Apple makes iTunes more accessible for the blind
By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
Most teens listen to their music on digital players, but Cory Cadlik,
who is blind, had to ask for help when he wanted to buy songs for his
iPod from the online music store iTunes.
To Cadlik, a self-described tech "geek," that was too frustrating to
tolerate.
"For me to be as tech savvy as I am, and not be able to do something
... I hated it," said Cadlik, 17, of Medway, Mass. "I had one iPod. I
got rid of it."
On Friday, Cadlik was making plans to get his iPod back after
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley reached agreement with
Apple Inc. to program iTunes to make it accessible to anyone with
software that blind people use to read the Internet.
Tony Olivero of the National Federation of the Blind demonstrated the
technology at a press conference at the Perkins School for the Blind
in Watertown. Olivero navigated through iTunes, guided by a voice
that
called out whatever he slid the mouse pointer over, including file
commands and the movie, music and TV titles iTunes sells.
Cadlik planned to test out the new iTunes this weekend by sampling
some hard rock from bands like Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle.
"You had no access before," Cadlik said. "When then this came out ...
I said, 'Wow, this is great, this is awesome.'"
Under the agreement, Apple must make iTunes accessible to all systems
by next June.
Providing equal access to online stores is required in the same way
supermarket aisles must be a certain width to accommodate people with
disabilities. But major gaps remain in the online retail world for
blind consumers.
Coakley said a lot of industries are working to make the Internet
more
accessible because they know it's good business to give more people a
way to buy your product. Coakley said she hopes the move by Apple
inspires more copycats.
"Apple is the leader, they've become the industry standard," she
said.
"Other companies that compete will have to or want to do this."
Spokespeople for Apple did not return e-mails or calls for comment.
The new iTunes can be read on a Macintosh, though people with PCs
must
buy "screen access software" to make it work. It's pricey, retailing
for around $1,000. John Olivera of the Massachusetts Commission for
the Blind said discounts are available around the U.S., and the
commission has purchased a substantial amount of the software and is
supplying it free in his state.
As fun as movies and music are, Olivera said the state approached
Apple primarily because of the increasing popularity of iTunes U,
which provides lectures and other educational content from colleges
and universities. Schools were posting class material there, and that
created problems for blind students.
Apple worked with Coakley voluntarily, but at least one other case
over online accessibility for the blind wound up in court.
In August, retailer Target Corp. agreed to pay $6 million in damages
to plaintiffs in California who were unable to use its Web site as
part of a class action settlement with the National Federation of the
Blind.
Target and the NFB agreed to a three-year relationship during which
the advocacy group will keep testing the site to make sure it is
accessible to the blind who use technologies such as screen-reading
software. The NFB said it would certify the site through its own
certification program once the improvements are completed.
