screen readers and accessibility

[Charles Silverman]

> If anyone has any experience in getting Rev/MC apps to make use
> of PC screen readers (such as Window Eyes) I'd like to communicate
> with them.
>
> sims
-- 
This is a good question about screen reader compatibility. A blind user 
should be able to access a Rev stack or standalone using the standard 
screen readers  such as Jaws and Window Eyes for Windows, and Outspoken 
for the Mac.

I have access to JAWS, the most popular Windows screen reader, at work 
and so will check this out for you. There is a standard for creating 
accessible web sites. Not adhering to this standard (see the WAI 
initiative at the W3 site) really messes things up for screen readers. 
I wonder if there is a similar problem and need for guidelines for all 
the various xTalk programming environments.

There's a U.S. federal law that might be of interest.  Section 508 
requires (with some exceptions) any software you develop for U.S. 
government agencies come with the necessary hooks for allowing various 
system based accessibility solutions, such as screen readers to work 
correctly.

If anyone is interested, there are a bunch of Web sites with lots of 
information on Section 508. Check out 
http://216.218.205.189/sec508/brochure.htm) for a brief overview or do 
a google search with "Section 508" for further information.

Since the U.S. government is a fairly mammoth contractor, Section 508 
regulations have had the effect of compelling a number of mainstream 
companies to make sure their products offer accessibility solutions. 
Macromedia's MX software series  (Dreamweaver, Flash, etc)  is one of 
many products with accessibility support built in.

Hope this is of interest.

cheers,
Charles Silverman


re:
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2003 11:19:02 +0200
> To: use-revolution at lists.runrev.com
> From: sims <sims at ezpzapps.com>
> Subject:  PC screen readers
> Reply-To: use-revolution at lists.runrev.com
>
> If anyone has any experience in getting Rev/MC apps to make use
> of PC screen readers (such as Window Eyes) I'd like to communicate
> with them.
>
> sims
--