by John Mattioli
I have served on ACB's Information Access Committee for several years. The scope of this committee's responsibilities is so broad that I won't even attempt to list them here for fear of missing something major. Nevertheless, one area that falls well within the scope of the Information Access Committee is access to Microsoft Windows and applications that run under Windows. Debate rages:
Is Windows accessible or not?
Does the responsibility for accessibility lie with the operating system, the application vendors or assistive technology vendors?
Should we, as end users, really care who implemented the technologies that provide us access or not?
Should we, the end users, care what underlying technologies are used to bring us access?
What is the definition of the word "accessible" anyway?
As I am a software engineer developing Windows products, I certainly have an interest in all these gory details. Nevertheless, I understand that most sighted users don't know or care about the different underlying components that make up their user interface. Similarly, neither should we.
It is one of the Information Access Committee's current goals, therefore, to develop a list of highly specific things that blind and low vision computer users cannot do. Working with others in the disability and software arenas we will then prioritize these tasks and bring them to software vendors in an attempt to draw attention to our issues. You can help
In fact, if this is to work you must help! In order to compile and prioritize these tasks we must hear from you! What do we need? Basically, we need anecdotal evidence from real people doing real work. Have you lost a job due to the inaccessibility of software? Have your job duties been limited because of inaccessible software? Do you perform your job duties at a level below that of your coworkers because you cannot produce at the same rate and/or with the same quality as your coworkers? Are you advancing at a slower rate than your coworkers? If you're a student, how has software inaccessibility affected your class work?
Please provide specifics! While it is useful to know that you can't schedule meetings, it is much more useful to know that you can't schedule meetings using Lotus Notes, Microsoft Outlook, or some other product. It's even better if we know the version of the product you're attempting to work with.
And don't forget about your assistive technology vendor. The complexities of accessibility are such that a task which is difficult, time-consuming, or downright impossible with one screen reader may be much easier to do with another or with magnification software. Again, version numbers help! It will be important to know as much detail as you can provide about what products you are using!
Please provide us with contact information so that we on the information access committee can contact you for further details. Under no circumstances will your name or contact information be forwarded to any outside organization without your prior consent! Send details of your difficulties to us via e-mail at [email protected] as soon as possible. By the time you read this, work on this project will be under way.
The American Council of the Blind once had a fine working relationship with Microsoft. Over the past couple of years, and through nobody's fault, that relationship has, regrettably, lapsed. The best way to rebuild that relationship is by proving ourselves useful to Microsoft by providing them with specific goals we would like to see met. In the past they have responded well to such input. Additionally, we recognize that Microsoft has done a great deal in the area of accessibility and, while we wish they'd do more, we know that they've gone far beyond the efforts of many other companies. Therefore, we will address accessibility with other vendors as well. To do this, we must have the feedback of computer users who have been negatively affected by inaccessible software. With your help, we will be able to attract the attention of software developers and improve accessibility to Microsoft Windows and the applications running under Windows.