Re: Update Summer 2010
Hey Scott, I'd personally love it if Avid would invest the resources to make Pro Tools 100% accessible right now, both on the Mac and Windows, for that matter. The undeniable truth is that the blind user base is probably, if not definitely, a fraction of the total. Any future improvements will likely come when resources allow. Again, this is a long-term project and things will happen over the course of several releases. Keep in mind that what we've gained is largely permanent. In other words, it doesn't involve relying on screen resolution, window position and scripts. In future releases, things won't be broken and scripts rewritten. There seems to be some comfort in the Sonar model of knowing that people are constantly working to ensure accessibility. Thing is, as you may know, that is a constant battle to fix things that get broken. Look at what happened to Sibelius. Yes, an open source project began and I don't know where it currently stands but I guarantee you that future releases of Sibelius will present a constant stream of challenges for scripting. Of course, I'm not even raising the complaints about JAWS. We have here a simpler problem which is, in a way, a difficult one as well. It stems from Apple's decision to make developers deal with accessibility. That's an ideological stand with which one may agree or disagree. On the upside is the knowledge that, once an application is made accessible (or, in some cases, is accessible out of the box), it's not likely to change or get broken. On the downside is the challenge to be heard when dealing with a corporation when something isn't accessible. As you probably know, many small developers are more than happy to make changes to their programs to make them more accessible but they can turn stuff around immediately because they're doing it in their spare time and don't have to budget for it, have a bunch of meetings, pay a team of programmers and answer to their shareholders, etc. It's a decidedly different ballgame when it comes to major software and a giant user base. This is not ideal and, again, it would be nice to have everything happen right away with a huge announcement about VoiceOver compatibility but it's still essentially experimental at this point. It may or may not ever be a feature, per se. As mentioned earlier, feature would imply complete support and that, my friend, is just unrealistic. Now, you may not expect that support and I certainly don't but, believe me, there will be those who would demand support on using Pro Tools with Voiceover simply by calling Avid's technical support. That, in my opinion, is an unreasonable expectation. I think most blind users would understand and that's exactly why a community like this was begun—to support each other in this largely uncharted territory. Scott, believe me, I, more than anyone, want Pro Tools to be fully accessible. My career depends upon having a stable, useable recording system. That's why I've invested not only incalculable hours, days, weeks, months of my life but also thousands of dollars in flights, hotels, etc. to interface with Digidesign to help make this happen. While I knew that this would benefit me personally and professionally, I knew that it would benefit others. I wish it could've been flawless from day 1 but, to be honest, I'd rather have what we have now for the near future and be able to do most of what I need to do. As far as viability, well, that's a relative term just like accessible means different things to different people. To me, what we have in version 8.0.4 is viable depending upon one's needs. Frankly, I have to say, I probably won't make a total migration from version 5 to version 8. I'm fortunate to have not only an HD system capable of operating both under OS 9 and OS X as well as versions 5 through 8, I also have a separate Digi 003 system to dedicate to anything specific to version 8 and higher. That said, given a little more time and perhaps a few improvements, I'd likely make a full transition fairly soon. For now, I hope to continue a relationship with the folks at Avid with whom I've tried to develop a friendly relationship. To get to this point, it took a lot of patience. there were times when I wondered whether we'd ever get results. Well, we've begun to see some major results and I think we need to continue to be patient as we move forward. I know that much of what I'm saying, you already know and I'm pretty much stating certain things for the benefit of others. You may disagree with certain things I've said. I'm sure we're mostly in agreement and I'm quite confident that we ultimately want the same thing. Slau On Jun 30, 2010, at 4:19 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote: The word feature and accessibility in the same sentence always makes me uneasy. No, I wouldn't expect Avid to have a VO guru on hand to figure out the most efficient workflow for me to get something done, just like I
Re: Update Summer 2010
Hey Slau, What would it take for you to make a complete switch to version 8? - Original Message - From: Slau Halatyn slauhala...@gmail.com To: ptaccess@googlegroups.com Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 9:07 AM Subject: Re: Update Summer 2010 Hey Scott, I'd personally love it if Avid would invest the resources to make Pro Tools 100% accessible right now, both on the Mac and Windows, for that matter. The undeniable truth is that the blind user base is probably, if not definitely, a fraction of the total. Any future improvements will likely come when resources allow. Again, this is a long-term project and things will happen over the course of several releases. Keep in mind that what we've gained is largely permanent. In other words, it doesn't involve relying on screen resolution, window position and scripts. In future releases, things won't be broken and scripts rewritten. There seems to be some comfort in the Sonar model of knowing that people are constantly working to ensure accessibility. Thing is, as you may know, that is a constant battle to fix things that get broken. Look at what happened to Sibelius. Yes, an open source project began and I don't know where it currently stands but I guarantee you that future releases of Sibelius will present a constant stream of challenges for scripting. Of course, I'm not even raising the complaints about JAWS. We have here a simpler problem which is, in a way, a difficult one as well. It stems from Apple's decision to make developers deal with accessibility. That's an ideological stand with which one may agree or disagree. On the upside is the knowledge that, once an application is made accessible (or, in some cases, is accessible out of the box), it's not likely to change or get broken. On the downside is the challenge to be heard when dealing with a corporation when something isn't accessible. As you probably know, many small developers are more than happy to make changes to their programs to make them more accessible but they can turn stuff around immediately because they're doing it in their spare time and don't have to budget for it, have a bunch of meetings, pay a team of programmers and answer to their shareholders, etc. It's a decidedly different ballgame when it comes to major software and a giant user base. This is not ideal and, again, it would be nice to have everything happen right away with a huge announcement about VoiceOver compatibility but it's still essentially experimental at this point. It may or may not ever be a feature, per se. As mentioned earlier, feature would imply complete support and that, my friend, is just unrealistic. Now, you may not expect that support and I certainly don't but, believe me, there will be those who would demand support on using Pro Tools with Voiceover simply by calling Avid's technical support. That, in my opinion, is an unreasonable expectation. I think most blind users would understand and that's exactly why a community like this was begun—to support each other in this largely uncharted territory. Scott, believe me, I, more than anyone, want Pro Tools to be fully accessible. My career depends upon having a stable, useable recording system. That's why I've invested not only incalculable hours, days, weeks, months of my life but also thousands of dollars in flights, hotels, etc. to interface with Digidesign to help make this happen. While I knew that this would benefit me personally and professionally, I knew that it would benefit others. I wish it could've been flawless from day 1 but, to be honest, I'd rather have what we have now for the near future and be able to do most of what I need to do. As far as viability, well, that's a relative term just like accessible means different things to different people. To me, what we have in version 8.0.4 is viable depending upon one's needs. Frankly, I have to say, I probably won't make a total migration from version 5 to version 8. I'm fortunate to have not only an HD system capable of operating both under OS 9 and OS X as well as versions 5 through 8, I also have a separate Digi 003 system to dedicate to anything specific to version 8 and higher. That said, given a little more time and perhaps a few improvements, I'd likely make a full transition fairly soon. For now, I hope to continue a relationship with the folks at Avid with whom I've tried to develop a friendly relationship. To get to this point, it took a lot of patience. there were times when I wondered whether we'd ever get results. Well, we've begun to see some major results and I think we need to continue to be patient as we move forward. I know that much of what I'm saying, you already know and I'm pretty much stating certain things for the benefit of others. You may disagree with certain things I've said. I'm sure we're mostly in agreement and I'm quite confident that we ultimately want the same thing. Slau On Jun 30, 2010
