Website Accessibility Information Clearinghouse

Accessibility/Usability Issues to Consider When Using Art/Images on Websites

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"Although using Art/Images on Websites can create some Accessibility Issues, there are other Web Accessible/Usability Issues to consider besides those of not adhering to W3C guidelines"

by Kathy Kosek

Is if what you are saying is, "Using Images" on websites can cause Accessibility Issues. My answer to that is, "Not exactly." What I am referring to is the broad definition of Accessible Websites or really Usability Issues -

"Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is accessible by as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and possible benefit of some system or entity. Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities and their right of access to entities, often through use of assistive technology.

Accessibility can be confused with usability which is used to describe the extent to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility).

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Web Accessibility/Usability: Top 10 Web Hosting Providers

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Today, there is so much competition between web hosting providers. They all pretty much offer the same services and the costs are fairly competitive.

Who has the advantage?

It depends on which 'top ten' web hosting list that you look at. I haven't found one 'top ten' list that rates a website hosting provider on accessibility and usability. After all, the services that they provide are open to everyone, including those with disabilities and the aging population. Or, are they? In the next few years, the baby boomer generation will consist of people who use computers and are not afraid of technology.

Here are SimplyRaydeen.com's picks for the 'Top Ten' web hosting providers, using one easy test for accessibility and usability – the Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE). “Following the best practices in developing web resources not only improves accessibility for people with disabilities, but also improves interoperability, giving everyone the benefit of having more options for accessing and using those resources.” -- http://fae.cita.uiuc.edu/about/

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“Keeping Web Accessibility in Mind while creating Music Files”

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By Kathy Kosek and Andrea Kosek

When my daughter, "Andrea" first asked me to create a website where she could post her music, as well as her music playlist, I had no idea what I was getting into when I said, "Okay, I'll do it".

As familiar as I am with the creation of websites, which I have done over the course of 12 years, both for pleasure and work, I never fully recognized how fast technology changes; and like it or not, you need to "get onboard", or you will be left behind.

Just so you know, some of the overall goals of this article is to share with readers not only how the music was made, but to also explain in every day terms some of the technical aspects of creating music files while using various software programs. We also wanted to be able to share specific code for putting music audio files on websites, while keeping accessibility guidelines in mind.

Music Creation Process

The software Andrea used to create her music "Elood" and "Ominuous dancefloor" was "Garageband" and "Reason" which are applications available for the Mac Operating System.

According to her, anyone who can operate a computer should be able to create a very simple song with either of these applications.

"Garageband" allows you to turn your MAC into a musical instrument. Just plug a USB music keyboard into your Mac and you get instant access to over 100 realistic software instruments - pianos, strings, drums, guitars, and horns - everything from bass to woodwinds.

Just create a new track, choose your instrument, and play.

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