You Are Here: IT Accessibility Committee July 2006 Newsletter
### Edited by Joel Obuchowski
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July IT Accessibility Committee Meeting
The July meeting of the IT Accessibility Committee will be held on Thursday, July 13, at MicroKnowledge's offices, 21 British American Boulevard in Latham. (For driving directions, refer to http://www.microknowledge.com/Driving_Directions/DrivingDirections.shtml 
.)
Even though it's summer, we've been working hard, and still have much more to do before September rolls around. Here's a sample of what we'll be talking about on the 13th:
- Discuss Forum Strategic Planning meeting (7/14)
- Report on the Validation Tool workgroup on requirements, next steps
- Report on meeting with OFT on our proposal for changes to the policy
- Discuss "best practice" updates to our Checklist by Standard
- Discuss upcoming phase II of Successful Web Communications
- Discuss accessibility support for increasing use of video/audio on state agency web sites
One note:
*** The Committee will not meet in August, but we will continue to work on the projects cited above. If you can't attend our July 13th meeting but are interested in any of these topics, contact Mike Short (mike.short@cs.state.ny.us) or Debi Orton (dorton@goer.state.ny.us).***
NEXT MEETING:
The next regular Committee Meeting will be on September 14, and we're tentatively scheduled to use the Forum offices, 411 State Street, Albany.
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RECENT NEWS (May and June)
- 2006 Governor's AT Expo - May 2006
The 2006 Governor's Expo on Assistive Technology, Technology Opens Doors, was held On May 11, at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York. The Expo was organized by the New York State Interagency Partnership on Assistive Technology and its Advisory Board. Over 875 people with disabilities, their family members, service providers, state agency staff and educators attended the event.
There were 66 exhibit booths that displayed a variety of assistive devices and services that included adaptive software for individuals who are blind and learning disabled, adapted telephone equipment for persons who are deaf, accessible vehicles, and recreational and mobility products. In addition, a total of 687 people attended the sixteen assistive technology-related presentations that were held throughout the day.
In conjunction with the Expo, the NYS Forum sponsored training sessions on information technology accessibility. The sessions highlighted strategies to ensure that NYS agency websites are compliant with Office for Technology's web accessibility policy. A total of 100 webmasters and IT staff attended both the morning and afternoon sessions.
Evaluations from the Expo attendees were overwhelmingly positive with 98% of the respondents indicating that the overall quality of the Expo was good to excellent, and that they would attend another event in the future. Likewise, many of the vendors were pleased with the turnout and interest from the attendees. One vendor who had participated in previous Expos indicated that this year's Expo 'was the best yet'. Another endor wrote that the Expo was 'excellent' and stated that 'the physical environment was well laid out and the educational sessions were exceptional'.
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- Federal Access Board Revisits Section 508
Beginning this fall, the Federal Access Board will begin a review of federal Section 508 to see if changes are necessary. The process began earlier in the summer when the Access Board called for volunteers to join an advisory group for that purpose. Among the groups that were selected as members were Adobe Systems, the American Foundation for the Blind, AT&T, Easter Seals, IBM, the European Commission, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), and the Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP). ATAP's representative will be Deborah Buck, who previously managed the accessibility program at OFT. Deborah has offered to forward any comments/suggestions/requests on behalf of our committee. What is most encouraging about the forty organizations selected is the prominent representation by groups representing people with disabilities.
For a complete list of participating organizations and an overview of the work to be done, see http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-10562.htm
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- Standards Watch
On June 19, the W3C's Web API Working Group issued a second Working Draft of the specification for the XMLHttpRequestObject. This object is used as an interface for scripting programs, enabling the script to perform HTTP client functionality (e.g., submitting form data). This object has been an ActiveX control for some time, and is one of the core components for AJAX. The W3C is seeking to develop a standard, interoperable flavor of the object. You can find the full document at http://www.w3.org/TR/XMLHttpRequest/
.On June 27, the W3C's Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group released a "Candidate Recommendation" (indicating that the document is stable and should be implemented by the developer community) for Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0. (See "Wireless firms agree on rules for mobile Web sites").
The Best Practices is a list of 60 techniques to help ensure your web content will be usable with mobile devices. Among them are "provide only minimal navigation at the top of the page," "clearly identify the target of each link," "do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user," etc. You can find the full document at http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/CR-mobile-bp-20060627/
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- Handheld device will help the blind read
By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 26, 6:56 AM ET
From YAHOO NEWS
DALLAS - A whole new world opened up for Tommy Craig as he tested a new handheld device for the blind that converts print to audio.
Craig was able to "read" everything from menus to cooking directions by positioning the reader over print and taking a picture. In seconds, the device's synthetic voice read the printed message to him.
"The reader provides access to materials that a lot of times you just didn't read," said Craig, 51, of Austin, Texas, who was one of about 500 blind people who tested the device over the past few months. "It certainly makes you more independent."
The National Federation of the Blind plans to put the device on sale Saturday, when its annual meeting gets under way in Dallas.
"It's not quite like having a pair of eyes that work, but it's headed in that direction," said James Gashel, executive director for strategic initiatives at the Maryland-based National Federation of the Blind.
The device, combining a personal digital assistant and a digital camera, was developed by inventor Ray Kurzweil and the membership organization of more than 50,000 blind people. It's been dubbed the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader.
"This is really the hottest new technology to be developed for blind people in the last 30 years," said Gashel, who calls it "the camera that talks."
About three decades ago, Kurzweil invented the first device that could convert text into audio. It was about the size of a washing machine. That gave way to software that could be used by a computer and scanner to perform the same function. The latest device, about the size of a paperback book, introduces portability.
"It's always been considered desirable to have a reading machine that a blind person could carry along with them," Kurzweil said. "We're getting phenomenal feedback."
There are about 10 million blind and visually impaired people nationwide, and that number is expected to double in the next 30 years as baby boomers age.
The device also can be useful for those who have limited vision, said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind.
The federation expects that the reader, which costs about $3,500, will be a big hit among the 3,000 participants at the annual meeting. It will be sold though Massachusetts-based Kurzweil Education Systems Inc. and will be available on the Internet and in stores.
People who have tested the reader said they enjoy being able to read text they couldn't before.
Maurer also points out another advantage: "Sometimes you get something that you want to read that you don't want anyone else to read."
On the Net:
National Federation of the Blind: http://www.nfb.org/
K-NFB Reading Technology Inc.: http://www.knfbreader.com/
Kurzweil: http://www.kurzweiltech.com/ktihome.html
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- (June 27 2006)
Wireless firms agree on rules for mobile Web sites
From Yahoo News
1 hour, 3 minutes ago
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some of the world's top wireless and Internet companies, including Nokia, Vodafone Group Plc and Google Inc., have agreed on a set of Web site development guidelines aimed at making it easier to surf the Internet on cell phones.
The majority of cell phones today have Web browsers as wireless providers hope to expand beyond voice services, but only about 19 percent of U.S. mobile phone users regularly use the Web on their phones, according to researcher M:Metrics Inc.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a group backed by representatives of 30 industry players for the project, hopes to improve on this percentage by creating 60 guidelines for developers to design sites that are easy to use on cell phones, which have much smaller screens and tiny keypads.
"We're now seeing devices in users' hands that are capable of browsing the Web, but they're not being used as much as they could be," said Daniel Applequist, a Vodafone executive who chaired the group that worked on the guidelines.
"The majority of Web sites out there do not work well on cell phones," he said, adding that if more Web sites were less awkward to navigate on cell phones, they could attract more users.
The guidelines advise developers against using big graphics or pop-up ads that could clutter phone screens.
They also suggest designing sites in such a way that the content appears right at the top of a cell phone screen, allowing users to avoid scrolling past multiple navigation links.
"A common problem is that you have a small screen, so when a Web site loads, the navigational elements like home page or next page links are the only things you see instead of the content you're looking for," Applequist said.
The guidelines also steer developers away from using cookies, which store information on the viewer's computer to help Web sites remember user preferences, enabling speedier navigation.
As cookies do not work on cell phones, developers need to find alternatives, Applequist said.
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- European Union Commits to Barrier-Free Information Society
On June 12, EU ministers committed to a "pan-European drive to use information and communications technologies to help people overcome economic, social, educational, territorial, or disability-related disadvantages " in Riga, Latvia. The program, known as "e-Inclusion," sets specific targets for improving the use of information technologies by EU citizens:
- to halve the gap in Internet usage by 2010 for groups at risk of exclusion, such as older people, people with disabilities, and unemployed persons
- to increase broadband coverage (i.e., the availability of broadband infrastructure) in Europe to at least 90% by 2010. In 2005, broadband was available to about 60% of business and households in the remote and rural areas of the EU15 and to more than 90% in urban areas
- ensure that all public web sites are accessible by 2010
- by 2008, put in place actions in the field of digital literacy and skills to reduce gaps for groups at risk of exclusion by half in 2010
- by 2007, make recommendations on accessibility standards and common approaches, which could become mandatory in public procurement by 2010
- assess the necessity for legislative measures in the field of e-Accessibility, and take account of accessibility requirements in the review of electronic communications regulatory framework beginning in 2006.
For more information on the EU's plans for eliminating barriers to information, see http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/769&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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RESOURCES
Web Standards Project Resources
For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, the Web Standards Project (WaSP) fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web. WaSP works with browser companies, authoring tool makers, and peers to deliver the true power of standards to this medium. The WaSP focus on accessibility was crystalized this past year when the group announced its Accessibility Task Force (ATF) at the South by Southwest festival.
You can find the WaSP web site at http://www.webstandards.org/ . One of the most interesting features of the site is their "learn" section, and in particular, the articles and interviews portion. Included here are several "interviews" with the W3C's Quality Assurance Group (compiled at http://www.webstandards.org/learn/articles/askw3c/ ). One of these interviews addresses the "HTML or XHTML?" debate; two other articles discuss adding multimedia to a web page.
Another nice section is the Reference section http://www.webstandards.org/learn/reference/ , which includes guidance on character entities for HTML and XHTML, and templates for HTML and XHTML * bare bones documents that provide the correct DTD information.