Dave,
For me I think it depends on when you ask. Some days I feel access to software
is better than ever. Then I find something that doesn’t work and I feel as
you do.
Thinking more deeply, the issue is that software and devices that employ it are
far more pervasive than ten or fifteen years ago. The iPhone with Voice Over is
a marvel I couldn’t imagine back when I started programming in the late
1970’s. On the Apple platforms, especially IOS, accessibility is better and
available for more apps than ever. Does that mean it’s perfect? Of course not,
there are always going to be apps that don’t work well for blind users. There
are apps that by their very nature cannot do so.
On the Windows platforms the emphasis has been to make them more like phones
and tablets and this has hurt access. Microsoft has until recently, pulled back
from their accessibility efforts, leaving features of Windows, internet
browsing and office applications woefully inaccessible. Recent developments at
Microsoft lead me to believe they’ve realized there are problems with
accessibility and they are working to address them. A case in point is
Microsoft now has a dozen or so developers working on accessibility issues for
the MS Office suites.
I still work for a software company and some of the packages they use are not
very accessible. I believe this is due to many more low-cost choices for
software companies can purchase. When cost is lower, some aspects of the
software are lacking, often accessibility. I try to raise issues with the
vendors when they arise but I must report only mixed success.
Summing up, I think the choices we have for personal use provide better
accessibility than ever. What we have to contend with in the work environment
is far less positive.
Regards,
Stan
Sent from my Mac Mini
> On Mar 18, 2016, at 12:26 AM, via Talk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I am curious about something. I have thought for a while now that
> accessibility is either going backwards, or it is not keeping up with the new
> changes coming in modern apps and programs.
>
> This isn't meant to be a slam at A I Squared, but I am wondering if this is
> just my own misguided and inaccurate perception, or have any of the rest of
> you noticed the same steps backwards, as I think I have.
>
> At a time when it appears as if accessibility is increasing, , when I examine
> the topic closer, there are just more choices today, than in days past.
> There is multiple versions of MS Windows, and now Apple has put Access in
> their OS. The Iphone and other Smart phones have access, and the same for
> Tablets. Even Lenox I've been told now has some support for reading its
> screens.
>
> We have more Gadgets that have some Speech, but so far, the level of access
> seems shallow. As long as you only use the basics of any given program, or
> OS, you might be OK. But if you need to get in a make some deeper changes,
> you might be hard pressed to make any such changes because you find the
> access into those areas is just not there.
>
> I worked at a Computer Software company for a long time, and I was let go
> when Cash flow was slowing up. If I had to go back and work there today, I
> doubt if I could do so, because I do not have the access I once had. They
> have changed the Phones system, and they are using software that I doubt if
> any screen reader would read enough of it to make it usable by someone blind.
>
>
> They now have three Databases, and one is an On-Line Database, and I doubt if
> I could work fast enough to do my old job.
>
> Even before, I had to memorize a ton of stuff, and today, I would need to
> memorize a lot more than before.
>
> So are those of us who are Blind experiencing less access these days than say
> we did 10 or 15 years ago?
>
> I would say we have less, even though we have more choices today, the access
> is shallower.
>
> Am I just a guy that is out of touch, or is what I think I see, an
> observation others have noticed as well?
>
>
> And don't worry about hurting my feelings. I hope I am wrong in my
> assessment.
>
> Grumpy Dave
>
> P.S. And I may not be seeing Steps Backwards, but just that changes are
> taking place so fast, that Screen reader builders can not keep up with these
> changes?
>
> Or is it a bit of both.
>
>
>
> --
> Dave <[email protected]>
>
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