HAWAII July 21 2006,
The world wide web may about to be getting easier to navigate for those with difficulty seeing.
A blind programmer has been working to make the internet easier to use for visually impaired users. "It was a challenge" said T.V. Raman, a Google engineer "so much information clogs most webpages these days that even magnifying websites with on-screen software tools wastes too much time by visually-impaired customers who spend too much time sifting through extraneous web content looking for what they need."
Afer facing a reputation for being challenging for blind internet users, Search engines have begun testing of a search system that ranks results based on the simplicity of the site's page layout. Google recently launched new software site at http://labs.google.com/accessible to help make it easier and faster to use.
The software sorts and ranks search results based on the simplicity of page layout, the quality of design and the organization and clear labeling of information on each page making it easier to enlarge or for voice synthesizers to convert to spoken words.
At least 1.5 million blind and visually impaired Americans use computers. The numbers are expected to grow as technology improves and Internet companies offer new services.
There are around 10 million blind or visually impaired people in the USA and various forms of assisted technologies now available include JAWS or a refreshable Braille display that can translates a description of what is on the screen into Braille on a device that resembles a keyboard. These items can cost between $1,000- and up, and are often only available at public libraries, or on loan or provided by organizations such as HATTS.
The new Web services coincide with a push to revise federal Web accessibility standards and renewed legal efforts to get accessibility guidelines more widely adopted.
Katherine Fisher of Hawaii Health Guide.com says "We have been working with our visually impaired community advisors in Hawaii from the initial design and launch of the site to provide a good experience for all of our audience. "We designed http://www.HawaiiHealthGuide.com to be simple to navigate and enable people to easily find health and wellness resources in Hawaii.
We have tested the site on text readers and with our blind community, and we grow and appreciate feedback on how to improve. www.HawaiiHealthGuide.com gets complimented all the time on the website design and layout for providing simple navigation and portals to in-depth searchable information with the Hawaii Events calendar, Directory of Services and for proiding Health Talk in a simple ad-free RSS feed.
Over the years the site has grown organically in directions where there is steady interest, and we strive to steadily integrate community input and technological advances in programming " Hawaii Health Guide recommends companies with Hawaii websites remember to clearly lable pictures and graphics with short descriptions, Avoid flash, pop-ups or messages that rely soley on visual cues. Keep advertising or banner ads in distinct areas that follow a logical pattern. Hawaiian language and punctuation can cause confusion with voice readers, and make the experience tedious for the listoner. Strive to balance esthetics with the objectives of clear and easy communication.
Remember, a blind person who uses synthetic speech is able to hear all of the textual information that is displayed on a sighted person's screen. Electronic files can make life easier for the blind as they can be distributed e-mail or on-line and , producing an accessible electronic document can give the user the most flexibility since an electronic file can be searched, reviewed, and edited.
Currently, no federal law requires all Web sites to be accessible to the blind or to those with other physical disabilities. The guidelines that apply to technology procured by a federal agency including Web sites under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act are about to undergo revision by a federal advisory committee. The committee is likely to look into issues like establishing new guidelines for Internet-based phone applications, multimedia and Webcasts. Many states have also adopted these guidelines as advocacy groups have lobbied for basic abilities such as purchasing an airline ticket on line.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that disabled individuals must enjoy equal access to goods and services in places of public accommodation.
AOL, Yahoo and Google are all in the process of announcing updated services, simplified design, or new products to assist the visually impaired will soon update its Web mail to make it more screen-reader friendly, eliminating the need for users with screen readers to access a text-only page.
|
