On Mon, 2006-07-24 at 16:38, Chris Jones wrote: > > It's very easy for an application developer to think that his or her > application is the most important thing running on a users machine, > though it is not a fair assumption to make.
My concern here is for GOK users who, without GOK, are unable to use the system at all. In that respect, for this class of GOK user GOK is indeed arguably the most important thing running on that machine. Of course it doesn't have to be called "GOK"; my point is that I am concerned with the ability of severely disabled users to access the computer effectively. For such users, though their numbers may be small, the computer is more than just a tool, it's a lifeline. For some users it can be nearly their only means of interacting with the world. For such users, an untrapped pointer grab, for instance, would be a complete disaster. Similarly, GOK's ability to present menu choices and UI controls for direct interaction, as opposed to just a replacement keyboard, can mean an order of magnitude reduction in necessary "keystrokes". For a scanning/switch user, that can mean the difference between minutes and seconds in navigating a menu. Configuration problems are a real concern, but if I have to choose between functionality for severely disabled users and headaches for installers, I choose the latter. Preferably we will fix the latter as well, but not at the expense of the disabled user's experience once the configuration is successfully completed. I've already said that we not only want to fix this, but I have proposed a way forward. If the Ubuntu/SOK teams want to improve the lives of those GOK users as well as the user classes (who are they?) that SOK originally targeted, then I will repeat what I said before, I would be glad to help both indirectly and directly, and would support replacing GOK with SOK in Gnome once SOK met the important feature gaps (and I expect that I speak for the rest of the GOK team as well). This requires a cooperative attitude and a respect for not only the problem reports from the SOK team, but also for the user capabilities and requirements which GOK is targeting. The University of Toronto Adaptive Technology Center is one of the world leaders (if not *the* world leader) in adaptive technologies for mobility impaired persons, so we are fortunate to have the benefit of their extensive user testing and clinical experience in understanding the problems to be solved. Bill > -- > Chris Jones > > jabber - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > msn - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > _______________________________________________ > gnome-accessibility-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list _______________________________________________ gnome-accessibility-list mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
