I am forwarding this as I think it is important news and also interesting
to this group.
>Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 07:58:52 -0800
>From: Judy Brewer <[log in to unmask]>
> (by way of Prof Norm Coombs <[log in to unmask]>)
>Subject: News Release: World Wide Web Consortium Issues User Agent
> Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as a W3C Recommendation
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>
>
>WAI Interest Group:
>
>The following W3C News Release went out today, 17 December 2002.
>
>May be circulated, but please avoid cross-postings.
>
>Regards,
>
>- Judy
>
>----------------------
>
>Making Web Browsers and media players accessible is like giving everyone
>a key to the front door of the Web. W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative
>(WAI) has produced the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, which are
>written to provide specific detailed instruction on how to make their
>software an open door.
>
>An unprecedented 23 testimonials, including those from software
>manufacturers, government agencies and disability organizations are
>included in this mail. For more information, contact Janet Daly, W3C Head
>of Communications, at +1 617 253 5884, or
><[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>==========================================================
>
>World Wide Web Consortium Issues User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
>as a W3C Recommendation
>
>Third in set of Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines helps
>developers make accessible browsers and multimedia players
>
>
>This press release (in English, French, and Japanese), testimonials and
>a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about UAAG 1.0 are also
>available on the Web at:
>
>
>http://www.w3.org/2002/12/uaag10-pressrelease
>http://www.w3.org/2002/12/uaag10-testimonials
>http://www.w3.org/2002/10/uaag10-faq/
>
>The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines themselves are at:
>
>http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/REC-UAAG10-20021217/
>
>http://www.w3.org/ -- 17 December 2002 -- The World Wide Web Consortium
>(W3C) has issued the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0)
>as a W3C Recommendation, representing consensus among developers and the
>disability community on accessibility features needed in browsers and
>multimedia players used to access the Web. A W3C Recommendation
>indicates that a specification is stable, contributes to Web
>interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who favor
>its widespread adoption.
>
>"Web browsers and media players serve people as the front door to the
>Web. But when those tools aren't usable by people with disabilities,
>it's akin to locking the door and leaving no key," noted Tim
>Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "For the past five years, the technical and
>disability experts in the Web Accessibility Initiative have provided
>definitive guidelines for making accessible Web content and designing
>authoring software that does the same, automatically. Today, with the
>announcement of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, developers have
>the specific guidance they need to make Web browsers and media players
>more useful to more people."
>
>The Web is for Everyone -- Content, Authoring Tools, Browsers, and
>Multimedia Players Must Be Accessible
>
>The Web has created unprecedented opportunities for people around the
>world to learn, work, shop, play, and communicate with others; and even
>more so for people with disabilities, who have frequently been excluded
>from many of these activities. Access to the Web for people with
>disabilities, however, presumes that Web developers choose accessible
>design over inaccessible design; these guidelines explain how to make
>accessible design choices when developing browsers and media players.
>
>UAAG 1.0 is written for software developers, and addresses requirements
>such as accessibility of the user interface, rendering of accessibility
>information, and user choice in configuring browsers and media players.
>These guidelines also address interoperability of mainstream browsers
>and multimedia players with assistive technologies used by people with
>disabilities. UAAG 1.0 is third in a complementary set of Web
>accessibility guidelines which already include the Web Content
>Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) and the Authoring Tool
>Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (ATAG 1.0).
>
>UAAG Leads to Improved Software for All Users
>
>All three guidelines (UAAG, WCAG, ATAG) have been developed by W3C's Web
>Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Over the past five years WAI has become
>recognized as the leading international authority on Web accessibility,
>addressing accessibility issues for users with visual, auditory,
>physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities through
>device-independent, multimodal design. Together these three WAI
>guidelines help Web developers deliver on the promise of a universal Web
>that is accessible to all.
>
>UAAG 1.0 addresses a variety of user agent types including HTML and
>XHTML browsers, multimedia players, graphics viewers, and assistive
>technologies. Software that conforms to UAAG 1.0 is expected to be more
>flexible, manageable, extensible, and beneficial to all users.
>
>Browsers and Media Players Already Implementing Many UAAG Features
>
>"For the past five years, browser and media player manufacturers,
>assistive technology developers, and disability experts have contributed
>their expertise to UAAG 1.0," explained Jon Gunderson, Chair of the User
>Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG). "In addition to the
>UAAG 1.0 Recommendation, the UAWG has produced Techniques for UAAG 1.0
>(detailed information on implementation in different markup languages
>and user agent types), a Test Suite for UAAG 1.0, and interactive forms
>for UAAG 1.0 evaluations. These tools will enable developers, users, and
>purchasing agents to assess the extent of accessibility improvements in
>Web software."
>
>The implementation of UAAG 1.0 in software is already underway. The
>Working Group used an extended Candidate Recommendation period for
>intensive discussions with developers and documentation of UAAG 1.0
>implementations in a variety of software. This documentation
>demonstrated the feasibility and industry acceptance of UAAG 1.0, which
>carries endorsements and commitments from developers of browsers, media
>players, assistive technologies, and from government and disability
>organizations.
>
>Testimonials for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 Recommendation
>
>These testimonials are in support of UAAG 1.0 Press Release, and are from:
>American Association of People with Disabilities; American Council of
>the Blind; America Online; Assistive Technology Industry Association;
>Boeing; Daisy Consortium; Educational Testing Service; Freedom
>Scientific; Gallaudet University; GW Micro; Hewlett-Packard; IBM;
>Industry Canada; KDE; Macromedia; Microsoft; National Institute of
>Standards and Technology (US); ONCE; Opera Software; Real Networks;
>RFB&D; Sun Microsystems; and Vision Australia Foundation.
>
>Accessibility of the Web is essential to ensuring equal access for
>people with disabilities. Web sites and the software used to build Web
>sites must be accessible, but so must the browsers and multimedia
>players that people use on the Web; and these must also become more
>compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers and voice
>recognition software upon which many people with disabilities depend.
>The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) urges
>developers of browsers and multimedia players to accelerate their
>implementation W3C/WAI's User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, in order
>to better meet the needs of their customers who include millions of
>Americans with disabilities.
>
>-- Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO, American Association of People
>with Disabilities
>
>The American Council of the Blind (ACB), a national organization of
>blind consumers, strongly endorses the productivity of the W3C and its
>development of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. These Guidelines
>provide crucial, in-depth guidance to developers of browsers and
>multimedia players on how to make their applications more accessible to
>people with disabilities, and how to make those applications work more
>effectively with assistive technologies. ACB energetically endorses all
>the good work of the W3C to provide true access for blind and otherwise
>disabled people to the Web, and encourages industry and users to
>continue implementation of this critical work.
>
>-- Charles Crawford, Executive Director, American Council of the Blind
>
>America Online applauds the W3C on the release of guidelines that
>promote the design of user agents that are usable by everyone, including
>individuals with disabilities. These guidelines are an excellent
>resource for developers of Internet software who wish to gain an
>understanding of essential features that enable users with various
>disabilities to take full advantage of the power of the Internet.
>Additionally, they provide common ground for assistive technology and
>information technology companies to work collaboratively to further the
>accessibility of the Internet, an important priority for AOL.
>
>-- Tom Wlodkowski, Director of Accessibility, America Online
>
>The Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) applauds the work
>of the W3C User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG) and
>supports it wholeheartedly. Definition of interoperability standards has
>long been a requirement for ensuring information technology is truly
>accessible by people with disabilities. The work done by the UAWG will
>allow assistive technology vendors to go well beyond what has been
>traditionally possible in developing accessibility tools for the
>Internet. This standard, and others like it, are fundamental in bridging
>the gap between Information Technology and Assistive Technology in a way
>that will truly benefit thousands of people with disabilities.
>
>-- David Dikter, Executive Director, Assistive Technology Industry
>Association
>
>Boeing has a large and diverse user community, including many people
>with disabilities. We believe that tools implementing these guidelines,
>in association with a commitment to implementing the Web Content
>Accessibility Guidelines, will allow all users the opportunity to use
>the Web more effectively. Boeing will be using these guidelines as one
>measure of suppliers' performance as we evaluate future Web products.
>
>-- Scott R. Vesey, Boeing Enterprise Windows Web Browser Component
>Manager, The Boeing Corporation
>
>As a major implementor of the W3C's Synchronized Multimedia Integration
>Language (SMIL), the DAISY Consortium is delighted to have the User
>Agent Accessibility Guidelines released as a Recommendation of the W3C.
>In the Information Age, access to information is a fundamental human
>right. The DAISY Consortium will use the UAAG in our open source
>developments and we will promote the UAAG in our interactions with
>commercial developers and other standards organizations.
>
>-- George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium
>
>Educational Testing Service applauds the release of the W3C User Agent
>Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as an important step forward in enhancing
>the use of the Web by all. We see these W3C guidelines as helping
>Web-based tests and related applications meet this goal.
>
>-- Kurt M. Landgraf, President and CEO, Educational Testing Service
>
>In the last three versions of Freedom Scientific's screen reader JAWS,
>we looked to WAI's User Agent Accessibility Guidelines to help us build
>our specifications for delivering Internet based information to our
>users. Having such a resource makes our job far easier, and makes JAWS a
>much better product. I frequently receive phone calls from mainstream
>software developers asking how to make their Web-centric products
>accessible, and I can always answer them with a reference to the W3C/WAI
>Web page. In my opinion, the guidelines published by the WAI rank among
>the most valuable resources available to both assistive technology and
>mainstream information technology companies today.
>
>-- Chris Hofstader, Vice President, Software Engineering, Freedom
>Scientific Inc.
>
>As academic developers of on-line and multimedia applications, especially
>for people with disabilities, we are very excited to see these new
>guidelines that will help ensure that Web software consistently supports
>effective accessibility for all users. We particularly endorse the
>recommendations regarding critical tools such as captioning. Implementation
>of these guidelines will give developers of educational media confidence
>that their content will be accessible to everyone, regardless of their
>specific communication or cognitive needs.
>
>-- Cynthia M. King, Ph.D., Executive Director, Academic Technology,
>Gallaudet University
>
>Thanks to the W3C's User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, we now have a
>framework for developing even more robust access to Web content for our
>users. Our implementation of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines in
>our Window-Eyes screen reading software will allow our users to become
>more proficient in navigating Web content, as well as provide them with
>tools for understanding their Web environment.
>
>-- Aaron Smith, Webmaster & Technical Support Specialist, GW Micro
>
>As a major sponsor of the Web Accessibility Initiative, IBM is proud to
>endorse the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. IBM has been on the
>forefront of accessibility technology that includes creation of the
>earliest console and GUI based screen readers, co-development of the
>Java accessibility API, and development of an industry leading talking
>Web browser Home Page Reader. Until now, accessibility standards for the
>Web have been limited to content and authoring. This effort completes
>the picture by defining how software that retrieves and renders content
>may do so accessibly and with interoperability between other
>technologies making the Web more usable for all. IBM looks forward to
>the further adoption of these guidelines in its product offerings.
>
>-- Shon Saliga, Worldwide Accessibility Center Director, IBM
>
>The release of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines as a W3C
>Recommendation will make it much easier for Government bodies to define
>their needs in procurement documents, in the same way that we reflect
>that Web content created must conform to the W3C's Web Content
>Accessibility Guidelines. Now the accessibility of technologies used to
>access the Web can be defined as well.
>
>-- Mary Frances Laughton, Director, Assistive Devices Industry Office,
>Industry Canada, Government of Canada
>
>HP is committed to connecting everyone to the power of technology,
>promoting access to the Web for persons with disabilities, and supports
>the W3C User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0). We believe
>that these guidelines will ultimately result in more accessible browsers
>and multimedia players as well as benefit accessibility of assistive
>technologies and other user agents. HP plans to adopt UAAG 1.0
>guidelines for the browsers and multimedia players procured in the
>future, and is interested in the improvements in the accessibility of
>browsers and multimedia used by HP customers and the general public.
>
>-- Natasha Lipkina, Web Accessibility Program Manager, Hewlett-Packard
>
>The Konqueror development team is highly supportive of free and open
>standards, and is currently implementing the User Agent Accessibility
>Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0) in Konqueror, the KDE Web browser. The KDE
>accessibility project is also working on improving accessibility support
>in the K Desktop Environment in general.
>
>-- Dirk Mueller, K Desktop Environment (KDE) Project
>
>The Web Accessibility Initiative at the W3C represents a vitally
>important effort in making the Web accessible to all, and Macromedia
>welcomes the release of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. Through
>their work, the W3C has provided great guidance to software developers,
>Web designers and assistance technology vendors on design and
>development practices to enhance interoperability and accessibility.
>
>-- Kevin Lynch, EVP/Chief Software Architect, Macromedia
>
>Microsoft is proud to be a founding supporter and contributor to the W3C
>Web Accessibility Initiative and to the User Agent Accessibility
>Guidelines. Improving Web accessibility is vital to empowering people to
>realize their potential through the use of technology. These guidelines
>represent a critical step toward providing full Web access for all
>people, including those with disabilities.
>
>-- Chris Jones, Corporate Vice President, Windows Client Group,
>Microsoft Corportation
>
>NIST is pleased to see the release of the UAAG 1.0 Recommendation. As an
>active participant in the development of industry accessibility
>specifications, such as the work of the InterNational Committee for
>Information Technology Standards (INCITS) V2 Technical Committee, NIST
>has been in the forefront of defining accessibility. NIST looks forward
>to the opportunity for synergy that future harmonization of these
>efforts will bring.
>
>-- Sharon Laskowski, manager of the Visualization and Usability Group,
>Information Access Division, NIST
>
>On behalf of blind and partially sighted persons in Spain, ONCE welcomes
>the User Agent Accesibility Guidelines. The Guidelines will be an
>important tool for those of us promoting Web accesibility in Europe.
>ONCE is a major purchaser of Web access software and hardware, and the
>UAAG will be an important factor in deciding our procurement policy.
>
>-- Enrique Varela Couceiro, New Technology Manager, Accessibility
>Department, Fundación ONCE
>
>At Opera Software we believe that the more accessible browser is the
>better browser. The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines have already
>been a help to us in achieving this goal. The framework is highly
>useful, both by motivating and inspiring to make the right design
>decisions, and by making it possible to test and measure the product
>afterwards. The guidelines can make it easier to make the Web itself
>easier, not just for some, but for all. Opera Software will use the
>guidelines not only as a part of our planning and testing process, but
>they are also a time-saver for documenting our accessibility features.
>
>-- Hĺkon Wium Lie, Chief Technical Officer, Opera Software
>
>Accessibility and usability are critical to ensuring the full potential
>of the Web for consumers. Toward this aim, RealNetworks continues to
>create support within the RealOne Player and our Web services for users
>with disabilities, and RealNetworks supports the User Agent
>Accessibility Guidelines as a major step forward to enabling all
>individuals to experience the richness of the Web as an information
>source. With these standards, the W3C is building on its record of
>supporting accessibility standards to increase the value and usefulness
>of the Web for everyone.
>
>-- Brad Hefta-Gaub, Vice President, RealNetworks
>
>The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 1.0 is a foundational
>document that should be read by all developers of user interfaces. There
>are substantial weaknesses in many of the end-user products that come to
>market today, and it will be exciting to see products gain broader
>acceptance in the user community as a result of the implementation of
>these guidelines. In the area of ePublishing technology, we will be
>encouraging publishers, who select reading systems for the distribution
>of their content, to pay attention to UAAG as they select reading
>systems as avenues for their content. I expect this will encourage the
>developers of those reading systems to sit up and take notice.
>
>-- James Pritchett, Project Manager, Digital Audio, Recording For the
>Blind & Dyslexic
>
>Sun Microsystems applauds the W3C on the development of the WAI User
>Agent Accessibility Guidelines, in which we participated as reviewers.
>The Guidelines will help to speed the development of accessible
>Web-based products. Sun is implementing the Guidelines in our
>contribution to the Mozilla open source project, and will deliver an
>accessible browser for our desktops running on the Solaris Operating
>Environment (TM) and Linux.
>
>-- Curtis Sasaki, Vice President, Desktop Solutions, Sun Microsystems, Inc.
>
>Vision Australia Foundation fully endorses the release of the User Agent
>Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as a significant step in providing access
>to the World Wide Web for people with disabilities. The user agent
>developers can now work to a standard which will improve access for
>people with disabilities and enable future assistive technologies to
>better interact with them, providing an improved online experience for
>the blind, vision impaired and people with other disabilities. Vision
>Australia strongly supports the accessibility work of the W3C.
>
>-- Dr. Andrew Arch, Manager, Online Accessibility Consulting, Vision
>Australia Foundation
>
>
>About the Web Accessibility Initiative [WAI]
>
>W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), in partnership with
>organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through
>five activities:
>
> 1. ensuring that core technologies of the Web support accessibility;
> 2. developing guidelines for Web content, user agents, and authoring
>tools;
> 3. facilitate development of evaluation and repair tools for
>accessibility;
> 4. conducting education and outreach;
> 5. coordinating with research and development that can affect future
>accessibility of the Web.
>
>WAI is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education's National
>Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; European
>Commission's Information Society Technologies Programme; Canada's
>Assistive Devices Industry Office; Elisa Communications; Microsoft
>Corporation; IBM; SAP, Verizon Foundation, and Wells Fargo.
>
>About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
>
>The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
>common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
>interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run
>by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the
>National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA)
>in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the
>Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web
>for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications
>to demonstrate use of new technology. Currently over 450 organizations
>are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/
>
>Contacts
>
>Contact America --
> Janet Daly, <[log in to unmask]>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
>Contact Europe --
> Marie-Claire Forgue, <[log in to unmask]>, +33.492.38.75.94
>Contact Asia --
> Saeko Takeuchi <[log in to unmask]>, +81.466.49.1170
>
>
>###
>
>
>--
>Judy Brewer +1.617.258.9741 http://www.w3.org/WAI
>Director, Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
>MIT/LCS Room NE43-355, 200 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
------------------------------
January month-long Online courses:
Beginner Barrier-free Web Design, Jan 6--
Train the Trainer, Jan. 6 --
http://easi.cc/workshop.htm
Norman Coombs, Ph.D.
CEO EASI (Equal Access to Software and Information)
22196 Caminito Tasquillo
Laguna Hills CA 92653
Cell: (949) 922-5992
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.rit.edu/~nrcgsh
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