Section 508 compliance

[Ken Norris]

Hi Richard,

> Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 08:22:02 -0800
> From: Richard Gaskin <ambassador at fourthworld.com>
> Subject: Section 508 compliance

> For example, § 1194.31(a) seems vague and rather hard to achieve in
> software:
> 
> Functional performance criteria.
> 
> (a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval
> that does not require user vision shall be provided, or
> support for assistive technology used by people who are
> blind or visually impaired  shall be provided.
------------
I've read that too. I'm very interested in aids to the disabled, but what if
you write a utility for, say, graphic designers? By the very nature of that
field of interest/business, whatever, I don't see how a blind person could
be expected to thrive there in anything other than some semi-admin-related
position. Even if you had audio feedback to tell a user what color the pixel
under the mouse is, what value could it have for a blind person doesn't know
what a color is? Therefore, that would make such a rule pretty much
nonsequiter in such a case, don't you think?

Having said that, I have developed a number of visual-cue and audio feedback
techniques for individual projects. However, the audio stuff is not reliable
on Windows machines like it is on Macs without serious investment in
external TTS engines. IOW, it depends on which sound card is installed,
etc., plus the investment of time-in-grade to try to get the software to
work with Rev, etc.

I've all but abandoned efforts to to deal with TTS in Windows under Rev,
i.e., it's just too unreliable or too expensive, whereas my Macs have been
talking to me for at least 7 years right from the OS, with no problems worth
mentioning. I had one working perfectly in HyperCard on a Mac IIci, circa
1989 (I think).

One of my projects will have at least 1200 words and phrases, plus can be
edited by the user with a unique non-keyboard character generator, intended
for those with poor vision *and* poor motor control *and* lost speech, i.e.,
works with a directional controller and a button. Now, I could pay a
professional to record all that stuff, but it would throw the project out of
the shareware market it's intended for.

Just my .02...

Ken N.