Sure Gmail is accessible, but it is clunky as hell and its edit buttons and spell checker are not accessible. Google calendar is also accessible if you don't mind finding lots of work arounds, and you don't mind not being able to use all of its features. And, as far as Google Docs, bad, very bad. I use it, but it is far from friendly. The complaint did say that Google was not entirely inaccessible, but that many of the aps are far to difficult to use for the average person and some elements are totally unusable. I fully agree with this assessment. Google has had plenty of time to get it right, and has not done so. So, though I am not a member of NFB, I applaud their action in this case. When they win, which they will, then maybe Open Office, and Office on-line, along with other cloud based services will get the message. Bill -----Original Message----- From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Catherine Getchell Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 1:38 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Complaint: Google programs hard for blind students: Hi List, Since when is Gmail inaccessible? I use it all the time. I did have trouble with Google Docs though, so perhaps if the students are using this application, they're having trouble. But I hate when organizations make inflammatory statements about a company's universal inaccessibility in very public forums that simply aren't true. Google's probably wondering why they went to all the trouble to make their stuff accessible if prominent folks like the NFB aren't giving them credit for it. Okay, off the soap box now. Catherine Getchell ----- Original Message ----- From: "David hilbert Poehlman" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 6:45 PM Subject: [VICUG-L] Complaint: Google programs hard for blind students: Complaint: Google programs hard for blind students WASHINGTON (AP) A complaint filed Tuesday with the federal government accuses New York University and Northwestern University of discriminating against blind students by adopting Google e-mail and other programs that aren t fully compatible with technology that translates written words into speech. The National Federation of the Blind has requested a Justice Department investigation into the schools use of Gmail and other Google programs, saying that requiring students to use them violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Baltimore-based group is also asking other colleges not to adopt the software until it s accessible to all students and faculty. Given the many accessible options available, there is no good reason that these universities should choose a suite of applications, including critical e-mail services, that is inaccessible to blind students, said Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind. Google said in an e-mail that it had a productive discussion last week with Maurer on accessibility issues but didn t offer further specifics. We left the meeting with a strong commitment to improving our products, said Alan Eustace, Google s senior vice president for engineering and research. The federation said that some Google products are partially accessible to blind users, but are difficult to use without assistance from a person who can see the screen. With Gmail, for example, signing in is the biggest problem, said Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the blind federation. In the Google Docs word processing and spreadsheet program, a lack of audible descriptions makes the tool bars invisible to blind users, and text that a user types is not always audible. The group said there are also problems with Google Calendar, Google Groups and other programs. A lot of times the problem is that yes, theoretically, if you fiddled around with something long enough you could make some of this stuff work but the products really aren t designed to work with screen readers, Danielsen said. It s an ease of use issue and there s no reason for those barriers to exist. Northwestern and NYU recently adopted the free suite of Google Apps for Education for campus e-mail and other classroom services used by students to collaborate on assignments. The blind federation says that a significant number of U.S. colleges are outsourcing their e-mail to Google. In such cases, Google often provides hosting services for campus e-mail. Schools are covered by the federal law protecting rights of the disabled, while Google may not have the same obligations with products it creates. Last June, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education issued a letter to college presidents requiring schools that use Kindles and other e-book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students. The federal government examined the campus e-reader technology after a blind student sued Arizona State University over use of the Kindle and was joined by the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind. Amazon.com Inc. announced changes last year to the Kindle to make it more accessible for blind and vision-impaired users. We re seeing so much very rapid adoption of technology at colleges and even at the K-12 level that we re very concerned and very proactive about looking out for situations where blind students are going to be affected, Danielsen said Online: National Federation of the Blind - Google Apps Demonstration: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/googleaccessibilityvideos.asp 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] 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]