The problem is that all the standards were thrown out the window a long
time ago, and, programmers of today do not "program" user interfaces.
They use monstrous development environments that work like video games
and they know nothing about the interface they create other than what it
looks like. This is all programmers are taught in college today. It's
too much to right click on controls to access their properties and it's
far too much to teach students about accessibility, be it in standard UI
design or web sites.
And as much as Microsoft and Apple praise themselves for accessibility
we're still painfully obviously on the bottom of the priority list. I
love my iPhone too. But new builds have gotten worse and worse over the
years. So we've had to wait for the second, third, or forth build before
the headaches at least or major problems at worst are fixed. Then
there's Microsoft Edge. It's a glaring example where things really are.
But on the other hand, at least we have other real choices that make the
inaccessible Edge inconsequential in practical terms.
Tom
On 3/18/2016 10:23 AM, Stan Gowin via Talk wrote:
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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