%5E1530...
A researcher at the University of East Anglia is working on plug-in software that tweaks colours to counter the colour-blindness in computer users. Luke Jefferson, a PhD student in the School of Computing Sciences, is working on FarbenTech, a technique to correct colours for colour-blind computer users. Jefferson's project was assisted by an Enterprise Development Award, presented by a group of higher education institutes in eastern England to foster projects that support local businesses. Jefferson wants to develop adaptive technologies for colour vision deficient (CVD) people by mapping colours based on the type and severity of the individual's users condition. Jefferson says his research combines colour imaging and human factors to develop tools to assist CVD computer users.
Contributed on Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:10:50 GMT.
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