Roderick Macdonald writes:
>This morning I received a response saying sorry for the inconvenience, but
>BOSTON.COM does not support Lynx.
>
>Has anyone else experienced similar problems?

        Yup!  I have for the last ten years.  I can't even count the
number of times I have had an exact replay of the communications you
just described which lead absolutely nowhere.  I have had such
conversations with various entities and they seldom ever produce
positive results.

        It has been fifteen years since the ADA was passed, but it
tends to coddle the software industry so nobody really is forced to do
anything.

        I am happy for every group which has benefited from the ADA,
but I am surprised to some extent about how things have turned out so
far.  The ADA has insisted that physical structures become accessible
and the country has done well in that respect.  Since bricks and steel
are infinitely harder to modify than computer code, one can't help but
wonder how much further along information technology might be today if
the law had not been written with so many escape clauses at the behest
of Microsoft and other big companies.

        If the law had used the same no nonsense attitude which can
be summed up as "I don't care what you've got to do, fix it!"  I bet
we would have not had these endless problems and web site designers
could still be producing useful resources for everybody.  The emphasis
might be more Hypocratic in that one should "First, do no harm."
If something works, don't blow it away with the next new thing, but
make sure that it still works in addition with the next new thing.

        I certainly sympathize with the problem you describe.
Unfortunately, that is the state of the art too many times these days.
Those who use Windows and JAWS usually find that the pig is still
stuck in the python, only maybe a little further along.  Spending a
thousand Dollars can make some sites work better, but there are no
guarantees.

        As long as form is rewarded over function, we aren't
going to see much improvement.  My idea of improvement is that things
just quietly start working for most computer users who are blind and
who use UNIX because accessibility is easier to build in, there.

        I hope that such new technologies as Apple's Voiceover will
mature in to something useful, but it appears to have a way to go yet.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
OSU Information Technology Division Network Operations Group