It really depends where you are starting from. If the website is well designed (from an accessibility perspective), you don't need ReadSpeaker at all. If the website is not well designed, ReadSpeaker may or may not be a solution to the accessibility barriers for some people - you just don't know.
Bolting on a tool like that does not give you any insight into how accessible or inaccessible the website is, either before or after. Instead I would recommend some form of testing in order to understand what the current accessibility barriers are, followed by a prioritised schedule of remedial work to get to the level you want to achieve. OK, I run a testing company so I am bound to say that, but that would also be the view of most accessibility professionals. Given that ReadSpeaker requires an annual payment that used to be thousands of pounds (what is it now?), that money could fund a continuous program of remedial work that would benefit all user groups rather than the fairly narrow range of user groups that benefit from ReadSpeaker. Steve Green From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of James O'Neill Sent: 21 February 2012 19:58 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WSG] Read Speaker? "My view is that if you have the budget for these services (and they are not cheap) there are much better ways you can spend the money that will benefit more people. " Interesting thought. Examples? Jim On Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 13:39, Steve Green <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: The merits of ReadSpeaker (and BrowseAloud, which is very similar) have been discussed at great length in the accessibility community for the best part of a decade. There is very little support for them amongst accessibility professionals. My view is that if you have the budget for these services (and they are not cheap) there are much better ways you can spend the money that will benefit more people. Steve Green Managing Director Test Partners Ltd From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of James O'Neill Sent: 21 February 2012 18:34 To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [WSG] Read Speaker? Any thoughts on the Usability or Accessibility of Read Speaker http://www.readspeaker.com<http://www.readspeaker.com/> If you have any reports, reviews or comparisons that would be great too. Thanks all, Jjim ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ******************************************************************* ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [email protected] *******************************************************************
