My recollection of the mid 80's was that 3rd party applications, from
companies like Raised Dot Computing and The American Printing House for
the Blind, were necessary for a blind person to use an Apple II. In
doing a bit of research on the web, I found the page
http://codi.tamucc.edu/archives/computing/.lazzaro.htm where it syas
Apple II was one of the first computers to become popular among the blind
because of the inexpensive Textalker screen reader and Echo II synthesizer
(see "The Search For Speech," December 1984 BYTE, page A48). But the Apple
II couldn't make off-the-shelf software talk, because it couldn't run two
programs at the same time; it could use only software that had speech
ability written in. Microtalk and GW Micro offer specially written, talking
Apple application programs, as does the American Printing House for the
Blind.
Also, the page at http://www2.edc.org/ncip/library/vi/speech.htm
summarizes access technologies, but doesn't mention anything developed
by Apple in the early 80's.
Prior to Apple starting to develop VoiceOver in house, Apple didn't
demonstrate any more commitment to accessibility than any other company
at the time, such as Microsoft.
There was nothing in this thread as to why Apple became so committed to
accessibility a little over a decade ago, so I'm not sure why you felt
so compelled to refute the assertion that this was a result of pressure
from the federal government.
I don't know what compelled Apple to embrace accessibility across their
product line. The time line you present below seems to indicate that it
was at least in part due to the enforcement of federal purchasing
requirements, but regardless, Apple has gone far beyond any legislative
requirements and started this with their existing product lines, which
did not have any built in accessibility. As I said, I think this makes
Apple's story even more praise worthy.
On 09/13/2013 01:14 AM, David Chittenden wrote:
This is incorrect. Initial accessibility for the Apple II computer, which
occurred in 1983, was developed by Apple, not a 3rd party vendor. In addition,
ZoomText style screen enlargement was provided on the original Mac back in
1986. I know because I worked with both products. The initial screen reader for
the Apple II was not very good. The original screen enlargement for the Mac was
better than TSI Vista Screen enlargement for DOS computers.
The first full-fledge screen reader for Apple Mac was developed by Berkeley
Systems in the mid 90's. When Berkeley Systems went out of business because
they did not have enough customer base to meet their expenses around the turn
of the century, the company which bought out their source code let OutSpoken
for Mac die and used some of the OutSpoken for Windows code in their own screen
reader. I currently do not remember which company this was.
After Berkeley Systems folded, Apple approached screen reader developers to see
if any of them would develop a new screen reader for the Mac. In fact, Apple
worked closely with Berkeley Systems on OutSpoken for Mac. I know this because
a cousin was an independent consultant for Apple who was assigned to work with
Berkeley Systems on trouble-shooting difficulties for several months in the mid
90's. During this time, Apple paid his consulting fees.
After screen reader developers, including Freedom Scientific, turned Apple
down, Apple took screen reader development in-house in 2003 and released the
initial iteration of VoiceOver with OSX Tiger in 2005. This means, Apple's
initial screen reader development from concept design to roll-out took around
two years.
It must be noted that Apple was notified by US Federal Purchasing (I do not
remember which specific department, but suspect it may have been Dept of
Education), that federal funds would no longer be able to be spent on Apple
computers if Apple did not have minimum screen reader access. To my best
understanding, this notification was made in 2001 or 2002. It was during the
time after OutSpoken for Mac was discontinued, and may have been the impetus
encouraging Apple to approach Windows screen reader developers. However, given
that Apple has always had a commitment to disability access, as proven by their
initial basic screen reader in the Apple II and their screen enlargement in the
early Mac, and by the fact that they paid my cousin's developer consultation
fees in the mid 90's to do work with Berkeley Systems, I am not convinced that
the US Federal Purchasing being threatened to be ended was what caused Apple to
jump so fully onto the accessibility bandwagon. Besides, only basic ac
cess is required by the Federal Government. Also, it was a known fact, and
fairly well researched and proven, that blind people could not successfully,
independently, and completely effectively, utilise a purely touchscreen device.
In fact, a Google-based researcher was attempting to get Apple to work with him
on developing a tactile overlay to help blind people use the original iPhone,
and was not happy with Apple because they refused to work with him.
Apple revolutionised everyone's understanding of what was possible with
touchscreen access when they released iPhone 3GS with full VO integration in
2009. Academic researchers were caught completely by surprise. Peer-reviewed,
high-end, academic research around factors of successful touchscreen access for
the blind do not appear in the research journals (touch input with audio
output) until late 2010. This indicates such research was not designed or
started until after the iPhone 3GS.
Therefore, the facts do not support the assertion that Apple only became
focused on accessibility after forced to do so by the federal purchasing under
accessibility legislation.
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
Sent from my iPhone
On 13/09/2013, at 8:27, Christopher Chaltain <[email protected]> wrote:
The accessible solutions for the Apple 2E and the Lisa were not Apple products.
they were third party products. that's like giving Microsoft and Bill Gates
credit for JAWS.
Apple needs to be praised for their commitment to accessibility, but let's not
rewrite history in the process. If anything, Apple's commitment to
accessibility is even more impressive given that it had to be incorporated into
existing product lines. It goes in the face of the claim that accessibility is
too expensive to retrofit and gives us hope for things like Windows Phone and
other platforms, operating systems and applications that aren't currently
accessible.
On 09/12/2013 01:12 PM, Steve wrote:
I can only speculate on the rationale. If you read the book Exploding
the Phone, you will see that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had several
blind acquaintances back in the early 70's.
Remember, that in the earlier days of computing, there were accessible
solutions for the Apple 2e and the Lisa.
Steve
----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne gmail " <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 10:20 AM
Subject: RE: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
While I applaud Apple for making a giant leap forward in accessibility, I
won't pretend that I can guess all the reasons why. There is no doubt that
they are a huge game changer and that is in keeping with their whole
corporate philosophy. It may be that compassion, concern for public image,
and desire to maximize market share are the principle drivers. It may also
be that the updated ADA and increasing legal pressure played a role as
well.
That ADA is being taken seriously has been demonstrated by the fact that
Amazon and a consortium of producers of EReader hardware have requested a
waiver of the ADA accessibility requirements for future product releases.
Part of their reasoning is that this need is being met by the IBook and
Kindle apps used on phones and tablets.
At best, Apple is being unclear and inconsistent about refunds but I
believe that has more to do with it's low priority in the overall
development of corporate policy than any deliberate intent.
I've never asked for a refund and given the price of most apps I probably
never will. If I do, and use the "report a problem" suggested by the
accessibility team I think I'll probably get it. If I don't, life is too
short to spend a lot of time and energy worrying about it.
I definitely do not think pushing for accessibility is whining or asking
for charity. ADA is a flawed compromise between the disabled community and
the commercial marketplace but I saw firsthand that it had a tremendous
impact on job prospects for the disabled. Most restaurant owners and hotel
managers will tell you that the long term benefits in increased custom have
made the short term investments worthwhile. Despite the unreasonable
expectation stories which appeared from time to time after passage of ADA
the effect has been that the disabled portion of our society are less
disabled and more visible. That is a good thing. I've always suspected a
lot of the business folks who objected to ADA were mainly objecting to the
government telling them what to do about anything.
As for Apple refunds, why not just use the tools Apple provides for
requesting one, be glad if you get it, and be loud if you don't get it and
it is that important to you. It is what it is and life moves merrily
along.
Lisa, I pretty much agree with your points about our needing to accept
the
responsibility for learning to use accessibility tools. However, there
is a
difference between accessibility and usability. Apple has generally done a
great job of making VO accessible and useable because when they decided to
do it, they decided to do it right. I've seen other software developed in
the Windows environment where accessibility has been implemented in a
manner
best described as surly. "I've gotta do it but I don't have to let you
like
it!" As customers, we can and should advocate for useable accessibility in
apps we buy as opposed to one recently discussed on the list where people
had to count buttons or label them themselves. We can count and label but
labels on objects ain't rocket science and indicates lazy programming not
artistic freedom. The whole point of computers is to let one programmer do
something once so thousands of customers don't have to do it thousands of
times.
Refund requests may be one way of telling developers they should take that
extra little time in their product development.
Regards,
Wayne
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
Of Lisa belville
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 7:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
David I understand where you're coming from. I've taught basic Windows and
screen reading skills on and off for years and people often want to call
something inaccessible when it's really a lack of knowledge of their screen
reader or Windows rather than a genuine case of inaccessibility. Of course
there are cases of sighted people assuming an OS or app doesn't do
something
simply because they do not have the skills or the knowledge to research or
experiment.
But this is not the case in a situation where someone purchases an
inaccessible app. A sighted person purchasing an app will at least have
the
opportunity to put the software through it's paces. True, a summary of
features and screenshots are not sufficient means of judging the usefulness
of a program, but in a case where a person, presumably a sighted person,
regrets dropping the cash on an app their aggravation is most likely
stemming from the software's capabilities being over inflated by the
developer. Whereas a blind person downloading the same app where no VO
access is genuinely not included doesn't even have the chance to determine
whether or not the app will meet his or her needs in the first place.
IMO there is a huge difference between whining about something not suiting
someone's needs due to it's not being advertised accurately and not being
able to use the app enough to even ascertain whether or not it does as
advertised.
If we choose to spend money on an app and can't even access the most basic
portions of that app then it isn't accessible to us and the app is useless,
not due to it's not containing the features we need but due to our
inability
to assess it's usefulness.
Perhaps this is a subtle difference to some, but it is a huge issue for me,
and I don't think it's whining in those cases to ask for a refund. This
doesn't make us whiners or charity cases, it makes us savvy consumers aware
of our rights.
In the U.S., at least, most of the access issues have had to be settled by
litigation because companies refused to work with us or even acknowledge
their product was inaccessible. Heck I still have people amazed that blind
people can use a computer, let alone a smart phone, so it's no wonder that
the majority of developers aren't aware of our needs.
Lisa
There is a fine line between genius and insanity and that difference is a
paycheck!
Lisa Belville
[email protected]
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Chittenden" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 6:05 AM
Subject: Re: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
Here is my problem with all this stuff around accessibility of apps. Apple
clearly states in their documentation for those who are not blind, that all
sales are final. People on this list argue that sighted persons can look at
the, up to five, screen shots to ascertain if the app will work for them.
Get real, folks, five pictures does not tell a person how well an app
works.
Five pictures only tells a person if they will find the lay-out of five
appearances of app screens to be acceptable. I have read many reviews of
apps where the reviewer comments that the app is a waste of money and the
reviewer wishes he/she did not waste the money on the app. And, this is the
case no matter how expensive the app is.
So, basically, what I interpret people to be saying is, we are special. We
require charity. We do not wish to be treated like everybody else.
For example, and the reason I am so specific about this, and the reason I
have never, and will never, unless Apple changes its general policy, ask
for
an app refund is, a couple months after DigitEyes was placed for sale on
the
App Store, a person on this list at that time could not figure out how to
get DigitEyes to work for himself/herself, so the person told Apple that
DigitEyes was not accessible and received a refund. DigitEyes was
specifically developed to be accessible. It just was not useable for that
person for whatever reason. Therefore, the person flagrantly and completely
abused Apple's charity refund policy for us poor, helpless, blind folk.
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
Sent from my iPhone
On 12/09/2013, at 22:10, Joanne Chua <[email protected]> wrote:
If blind and vips people insist that if an app is not accessible with
voiceover, we have the rights to refun/return the apps deal to
inaccessibility within the apps. Now, i have a question and a thought, if
a developer specificly develop apps for voiceover and does not have other
way of accessing the apps but voiceover, can an ordinary non-voiceover
user refun the app with the condition that is being too accessible for
the
minority, but inaccessible for the other people?
Of course, this is just a point of arguement, it does not involve any of
the app development policy or anything or such. Just looking at things in
different angle..
Joanne Chua
The flip side of Inclusion is Exclusion.
Leaders For Tomorrow 2013 Candidate
Send from my iPad
On 12/09/2013, at 19:13, Joseph FreeTech <[email protected]>
wrote:
So this 90-day policy has "always" been the case, right? Nothing has
been
changed nor lawsuits nor petitions been used to force compliance by
Apple,
right?
As a general statement conveying my own personal opinion, this incident
is
more proof for the value of asking questions and educating oneself
rather
than starting long, expensive legal wars. <Smile>.
I would now ask for a link to a "terms of agreement" webpage on the
matter
of accessibility, which we can all point to when the issue of refunds
for
inaccessible apps pops up. This will serve to educate ourselves and to
educate the next Apple customer service employee who doesn't clearly
understand the apple refund policy. We would be in a much better
place to
present a good case if we can provide customer service with the link
specifying our rights as Apple customers.
Glad all came to a friendly close... for now. <Smile>.
Joseph
----- Original Message ----- From: "Neil Barnfather - TalkNav"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2013 1:58 AM
Subject: Re: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
Patrick,
I, like David, have now heard from Apple's Accessibility team that
refunds
for none accessible apps will be granted within a 90 day window, and
that
this is Apple's policy on this matter. They had no explanation or
apology
as
to why it had been ignored or not followed by what they termed as five
separate members of the iTunes Team being involved, but, never the less
I've
now got my refund and have an e-mail from Accessibility with the policy
clearly spelled out.
As such, I'm a happy bunny again and hopefully Apple's Accessibility
team
might take me up on my suggestion that they round robin e-mail all
iTunes
support staff informing them of the policy again!
Thanks to all who've participated in this conversation.
Regards,
Neil Barnfather
Talks List Administrator
Twitter @neilbarnfather
TalkNav is a Nuance, Code Factory and Sendero dealer, as well as an
Apple
iOS, Macintosh and Android accessibility specialist. For all your
accessible phone, PDA and GPS related enquiries visit www.talknav.com
URL: - www.talknav.com
e-mail: - [email protected]
Phone: - +44 844 999 4199
On 12 Sep 2013, at 04:40, Patrick Neazer <[email protected]>
wrote:
Hello Neil and all:
Thank you so much for your presentation of your position. It is clear
and
well thought out.
As an iPhone user attempting to find my way through this maze I must
weigh
what you have so skillfully articulated alongside what seemingly seems
to
be Apple's position … Apple states:
Hello,
Thank you for your email. The iTunes Store policy regarding app refunds
for inaccessibile apps has not changed. The Store will provide refunds
as
long as they fall within the 90 day refund window (as is standard with
any
iTunes Store refund.) Please ensure that any refund you request is made
in
a timely manner as we cannot grant exceptions to the 90 day policy.
Apple Accessibility.
So, my dilemma persists. Apple seems to have a policy as stated by the
people to whom we are asked to write. and yet, seemingly, there is a
disconnect. Is there a problem with the 90 day window? Is the answer
possibly what was suggested earlier that the standard method by
which to
receive these refunds is online and not over the phone? is that what is
potentially causing the log jam?
As I have stated earlier, and will say again, I have no pre rehearsed
answer to any of these questions. however, I think if these questions
are
taken seriously two things will be the natural result:
1. a transparent answer will be arrived at without needing to appeal to
personalities. Principle should govern the discussion and that means
establishing for anyone who is faced with such an occurrence of needing
a
refund what the actual rules are and how they impact everyone
proportionately.
2. And understanding of what is and what is not happening so
constructive
solutions to existing reality can be offered.
I did not mention him by name earlier though I will now … Tyler made a
suggestion which I believed is based in principle from the perspective
of
the developers … making Apple's documentation easier to use. That is a
universal strategy which has been embraced by many communities and can
be
measured.
I know that the response I received from accessibility was not only
sent
to my inbox. does anyone have any experience to share here that might
shed
more light upon the topic? the security of knowing that the world's
leading accessibility company is both responsive and collaborative is
always a fruitful topic for conversation and a fantastic catalyst for
action.
The purchasing of apps is a topic close to all of us. Thank you from
here
to all whom have participated and offered their best efforts.
Take good care and I wish you enough.
On Sep 11, 2013, at 6:05 PM, Neil Barnfather - TalkNav
<[email protected]> wrote:
Patrick,
As it was I whom started the thread I shall answer as follows…
Apple's official online policy for App Store purchases is that once
completed they are none refundable and all purchases are final.
There are no exemptions listed and its pretty much a catch all, once
you've pressed buy, entered your password and pressed OK, you're done,
that's it, no money back and importantly especially for Voice Over
users,
no guarantee…
What I am lobbying for, and the call to arms if you will, is for us
together as a community to tell Apple that this policy puts our
community
uniquely at a disadvantage.
We cannot look at the screen shots, almost never is there a review
by a
Voice Over user pointing out whether or not the app is accessible or
not,
where there is, how would you find that single review amongst many
others… Often App developers are unaware of our needs, the tools Apple
provide to resolve those and link up with their accessibility API's
which
provide features like Voice Over to operate.
Apple themselves make no effort to point these features out to
developers, they do not screen apps submitted to them for compliance,
they offer no incentive to, or not to, comply with their standards,
and
finally, they offer us the user no way of simply flagging an app in an
easy to follow and find manner that an app has been certified by our
community as functional.
Given all of the above, I believe it right and proper that Apple
accept
that occasionally we will purchase an app and it will not function as
intended by the developer for us, and as such, we aught to be entitled
to
our money back.
That's it, in a nut shell, no bells, no whistles, no credibility
check,
plain simple language that I hope covers my specific grievance in one.
Whilst some have pointed out is all this necessary for the odd dollar
here and there, I suppose it comes down to how many apps you buy
and at
what cost they are.
I personally buy 5 or so a week, granted most of these are low cost,
but
the app that specifically caused me to write to them was £35 about
US$50.
and I consider this worthy of my money back.
This aside, no-one should be made to pay money for something they
cannot
use, no matter the amount.
Hope that this clears things up
Regards,
Neil Barnfather
Talks List Administrator
Twitter @neilbarnfather
TalkNav is a Nuance, Code Factory and Sendero dealer, as well as an
Apple
iOS, Macintosh and Android accessibility specialist. For all your
accessible phone, PDA and GPS related enquiries visit www.talknav.com
URL: - www.talknav.com
e-mail: - [email protected]
Phone: - +44 844 999 4199
On 11 Sep 2013, at 20:11, Patrick Neazer <[email protected]>
wrote:
Hello Neil, Joseph, and all:
I have been following this thread since its inception and I must
confess
I am a bit confused by the arc of the conversation. It began with a
judgement pertaining to a policy which may or may not exist
addressing
the refund of money for app purchases. then, a turn was taken to
patronizing activity or not. then there was an appeal to the
upstanding
credentials of an individual and then … well … I lost the trail.
I am not attempting to take sides or a stand. I am truly
attempting to
understand what is actually occurring and what the call to action is.
so, in an attempt to clarify my obvious unclear view here is my
question … does Apple have a stated policy or procedure which is
clearly
stated and viewable by the public governing refunds for app purchases
and does there policy outline any unique exemptions based on pick the
criteria of choice? If that information could be presented as quickly
as
links to write to apple requesting policy changes and adaptations to
business practices that would go a long way I believe to clearing up
my
apparent confusion and sharpening the discussion in the minds of
other
members of the community who may be experiencing the same confusion I
am
experiencing. Of course, I may be the only one confused and if so,
anyone reading this whom has been following the thread is free to
disregard anything written above.
Thank you to anyone who reads this and responds in a constructive
manner
and high fives to all those who take up the mantle of improving the
tools which make the lives of persons with disabilities easier to
navigate.
Take good care and I wish you enough.
Patrick
On Sep 11, 2013, at 1:46 PM, Joseph FreeTech
<[email protected]>
wrote:
Well, the suggestion I posted has nothing to do with you personally.
<Smile>. it's a general, unbiased suggestion, and had anyone else
made
it, I
would have suggested the same thing. It was another lister who
turned
this
into a bit of an ad hominem discussion.
Joseph
----- Original Message ----- From: "Neil Barnfather - TalkNav"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 11:22 AM
Subject: Re: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
Joseph,
As Sieghard has said, I'm not one for such things, and have been a
positive
advocate of our community online and off line for many, many years
now…
I
would recommend that you check out my web-site; neilbarnfather.com
for
some
information and this might explain a little more about myself and my
work.
Regards,
Neil Barnfather
Talks List Administrator
Twitter @neilbarnfather
TalkNav is a Nuance, Code Factory and Sendero dealer, as well as an
Apple
iOS, Macintosh and Android accessibility specialist. For all your
accessible phone, PDA and GPS related enquiries visit
www.talknav.com
URL: - www.talknav.com
e-mail: - [email protected]
Phone: - +44 844 999 4199
On 11 Sep 2013, at 17:13, Joseph FreeTech
<[email protected]>
wrote:
Very smart suggestion. Let's say we all jump on this bandwagon
(once
again),
and in the end we discover that whoever the original person this
happened
to
was very nasty and demanding to the Apple customer service
employees;
hence
the poor service. We're all going to be very embarrassed and not
likely to
take this issue up again in the future. We first need proof of a
pattern
of
poor service and not just some single person's complaint.
Joseph
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lisa belville"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
Hi. Is there any way you could share a letter showing how the
Apple
people
were patronizing/unhelpful in this regard? I understand the
frustration
of
not getting a refund for something inaccessible and how a clueless
rep
makes
this all the more annoying, but IMO there's a difference between
politely/patiently conveying a policy and being patronizing.
Obviously,
you
can take out any names in this letter, but it would be good to see
an
example of this attitude. Could it possibly be this particular
rep's
issue
and not necessarily one of Apple itself? I'm referring to the
patronizing/unsympathetic attitude and not the policy itself.
Lisa
There is a fine line between genius and insanity and that
difference
is a
paycheck!
Lisa Belville
[email protected]
----- Original Message ----- From: "Neil Barnfather - TalkNav"
<[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
"The
Accessible Phones Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 8:58 AM
Subject: Apple App Store & Refunds for inaccessible Apps
The below should prove a concern to all Apple accessibility feature
users,
and I would urge as many of you who can do so, to please write to
Apple
yourselves to express your concern along the same lines where
possible…
([email protected]).
For years now Apple has led the way in accessibility standards and
application of methods in interacting with all of its product
range.
Internationally within many disability arenas Apple is
celebrated as
the
defacto standard and is widely acknowledged as users preferred
platform
for
persons with accessibility issues.
Whether or not the App Store had an unofficial policy towards
customers
with
accessibility needs or not, is unknown to me. What I am aware of is
that
where I've bought Apps which turn out not to be accessible, Apple
App
Store
has always been prompt to refund the purchase immediately without
question.
Since Apple do not enforce accessibility standards, nor in anyway
whatsoever
offer a method of a disabled user to know whether or not an App is,
or
is
not, accessible in advance of purchase, this seemed to be a most
reasonable
compromise.
However, in correspondence over the past week with Apple iTunes
support
staff via e-mail in relation to an App I have purchased which is
inaccessible, Apple's stance has been both surprising and frankly
highly
dismissive of our needs and vulnerability when using Apple's App
Store.
I have been point blank refused a refund upon this occasion, with
staff
suggesting that I could leave a review for the App which others
could
read,
and or write to the developer. Whilst I understand that the second
suggestion may illicit a positive response, and sometimes it does…
In
many
instances developers haven't even heard of Voice Over let alone
understand
what it does and how they aught to address compliance with Apple's
Accessibility API's.
Of course, the best approach would be for Apple to make compliance
with
its
Accessibility API's a requirement for all new Apps being
approved to
the
App
Store, indeed a range of other options would also work, such as; a
discount
on the 30% cut that Apple takes for compliant Apps, a penalty
higher
fee
(35% etc) for those that do not comply and perhaps indicating
with a
marker
in the App store which Apps do meet the requirements.
Since Apple do none of these, despite so publicly professing to up
holding
and supporting some of the most well implemented accessibility
innovation
and support seen in the industry, it seemed like a fair compromise
that
Apple voluntarily and without complication offered a refund to
customers
who
had accessibility needs where an App proved to be inaccessible.
The situation now, though is that Apple is refusing in an
uncompromising
and
frankly shocking way to refund such purchases, with patronising and
unsympathetic suggestions as to how we, as blind users, go about
reviewing
Apps etc.
I would ask that Apple firstly developed a robust policy in this
regard,
and
secondly, reviews options as to improving the compliance uptake of
developers within their iOS and Mac App Stores.
So that I can convey your response to the ViPhone, Macvisionaries
and
other
Apple Accessibility user forums promptly, I would sincerely
appreciate
your
earliest feedback and response on this issue.
Yours kindly.
Regards,
Neil Barnfather
http://www.NeilBarnfather.com
Regards,
Neil Barnfather
Talks List Administrator
Twitter @neilbarnfather
TalkNav is a Nuance, Code Factory and Sendero dealer, as well as an
Apple
iOS, Macintosh and Android accessibility specialist. For all your
accessible phone, PDA and GPS related enquiries visit
www.talknav.com
URL: - www.talknav.com
e-mail: - [email protected]
Phone: - +44 844 999 4199
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