Hello all,

I was reading the congressional testimony about the ADA and the Internet
that Gregory posted the url's for last week and found the
following.  Digit-Eyes: The Chicago blind Computer User Network was
mentioned in one speaker's testimony.  Besides the NFB in relation to the
aol suit, the Chicago vicug appears to be about the only disability
organization that this speaker named.  I excerpted the specific part
below.  I must say that I feel slightly embarrassed being called an
"expert."  I am merely a product of the collective knowledge and
experiences of my fellow members here in Chicago and on this online
vicug.  We as end users are our own experts.

kelly






Before the

House Subcommittee on The Constitution

of the House Committee on the Judiciary

Hearing on

The Applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
to Private Internet Sites

Testimony and Statement for the Record of

Dr. Steven Lucas

Senior Vice President, Industry Government Relations

& Chief Information Officer

PrivaSeek, Inc.

[portions snipped, excerpt begins]

There is still a lack of knowledge among Internet professionals
about how to realize the full potential of the Internet by
providing access to the Web to people with disabilities. While
tools are still lacking many features, there are affordable and
easy-to-use tools available. These tools along with accessible
design techniques can make Web sites dramatically more
accessible to people with a variety of disabilities. The use of
accessibility based design tools can make the information on a
company web site available to the millions of people with
disabilities.

The experts tend to agree that universal design is good for
everyone. According to Kelly Pierce, the co-founder of
"Digit-Eyes," the Chicago blind computer users network, and who
serves on the Techwatch committee for the National Council on
Disability, "when World Wide Web sites are accessible to people
with disabilities, they are highly usable and accessible to
everyone else as well." He continues: "As the Web matures and
grows in popularity, webmasters can be less and less certain
that the visitor is using the latest version of Navigator or
Explorer." In other words, accessible Web design also assures
"backwards compatibility" with older Internet browser software.
But it's not just older technology that benefits from good
design. Many newer ways to access the Internet benefit greatly
from universal design, "people may be online with their Palm
Pilot, or on Web TV, or browsing using their telephone. The
closer companies and other organizations design their sites to
HTML standards, the more accessible they are to people with
disabilities and everyone else," says Pierce.

[end of excerpt]


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