Re: [libreplanet-discuss] libreplanet-discuss Digest, Vol 70, Issue 14 FS & Disabilities

2015-12-15 Thread Daniel Pocock 
On 15/12/15 03:28, arthur_tor...@comcast.net wrote:
> Speaking as a person with a disability, though fortunately not one that 
> affects my ability to use software, it seems to me that this is a prime area 
> where the classic Unix mantra of "don't do all things, instead do individual 
> things well and string them together" is really the way to go...  
>
> While disabilities vary greatly in their effects on people's ability to use 
> software / computers, it is a pretty safe assumption that a problem with one 
> sort of software is going to apply to all of it, and that there are some 
> relatively broad categories of issues that almost ALL fall into the category 
> of Input / Output...  (IMHO it is not really practical to address cognitive 
> issues)
>
> People with visual impairments will need some form of display modification, 
> be it larger images, different color schemes, screen readers, etc...
>
> Similarly people with motor function issues need alternative input methods - 
> replacements for mice, keyboard alternatives, possibly gaze-tracking, and so 
> on...
>
> In each case, what the developer of a software program really needs is NOT to 
> address any of the above, but simply to provide a (hopefully standardized) 
> way of supporting alternative I/O methods.

This is where people run astray.  There are a lot of developers who want
to "innovate" or be different in their UI.  That is the beginning of the
end for disability support (and sometimes bad for i18n and other reasons
too).

I've seen some striking examples of this from web / JavaScript
developers, many seem to have an urge to do visual things even when it
is not necessary.  In every company that I've worked in there has been
some horrendously overcomplicated JavaScript page just for querying the
company phone book.  It continues to amaze me that people don't simply
place the data in LDAP and allow users to choose the most suitable
client software for their device, disability or whatever.

Many traditional UNIX programs can work the way you describe (think of
how different UI programs can control a command line utility like sox). 
The problems can be in the politics of the projects or companies and not
hurting the feelings of people who already decided to spend time on
their own UI.

Regards,

Daniel

Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Free software and disabilities

2015-12-15 Thread John Sullivan 
Andrés Muñiz Piniella  writes:

> Yes, this is great! Extactly what me and my friend where discussing. I
> had heard about the directory and the hard work of people behind it
> but I kept forgetting about it.
> Using disabity search term
> https://directory.fsf.org/wiki?search=disability=Special%3ASearch
>
> Brings me to two projects that seem to be incredible: ATK and skipper. But 
> Sadly both project links go to 404.
>
> I have ccd directory-disc...@gnu.org but I guess I will need to subscribe to 
> it first.
>
> Hopefully I can find where the projects are now.
>

Help updating the entries appropriately would be much appreciated! And
if you do IRC, there is a meeting just about every Friday where people
get together and work on the Directory for a few hours, and discuss
improvements -- it's a good chance to learn how to do it. It's 12pm to
3pm EST (16:00 to 19:00 UTC) in #fsf on Freenode.

> PS: Thanks for #fsfbulletin

Happy to hear that you received it, thanks!

-john

-- 
John Sullivan | Executive Director, Free Software Foundation
GPG Key: 61A0963B | http://status.fsf.org/johns | http://fsf.org/blogs/RSS

Do you use free software? Donate to join the FSF and support freedom at
.

Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Free software and disabilities

2015-12-15 Thread Daniel Pocock 
On 16/12/15 00:19, John Sullivan wrote:
> Daniel Pocock  writes:
>
>> One thing we should be more conscious of is that there are funding
>> programs and grants available to make the world better for people with
>> disabilities.  It would be very interesting to try and ensure that some
>> of that money is going to free software rather than proprietary
>> software.  Developers don't typically have a disposition for filling out
>> application forms so if there are other volunteers who would like to
>> help look for such programs and match them to relevant free software
>> projects and help with paperwork it could give interesting results and
>> it may indirectly benefit other parts of the free software ecosystem.
> The FSF certainly has people and willingness to help with such
> grant/funding applications, if someone can bring them to our attention.

This one is pretty big

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-15/gillard-cries-while-introducing-disability-legislation/4690692

They promise "security and dignity" for people with a disability.  That
should include the choice to use free software shouldn't it?

I'm not sure exactly how the money trickles down in practice but there
is a lot of it to be spent.  If I understand correctly, it is not really
something for nothing, they hope it will enable more of these people to
work and pay tax in the long term so it may be applicable to some types
of business software.

E.g.
http://www.ndis.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/accessibility_strategy_plan.docx

and commercial software vendors are already getting on the bandwagon:

http://atmac.org/ndis-apple-events-2015

Regards,

Daniel

Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Free software and disabilities

2015-12-15 Thread John Sullivan 
Daniel Pocock  writes:

> One thing we should be more conscious of is that there are funding
> programs and grants available to make the world better for people with
> disabilities.  It would be very interesting to try and ensure that some
> of that money is going to free software rather than proprietary
> software.  Developers don't typically have a disposition for filling out
> application forms so if there are other volunteers who would like to
> help look for such programs and match them to relevant free software
> projects and help with paperwork it could give interesting results and
> it may indirectly benefit other parts of the free software ecosystem.

The FSF certainly has people and willingness to help with such
grant/funding applications, if someone can bring them to our attention.

-john

-- 
John Sullivan | Executive Director, Free Software Foundation
GPG Key: 61A0963B | http://status.fsf.org/johns | http://fsf.org/blogs/RSS

Do you use free software? Donate to join the FSF and support freedom at
.