This message was sent to you by
[log in to unmask],
as a service of The Seattle Times (
http://www.seattletimes.com).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vista from an accessible view
Full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003234739_msftaccess30.html
By Benjamin J. Romano
Seattle Times technology reporter
A brain injury at 16 made tying her shoes a challenge for Logan Olson, let alone
the demands of publishing a magazine.
Olson is on the computer constantly, typing out ideas, researching seasonal
fashions and corresponding with writers and advertisers to assemble the upcoming
premiere issue of a lifestyle magazine for young women with disabilities.
But the loss of fine-motor skills means her fingers can't keep pace with her
mind.
Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Vista operating system has speech-recognition
technology that could make her work a lot easier. Given the chance to use
the software during a recent visit to Microsoft, Olson, 21, got the program to
recognize some of her words after only a brief setup and despite her speech
impairment.
"It would make a huge impact on Logan to take everything that's in her thoughts
and get it on paper," said Laurie Olson, her mother and business partner
in Logan Magazine, during a phone interview from their Spokane home.
Added Logan: "It would be a big help for both of us, and my dad -- anybody who
needs it."
The speech-recognition system, which allows dictation and voice control of
computer functions, is one of dozens of features in Vista to make it easier to
use for people with disabilities.
And, as Logan Olson suggested, Microsoft aims to expand use of such features as
screen magnifiers and high-contrast text displays to a wider audience, including
baby boomers.
"We started off doing this work for people specifically with disabilities," said
Rob Sinclair, director of the company's Accessible Technologies Group.
"Now we're seeing that doing that same work actually benefits everyone."
Some 57 percent of U.S. computer users between 18 and 64 were likely or very
likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology, according to a 2003
Forrester Research study commissioned by Microsoft.
Demographic trends are swelling the ranks of those who could benefit most. Older
people reported more impairments, and nearly 19 percent of the U.S. labor
force will be 55 or older by 2010.
"The aging labor force is likely to mean greater pressure from businesses to
help keep their aging employees as productive as possible throughout their
careers," the Forrester study noted.
Microsoft's accessibility efforts make sense in that context, said Alan Knue,
program operations manager at the University of Washington Center for Technology
and Disability Studies.
"Because so many people are entering that age where they need additional
support, particularly for reading and hearing, it is becoming more important to
approach assistive technology in a different way," he said.
The redesign of the accessibility features in Windows Vista -- due out for
businesses in November and consumers in January -- started with how they're
presented
to users.
In Windows XP, on the market since 2001, "Accessibility Options" are found under
a green wheelchair icon in the computer's Control Panel. That kept many
who don't consider themselves disabled from finding things that could make their
system easier and more comfortable to use, Sinclair and his team found.
One woman in a focus group thought that clicking on the icon would help people
in wheelchairs lower or raise their keyboards or dial 911, said Annuska Perkins,
who designed usability studies for the Accessible Technologies Group.
"People were saying, 'Well, that's not for me. That's for somebody who is
parking in a handicapped spot,' " Perkins said.
In Vista, the features are found in an "Ease of Access" center, and the explicit
wheelchair icon has been replaced with stylized arrows and dashes, still
in the basic shape of a wheelchair.
That's one of several balances Microsoft is trying to strike between introducing
features to a wider audience and making sure existing users can still find
everything.
A quick-launch section allows users who know what they're looking for to turn on
a screen narrator, on-screen keyboard or other tools.
Another section lists accessibility settings for a comprehensive catalog of
what's available.
Microsoft tries to makes use of "everyday terminology" throughout the Ease of
Access center, Sinclair said.
"We're saying 'Make the computer easier to see.' It's not saying 'Change your
resolution and screen-coordinate system,' " he said.
That approach extends to a feature that recommends accessibility settings based
on a user's answers to a five-page questionnaire. Users select from a series
of statements such as "Images and text on TV are difficult to see" or "Pens and
pencils are difficult to use."
The system lets people with disabilities describe themselves through statements
such as "I do not use a keyboard."
Microsoft's approach follows an established practice in accessible technology,
said UW's Knue. The accessible-technology community "stays away from any
of the obvious disability labels," he said. "We try to talk more about
functionality."
Sinclair recently had first-hand experience using the speech-recognition system
while recovering from shoulder surgery.
"It worked well enough for me to get my job done," he said. "... It's clear this
has much broader appeal."
Benjamin J. Romano: 206-464-2149 or
[log in to unmask]
======================================================================
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION
Call (206) 464-2121 or 1-800-542-0820, or go to
https://read.nwsource.com/subscribe/times/
HOW TO ADVERTISE WITH THE SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY ONLINE
For information on advertising in this e-mail newsletter,
or other online marketing platforms with The Seattle Times Company,
call (206) 464-2361 or e-mail
[log in to unmask]
TO ADVERTISE IN THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION
Please go to
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/contactus/adsales
for information.
======================================================================
For news updates throughout the day, visit
http://www.seattletimes.com
======================================================================
Copyright (c) 2005 The Seattle Times Company
www.seattletimes.com
Your Life. Your Times.
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Send comments on list operation to
[log in to unmask]
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
Signoff: [log in to unmask]
Subscribe: [log in to unmask]
|
