I don't understand your statement about how outside the blindness
community, sales are coming from mobile devices and sighted people are
replacing their desktop systems with mobile devices. Plenty of blind
people are buying smart phones and mobile devices, and I suspect are
just as willing and able to replace their desktop systems as sighted
people are.
I would agree that some professionals are replacing their desktop
systems with mobile devices, but I don't think this is very prevalent
yet. It just isn't efficient yet to generate a lot of content with a
touch screen and with the mobile apps out there right now. Even when
this is done, this is done with a keyboard and even monitor attached,
begging the question as to whether this is a mobile device any more or
the converged device that Microsoft and Canonical are going after.
I wouldn't assume that Microsoft is no longer working on Narrator or a
screen reading solution for Windows, Windows RT or Windows Phone. don't
forget, we're talking about three different operating systems here, each
with their own challenges regarding an access technology infrastructure.
I also wouldn't just assume that Microsoft is saying that a suite of
apps from code Factory is a better solution than Narrator. It's just a
different solution and option and one that can be rolled out now ahead
of a screen reader and AT infrastructure for Windows Phone.
I'd also switch around some of your modifiers. I'd claim that most blind
people want access to main stream systems, platforms, applications and
devices and are willing to work with main stream companies to learn
these products and make them more accessible. Look at how wildly popular
the iPhone is in the blindness community. True there are some people
that want things to be simple and easy to use and who may not want to
learn new things and jump over accessibility hurdles to get the simplest
tasks done. This is also true for some sighted people, and there's no
reason to think the blind are any different in this sense.
I don't see any reason we can't have both though. In fact, I'm always a
bit surprised at people who turn their noses up at any technology that
was developed with the blind in mind. VO Calendar is a good example of
this. I've seen on lists people who refuse to use this app because it
was written with the VoiceOver user in mind and instead rail at the new
Calendar app in IOS 7 because it isn't as easy to use as the old IOS 6
Calendar app was. There are thousands of calendar apps in the App Store,
and a sighted iPhone user is going to choose the calendar app that they
find the easiest to use and best meets their needs. I'm going to do the
same thing as a blind user. This doesn't mean that we shouldn't fight to
make a mainstream solution accessible, such as the IOS 7 Calendar app,
but I don't see anything wrong in having more choices and options and
not less.
On 10/18/2013 08:33 AM, ted chittenden wrote:
> Ana:
> Without realizing it, you answered your own question. Microsoft and others are putting so much effort into mobile phones because, outside of the blindness community, that's where the sales are coming from. Sighted people, at least for home use and, in many cases, for on-the-job use as well, are replacing their desktop computers with mobile ones. This makes sense--it allows them to have their computers with them wherever they go and not have to worry about being chained to a desktop system that is available in only one room of the house or office. The market for blind and visually impaired users is so small (about .5% of the entire population) that providing them (us) with better access to Windows would be a very unprofitable venture, indeed, no matter what the law says.
> --
> Ted Chittenden
>
> Every story has at least two sides if not more.
> ---- Ana G <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have to admit that the announcement about MobileAccessibility coming
> to Windows 8 phones is a major disappointment to me.
>
> what I've learned from messages on the Android list is that some people
> like MobileAccessibility because it's simple, so there isn't much of a
> learning curve. I don't think Android is inherently difficult to learn,
> but it's different, and MobileAccessibility is what blind people are
> used to: lists and small numbers of commands. I don't really get the
> appeal because, as someone else so beautifully put it, MA gives blind
> people access to a feature phone at smart phone rates. What I do get,
> though, is that, while the blindness community clamors for off-the-shelf
> accessibility, many blind people aren't willing to meet mainstream
> accessibility efforts halfway by learning to work with mainstream
> solutions, providing constructive feedback to whomever needs to hear it,
> and mobilizing advocacy groups into pushing for guidelines or best
> practices.
>
> My preference is for Windows to keep working on Narrator. It really has
> come a long way in Windows 8 and feels very much like a real screen
> reader. It's not quite ready for on-the-job action, but it's close, and
> it's probably good enough for smart phone use. Why Microsoft thinks
> MobileAccessibility on Windows 8 phones is a better solution than
> Narrator is beyond me.
>
> My other concern is that Windows 8 users will have an experience similar
> to Android users. When people call AT&T, Verizon, etc., about Android
> accessibility, what they usually get is information about
> MobileAccessibility for Android, not about Android accessibility itself.
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> 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]
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> 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]
>
--
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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]
|
