I can not say that relations between GW Micro and other Software Companies have changed, but I have noticed the level of accessibility is shrinking over the last few years.
It is not fair to blame GW Micro, but I do think it has a lot to do with how current Software is coded. making a Program accessible seems to be a nuisance for many shops that write Software. Perhaps the lack of accessibility has to do with the Pressure to release a new title to the Market quicker, and to finish a project faster, things like access for the Blind user, which are very low in numbers, is cut in order to make those new Deadlines for new projects. As someone has already mentioned, software has become quite visual in nature. the Mouse is used, and even Finger Swipes are becoming the norm, instead of Keyboard Short cuts from a Keyboard. A few days ago, I installed a new program, only to find it was lacking any Keyboard Short cuts. The Program was quite Mouse oriented, and to the average Sighted user, the program would be easy to use. However, I am still looking for ways to use it, using a Screen Reader, and an assortment of Key strokes from the Keyboard. So far, not having as much success as I need in order to use this program. As for Firefox, it does seem as if the people they have doing some of the programming, the last several versions of Firefox has been lacking in giving total access. As where this trend will end, I am not sure if I really want to know. So far, this trend looks to be gaining momentum, which will leave many of those of us who work for a living, possibly joining the ranks of the Disabled because I can no longer do what is asked of me by my Boss. I also wonder if part of the reason Access is diminishing, is due to the numbers of programmers from other countries, where Access for the Blind, is almost unheard of, are now writing code, because these foreigners are cheaper to hire than their counterparts here in the States or in Europe. I have no proof of this, but I am only tossing out suspicions. I know here in the States, we have legislation to force Companies to make their products accessible. microsoft has put effort into following this, but what we have from Microsoft still falls short of what we need. I think we maybe should require Colleges to add to their Computer Science classes, a section on writing code that makes programs accessible to the Blind. the last Company I worked for, the Owner hired several Programmers from the Philippines. why? Because he could pay them $15 a day, and the typical Programmer here in the States is going to demand far more than this, per hour. the owner attempted to make this Philippine connection work any way he could. Couldn't tell you how often he flew there and had the Development guys here in the States attempt to show them what they needed to know. Perhaps very good programmers in the Philippines cost more than $15 per day, and the owner was just not willing to pay more. But when all was said and done, Thousands of dollars had been spent, that would have been more wisely spent by hiring quality American programmers instead. As it turned out, the Cheap Owner spent a lot of money, and has nothing to show for it, and he still doesn't have a program to go to market with. but, I can tell you, these Philippine programmers were not adding code to make their project accessible. they were just attempting to get something worth while to even run. -- Dave <[email protected]> _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. For membership options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/archive%40mail-archive.com. For subscription options, visit http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com List archives can be found at http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com
