AccessWorld, the American Foundation for the Blind's technology magazine is
now a free, web-only publication. Check out brand new features such as
"e-mail this article to a friend" and "printer-ready" options.  In
addition, you can download "braille  embosser-ready" files that have been
translated and formatted to be sent directly to braille printers.  Previous
issues dating back to January 2000 are also available online.

Be sure to sign up to receive AccessWorld Extra, the e-mail newsletter
produced by AccessWorld staff in each of the six months when AccessWorld is
not published.

The March issue, which you can read at
http://www.afb.org/accessworld features:

Diabetes and Visual Impairment: Are Insulin Pumps Accessible?
Darren Burton, Craig Swisher, and Mark Uslan

We evaluate the accessibility of insulin pumps for diabetics who
are blind or visually impaired. Diabetes is a rapidly growing
epidemic affecting nearly 17 million people in the United States,
with annual costs estimated to be $132 billion. An insulin pump can
only be issued by an endocrinologist and must be used in close
conjunction with that endocrinologist and a certified diabetes
educator. Insulin is delivered around the clock as needed, rather
than by separate injections. The use of insulin pumps is growing
rapidly in the general population. Find out how inaccessible these
devices are, and what our evaluators recommend for people who are
blind who may benefit from using them.

Getting Your Forms in Shape
Crista Earl and Elizabeth Neal

If you are a screen reader user, you have probably had trouble
navigating a web site in the last few days or hours. This article covers
designing forms
logically, labeling controls, keyboard accessibility, tables, the
evils of using radio buttons, and more. The next time you want to
write to a web site designer to complain about how difficult it is
to use a particular site, this article will give you the solutions
you need.

Accessing Power: A review of the Democratic Presidential
Candidates' Web Sites
Jay Leventhal

We survey the web sites of the candidates vying for this year's
Democratic presidential nomination. The web played a major role in
news stories leading up to the first primaries, especially Howard
Dean's use of it to raise money and attract interest to his
campaign. We were pleasantly surprised to find that, for the most
part, all of the sites were accessible, and could serve as tools
for choosing a candidate.

Dancing The Roomba: Artificial Intelligence That Sweeps The Floor
Deborah Kendrick

We review the Roomba Robotic Floorvac from iRobot. This small,
automatic vacuum cleans rooms and entertains anyone in its presence.
Can it be accessible and add some laughs to cleaning the house at the same
time?

A History of Accessibility at IBM
Annemarie Cooke

Big Blue has an illustrious history in assistive technology and has
done more for people with disabilities than any other Fortune 500
company. We start with the original IBM Screen Reader and its
developer, Jim Thatcher, and end with IBM's future plans and
projects related to web accessibility and Section 508.

No (Small) Degree Of Success
Deborah Kendrick

We interview Gayle Yarnall, president and owner of Adaptive
Technology Consulting in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Yarnall began her
career in the assistive technology field by training people to use
the original Kurzweil reading machine in the late 1970s, worked at
Telesensory, and then started her own successful company.

AccessWorld News

Calendar of Events

Contact us at [log in to unmask] and let us know what you think of the
new, web-only AccessWorld.

Jay Leventhal
Editor in Chief


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