'Three good reasons to make a website more accessible'
 
'So, there’s a legal requirement to make your services accessible and, let’s face it, an ethical reason to make sure your pages don’t discriminate.
 
However, it can be hard for a business to make budget available without seeing a potential return on the investment. Fortunately, I think there is a strong business case for ensuring the whole online community is equally served by your site.'

Reference: Kevin Gibbons is Director of Search at SEOptimise and guest blogger for Econsultancy.

Read more at:  Econsultancy

• Boost your client base
• Don’t break the law
• Search engine optimisation benefits to accessibility
• How can you find a decent designer?
• Where to find good design advice
• Three good reasons to make a website more accessible
  

Website accessibility and usability go hand-in-hand.  Besides being the right thing to do, it is a legal requirement for most government websites to ensure web accessibility for everyone regardless of disability.  Ensuring website usability is just as important.  If your website applications don't work or material is not interesting, informative or easily accessible on mobile devices as well as to visitors with disabilities, you will lose your audience quickly. Google's NewsShow is making it possible to see headlines and previews of Google News Search results that you have pre-selected for your website audience.  All of this using the web technology: iframes. 

WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) has a great article on how to make iframes accessible. The main point here is that iframes are becoming more popular in website development for content management and it is necessary to ensure that website accessibility guidelines are followed. There are ways to ensure that these news modules are accessible to all. "Links within the iframe element are accessible via the keyboard as if the content were within the web page containing the iframe."--WebAIM.

Read more at WebAIM: http://www.webaim.org/techniques/frames/#iframe

 Usability: IE8 and iframes (Google News)

This brief introductory information is part of a bigger problem that I was having with Google news suddenly not being displayed in Internet Explorer 8.   If you are using Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) and your NewsShow suddenly stopped working, the problem is not the 'iframe' as first expected. The problem is how the rules changed and what worked previously does not work any longer.

If you are interested in finding out more and/or how I came to resolve a problem with IE8 and iframes, please read the entire article posted here at SimplyRaydeen.com.

This privacy policy sets out how SimplyRaydeen.com uses and protects any information that you provide when you use this website.

We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from August 1, 2009.

What we collect

We may collect the following information if you decide to become an author at SimplyRaydeen.com

• name and job title
• contact information including email address
• demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
• other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What we do with the information we gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

• Internal record keeping.
• We may use the information to improve our products and services.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How we use cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Web Beacons

A web beacon is usually a small image used to track visitor activity on a web site; primarily to collect a limited set of information, e.g., a cookie number, time and date of the page view, and a description of the page on which the web beacon resides.

SimplyRaydeen.com may allow certain affiliates to include web beacons within pages.    SimplyRaydeen.com affiliates include Web Hosting with FatCow.  No third-party advertiser can personally identify you with the information on our website.

Web beacons found at SimplyRaydeen.com may be used by third-party advertisements; e.g., Google customized search, ads (AdSense) and affiliation programs.  The following third-party advertisements are used on the home page:

• http://www.yceml.net/0068/10437700-7.gif
• http://www.yceml.net/0068/10437700-8.gif
• http://www.google.com/coop/intl/en/images/google_custom_search_watermark.gif

For more information about cookies, exception lists, and web beacons, visit:

• “Best Practice” guidelines for disclosing the use of Web beacons.  (PDF file)
• http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Cookies#cookies_exceptions -- Support at Mozilla.com
• http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/third-party-cookies.html -- Bobulous.org.uk

Using exception lists -- 'you can allow all cookies, reject all cookies, or allow all cookies but have them deleted when you exit Firefox, regardless of your other cookie settings.' -- Support.Mozilla.com

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information.  We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we are required by law to do so.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable.  If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please email us as soon as possible. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect. We will also remove your profile from our database if requested.

Electronic participation and accessibility

Following up on the resolution regarding expanded Council transparency passed at the 2008 Annual Conference, Council agreed to begin providing increased electronic access to its Midwinter 2010 proceedings, via recordings rather than more expensive streaming media.

Easily passed was a resolution in which ALA strongly recommends that all libraries purchasing electronic resources require vendors to guarantee that products comply with Section 508 regulation, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 or other appropriate standards, and that funding authorities provide adequate funding to comply with standards for people with disabilities."

Reported by Oliver Lindberg - ..."A few days ago I validated the top 100 United States websites according to Alexa and I think seven were valid. But if you look under the hood, there were almost no table layers or anything like that. There was a standards awareness even among the sites that had problems. It's just become normal among many developers and designers. They understand that markup is supposed to be semantic. And there's growing interest in microformats and curiosity about HTML5. Things are happening." ...

"A bigger problem than multiple standards is the lack of clarity in those standards. Accessibility is like usability or even the aesthetics of design. Two designers look at a design and have three opinions about it. Validation is easy – you run your site through a validator and it's either valid or it isn't. The rest of the stuff, such as whether my logo or the biggest headline should be the h1 in my HTML, isn't so easy and is subject to interpretation. We have arguments about all this stuff. Sometimes it's silly how many arguments we have about it, but I think there's a greater good to the fact that we're having these discussions."  Jeffrey Zeldman

JOHN GUSHUE - The Telegram: "...You should plan on redesigns at least every two or three years, and to take advantage of new applications as they become available. At the very least, you should be on guard to prevent clutter and maintain a clean, welcoming presentation...

8. Going mobile: More and more people are getting more and more of their information over their phones. With the rapid improvement in cell technologies and platforms, your clients now expect to find your site on their phone.

Talk with your designer or developer to ensure that your site is optimized for phone users

9. Got FAQ? If your switchboard is frequently asked the same questions, consider posting a FAQ online, and make it easy to locate. Think of it as an investment in customer service. Also, build your FAQ on what people ask for, not what you think they need to know. Many people create FAQs based on the organization's priorities, not on what the customer is actually seeking.

10. Accessibility check. Many websites are built on the assumption that every reader has A-OK vision (and, where appropriate, hearing). How does your site compare?"

Jennifer Farley, SitePoint -- "Does the site pass accessibility and usability checks at the W3.org site?

Candy B. Harrington - "The US Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) was first adopted in 1986. Over the years, this very basic piece of civil rights legislation has been amended many times, to reflect changes in technology, equipment and air travel in general.

The most recent update, on May 13, 2009, gives disabled passengers additional rights and further expands the reach of the law. Ultimately these changes will make air travel more accessible to many people.

...And although the new law stopped short of requiring airline Web sites to be accessible, airlines must now offer disabled passengers the same discounted Web-only fares even if booking by phone or other accessible reservation method."

Published by: Virginia.Edu

Date: July 7, 2009

URL: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=9135

Jane Ford  -- "EdUI 2009, a conference to be held Sept. 21-22 at the University of Virginia, will focus on Web design, usability and accessibility – designing Web sites so users of all abilities can effectively access online information and services.

The conference will bring together experts and innovators recognized in the fields of user interface design, usability research, accessibility, web programming, social media and instructional technology and will provide workshops and presentations as well as opportunities for participants and attendees to network.

The conference is geared to Web professionals in higher education as well as designers, developers, webmasters, managers and professionals interested in interactive design involved in creating Web sites for any institution or industry."

Read the entire article at: http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=9135

Bruce Russell Auckland  -- "Usable sites have a number of key characteristics, including:

• Their navigation is intuitive — it can be understood at a glance.

• Their content is written specifically for online delivery, not simply re-used from hard copy marketing collateral.

• Your customers don’t have to learn how to use the site – they can immediately see how to do everything they need to.

• Usable site content is often internationalised, so it can be easily read by those for whom English is not a first language.

• Accessibility guidelines are followed so that all customers can use the site, even those with poor eyesight or limited dexterity.

• Online help is visible on the screen where it is needed, if users do become confused.

• All the site features work properly, regardless of what browser software is being used.

Usability consultants, also known as information designers, can design usability into new sites or evaluate existing sites and make them more usable. A key strategy is to test sites with real users. Test subjects are asked to interact with sites and their reactions are observed. If the methodology is right, this can be done cheaply and quickly, with as few as three participants."

Published by: It.director.com

Date: June 29, 2009

Read the entire article, or register online at: http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/event.php?eve=343 

"...This high profile event combines a headline conference with a unique interactive format of roundtable sessions and pre-arranged meeting opportunities....

Elsewhere on the programme leading experts and analysts will offer insights and practical advice into many other important trends including the rise of Web 2.0; how to make sure your CEO and councillors will support your web projects; accessibility; usability; and managing the website improvement process. In the afternoon, one of the world's leading experts in developing customer-focused websites, Gerry McGovern, is back after a hugely popular session last year to develop his powerful themes of task management and citizen focus.

With break-out sessions, discussion groups and workshops throughout the day homing in on further topics of interest, and a closing plenary on what the future holds for council websites - 'Visions Of The Future: Social, Mobile And 3-Dimensional' - this year's conference is unmissable. The programme covers all aspects of creating a successful site, from high-level strategic issues such as ensuring a focus on the citizen to detailed hands-on advice such as user registration and customisation; and web form accessibility. ..."

"Baranoff-Rossine: "Tradingeye was born out a lack of fully-functional ecommerce software that would also comply with the UK DDA [United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act] and Section 508 [of the U.S. Disability Act]. With web accessibility such a great concern for us and many other web designers and developers, we decided to build from the ground up a fully-accessible ecommerce cart that would suit users as well as the web teams who would be supplying the software. As the software is built on a solid foundation of modern web standards, we've ended up with a product that is easy to use as well as customize. We currently have over 5,000 active licenses.""

uTalkMarketing.com -- "Press Release:  User Vision’s international client-base can now watch focus groups and user test sessions carried out in Edinburgh, live from the comfort of their home or office.  This move strengthens User Vision’s position at the cutting edge of UK customer insight research.

Live video and audio web streaming from User Vision will provide clients valuable insight through live observation as companies increasingly look to save travel costs and reduce their carbon footprint.

...The software allows observers not only to watch and listen but also share comments and opinions with other observers and even the moderator through a messaging panel."

It-Director.com -- "In May 2009, Bloor Research released a Market Update on the subject of The Creation of Accessible Documents.

There is a continuing and growing pressure on organisations to enhance the accessibility of their goods and services. There are legal, financial and moral benefits to accessibility. The benefits are greater if the cost of implementation is kept under control.

Providing information electronically has now become an essential part of all organisations. This means the internet site must be accessible to people with disabilities and this includes any PDF documents available on the site.

Unfortunately most PDF files available via the web are not accessible. This Market Update looks at the reasons for this and the tools available for producing accessible PDF. It concludes that there are commercial available tools that have the potential to produce accessible PDF and therefore there is now no reason for new documents not to be accessible. "

AllAfrica.com -- "Kigali — The sight that greets you as you walk through Kanombe airport's Bourbon Café is one that is unexpected. What makes afternoons and evenings at the airport interesting is the fact that the coffee shop has become a one stop internet hot spot for both children and adults alike.

...The availability of a wireless network at the airport and other hot spots within the city has made the inquisitive young kids converge to surf, and now that they are more less addicted, a day hardly goes by without them browsing the net.

However, this comes at a cost of Rwf 1000 per hour at Bourbon Café. For the green and white laptop children, parents cater for their expenses or they will have to save from their daily food allowance in order to surf the net during after-school hours. It is only within schools boundaries that wireless internet is readily available..."

Ms Hardaker, a specialist with the Canadian Mental Health Association's York Region branch, joined the region's accessibility advisory committee last year, hoping to bring attention to the barriers facing those with mental illnesses.

"People don't understand that mental illness could be a disability," she said.

At last month's meeting, council approved the 2009 accessibility plan (dubbed "Access-Ability") and as important as it is to remove physical barriers, communication issues and inflexible workplace attitudes can be just as difficult to overcome, Ms Hardaker said.

VNunet.com -- "Last week’s European elections were always going to be controversial ­ – the current fury over MPs’ expenses claims saw to that. But elsewhere in the EU, it was the voting process itself that came under fire, with many arguing that new e-voting technology that is intended to empower citizens is actually alienating some.

...The accessibility issues raised by ANEC are by no means unique to last week’s elections. In the UK, many organisations are still failing to provide universal access to their services, with the problem being particularly acute in the private sector."

Published by: PublicService.Co.UK

Date: June 11, 2009

URL: http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=9742

"The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called in Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, to help the government free up more data online.

In his statement on constitutional renewal, which covered a variety of different topics, he stressed the importance of government information being accessible. The PM said that to make sure the data was useful for the widest possible group of people, he had called in Sir Tim to help.

Brown added that Sir Tim would work with the government over the coming month to "drive the opening up of access to government data in the web"..."

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.publicservice.co.uk/news_story.asp?id=9742

Published by: Business-Standard.com

Date: June 11, 2009

By: BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore

URL:  http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/call-to-make-web-more-accessible/360713/

"Web accessibility is mandated by law. But, many a website may not follow it, often robbing those wanting to visit a website of a chance to explore the World Wide Web.

 Poorly designed websites can create unnecessary barriers for people with disabilities, just as poorly designed buildings prevent some from entering. Designers may not realise how simple features built into a web page will assist someone who, for instance, cannot see a computer monitor or use a mouse, said a CII report “A Values Route to Business Success — The Why and How of Employing Persons With Disability”..."

 

Read the entire article and share at: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/call-to-make-web-more-accessible/360713/

Published by: MLive.com

Date: June 7, 2009

by Paul N. Courant | Dean of Libraries, University of Michigan

URL: http://www.mlive.com/opinion/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/06/other_voices_google_agreement.html

"...The result will be ubiquitous online access to a collection unparalleled in size and scope, preservation of the scholarly and cultural record embodied in the collections of great research libraries, new lines of research, and greatly expanded access to the world's printed work for persons with print disabilities.

...The Google settlement changes all that. Under the settlement, Google will provide access to a huge digital collection on behalf of the authors and publishers who hold United States copyright to works digitized from participating libraries...."

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.mlive.com/opinion/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2009/06/other_voices_google_agreement.html

Published by: Switched.com / USA Today

Date: June 9, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.switched.com/2009/06/09/rural-americans-want-better-internet-connection/

SNIPET:

"...If you tear your hair out after ten minutes of not being able to connect to the Internet, think of farmers like Jeff Roper, who deal with lost connections for days or weeks at a time. Roper told USAToday, "Just because we live in rural America doesn't mean we shouldn't have broadband." He lives on a 2,400-acre farm and expects the same accessibility as any city dweller.

And Congress agrees. The Internet is not only an important source of information, but a major factor in job creation. According to Connected Nation as cited by USA Today, an economic stimulus to support broadband installation in remote areas would cost $7.2 billion, but a mere 7-percent increase in broadband access could stimulate the economy by more than $134 billion. [From: USA Today]"

Published by: TheWindsorStar.com

Date: June 9, 2009

By: Gary Rennie, The Windsor Star

URL: http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=2b3cfe7c-e3b9-4bf4-8c98-ddaf52c49e19

"...But even with specialized equipment and software, persons with disabilities often can't get the messages at all because of the websites' design.

...Websites that require a mouse or touchpad for successful navigation can be a major barrier for those who rely on using special keyboard commands or mouth-held pointers, Saxon pointed out...."

 

Published by: JaneAndRobot.com

Date: May 14, 2009

by Vanessa Fox

URL: http://janeandrobot.com/library/effectively-using-images

"...Just keep some simple things in mind when adding those images to your pages. As a bonus, these tips help not only with search engine robots, but with Jane as well! You want your site to be accessible in screen readers, to those who have images turned off in their browsers, and to those who have slow connections or are on mobile browsers and may have trouble loading images.

By providing search engine robots with textual information about the images on your site, your site can benefit not only from better placement in web search results, but in image search results also. Image Seach can provide substantial search traffic, so don’t overlook this as an acquisition channel...." -- JaneAndRobot

Debra Ruh was comfortable working for corporate America, collecting regular paychecks and building up her retirement fund.

She risked it all for TecAccess, a Hanover County-based provider of accessibility and workforce solutions for people with disabilities, baby boomers and disabled veterans.

"I think an entrepreneur came up with the saying that ignorance is bliss," Ruh said.

Her inspiration for TecAccess was daughter Sara, who was born with Down syndrome.

"It's all about me," said Sara, 22.

Published by: TheCoffeeDesk.com

Date: June 4, 2009

Posted by Anthony 

URL: http://thecoffeedesk.com/news/index.php/2009/06/04/web-design-mistakes/

Make it maintainable (KISS)

"...KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. I know some brilliant people out there that take I/O into heavy consideration when designing a web application thanks to a large background in computer science or computer engineering. Unfortunately, the PHP/ASP.NET/CFM/whatever code they’ve written for the server is an absolute mess... 

HTML Hell

...The table-based, completely static 5-page HTML website (usually complete with JavaScript blink effects and marquees) is so 1995. We’ve evolved since then: semantic markup is not only prettier to maintain, but also has SEO and speed advantages I covered in an earlier article, “Two Birds, One Stone: Optimizing Your site In Both Speed And SEO“..."

Published by: Herdict.org

URL: http://www.herdict.org/web/

"Have you ever come across a web site that you could not access and wondered,"Am I the only one?" Herdict Web aggregates reports of inaccessible sites, allowing users to compare data to see if inaccessibility is a shared problem. By crowdsourcing data from around the world, we can document accessibility for any web site, anywhere.

 

Herdict Web is the first collaborative, real-time map of Internet accessibility and it needs your input.  You can participate in three easy ways:

1. Test sites using our Herdict Reporter.

2. Download the browser add-on to easily report on site accessibility while you browse.

3. Add the Herdict Web Ticker to your blog or web site!

By participating, you can help us document inaccessibility around the world."

About Herdict

Herdict is a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Herdict is a portmanteau of 'herd' and 'verdict' and seeks to show the verdict of the users (the herd). Herdict Web seeks to gain insight into what users around the world are experiencing in terms of web accessibility; or in other words, determine the herdict.

The brainchild of Professor Jonathan Zittrain, Herdict Web is a natural progression from the OpenNet Initiative. Whereas OpenNet views Internet filtering through an academic lens, Herdict uses crowdsourcing to learn about and present a real time view of the experiences of users around the globe."

AmericanProgress.org --   

"Legal and Policy Considerations for Federal Use of Web 2.0 Technology

"The Obama campaign set a new model for how to spread information through new media and social networking technologies such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and others. It also sparked imagination about how these Web 2.0 technologies could usher in a new era of government transparency and citizen participation.

The Obama administration has already begun to take up some of the same technologies it used during the campaign and on change.gov. But it hasn’t yet used these applications to the same extent it did previously, and that’s largely because it is now subject to federal laws and regulations regarding privacy, disability access, advertising, and other issues.

This paper addresses six key legal and policy issues that the Obama administration will have to address for WhiteHouse.gov and federal agency websites to use Web 2.0 widely and effectively."

JamaicaObserver.com -- "It is in the interest of both the developer and you to fully understand the terms of the contract before signing. Waiting until there is a problem to understand the terms and technicalities of the contract may be too late.

...Web Accessibility - your website development contract should contain appropriate language regarding compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. These are real issues, as companies have been sued for lack of compliance. These guidelines are outlined at http://www.w3.org/."

DownLoad.CNET.com -- "Skype 4.1 beta also reintroduces birthday reminder alerts and contacts-sharing, which were two features left out of Skype during its upgrade from version 3.8 to 4.0. Birthday reminders are automatic notices you receive on a contact's birthday if they've added this information to their profile. The send-a-contact feature can be found in the Conversation navigation menu under the "Send" option.

Two other notable reinclusions are the ability to import contacts from Gmail, Windows Live Hotmail, AOL, and LinkedIn in addition to Skype 4.0's support for Yahoo and Microsoft Outlook products; and a screen reader accessibility tool to help visually impaired people use Skype."

Published by: HospitalityNet.org

Date: May 25, 2009

URL: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4041562.search?query=web+accessibility

"The emergence of the “semantic web” is ushering in a new wave of openness and accessibility.

XML feeds and APIs are becoming increasingly popular, making it easier for sites to partner with each other and offer valuable services to their users...."

  

Read the entire article at: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4041562.search?query=web+accessibility

Published by: VNUNet.com

Date: May 198 2009

by: Phil Muncaster

URL: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2242417/wolfram-alpha-digests-mixed

"The much-heralded Wolfram Alpha computational knowledge engine has finally launched. Feedback about the site is largely positive, although some users have expressed frustration with persistent deficiencies.

..."One of the keys to Google's or Wikipedia's success is accessibility," the user wrote. "I love the results of the machine, but please get to web standards! Use XHTML, MathML, XML with Stylesheets and SVG/Canvas Object for results rendering. Rendered text [and] images are so 1997.""

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2242417/wolfram-alpha-digests-mixed

eGovMonitor.com  -- "Local government has outperformed a sample of private sector organisations in the finance, retail and travel sectors (including Northern Rock, EasyJet and Tesco) on awareness of accessibility policy and its implementation.

This is the key finding of research by Socitm Insight on website accessibility statements which, according to the latest guidance from the Central Office of Information (COI) and the British Standards Institute (BSi) play a central role ensuring that an organisation's website is actually accessible to all users.

The research is published in A world denied: a supplement for Better connected 2009 on accessibility statements. This looks at one of the key elements of accessibility practice, and follows last year's more general guidance on making websites accessible. If accessibility good practice is not followed, and websites are not designed to accommodate their needs, disabled people and others can find difficult or even impossible to use."

Published by: OnLineContentGuide

URL: http://www.onlinecontentguide.co.uk/?p=245

Read the article and comment at: http://www.onlinecontentguide.co.uk/?p=245

More at OnlineContentGuide.com 

Web Accessibility:  http://www.onlinecontentguide.co.uk/?page_id=228

Accessible Images: http://www.onlinecontentguide.co.uk/?p=267

Who Is SimplyRaydeen?

My real name is Raydeen Gallogly, I've been involved in website accessibility for over 20 years. Why do I continue to do this for so long? ... Besides being the right thing to do, website accessibility has and continues to be my real passion.

Not much has changed over the years, the concept is still the same but web site developers still struggle with making the most simple things seem to be very hard.

"Accessible Tags -- A basic adaptation that makes Web sites accessible is the addition of alt tags. These pop-out windows are attached to text and graphics, providing material for screen readers for the blind. Alt tags are critical to accessibility. Using a program such as JAWS, from Freedom Scientific, a screen reader can breeze through text on a screen at the speed desired by the user. Even PDF pages can be made accessible with Adobe's newest tools and plug-ins.

 

Sometimes, the failure to create accessibility is ironic. Jeff Bennett, who analyzed Web accessibility for New York's Office for Technology, demonstrated a Web site that had offered shopping services for disabled individuals. As a blind user, he could shop for groceries and household items from the comfort of his home. Although the Web site was beautifully constructed with excellent descriptions given of the products available, it eventually sported one glaring error. In the center of the screen on the home page was a letter announcing that the company was going out of business. The letter was in Portable Document Format and unavailable to the screen reader that Bennett depends upon. He could still order groceries and, when they failed to arrive as usual, he would never know why.

 

Bennett espoused his Web philosophy, "KISS" (keep it simple, stupid). He says this easily remembered acronym is the backbone of accessible design. "The best thing to do is to keep it simple," Bennett said. "Label all graphics, label all links, make sure all links can be accessed by a keyboard and do not require use of a mouse, and avoid using mouse-over links."

 

ThisIsThe Sentinal  -- "TWO IT specialists have joined forces to help entrepreneurs with disabilities launch their own websites. "According to Stoke-on-Trent-based firms Internet Business Solutions and T&T Consultancy, web pages adapted for blind and partially-sighted people are usually unattractive and inconvenient for fully-sighted visitors.

Trentham firm T&T already develops and sells software packages which reproduce on-screen information as Braille and speech, making it easier for blind and partially-sighted people to manage e-commerce sites.

Now it has formed a partnership with Internet Business Solutions – also from Trentham – to offer a consultancy service to companies which want a site that is completely accessible to people with disabilities, as well as being attractive and easy to use.

Internet Business Solutions managing director Neil Erlam said: "To comply with disability discrimination legislation, websites have to be written in such a way that screen reading software can understand them."

Published by: eCommerceJournal

Date: May 11, 2009

URL: http://ecommerce-journal.com/articles/15312_presidents_and_the_internet_relations

Read the entire article at: http://ecommerce-journal.com/articles/15312_presidents_and_the_internet_relations

MSNBC.com --

"Airlines are testing the service, but what will travelers pay?

Most in-flight Wi-Fi services are free during the testing phase, in part to make sure the systems actually work and in part to familiarize travelers with using Wi-Fi in the air.

...In-flight Wi-Fi options In the past year, U.S. airlines have begun testing and offering some form of in-flight Wi-Fi service. JetBlue’s single “BetaBlue” plane has been equipped with a narrowband service that allows travelers to send e-mail and instant messages and plans to begin expanding the service to its A320 fleet sometime this year. American, Delta, United and Virgin America are working with Aircell to offer Gogo broadband Wi-Fi services (see related article, below, regarding GoGoInFlight) on a steadily increasing number of planes. Just last week, in fact, American Airlines — the first U.S. airline to get going with Gogo — announced plans to install in-flight broadband in more than 300 of its airplanes in the next two years. Virgin America plans to have all 28 of its planes Wi-Fi enabled by June. (About half are now.) And recently Alaska and Southwest airlines began testing Row 44’s satellite-delivered broadband Wi-Fi services on a few planes."

Published by: ArticleDashBoard.com

Author: Manish Rawat

URL:  http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Quick-hints-to-make-site-cross-browser-compatible/857645

Published by: ArticleDashBoard.com

Read the entire article at:  http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Insert-Flash-Design-into-the-Website-for-Successful-Website-Design/860827

Published by: ArticleDashBoard.com

Author: Trenton Moss, Webcredible - www.webcredible.co.uk

Read the entire article at: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Separate-text-only-version--No-thanks-/10071

ItJungle.com -- "Profound says the idea behind Atrium is to give customers a strong framework that improves both accessibility and usability of their systems, while insuring security at the same time. ...

Atrium also introduces the concept of tabbed computing to the i OS application navigation equation. Tabbed computing, if you are unaware, allows a user to have several Web browser screens open at the same time within a single instance of the Web browser. It was first introduced several years ago by Mozilla with its Firefox browser, and it proved so popular that Microsoft decided to copy it (imagine that!) by bringing tabbed browsing to IE."

Published by: Glenda Watson Hyatt

Date: May 1, 2009

URL: http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/how-pour-is-your-blog/

Visit Glenda Watson Hyatt at: http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/how-pour-is-your-blog/

Published by: AbleGamers.com

Date: May 3, 2009

URL: http://ablegamers.com/web-games/540-ioos-web-game-of-the-week-look-at-the-a-mazing-colors-if-you-can.html

"...The most blatantly obvious part about this game is that those of you who are colorblind will have extreme difficulty playing Neon maze.  We spoke to the developer, Vitaliy Zlotskiy, about the lack of a colorblind option.

"I really regret this," said Vitaliy. "I get a lot of comments from color blind people that complain that they just cannot play my game;

...All in all this game is very accessible to everyone but the colorblind."

Read the entire article at: http://ablegamers.com/web-games/540-ioos-web-game-of-the-week-look-at-the-a-mazing-colors-if-you-can.html

Published by: WebWire.com

Date: May 4, 2009

URL: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=94227

Read the entire article at: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=94227

AbleGamers.com --

"Games Are Communities

What we are talking about is an acknowledgement that gaming is for everyone, it has never been more mainstream.  As the developer and publisher of the most important titles on the system, a first party flagship franchise, Bungie and Microsoft should have set themselves the goal of achieving an altogether differed landmark as well.  Acknowledging that, while no system with ever be perfect, accessibility issues will now always be considered an important part of the design ethos.

Published by: BBC Internet Blog

Date: April 27, 2009

Author: Seetha Kumar

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/04/seetha_kumar_at_the_national_d.html

Read the entire article at BBC.co.uk/blogs/

Published by: PRNewsWire.com

Date: April 27, 2009

URL: PressWire - click here, the URL is too long to publish

Read the entire newsletter at PRNewsWire.com

Published by: 24Dash.com

Date: April 27, 2009

URL: Click on this link, URL is too long to publish here

"The 2011 Census for England and Wales will be driven by an online revolution aimed at ensuring that the entire population has the information it needs to fill out the forms accurately and in time for the deadline.

The 4,000 page Census 2011 Website will be designed and implemented by WTG, a recognised innovator in the delivery of web solutions to government and commercial enterprises.

WTG will be responsible for the design and information architecture for the website and online census form as well as a Web Self-Help facility which will be the critical way to access information on how to fill-in the 20 page-plus Census form. With over 30 million households required to fill in the form over a designated three-day period in 2011, the Census Website itself will be a critical first point of contact for many looking for information on how to complete the form...."

Read the entire article at: 24dash.com

Here are some references to get you started, I found the amount of information on the web overwhelming; hopefully you will find what you are looking for:  

Welcome to McTwit

McTwit is a free, open source desktop client for Twitter.com, a popular social networking site.

The program is designed with productivity of keyboard users in mind. Additionally, if the JAWS, System Access, or Window-Eyes screen reader is active, some information is conveyed efficiently through direct speech messages.

Interview with Accessible Twitter creator Dennis Lembree

Published by: Accessify.com

URL: http://accessify.com/news/2009/04/interview-with-accessible-twitter-creator-dennis-lembree/

Read the entire article at: Accessify.com 

   Twitter Accessibility Problems...

"There are many accessibility problems with Twitter, but by far the biggest issue is having links that can only be activated using a mouse. The links for making a particular tweet a favourite, the links for replying to a particular tweet, and the links to delete a tweet or direct message can only be activated using the mouse on the standard Twitter website. The favourite, reply and delete links are revealed when the user hovers the mouse over a tweet. "

Published by: Juicy Studio

Monday, 12th January 2009

Author: Gez Lemon

Read more by visiting:  http://juicystudio.com/article/twitter-focus.php#twitteraccessibility

..........................

  Improving Twitter Accessibility

Focus Twitter Greasemonkey script to help with web accessibility

.......................... 

  Twitter Accessibility CSUN Tweetup

Slide Show

by: Jared Smith - WebAIM 

http://www.slideshare.net/jared_w_smith/twitter-accessibility

  ............................  

  Twitter and Accessibility:

Read more at: http://getsatisfaction.com/twitter/topics/twitter_accessibility_dream_or_reality

Published by: GetSatisfaction.com

Here is a list of references that will hopefully get you started:

Making Facebook Accessible for Everyone

Published by: Facebook Blog

URL: http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=71852922130

Facebook Works with the Blind on Accessibility

Published by: WebProNews

URL: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/07/facebook-works-with-the-blind-on-accessibility

Facebook Gets Enhanced Accessibility for the Visually Impaired, French Canadian Speaker

Published by: Find My Soft

URL: http://www.findmysoft.com/news/Facebook-Gets-Enhanced-Accessibility-for-the-Visually-Impaired-French-Canadian-Speaker/

Basic Web Site Accessibility Principles:

Keep your web page HTML code simple

Avoid overusing JavaScripts. Consider revising scripts which change web page content following a user action.

Convey text information using text, not images.

Make hyperlink text self-explanatory.

If you do use Flash, read and use the Adobe Flash accessibility guidelines to make it accessible.

Read more...

PracticaleCommerce.com

Published by: PracticaleCommerce.com

Date: March 30, 2009 · by Practical eCommerce Staff

URL: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1035-Quick-Query-Joe-Dolson-of-Accessible-Web-Design

Bookshare is the world's largest accessible online library for people with print disabilities (e.g., Readers who are blind or have low vision, learning disabilities or a mobility impairment that prevents them from reading a traditional printed book).

http://www.bookshare.org/

Press Release by: PRWeb - Press Release Newswire

Published by: Northtemple

"The issues of accessibility are a daily reality for my family. For us, it’s not a political issue at all. Our oldest daughter, Ramona, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Allow me to give you a glimpse of what this aspect of our life is like...

Accessibility is NOT a checklist.

Accessibility is about usability.

Accessibility is a paradigm shift.

Accessibility is a personal issue."

"An accessibility statement provides website visitors with information on how to utilize any accessibility features implemented, together with known barriers and how to overcome them. This information is usually presented on a dedicated page within the website."

Read more at: Digital Web Magazine

Published by: UXmatters

By Whitney Quesenbery

Published: February 23, 2009

URL: http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/02/usable-accessibility-making-web-sites-work-well-for-people-with-disabilities.php

"The commitment that the President and I have to Special Olympics and people with disabilities is deep and abiding. And we are backing up those words with real action at the White House," said Vice President Biden. "This is our first step to ensure that we have a strong advocate for people with disabilities at the highest levels of our Administration. "  - Joe Biden, Vice President

Read the press release...

FaceBook has been working with the American Foundation for the Blind to make it easier, for individuals with disabilities, to use Facebook.

Related Articles

• Facebook Gets Enhanced Accessibility for the Visually Impaired, French Canadian Speaker
• Facebook Works with the Blind on Accessibility

A great resource from Yahoo Developer Network:

Making the new Yahoo! Currency Converter accessible

Published by: Yahoo Developer Network

"Web developers attempting to build accessible websites often make the same mistakes time and time again. Although they're trying their hardest sometimes their overzealousness gets in the way and actually hinders the accessibility of their websites."

Published by: Webcredible

January 2008

Read more information at: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/errors.shtml

Published  by: The Daily Citizen

April 06, 2009

By Daniel J. Vance

URL: http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/Health/local_story_096140912.html?keyword=topstory

eBay selects Webcredible for online accessibility consultancy services

Published by: Webcredible

URL: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/pr/ebay.shtml

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) has created a resource to help developers understand web accessibility testing.

Follow this link for info directly from WebAim:   http://webaim.org/resources/evalquickref/

Disable styles and linearize tables

Check alternative text

Verify color and contrast

Test content scaling

Check keyboard accessibility

Evaluate form accessibility and usability

Test with a screen reader

Valid HTML and CSS

Testing with WAVE

as a one page PDF file. An HTML version is also available.

Quick Reference - Web Accessibility Principles

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) has created this resource as a quick overview  to help developers understand the concepts of web accessibility. 

Follow this link for more information directly from WebAIM:

http://webaim.org/resources/quickref/

Researchers from the UW-Madison Trace Center have released a software tool that could prevent similar incidences of media-triggered seizures in children who are browsing the Internet or using computer programs.

The software, called the Photosensitive Epilepsy Analysis Tool (PEAT), allows Web developers to evaluate their site content and determine whether the content presents a danger to people with photosensitive epilepsy.

PEAT is the first tool developed for evaluating Web-based content, and a beta version is available for free download from the Trace Center, a pioneer center that designs mainstream information technology accessible to people with disabilities."

Published by: News.PRNewsWire.com

Date: June 8, 2009

URL: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-08-2009/0005039825&EDATE=

"EVANSTON, Ill., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Custom health communications company StayWell Custom Communications (SCC), a division of MediMedia USA, has announced an exclusive strategic alliance with Siteimprove to provide value-added services that help health care organizations ensure the integrity, accuracy, and accessibility of their website content.

 

...

Teaming with Siteimprove will provide StayWell Custom clients a suite of website management and maintenance tools which include:

 

 

• SiteCheck- The SiteCheck service will automatically check an entire website for errors such as misspellings, broken links, and accessibility issues on a continual basis. It provides clear indications of why and where issues occur, quick links to enable prompt fixes, and can be configured to alert multiple editors when problems are located. A new Search Engine Optimization module will also help website owners maintain good positions in search engines, such as Google.
• SearchImprove - Easily set up and manage a site's search engine with the SearchImprove tool. It makes the search function on a website straightforward and powerful, by providing tools for transparency and adjustment. SearchImprove search function allows the webmaster to influence and control search results, optimizing the communication potential of user searches.
• SiteAlarm - SiteAlarm monitors website uptime and alerts the website contact and web team by email when something is not working properly. Regardless of the monitoring frequency used, once an error is detected on a website, SiteAlarm will check the website every minute until the website is back up again. Monitoring a web server with SiteAlarm will help improve the performance and availability of a website.
• SiteAnalyze - SiteAnalyze is a unique hosted website analysis service that provides detailed website analysis and statistics, including visitor demographics, website traffic patterns, search engine effectiveness, and many other website metrics."

 

 

 

 

Read the entire article and comment at: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-08-2009/0005039825&EDATE=

Published by: CMS Wire

Date: May 11, 2009

URL: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-cms/magus-unveils-new-semantic-tools-for-content-tracking-004559.php

"...Website Compliance

As a website compliance solution for multi-site and multi-editor web presences, ASAR automatically scans website pages exposing quality and technical issues ranging from usability rules to user established brand guidelines.

It provides:

• Brand consistency across multi-site enterprises
• Easy localization of content by controlling local rules centrally and optimizing brands for every market,
• Quality and compliance ensuring increased traffic and greater brand loyalty
• Operating efficiency – ASAR dramatically cuts time spent on quality control and audits and prioritizes workloads and tasks.
• Fact-based marketing – By assessing the effectiveness of content it allows users to target their marketing drives based on known, rather than guessed information.

...

Using those checkpoints and standards, ARAS is designed to check every page on a site performing diagnostics at a level and accuracy impossible to achieve manually..."

Read the entire article at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/enterprise-cms/magus-unveils-new-semantic-tools-for-content-tracking-004559.php

'Working with members of the technology community, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has developed a rigorous procedure by which Web sites and applications that have made special efforts to be accessible to the blind can be identified and recognized.

Criteria for Nonvisual Accessibility Certification

Nonvisually accessible, as defined in this program, means that screen access software can obtain sufficient information from the Web application to enable the blind user to:

• Access information in narratives, databases, forms, charts, maps, and essential information conveyed via graphical presentations without visual assistance
• Complete transactions that have been identified as primary to the application such as, but not limited to: buying merchandise, completing forms, registering for activities, downloading information, communicating with others, and participating in online educational programs.'

The criteria for meeting the Nonvisual Accessibility Certification can be found at: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/certification_criteria.asp?SnID=1870273326

Review the list of NFB certified sites at: http://secure.nfb.org/nfbnva/public/certifiedsites.aspx

 ..........................

Newegg takes the lead in making its web site accessible to blind people

InternetRetailer.com - "The National Federation of the Blind has cited computer products retailer Newegg Inc. as the first online merchant to reach the foundation’s gold-level Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification in making its retail web site easy to use by blind shoppers.

Sean P Aune -- "When you design any web site, one of your first goals is to make sure you get as many visitors as you can, but have you checked the true accessibility of your site? Can a color blind person read it? Are all of your scripts cooperating? Your colors may look nice together, but is the contrast different enough that it is all legible?  Well, those questions are exactly what these 12 tools are designed to help you answer, and it certainly may never be a bad idea to run more than one to make sure they are all telling you the same thing.

One caveat to this list, while these tools are helpful and will help you spot some problems, never trust them to be the ultimate authority, but more of a starting point on your road to the smoothest running site you can build."

Published by: It-Director.com

Date: June 3, 2009

By: Peter Abrahams, Practice Leader - Accessibility and Usability, Bloor Research

URL: http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=11303 

"Any successful web site is in a continual state of flux. New content, new functions, changes to the structure of the site and even changes to the supporting infrastructure occur on a daily, if not second-by-second, basis.

...The continual flux of websites means that there is a need for continual compliance checking.

...WCAG 2.0 is based on the four principles that the web pages should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust (POUR for short). These principles are divided into 12 guidelines and are supported by success criterion; each guideline has a description, an explanation of its importance, a set of techniques for implementation, and a set of tests to validate compliance. This hierarchy is directly reflected in the implementation of the tests performed..."

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.it-director.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=11303

Published by: EarthTimes.com

Date: May 31, 2009

URL: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/271075,problems-of-handicapped-web-access-largely-unknown.html 

"...However, there are accessible websites. Here programmers make sure fonts are big enough and that other steps are taken toward accessibility. But 80 per cent of survey respondents had no idea that such services existed.

The study was contracted by Stiftung Barrierfreie Kommunizieren, a group devoted to improving communication. One thousand internet users were polled...."

Published by: BelfastTelegraph

Date: May 12, 2009

By Rob McConnell

Read and/or comment on this article at: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/opinion/watching-web/time-of-the-essence-on-the-web-14299331.html

"There’s a well-known maxim in the world of online retailing which states that if your site takes more than four seconds to load in a visitor’s browser, you’ll lose the custom.

...The other aspects of web content that are often overlooked are accessibility for disabled (usually visually impaired) users and the quality of written content. ..."

Automated Web site validation tools are available to anyone, but when a Web site claims conformance from only a tool, it can only mean that the page(s) passed all of the automatic tests.

Download: Web Site Accessibility/Usability Evaluations Brochure -- Inside (PDF)

Download: Web Site Accessibility/Usability Evaluations Brochure -- Outside (PDF)

A thorough inspection combines automated Web site validation tools with human judgment. That is where an expert Web accessibility and usability professional can help.

...........................

  New Online Tool

Truwex manages website compliance with web accessibility, online privacy, and quality standards. Truwex is a web governance and testing solution, all in one product.   

Learn more about Truwex...

There are currently three different options available to you when testing a website for accessibility:

• Accessibility audit - An accessibility expert reviews your site, highlighting any accessibility issue
• Accessibility testing - Real disabled users complete common tasks on your website whilst a moderator notes all problems they experience
• Automated accessibility testing - An automated program evaluates your website against accessibility guidelines

Published by: Webcredible

Read more about this article at: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/audit-testing.shtml

"An automated accessibility tool is a piece of software which can test a web page, or even an entire website, for accessibility. Automated accessibility tools are useful because they can save you a huge amount of time. Don't want to check images for alt text on each and every page on your website? Run the site through an automated tester and it'll do it all for you!"

Published by: Webcredible
URL: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/automated-tools.shtml

Nikki Gamer - "Ensuring access to federal Web sites for people with disabilities has been cited as a major challenge facing Web 2.0 adoption in the federal government. All federal Web sites must be compliant with a section of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which provides guidelines for making federal Web sites accessible to people with disabilities, but many Web 2.0 applications do not meet the criteria for accessibility outlined in the law. Perhaps Disability.gov could become the standard by which the government makes Web 2.0 tools more accessible for disabled Americans as a means to encourage participatory democracy, enhance the ability of disabled federal employees to leverage Web 2.0 in the course of their jobs, and solicit feedback from disabled Americans on the best tools and technologies to use in government to make it a model employer of people with disabilities."

Marisa Peacock - CSS3 With Mobile Focus

"Addressing issues of multi-column layout (deemed a design trend to watch in 2009) in CSS, it builds on the CSS3 Box model module and adds functionality to flow the content of an element into multiple columns. Essentially, multi-column layouts provide a degree of flexibility allowing content to flow from one column to another.

As well, it allows developers to remove presentation tables from layouts so that text can be more easily read and accessed from mobile devices. The W3C is also focused on the mobile platform as well, as demonstrated by this past May's Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group, which focused on their Mobile Web Initiative for developing best practices of delivery and accessibility of mobile web applications."

Joseph C. Dolson -- "In the United States, there are no laws binding business to conform to any level of website accessibility. Many government and government-supported organizations are bound by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, but these rules do not extend to private business concerns. However, even if you conduct business only in the United States, this is little reason to fail to conform to common website accessibility standards found in the WCAG 2.0.

"The Americans with Disabilities Act Regulation for Title III prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in "places of public accommodation," covering businesses and non-profit agencies which serve the public and "commercial facilities." This regulation is highly specific to physical places of business, and imposes strict requirements on any remodeling performed on your place of business or any new construction. While no such law exists to protect the disabled while visiting your virtual place of business online, there is a strong movement from disability advocates to create or adapt existing regulations in order to provide these protections....

"What Should eCommerce Merchants Do?

"Ultimately, ecommerce merchants should ensure their website is as accessible as it possibly can be. Take some time to learn about web accessibility so that you are familiar with the issues at stake before you hire a consultant to review or repair your website. But don't neglect to protect your business because you didn't realize your risks."

"WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009 -- Late Friday night, Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) re-introduced the Twenty-First Century communications and Video Accessibility Act, comprehensive legislation designed to expand access for people who are blind or have other disabilities to telecommunications equipment and video programming.

... About the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act

This legislation would:

- require that mobile and other Internet-based telecommunications devices have accessible user interfaces, and offer people with disabilities use of a full range of text messaging and other popular services that are currently largely inaccessible;

- provide people who are deaf-blind with vital but costly technologies they need to communicate electronically,

- restore the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) modest video description rules and unambiguously establish the Commission's current and ongoing authority to expand such regulations, require emergency announcements and similar information to be accessible to people with disabilities through audible presentation of on-screen alerts,

- ensure that video programming offered via the Internet will be described, and call for all devices that receive and playback video programming to employ accessible user interfaces and allow ready access to description; and

- strengthen consumers' ability to enforce their rights to communications and video accessibility through the establishment of a clearinghouse of information about service and equipment accessibility and usability, a meaningful FCC complaint process that holds industry accountable for their accessibility obligations, and judicial review of FCC action to ensure the Commission's own accountability."

Published by: Business Standard

Aabhas Sharma / New Delhi June 15, 2009, 0:51 IST

Read the entire article at: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/e-stars-rockweb/361070/

"...It’s no secret that independent artists and bands are cash-strapped when it comes to promoting themselves and require a cost-efficient platform to highlight their work. Freelance filmmaker and theatre director Jigyasa Taneja sums up the phenomenon, “The reach of an internet-based platform is widespread, the speed and accessibility is fantastic and options to upload and compile your videos are varied.” She has her own website www.jigyasataneja.com which keeps her accessible to a virtual audience.

Taneja began a web feed on YouTube, a video sharing portal, on which she displayed her work to millions of viewers. As a result, Taneja assisted on film projects like Being Cyrus and also a few ad films for brands like Nokia, Reliance and Nescafe. She admits, “This has been extremely helpful for me as an independent filmmaker in showing my work to prospective clients.” Since every minute, a ten hour video is being uploaded on YouTube, the portal is a mecca for most independent filmmakers. The portal has shaped into a perfect launch pad for aspiring and professional musicians, amateur and established filmmakers, comedians and even professional content owners."

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtuna2AWvqk

"WCAG 2.0 Theme Song, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. All Instruments, vocals, video/audio production, videotaping by David MacDonald

Special thanks to Armando Prini, videotaping of David, use of video studio SATB studios."

PromotionWorld.com -- "CSS or Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language that describes the presentation of web documents. Web pages that are written in HTML and XHTML can be styled in many ways by using CSS. In fact CSS allows to separate the stylistic elements of the web page like layout, color and fonts from the content matter like textual paragraphs and images. This is called separation of content from presentation.

Separation of Content from Presentation

The separation improves the accessibility of content on the web pages. Moreover, it provides flexibility and control in the specification of presentation characteristics at the same time reducing complexity and repetition in the structural content.

CSS also allows the web page to be presented in different styles so that it suits different rendering methods. The web content is thus made available in various forms like on-screen, print, voice modes (speech-based browsers and screen readers) etc."

Published by: PracticaleCommerce.com

Date: May 22, 2009

 by Joseph C. Dolson

URL: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1114-New-Accessibility-Guidelines-Part-IV-Robustness

"...Validation Does Not Make a Document Accessible

There are many accessibility suggestions that state you should validate your document in order to improve accessibility. This is not, however, precisely true. Validation does not, in itself, ensure any level of accessibility. Validation does not equal accessibility and invalid code does not automatically lead to an inaccessible site. While it's certainly true that authors who take the effort to validate their documents are probably more attentive to issues that impact accessibility, it's by no means a guarantee....

Why Validate HTML Code?

...HTML is an accessibility-supported technology. As long as you're using valid HTML, you're able to use that language to create an accessible website...

Conclusion

...Although validation isn't actually required, it's a good way of checking to see whether there are any errors in your page that will cause problems for your customers with disabilities. You can play it safe by using highly-supported technologies such as HTML and CSS... "

Read and comment on this article at: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1114-New-Accessibility-Guidelines-Part-IV-Robustness

Published by: iheni.com

by: iheni

Read the entire article at: http://www.iheni.com/wai-aria-last-call-for-comments-and-what-you-think-counts/

Published by: CodeTalks.org

Read the entire article at: http://wiki.codetalks.org/wiki/index.php/Web_2.0_Accessibility_with_WAI-ARIA_FAQ 

Published by: 456Bereastreet.com

Date: February 3, 2009

URL: http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200902/validating_wai-aria_in_html_and_xhtml/

"WAI-ARIA has great potential to help developers make the Web more accessible to people with disabilities, especially those who are vision impaired or cannot use a mouse.

There is currently a problem with adding WAI-ARIA attributes to your HTML or XHTML markup though: the attributes are not defined in the DTDs for HTML or XHTML and will cause validation errors.

Since WAI-ARIA improves accessibility I could actually live with having some validation errors in my HTML. However, having to manually filter out certain errors to catch the real errors really reduces the value of validation as a quality assurance tool."

Read the entire article at: http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200902/validating_wai-aria_in_html_and_xhtml/

Published by: Anne van Kesteren

Read the entire article at: http://annevankesteren.nl/2009/04/html5-wai-aria

"HTML5 and WAI-ARIA

I just wanted to set a few things straight regarding a blog post by Jeremy Keith titled Ariability. He’s definitely right that there some amount of opposition to WAI-ARIA. Not necessarily against the idea of providing a low-level accessibility API (though there’s skepticism about that too), but more the way things are defined and integrate with the rest of the platform...."

Published by: Adactio.com

by: Jeremy Keith

URL: http://adactio.com/journal/1564

Read the entire article at:  http://adactio.com/journal/1564

Published by: Steve Faulkner - The Paciello Group

Read the entire articles: http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/misc/ARIA/atmedia2008/

This event has passed; however, you can read the followup talk about this meeting as well as event photos: 

Published by: PR.com

Read the entire article at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/144004

New Online Tool

Truwex manages website compliance with web accessibility, online privacy, and quality standards. Truwex is a web governance and testing solution, all in one product.   

...Web developers can use Truwex to:

• Automatically test new web pages against a required web standard.
• Detect issues on a website and use detailed Truwex diagnostics to fix them.

Supported web standards and validations: US ADA Section 508, WCAG 1 for UK DDA and German BITV, web analytics validation, COPPA and PII, website visibility in search engines, any custom web standard including crawling AJAX web sites.

Visit the online tool at: http://checkwebsite.erigami.com/accessibility.html

Published by: Practicalecommerce.com

April 22, 2009 · by Joseph C. Dolson

URL: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1067-New-Accessibility-Guidelines-Part-III-Understandability

Read the full article at:  http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1067-New-Accessibility-Guidelines-Part-III-Understandability

Published by: TechRepublic

URL: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5031866.html

REFERENCES:

Web 2.0

"Web 2.0 initiatives are being employed within the public sector, giving more currency to the term Government 2.0. For instance, Web 2.0 websites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have helped in providing a feasible way for citizens to connect with higher government officials, which was otherwise nearly impossible. "

Published by:  Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Web Site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2

........................................................................................

Web 2.0 & Accessibility for Disabled Users

Published by: Lasa Knowledgebase

Web Site:  http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/web20andaccessibility

What is Web 2.0 and Issues for disabled people

"There are a number of accessibility issues with Web 2.0 applications that can cause problems for disabled web users...."

A List Apart 

A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices. 

Follow their RSS Feed or visit their website.

What are Web site standards and why is it important?

Home builders rely on industry building standards. Professional Web designers code using W3C standards. Using industry Web standards allows a Web browser or other user agent to know which 'blueprint' to follow. As long as a developer codes to a set of 'blueprints', browsers and other user agents will know which specifications to follow.

The HTML 'Blueprint' - Document Type Definition

• Recommended list of Document Type Definitions (DTD)

Building a quality Web site is like building a new home. Home builders rely on industry building standards. A Web site developer codes to W3C standards.

Web site owners want to ensure that their Web site is built using industry standards and that it is open to business to everyone. The owner may be able to readily describe what is visible but may not necessarily be able to assess the Web site's structural sufficiency.  

Website Structural Sufficiency -- Download the PDF file...

  Read more about Web site Structural Sufficiency here at SimplyRaydeen.com

Accessibility and usability is about making your Web site available and understandable for everyone, including users with disabilities. Web Accessibility Initiative - W3C explains it here.

..............................................................................

Published by: w3schools.com

http://www.w3schools.com/Site/site_standards.asp

Published by: 456Bereastreet.com

URL:  Click here...the URL is too long to insert here.

LecShare, Inc. announced the release of LecShare Pro, version 1.50.  The format is useful for Learning/Content Management Systems like Moodle, Blackboard, and others. 

According to the LecShare website, "LecShare Pro allows you to add audio to Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to create QuickTime movies, MPEG-4 Video files (Video Podcasts), Accessible HTML, and Microsoft Word documents. You can either record audio through a microphone or import audio files."

Published by: PRWeb.com

Date: April 24, 2009

URL: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2350804.htm

Read the entire article at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2350804.htm

Published by: Speed RSS Reader

URL:  http://speedrssreader.com/10-accessibility-tips-for-rss-feeds/

"Over 20 million Americans have difficulty typing, moving a mouse, or reading a screen," says Simon Dermer, managing director for eSSENTIAL Accessibility. "They can't get online without expensive assistive technology. By featuring eSSENTIAL Accessibility, organizations can reach out to this underserved community and help eliminate the digital divide. It's all part of an Online Social ResponsAbility Initiative to make the web accessible to all. By fulfilling a commitment to building an inclusive society, progressive organizations can tap into this growing market in a cause-related, social marketing context."..."

Published by: BusinessWire.com

Date: June 9, 2009

URL: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090609005377&newsLang=en

"Joseph Wagner, CEO of XA stated “The creation of an internet music channel that will provide an interactive marketing platform for artists, record labels and corporate partners with a cogent revenue model will be the end result of this joint venture. We are looking forward to the official launch of 24HVC’s internet broadcast music channel later this summer.”...

About AudioEye, Inc.

Founded in 2003 Audio Eye Inc. has developed patent pending, Internet content publication and distribution software that enables the conversion of any media into accessible formats and allows for real time distribution to end users on any network connected device. Audio Eye solutions include comprehensive E-Learning and E-Commerce systems as well as a variety of Internet products and services that enable customers to create and deliver accessible and highly scalable web-based applications. "

Read the entire article at: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090609005377&newsLang=en

Published by: AmeriSurv.com

Date: May 4, 2009

URL: http://www.amerisurv.com/content/view/6170/

Read the entire article at: http://www.amerisurv.com/content/view/6170/

Published by: WebAIM

Date: March 19, 2009

By: Jared Smith

Read the entire article at: http://webaim.org/blog/webaim-tpg-partnership/

PRWeb --  

Published by: PRWeb

URL: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/03/prweb2208564.htm

Digital Web Magazine --

Read the entire article at: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/RESTful_CSS/

Published by: Digital Web Magazine

Font-weight is still broken in all but one browser

Published by: Clagnut.com

Read more at URL: http://clagnut.com/blog/2228/

Published by: PracticaleCommerce.com

Date: April 23, 2009

by: Armando Roggio

URL: click here for the URL, it is too long to post...

Read the entire article at: PracticaleCommerce.com

Read: Everything You Know About CSS is Wrong!

"In this extract from the forthcoming Sitepoint book of the same name, Rachel Andrew explains how you can use tables for layout in modern web design with a clean conscience."

Published by: McKremie.Com

Date: June 8, 2009

By: Nathan LaPierre

URL: http://www.mckremie.com/blog/2009/06/5-myths-and-misconceptions-about-ajax/

"AJAX was, and remains, the hottest buzzword in web development. This will continue to hold true for the foreseeable future, and for good reason; sites which use it are pretty slick. Yet the acronym, which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, continues to be misused and misplaced. Have you made one of these all-too-common mistakes?

1) I Need an AJAX Guru to Code an AJAX Website

...

2) AJAX is New

...

3) AJAX Powered Websites are Fast

...

4) I need to add AJAX to my website to keep up with the times

...

5) AJAX Will Replace Flash

While it’s true that Flash was once the buzzword that AJAX now is in web development circles, the idea that AJAX will replace completely flash is unfounded. While entirely flash based designs are becoming increasingly uncommon, flash still serves a purpose for many multimedia and graphical interface elements.

While AJAX has given many great possibilities in web development, consider the technology carefully before implementing it on your own site. Don’t break the likability, accessibility or navigation (back/forward buttons) of a site just to use AJAX. Use it where it is the most efficient way to make something work."

Read the entire article and comment at:  http://www.mckremie.com/blog/2009/06/5-myths-and-misconceptions-about-ajax/

Resource -- AJAX 

Webcredible -- "AJAX or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is an innovative way of using existing technologies to create highly interactive web applications. AJAX allows portions of the page to be updated without having to refresh and reload the entire page. It can increase site performance significantly and provide cutting edge user interfaces. Unfortunately it can also be a source of concern for delivering fully accessible web sites."

Published at: Webcredible

March 2008

Read more information in this article from: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/ajax-accessibility.shtml

Published by: ZdNet.co.UK

Date: May 29, 2009

To review all the slides, read the entire article and comment, go to: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/software/productivity/0,1000001108,39657629-10,00.htm

"Slide One: Stephanie Hannon, a product manager on the Google Wave team, shows off some functions of the new online communication and collaboration tool released during the May 28 keynote at the Google I/O developer's conference in San Francisco.

...

Slide Five: Multiple users can edit a document simultaneously in real time. Here, Casey and Dan, designated by their coloured name tiles, are both typing and editing inside the document at the same time.

...

Slide Nine: Developers will also be able to build widgets inside Wave, like this chess game. Previous changes to documents, conversations and even games can be viewed in a playback mode. Here, the game has been rewound, and is replaying the moves of the chess match using the player at the top of the window."

Published by: News.Zdnet.Co.UK

Date: May 28, 2009

Read the entire article and comment at:  http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39657141,00.htm

"The service, announced on Thursday, allows multiple users to chat and work together in real time within a window Google is calling a 'wave'. In the window, people can exchange real-time IM, photos, videos, maps and documents.

...Google views Wave as a new and more effective way of communicating online. "Two of the most spectacular successes in digital communication, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the 1960s. Since then, so many different forms of communication have been invented — blogs, wikis, collaborative documents — and computers and networks have dramatically improved," said Lars Rasmussen, software engineering manager, in a statement. "With Google Wave, we're proposing a new communications model that presumes all these advances as a starting point."..."

Published by: Google.com

URL: http://code.google.com/apis/wave/ 

Accessibility for the blind 

"Has any consideration been given to the issue of accessibility for the blind in Wave?" -  (gkearney )

Follow the blog at Googlegroups - http://groups.google.com/group/google-wave-api/browse_thread/thread/8a883cf4edd99560

Published by: OJR -- Focusing on the Future of Digital Journalism

by: Cindy Royal

Date: May 13, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/people/croyal/200905/1723/

Published by: WebWorkerDaily.com

Author: Aliza Sherman

Date: May 9, 2009

URL: http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/05/09/second-life-is-social-media/

URL: http://www.salon.com/tech/giga_om/web_life/2009/05/09/second_life_is_social_media/

Read the entire article at: http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/05/09/second-life-is-social-media/

Or: http://www.salon.com/tech/giga_om/web_life/2009/05/09/second_life_is_social_media/

Related Links for Second Life

• Wiki.Secondlife.com
• Twinx45.Wordpress.com
• It-Analysis.com

Published by: WebAim - Blog

Date: April 30, 2009

by Jared Smith

YouTube - CAPTCHA

The American Federation of the Blind is urging MySpace, Friendster and Facebook to offer an audio alternative to their CAPTCHAs.

CAPTCHAS -- text alternative

You are listening to what it sounds like for a blind person to register for MySpace.

January, February, March, February, January, Month, Forms Mode Off

That was the voice of a screen reader. Screen reading software gives people with vision loss access to the text and images on a computer screen.

This is a CAPTCHA. 'q5c?f'

CAPTCHAs keep spam programs out of systems.

But they also keep out people with vision loss because screen readers can't read them.

Right now, the social networking sites MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster use CAPTCHAs in their registration.

This is what it sounds like when a screen reader comes across a CAPTCHA on MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster.

Myspace - Please enter the text from the image above; colon, edit.

Facebook - Security checked textbox colon, edit.

Friendster - Edit after the characters from above.

What image? What characters? What text? Screen readers can't read the text in CAPTCHAs.

But there are alternatives. You can offer audio that sounds like this. (Example from http://www.blogger.com/)

Come on Tom, Mark, and Jonathan. Offer an audio alternative to the CAPTCHA.

After all, you're supposed to be our friends.

For more information on how to make your web site accessible to people with vision loss, visit http://www.afb.org/

Published by:  Accessify.com

Date: 04/23/2009

Read the entire interview at:  http://accessify.com/news/2009/04/interview-with-accessible-twitter-creator-dennis-lembree/

Published by: Juicy Studio

URL:   http://juicystudio.com/article/twitter-focus.php

Read more at Juicy Studio

Published by: Do It Myself Blog

By: Glenda, April 7, 2009

Read more of this article at: http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/consider-all-disabilities-when-making-facebook-accessible/

"... Some obstacles that the rest of us with disabilities face on the web include:

• Flickering or flashing designs can cause seizures in people with certain neurological disorders.
• Without captioning, people with hearing impairments cannot appreciate multimedia content such as on-line newscasts, movies, and lectures.
• For individuals with little or no hand control, using a mouse can be very difficult. Being required to "click" on a tiny area to access information can be an obstacle.
• Inconsistent page layout and poor information design can be disorienting and confusing to any user, particularly to individuals with cognitive impairments..."

TheAccessibility.com

Author: Steve, April 9, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.theaccessibility.com/?p=158

"...Making Facebook Accessible for Everyone.

Among the features highlighted on that page are:

• Audio alternatives to CAPTCHA, which is the technology you see on some websites that requires you to enter letters from a distorted display that a human can decipher but a computer script or automation cannot.
• Straight HTML version of the site (specifically, the mobile version) that is friendlier to screen readers.
• Non-Javascript version of Facebook Gift Shop, which addresses a standing frustration with the inaccessibility of that locale
• Ability to use Facebook Chat via screen reader.
• Shortcut keys to key sections of the Facebook, listed out by browser"

Web Axe --

Published by: Web Axe

posted by Dennis at Web Axe

Read the entire article at: http://webaxe.blogspot.com/2009/01/improving-twitter-accessibility.html

Joseph C. Dolson -- 'What Does Your Shopping Cart Need to Do?

A shopping cart has four primary functions:

1. A view of the items in the cart.
2. The ability to modify the items in the cart.
3. The ability to leave the cart to continue shopping.
4. The ability to leave the cart to complete a purchase.

This all sounds very simple, but for people with disabilities, all of these issues can be much more complicated....

The basics of accessible shopping cart construction require a properly organized data table, with columns or header rows that contain descriptive titles. For example, Product Name could be followed by Product SKU, Product Description, Price, and so on.'

Read the entire article at: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1229-Accessibility-and-the-Checkout-Process

Published by: PracticaleCommerce.com

Date: August 11, 2009

ArticleBase.com  -- "SEO is considered as one of the most popular form of search engine marketing (SEM) used by webmasters. Because of its popularity and effectiveness in bringing traffic to a website, many webmasters have come to abuse the effectiveness of SEO by using techniques set to violate search engine guidelines. These techniques are called black hat SEO. Synonymous to white hat SEO, black hat SEO are forms of techniques used to provide faster result, but may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing. Some forms of techniques used for black hat SEO has been ineffective since search engines frequently change their algorithm to minimize the use and effectiveness of black hat seo technique. But some techniques are still used today."

Published by: BigMouthMedia.com

Date: June 9, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/pagerank-sculpting-the-fall-of-pagerank-sculpting.asp/5998/

"...It has always been well known that links within JavaScript could not be followed as they were invisible to Google. Last week Matt Cutts dropped the bombshell at SMX Advanced by announcing that Google will now distribute PageRank through nofollow links. As a result, PageRank Sculpting will no longer stem the flow of PageRank. This means that all links on every page will receive equal distribution of PageRank, even if they are nofollowed or blocked through JavaScript.

...Google has recognised that websites should be judged by accessibility, good relevant content written for the user, site structure and above all word of mouth reputation."

Published by: SearEngineJournal.com

Date: May 11, 2009

by: John Britsios

Read the entire article at: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/bot-herding-pagerank-sculpting/10352/

Published by: PromotionWorld

By: Amber Smith
April 27, 2009

URL:  Visit PromotionWorld (URL too long to publish here...

Read the entire article at:  Visit PromotionWorld

Published by: ByteStart.co.uk

Date: April 27, 2009

URL: http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/15/15_4/bytestart-google-tips-1.shtml

To read the entire article, visit: http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/15/15_4/bytestart-google-tips-1.shtml

Published by: NewDesignWorld.com

Read the entire article at: http://www.newdesignworld.com/press/story/12638

Published by: MediaPost Publications

By Laurie Sullivan

URL: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=103636

Read the entire article at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=103636

O'Reilly radar - Read more...

"Architecting sites to be search engine friendly, particularly sites with as much content and legacy code as those the government manages, can be a resource-intensive process that takes careful long-term planning. But two keys are: assessing who the audience is and what they're searching for; and, ensuring the site architecture is easily crawlable. "

Published by: HealthNews.com

Date: June 14, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.healthnews.com/blogs/nicki/natural-health/finally-a-blind-friendly-iphone-3290.html

"...This development thrills me for so many reasons, one of which is Voice Over itself. With traditional screen readers, web pages or menus like the start menu were read as a list of options. With Voice Over and the iPhone, options will be read as you tap their locations on the screen. Therefore, we cannot only access these options but learn where they are located in the context of other options. For blind individuals, special concepts are incredibly challenging, and one of the most challenging is distance, especially the distance from one object or point to another. For the first time, we may have a screen reader which, on one device at least, helps us overcome these issues... "

 

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.healthnews.com/blogs/nicki/natural-health/finally-a-blind-friendly-iphone-3290.html

Instant Mobilizer

Instant Mobilizer automatically converts your existing Web site into a dynamic mobile version.

Enter your Web site URL to preview your new Instant Mobilizer site...

URL: http://instantmobilizer.com/test-your-site.htm

.................................................................

Published by:  ClickZ

Date: April 27, 2009

Mobile Search Has a Second Coming

URL: http://www.clickz.com/3633434 

Read the entire article at:  http://www.clickz.com/3633434

Published by:  Reriani Communications

Date: 4/12/2009

URL: http://news.reriani.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8849

ZDNetAsia.com --

Published by: ZDNetAsia.com

By Bruce Lawson, ZDNet UK -- Wednesday, April 01 2009

URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/insight/internet/0,39044877,62052405,00.htm

“By observing thousands of students and their learning styles, we’ve ascertained a great deal about their work habits, study plans, and other learning preferences. This information is being used by today’s publishers to create digital tools to connect students to content on a new level and empower them to succeed,” says Ed Stanford, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education. “A transformation is occurring on campuses across the country as students embrace technology in every aspect of learning.”

McGraw-Hill’s Connect for example, is a powerful, web-based assessment and learning platform that assists both instructor and student. One feature of Connect can assess a student’s knowledge by delivering appropriate questions at the right time to help them master course content. It’s one more major development in educational technology that is helping students learn more efficiently and achieve greater success academically.

Read the entire article and comment at: http://egruve.com/2009/07/digital-learning-tools/

Published by: eGruve.com

Date: July 23, 2009

Published by: PR-USA.Net

Date: July 7, 2009

URL: http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=234421&Itemid=31 

Andrew Taylor -- Audencia Nantes School of Management’s new web site has been redesigned with the aim of becoming the first run by a French higher education establishment to offer total access regardless of handicap, mother tongue, computer hardware or location in the world.

...While no school or university in France has yet to receive the minimum Bronze label from Accessiweb, the body that certifies the access levels of French web pages, Audencia’s new site already respects the guidelines of both BrailleNet and AccessiWeb.  Audencia’s new site proposes alternatives to images and animated features, respects precise rules on data structure, names and describes the documents to download, organises content in a well-defined site plan and uses a standard HTML syntax."

Published by: PressAndJournal.co.uk

Date: May 8, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1206892?UserKey

Read the entire article at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1206892?UserKey=

Published by: Ozel Web Tasarim.com

Date: April 28, 2009

URL: http://www.ozelwebtasarim.com/index.php/web-haberleri/6046-encouraging-student-success

SNIPET:

Read the entire article at: http://www.ozelwebtasarim.com/index.php/web-haberleri/6046-encouraging-student-success

BSUDailyNews.com --

"New Student Government Website Goes Live!

Article Published by:  BSUDailyNews.com

Author: Joe Lanane
Date: April 30, 2009
URL:  Visit BSUDailyNews.com

Visit the new beta website now:

Published by: Pacific University Oregon

Date: April 16, 2009

Author: Sara Yurkowski

Read the entire article at: http://www.pacificu.edu/calendar/detail.cfm?CALENDAR_ID=5088

Read the entire article at:  http://www.pacificu.edu/calendar/detail.cfm?CALENDAR_ID=5088

Published by: EurekAlert!

Read the entire article at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/asu-sya042009.php

Public release date: 20-Apr-2009

SNIPET:

Read the entire article at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/asu-sya042009.php

ASTD --

Published by: ASTD

Article By: Paul Harris -- April 9, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.astd.org/TD/Archives/2009/April/0904_A_New_Era.htm

However, there are drawbacks that many web design companies have yet to face. There is a large amount of people that suffer from a range of disorders including colour blindness, hearing problems and no or reduced use of their arms or hands. They find that many web sites do not cater for their needs and therefore become frustrated with certain limitations online.

Colour blindness affects more men than women where on average 3% of the population suffer from this condition. There are different types of colour blindness but all cases need to be considered when developing a web design."

Published by: Wisbar.org

Date: June 16, 2009

Read the entire article at:

http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=InsideTrack&Template=/CustomSource/InsideTrack/contentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=81640

"June 16, 2009 – Saving time ranks right up there with saving money in today’s fast-paced, multi-tasking world. The Internet may help put all the news that’s fit to print right at your fingertips with the click of your mouse, but it can be frustrating when you can’t figure out exactly where to click that mouse. The State Bar’s redesigned WisBar Web site launched today, and it takes that challenge away.

“Four years might as well be 4,000 when it comes to technology, and that’s how long it has been since the State Bar launched its last Web site redesign,” says State Bar Executive Director George Brown. "Simply said – ‘it was time to get simpler,’ and that’s what we did.”...

Accessible to sight impaired. WisBar now is designed in compliance with Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines for the sight impaired, including improved access for color-blind individuals. "

 

To read and comment on this article, go to: http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=InsideTrack&Template=/CustomSource/InsideTrack/contentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=81640

Published by: SourceWire.com

Date: June 16, 2009

Author: Ruder Finn UK

URL: http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=48442

Alterian technology will power websites for five of the county’s top tourist attractions

LONDON, UK – 16 June 2009 – Tourists will be able to engage online with some of Bath’s most popular historic attractions for years to come thanks to a partnership signed with Alterian (LSE:ALN) and Fusion Workshop to enhance the end user experience on its flagship websites.

Alterian’s Web Content Management (WCM) technology was selected by the Bath & North East Somerset Council Heritage Services to redesign five of the key websites that promote Bath’s most popular heritage attractions to national and international tourists, including the Roman Baths, Fashion Museum and Victoria Art Gallery.

For years, potential visitors to Bath have been able to view virtual displays of the museums’ collections and take virtual tours of the exhibition galleries online before physically visiting the attractions themselves. Bath Heritage Services wanted to develop the user experience further and ensure that its websites remained accessible and easy-to-use for years to come, and would be able to incorporate user generated content, blogs and forums in the future.

“It is vital that our heritage websites are engaging for visitors and contain up-to-date information that can be easily sourced and accessed as the web is often the first port of call for tourists planning their holidays.” said Patricia Dunlop, Commercial Manager, Bath Heritage Services. “With so many editors contributing content to the sites, we needed a WCM system that was simple to use and could help us to future-proof our online presence to ensure that Bath remains a tourist hotspot for years to come”.

Alterian Content Management Corporate (CMC) was selected to help the Council’s non-technical users produce, maintain and control complex websites in a simple manner. The platform’s multilingual capabilities were an added attraction; English is not the first language for approximately 20% of the sites visitors, so giving them the opportunity to engage with the site in their preferred language was important.

All public sector websites are obligated to comply with strict accessibility regulations. This can cause problems when there are multiple content editors, but the built-in checker function in Alterian CMC ensures that every single page is compliant with all legislation before it can be published and therefore that that the site meets all legal requirements. Sites found in breach of these regulations can be liable high profile and expensive litigation.

David Eldridge, CEO of Alterian, concluded, “Our WCM technology has always been popular with public sector organisations thanks to its cost effective implementation, engaging interface and accessibility checker that ensures compliance. We are very pleased that Bath Heritage Services selected Alterian to overhaul its online presence and recognised the strength of our platform. Bath is a fantastic example to other councils and organisations of how heritage, which is of central important to a city’s economy, can continue to remain accessible to tourists in the 21st century.”

About Alterian

Alterian (LSE: ALN) empowers organizations to create relevant, effective and engaging experiences with their audience that help build value and reinforce commitment to their brand, through the use of the Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform. Alterian drives the transformation of marketing and communications, making it practical and cost-effective for companies to orchestrate multichannel engagement with the individual.

Alterian’s unprecedented integration of analytics, content and execution through industry leading tools, such as the Dynamic Messenger email platform and the award winning Content Management solutions, enables companies to build integrated communication strategies which create a true picture of the individual.

Alterian works with marketing services partners, system integrators and agencies who recognize the need to plan and deliver coordinated customer engagement services in partnership with their clients. For more information about Alterian, products within the Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform or Alterian’s Partner Network, visit www.alterian.com or the Alterian blog at www.this-is-marketing.com.

About Bath & North East Somerset Council:

The five websites which are run by the Heritage Services section of Bath & North East Somerset Council include:

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/
http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/
http://www.victoriagal.org.uk/
http://www.batharchives.co.uk/
http://www.bathvenues.co.uk/

The Roman Baths and the famous Pump Room above it receive more than 1 million visitors per annum, half of them from overseas. Most of these have never visited the UK before and are making their first trip to the Bath area.

The Roman Baths were built in the first century AD as a religious spa and temple. They were visited by pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire for nearly four hundred years until they fell into decline in the fourth century. The museum has a Roman collection of international importance including 12,000 Roman coins deposited in the hot spring at the centre of the site. This collection and related items of more recent local history will be showcased on the new websites.

The complex is also popular among schoolchildren at key stages 2 and 3 who study the Romans as part of the national curriculum. The new website includes film footage of a typical school visit, created by local film company Constellation Media Ltd to assist teachers in their planning.

The Fashion Museum collection is internationally renowned and is housed in Bath’s magnificent Assembly Rooms, built in 1771. This website is the most popular of all, because of a worldwide interest in historic fashion. It and the Victoria Art Gallery each receive 100,000 visitors per annum. The Gallery has a popular temporary exhibition programme including some selling exhibitions by prominent local artists. These are supported by on-line catalogues of the works for sale.

The Bath Record Office website is a must for people researching their family history, which nowadays relies heavily on on-line access to relevant information.

About the Project:

Fusion Workshop has been looking after the Fashion Museum website since 1999 and those for the Bath Record Office, Roman Baths and Victoria Art Gallery since 2001.

The project’s main aim is to provide Bath & North East Somerset Council with a future-proof Content Management System to carry over it over the next seven years and beyond and can also enhance the delivery of its online presence via:

• The provision of a future-proof platform
• Enabling the Council to leverage its current investment
• Delivering a robust, scalable and flexible website
• Maintaining organic search engine optimisation and also further enhancing it.
• Integrating the sites with existing systems
• Enabling the marketing team to create and manage campaigns that deliver results.
• Ensuring good usability and user experience features
• Conforming to Disability Discrimination Act for web accessibility (W3C level 1-2)

About Fusion Workshop

Fusion Workshop analyses, builds, develops, implements and manages business-driven web solutions for their customers. The company focuses on the following sectors: heritage & performing arts, travel & tourism, education, third sector & membership organisations, financial services and local government.

The company delivers web projects from consultancy through specification and development to completion and ongoing support. It specialises in integration and standards-based Internet projects, and prides itself on a structured (PRINCE2) project management approach with cross-functional teams. Its formal requirements gathering process uses the concepts of stakeholder representation, viewpoints and perspectives to ensure that requirements and quality criteria are captured for analysis.

Fusion Workshop is an experienced Alterian Corporate Content Management System partner. The company works in Microsoft ASP.Net and SQL Server. It also has strong ColdFusion expertise (including migration of these systems to ASP.Net).

See www.fusionworkshop.co.uk

Read the entire article at: http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=48442

Published by: EarthTimes.com

Date: June 12, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/dominion-web-site-sports-new-look-easy-to-use-features,859216.shtml

"..."The new design offers better accessibility for visitors with special needs, and is easier to read," Blue said. "It provides a more visible showcase for our energy conservationenvironmental philanthropic and volunteer programs, as well as career opportunities with Dominion.


New images and presentations enhance visual interest, and there is a new area specifically dedicated to assist various business customers. The redesigned site also features innovative navigation and search features, many of which are based on the results of extensive user-centered design testing that involved a variety of different customers.



The site also is compatible with a wider variety of browsers, including portable devices. Getting the latest company news is easy through RSS feeds and e-mail subscriptions. Expanded content in areas such as generation and renewable energy attracts an audience well beyond Dominion's traditional customers...."


SOURCE  Dominion Virginia Power

Published by: BusinessWire.com

Date: June 8, 2009

URL: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090608005478&newsLang=en

" Disaboom 2.0 on the Horizon

The redesigned Disaboom 2.0 is scheduled to launch by mid-September 2009, while its companion site Disaboomjobs is scheduled to launch by mid-July 2009. While requirements gathering and initial development for the redesign began earlier this year, the Disaboom team and community members have been using a range of social media tools to establish the Disaboom 2.0 presence and outreach efforts (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) over the past few months, and continue to extend the reach of the Company’s unique content (most recently: the Disability Scholarships Directory and the Directory of Disability Organizations). These and other efforts have been laying the groundwork for the Disaboom 2.0 initiative, which will include accessibility compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) and Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). "

.......................................

Read the entire article at: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090608005478&newsLang=en

Published by: PRWeb.com

Date: June 8, 2009

URL:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2499304.htm

"Broadening user accessibility to location based mobile dating, meetMoi stays on top as the most ubiquitous mobile dating product.

 

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 8, 2009 -- meetMoi, the leading location based dating company in the United States, today released an iPhone optimized website to complement its WAP and web-based product suite. The optimized website leverages advanced HTML 5.0 location features, along with iPhone specific design features, for a revolutionary step forward in the world of mobile development.

meetMoi's new site is engineered to take advantage of cutting edge location based technology which works entirely through the browser, as opposed to a downloadable application. meetMoi is the first dating product to take advantage of automatic location updates using HTML 5.0, the next major revision of HTML. This new feature allows members to automatically update their location and view nearby matches without having to enter anything manually. "From the perspective of a web-based application, the idea of location-enabling your service without any type of download is really groundbreaking," said Rishi Desai, head of product design at meetMoi...

For more information, please visit meetMoi.com or twitter.com/meetmoi. "

Read the entire article at:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2499304.htm

Published by: PR.com

Date: May 28, 2009

URL: http://www.pr.com/press-release/154789

"Denver, CO, May 28, 2009 --(PR.com)-- “Throughout our 14-year online presence,” said Randy Weeks, president, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, “the Denver Center has maximized our patron’s online opportunities with cutting edge tools such as online ticketing and print-at-home tickets. This new site not only provides a streamlined user experience, but it also adds depth to each visitor’s pre- and post-show exploration.”

After a national RFP process, Xylem began a 12-month Web site analysis using focus groups and meetings with advisors to the Denver Center, including Board members and trustees. Focus groups, made up of DCPA subscribers and single ticket buyers, helped better understand the ways in which patrons utilize the Web site, while the WCAG provided the necessary features needed to be accessible to all levels of visitors. The result of the fully redesigned and multi-functional Web site immerses the visitor in a whole theatre experience...”

Read the entire article at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/154789

Published by: PrNewsWire.com

Date: May 21, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-21-2009/0005030668&EDATE=

"SANTA FE, N.M., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Deep Web Technologies has developed OpenSearch browser plugins for one-click searching of the world's best scientific information portals, including Scitopia.org, Science.gov, WorldWideScience.org, Mednar.com, Scienceresearch.com and Scirus.com. Users can easily add any of these portals to their browser's search engine box by going to http://www.deepwebtech.com/open-search.html and clicking on a portal to automatically add it to their search box. Typically, the browser search box is located in the upper right corner and users can specify what search engine they would like to search from a drop-down box adjacent to this search box.

"At Deep Web Technologies, we want to find the simplest ways to increase information accessibility," said Abe Lederman, company founder and President. "OpenSearch provides a standard way for users to add their favorite science search engines to their browser of choice."

OpenSearch is a collection of simple formats for sharing search results. Created by A9.com, an Amazon.com company, the OpenSearch format is now in use by hundreds of search engines and search applications around the Internet. Deep Web Technologies utilizes the OpenSearch format for each of their target search portals, bringing Web 2.0 accessibility to the most important science search portals available...."

 

 

 

Read the entire article at: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-21-2009/0005030668&EDATE=

NationMultimedia.com --

Finance Ministry to create single tax portal
By Jirapan Boonnoon
The Nation
Published on May 14, 2009

URL: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/14/technology/technology_30102663.php

Read the entire article at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/14/technology/technology_30102663.php

Published by: PR-USA.net

Date: May 9, 2009

URL: http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=208080&Itemid=33

Read the entire article at: http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=208080&Itemid=33

Published by: TravelWires.com

Date: May 7, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.travelwires.com/wp/2009/05/radisson-blu-unveils-new-website/

Radisson Blu, one of the world’s most innovative, fast growing, contemporary hotel brands, has today (07 May 2009) launched its new website www.radissonblu.com reflecting the new name that was announced back in February. The new Radissonblu.com not only has a new ‘look and feel’ but also improved accessibility and usability.

It provides new opportunities for creating regionalised content for local markets where both international and domestic-based campaigns can be targeted to specific local audiences...."

Read the entire article at: http://www.travelwires.com/wp/2009/05/radisson-blu-unveils-new-website/

Published by: MarketWire.com

Date: May 6, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/International-Diabetes-Federation-Idf-985127.html

Read the entire article at: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/International-Diabetes-Federation-Idf-985127.html

BigNews.Biz -- "KWizCom products have always been on the cutting edge of innovation. Now KWizCom has taken a step further, combining commitment to community and technology to make all Microsoft SharePoint and Dynamics CRM add-ons compliant with the WCAG standard of web accessibility for the disabled.
WCAG is the standard defined by the W3C, (World Wide Web Consortium) that when upheld, ensures that the website in question is accessible to people with disabilities as well as to the general population.

KWizCom has made WCAG the standard for more than just the official KWizCom website. Now KWizCom is taking strides to ensure that all products are WCAG compliant as well!"

Published by: TopShots.com

Date: May 4, 2009

URL: http://www.tophosts.com/articles/008584.html

CloudLayer™ Storage and CloudLayer™ CDN Provide Unique Cloud Services for Companies and Individuals

Published by: CMSWire.com

Date: April 29, 2009

by Geoff spick

Read the entire article at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/ephox-simplifies-web-content-accessibility-and-authoring-004491.php

Read the entire article at: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/ephox-simplifies-web-content-accessibility-and-authoring-004491.php

Published by: The Limerick Blogger

« [Liveblog] Munster V Leinste

Date: May 2, 2009

URL: http://www.limerickblogger.ie/blog/2009/05/euro-election-candidates-and-the-internet

Read the entire article at: http://www.limerickblogger.ie/blog/2009/05/euro-election-candidates-and-the-internet

Published by: WhistlerQuestion.com

by: David Burke dburke@whistlerquestion.com
posted: April 30, 2009

Read the entire article at: 

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/article/20090430/WHISTLER01/304309877/1030/WHISTLER/news-update-tw-wftd-agreement-reached

Read the entire article...

Published by: BigNews.biz

Date: April 29, 2009

URL: http://www.bignews.biz/?id=799691&keys=search-engine-marketing-solutions

Read the entire article at:  http://www.bignews.biz/?id=799691&keys=search-engine-marketing-solutions

Published by: Web Hosting News

http://uk.webhostdir.com/news/showNews.aspx?ID=31905

Read the entire article at: http://uk.webhostdir.com/news/showNews.aspx?ID=31905

The Post -- Project Track Champion --

Although not specifically about website accessibility, I thought that this article would remind web developers that the Internet should be open to everyone, regardless of disability.  Quoting from the article: "...promoting and securing measures to remove barriers that would normally restrict a person with a disability from having an interactive roll within the racing community and other non-related venues."  

Published by: The Post -- Project Track Champion

Posted By LAURA MACDUFF , POST REPORTER

URL: http://www.thepost.on.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1537761

Published by: BigNews.biz

Publish Date: 2009-04-24

URL: http://www.bignews.biz/?id=799316&keys=beantocupcoffee-coffeemachines-coffeevendingmachines-Beantocupcoffeemachines 

Read the entire article at:  http://www.bignews.biz/?id=799316&keys=beantocupcoffee-coffeemachines-coffeevendingmachines-Beantocupcoffeemachines 

Published by: Creare Group

Date: April 23, 2009

Read the entire article at:  http://www.pitchengine.com/creare/disable-friendly-web-design-provided-by-the-creare-group/9526/

Read the entire article at: http://www.pitchengine.com/creare/disable-friendly-web-design-provided-by-the-creare-group/9526/

Published by: PR Urgent

URL: http://www.prurgent.com/2009-04-21/pressrelease36531.htm

Read more at PR Urgent: http://www.prurgent.com/2009-04-21/pressrelease36531.htm

Published by: Yahoo News

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20090420/bs_prweb/prweb2336774_1

Read more at Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20090420/bs_prweb/prweb2336774_1

Published by:  CorporateEye

Read more at: http://www.corporate-eye.com/2009/03/corporate-websites-accessibility/#ixzz0D468lFTN&B

aim168realestate.com --

Read the entire article at:  http://www.aim168realestate.com/real-estate-news/united-states-of-america/19723/accelerate-media-inc-launche.html

Published by: aim168realestate.com

Date: April 18, 2009

Published by: WhatTheyThink?

Read the entire article at: http://members.whattheythink.com/news/newslink.cfm?id=36347

I Want One Of Those ramps up site usability

Published by: Netimperative

URL: http://www.netimperative.com/news/2009/april/i-want-one-of-those-ramps-up-site-usability

Published by: Webcredible

Press Release: April 9, 2009

URL: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/pr/iwoot-usability.shtml

CSWire - Corporate Social Responsibility News --

Read the entire article atL: http://www.csrwire.com/News/15052.html

"American Foundation for the Blind Launches Accessibility Assurance Program

Published by: CSWire - Corporate Social Responsibility News

PR.com

Read the entire article at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/146051

"The main job was bringing the coding up to current web standards, and to implement added functionality to the website for both of our user groups. Users will now find a whole host of extra functionality to improve their experience, and their searches will bring up more relevant results more quickly." -- Web development programmers Matthew Bonner commented on the work he and John Dickson"

Published by: Books.Slashdot.Org

Date: June 15, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://books.slashdot.org/story/09/06/15/1331252/Drupal-6-Ultimate-Community-Site-Guide

""Among the more popular and better-regarded content management systems (CMSs), Drupal is distinguished partly by its building-block approach, in which a website's functionality is built up in pieces, each of which is a module (either core or contributed). The opposite approach — using far fewer but more encompassing modules — is generally preferred by non-developers who do not relish integrating a sizable collection of modules or trying to modify the underlying code. Nonetheless, anyone who wishes to build a Drupal-based social website, can learn how to do so in a new e-book titled Drupal 6: Ultimate Community Site Guide." -- Michael J. Ross

...

Drupal 6: Ultimate Community Site Guide is wrapped up with a brief chapter, an author bio, and an unnecessary marketing description of the book. Unlike most programming books, this one is missing an index — although, as an e-book, it can be searched far easier than a print book.

The list price of the book is a very reasonable €7.70, and it is currently available for €5.50. Even though it is registered under the ISBN 978-2839904902, it is currently not available from Amazon.com, because it is an e-book, and the Amazon.com Kindle is not yet available in Europe; this apparently prohibits European publishers from using it. However, the book's website makes it possible to purchase it online. That site also has more details on the book's contents and the author. In addition to the book site, the first three chapters can be previewed online, via its Google Books listing.

...
With plenty of detailed instructions, and an upbeat tone throughout the presentation, Drupal 6: Ultimate Community Site Guide can serve as a useful and fast-paced beginning resource for any Drupal developer who wants to create a social media website, requiring minimal time and custom PHP code. "

Read the entire book review and comment at: http://books.slashdot.org/story/09/06/15/1331252/Drupal-6-Ultimate-Community-Site-Guide

Published by: Eon.Businesswire.com

Date: June 15, 2009

URL: http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090615005455&newsLang=en

"WASHINGTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--"...“Our website is one of the most visible aspects of the Children’s Defense Fund brand,” said Heidi Hess, Director of Online Communications for CDF. “With valuable strategic guidance from key partners, we created a website that positions CDF to leverage this pivotal moment in American politics to make significant strides for children. Within only a few months, our results have far exceeded expectations.”

Since launching the new website in January of 2009, CDF has received positive feedback from website visitors. Their accolades have been supported by notable increases in other areas as well:

• Number of visits to CDF’s Facebook page have grown by 440%, year-over-year.
• The number of unique visitors that provide CDF their email address to learn more has grown by 350%.
• Rank for Google keyword phrases has improved significantly (from low or non-existent to top 5 on Google in most cases).

CDF selected Convio CMS to power their new website so that it could be integrated easily with their existing Convio Online Marketing setup. OmniStudio completely redesigned and developed CDF’s Web assets, in partnership with RedEngine Digital, who integrated search engine optimization (SEO) and web analytics into the redesign process to achieve high search engine rank for top program issues.

“By conducting extensive research of CDF’s audiences, we were able to prioritize key utilities of the new website and focus on usability elements,” said Jim Jacobs, VP, Interactive for OmniStudio. “The new user experience of CDF’s redesigned website sets the organization apart from other nonprofits, and makes it an integral part of their online communication efforts.” ..."

 

 

Read the entire article, share and comment at: http://eon.businesswire.com/portal/site/eon/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090615005455&newsLang=en

Published by: InformIt.com

Date: May 25, 2009

By Barrie M. North

URL: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1347652

"This chapter from Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website, 2nd Edition walks through the steps of creating a Joomla template.

Specifically, you will create a template that uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to produce a layout—without using tables. This is a desirable method because it makes the template code easier to validate to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards. It also tends to load faster, is easier to maintain, and performs better in search engines. These issues are discussed in detail later in the lesson. ..."

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1347652

eContentMag.com --

"Ephox, a provider of authoring software for web content, announced the latest release of its online rich text editor, EditLive! 6.7.

With EditLive!'s built-in accessibility checking tools, users get detailed analysis of content errors based on the latest standards of the US Rehabilitation Act Section 508 and the W3C.  The latest version of EditLive! includes accessibility check as-you-type functionality.

Published by: JuicyStudio

Author: Joshue O Connor Senior Accessibility Consultant CFIT

URL: http://juicystudio.com/article/choosing-an-accessible-cms.php

Published by: Webcredible

Read the entire article at: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/services/accessible-cms.shtml

Read the entire article at: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/services/accessible-cms.shtml

Read the entire article at: 

Published by: BNET

URL:  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200904/ai_n31509862/?tag=content;col1

Read more... 456 BeareaSt

"The default templates supplied by several Content Management Systems (CMSs) seem to duplicate the link text in navigational links into each link’s title attribute.

...It could be because the developers believe it will improve accessibility or that search engines like it. Either way, repeating link text in the title attribute doesn’t do the end user any good."

Published by: Glenda Watson Hyatt

Date:  May 15, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/four-parties-contribute-to-an-accessible-blogosphere/

"...Blogging platforms – ...Accessible code benefits the blog’s readers. Second, the blogging platform interface – the part bloggers use when writing posts and such – should meet the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. Accessible blogging platforms benefits bloggers with various disabilities (from mild to severe).

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/2009/four-parties-contribute-to-an-accessible-blogosphere/

WebAim.org  -- "From WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind: "In December 2008 through January 2009, WebAIM conducted a survey of preferences of screen reader users. We received 1121 valid responses to the screen reader survey, which was conducted Dec. 2008 - Jan. 2009. The response was amazing. Below are the initial quantitative results and a few observations on the survey results. More in-depth analysis and documentation on the free-form responses will be available in the future.

Screen Reader Usage

Of the 1121 respondents, 74% use JAWS, 23% use Window-Eyes, 8% use NVDA, and 6% use VoiceOver. While several other screen readers were reported, these were the most prominently reported. Individual versions of screen readers are not yet computed, but generally the majority of users are using the most up-to-date version of their screen reader.

Browsers Used"

Published by: Gulf-Times.com

Date: April 18, 2009

Read the entire article at: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=285500&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

President of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts Makes GoGoInFlight a Top Priority

Mika Pyyhikala, the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachussetts makes GoGoInFlight use of a CAPTCHA a top priority.  "I serve as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts, and I have made this GoGoInFlight issue a top priority of my administration. We will not rest until blind people can access the internet on these airplanes free of barriers like captcha."   Mika pointed out that a competing service called Row 44 provides WiFi for Southwest Airlines and it doesn't have a CAPTCHA -- a visual verification tool that is used to keep spam out of web sites that provide online services.

Published by: Gigaom.com

Date: May 6, 2009

Read the entire comment at: http://gigaom.com/2009/05/06/after-long-delays-in-flight-broadband-is-taking-of/

From the User's Perspective -- In-Flight Broadband by the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts.  A unique look into how a blind user is able to deal with CAPTCHAs...

"The problem with all this is that I am blind, and screen readers do not read visual only captchas. You can view a video which demonstrates this here:
http://bit.ly/AqnoS

...Accesibility aside, it is baffling why goGoInFlight feels the need to have a captcha at all. Do they think that hackers will try to break in to the system so they can pay for the service?

...From a purely technical perspective, there are many mobile devices that blind people use that do not have a screen. I don’t know how GoGoInFlight thinks I can get someone to read me the image on a device without a screen. I had such a device with me on my March flight:
http://levelstar.com

I serve as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts, and I have made this GoGoInFlight issue a top priority of my administration. We will not rest until blind people can access the internet on these airplanes free of barriers like captcha...

Mika Pyyhkala — 2:57 PM on May 6, 2009 "

Published by: Whitworthian.com

Date: April 27, 2009

by: Caitlin Richmond, Scene Editor

URL: http://www.whitworthian.com/disabled-students-find-support-1.1735642

Read the entire article at:  http://www.whitworthian.com/disabled-students-find-support-1.1735642

Glenda Watson Hyatt shares her experiences living with cerebral palsy to motivate and inspire others to think about how they perceive their own situation and their own world around them. She does all this by typing with only her left thumb!

  Learn more about Glenda

It's a new experience to be in one of these," says Armando Sanguini as he sits inside a 1991 Thunderbird in his wheelchair. The space where the passenger seat would be has been cleared, in order to accommodate a wheelchair, complete with a safety system that attaches the wheelchair to various parts of the floor.

  Read more...

Thirteen-year-old Mariah Tejong usually has difficulty reading, but sitting at her computer, a software program is reading the passage aloud and it begins to make sense. Mariah has Central Auditory Processing disorder. This means she can’t hear well in noisy situations, like at school, and what she writes doesn’t always come out as she thinks...

   Read more about this article...

Published by: Redorbit.com

Date: April 20, 2009

URL:  Visit Redorbit.com (URL too long to publish here...)

Read the entire article at: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1673681/senior_citizens_becoming_more_netsavvy/

Published by: Yahoo News

April 21, 2009

URL: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/entertainment/5511144

Visit Yahoo News to read more... http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/entertainment/5511144

Published by: ArabianBusiness.com

Date: June 12, 2009

URL:  http://www.arabianbusiness.com/558580-uae-saudi-bahrain-rank-high-among-reported-inaccessible-websites

"The UAE ranks high among countries that have blocked most websites, a recent report has revealed.

Internet users in the country reported the eleventh highest rate of blocked websites from among the countries in the world, according to the Herdict project.

...China is the most reported country when it comes to website censorship, according to the report. From among the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia ranked at No.4. and Bahrain at No.6 in the top 10 slots.

A noteworthy aspect of the report is that the Western countries were equally vigilant about restricting websites. Germany was ranked at No.2, US at No.3, France at No.7, Australia at No.8 and the UK at No.9."

Read the entire article at: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/558580-uae-saudi-bahrain-rank-high-among-reported-inaccessible-websites

Published by: MACWorld.com

Date: June 8, 2009

by Rob Griffiths, Macworld.com

URL: http://www.macworld.com/article/141038/2009/06/106features.html

"For vision-impaired users, the track pad in Snow Leopard will now be usable as a virtual screen—pressing on the trackpad will speak the name of the window under the user’s finger as if he or she were touching the screen. To move to the next or previous window, users needs only flick their finger. In addition, there’s support for more than 40 braille devices, better keyboard navigation, and a new gesture (the rotor) that eases navigation through text and Web pages"...

 

Read the entire article and/or comment at:  http://www.macworld.com/article/141038/2009/06/106features.html

Published by: LillyLikes.com

Date: May 13, 2009

by: Robert

URL: http://www.lillylikes.com/celebrity-gossip/article/whitehousegov-gets-a-new-look/2131/

Related Links:

The White House - Disability Issues

Published by: PublicTechnology.net

Date: May 29, 2009

URL: http://www.publictechnology.net/article_avantgo.php?sid=19860

WebsiteOptimization.com -- "Summary:  In a recent usability survey, researchers from Southern Illinois University found that after ease of use, men prefer fast download speed to easy navigation. Women prefer ease of use, easy navigation, and accessibility. The researchers hypothesize that these different usability criteria are due to differences in how men and women use the Web.

The importance of download speed, for most Web users, has long been established (King 2008). Fast response times foster higher flow states (Skadberg & Kimmel 2004), higher conversion rates (Akamai 2007), higher perceived trustworthiness (Nielsen 1999), and lower user frustration (Ceaparu et al. 2004). But, previous research has also found that differences in gender, age and computer self-efficacy can moderate user priorities. This article explores the differences among men and women in their desire for speed."

Published by: PRWeb.com

Date: May 1, 2009

URL:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/prweb2371374.htm

Read the entire article at:  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/05/prweb2371374.htm

Published by: WebProNews.com

Date: April 29, 2009

by: Jason Lee Miller

URL: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/29/men-want-it-fast-women-want-it-all

Read the entire article at:   http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/29/men-want-it-fast-women-want-it-all

Published by: DesertNews.com

By: Bob Bernick Jr

Date: April 26, 2009

URL: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705299763/Utah-Senate-is-Web-savvy.html

Read the entire article at: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705299763/Utah-Senate-is-Web-savvy.html

Published by: Stuff.co.nz

By CLAIRE MCENTEE - The Dominion Post

URL: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/2346535/Poor-review-for-5m-govt-website

The simplest method to test accessibility is to use the tab key on a PC keyboard. Every time you press Tab, a browser selects an HTML object on a web page. Both IE and FireFox highlight it using a dotted line. Try to make sure that all important content on your web page can be reached using only the tab key

Read more...

"iPhone 3GS provides new accessibility features including VoiceOver, a screen reader that speaks what appears on the iPhone 3GS display, enabling visually impaired users to make calls, read email, browse web pages, play music and run applications. The new universal Zoom function magnifies the entire screen, and the White on Black feature reverses the colors on screen to provide higher contrast for people with low vision. iPhone 3GS also supports Mono Audio which combines left and right audio channels so that they can be heard in both earbuds for those with hearing loss in one ear.

iPhone 3GS includes the new iPhone OS 3.0 software with more than 100 new features including: Cut, Copy and Paste; MMS; Spotlight Search to search across iPhone or within Mail, Contacts, Calendar and iPod; landscape keyboard for Mail, Messages, Notes and Safari; expanded parental controls for TV shows, movies and apps from the App Store; and the ability to capture and send audio recordings on the go with the new Voice Memo app. "

"Since its debut, Safari has offered Mac users hassle-free browsing, standards-friendly HTML rendering, and a number of thoughtful and handy features to make surfing the Web just a little bit more fun. Its triumphant new version continues all these trends with style–and bolts on a jumbo jet engine’s worth of pure speed.

Performance

Remember the DeLorean from Back to the Future, leaving tracks of flame in its wake as it shot into another era? That’s the impression one gets when comparing Safari’s performance to that of its closest rivals...

In XHTML rendering, Safari’s 0.54 seconds clocked in at nearly seven times faster than Firefox 3’s 3.42 seconds, and still thrashed Firefox 3.5’s 2.82 seconds. Even Chrome, which uses the same WebKit rendering engine that powers Safari, could only manage a respectable 1.14 seconds."

Published by: WebVisum

Read the entire article atL: http://www.webvisum.com/

"WebVisum is a unique browser add on which greatly enhances web accessibility and empowers the blind and visually impaired community by putting the control in your hands! Its aim is to allow you to better enjoy surfing the net and be significantly less dependent upon outside help. Now available in English, German, Russian, Italian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Dutch, Croatian, Romanian, Portugese, Turkish and Spanish! If you want to help, login into your account and visit the Community page!

Just a few exciting features that we already offer:

• Community driven tagging and page enhancements.
• Automated and instant CAPTCHA image solving, sign up to web sites and make forum posts and blog comments without asking for help!
• Built in helper functions for easier page navigation and less confusion.
• Numerous under the hood page tweaks designed to help screen reader users.
• Visually Impaired users benefit from features such as high contrast page viewing, link and focus highlighting, and more.

It is only available for the Firefox browser. ..."

Published by: Best Syndication

Date: May 19, 2009

by:  kabirbedi

Read the entire article at: http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=node/29901

Snippet:

"While designing web pages, the visual elements are not the only concern. It is as important to consider the dimensions of your web page as well. How long and how wide your web page design is affects the overall impact of the design.

...Here are some key considerations you should keep in mind while determining the width of your web page design.

...Screen Resolutions
...Types of Web Page Design Widths
...Fixed Width

...Flexible Width

...Fixed &Flexible Combination – This is the best approach for determining the width of your web page design. The text boxes of the web pages can be fixed in"

Read the entire article and comment at: http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=node/29901

Published by: CIO.com

URL:    CIO.com (URL is too long to publishe, select this link to go to their website)

Read the entire article at CIO.com

Published by: AccountingWeb.co.uk

Author: Trevor Eddolls

URL: http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=196884

Read the entire article at: http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=196884

PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX -- "After an intense competition among finalists chosen from a pool of more than 300,000 students from more than 100 countries and regions, Microsoft Corp. announced the winners of Imagine Cup 2009.

..."The creativity and imagination that students poured into their projects this year was incredible," said Joe Wilson, senior director of Academic Initiatives, Developer & Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft. "Many of these projects have the potential to have a serious impact on how we address society's most pressing issues. We hope that all of the students who participated this year will continue their pursuit of creating technology in the service of making the world a better place."

- Accessibility Award. Students are challenged to design a technology solution that leverages people's diverse physical and cognitive abilities. This award was won by:
   - First Place: Saudi Arabia - ATST
   
- Accessible Design Award: Students who participated in the Design competition were awarded additional recognition for a technology solution that best addressed accessibility needs. This award was won by:
   - First Place: United States - eXchangeFun
   
- Tablet Accessibility Award. The objective of the Tablet Accessibility Award is to create a new education application that uses Tablet technology while expanding the possibilities for how a user interacts with the computer. This award was won by:
   - First Place: United States - Auratech
   - Second Place: Brazil - IC-UNICAMP"

National Web Design Contest Winners Announced, Web Programming

WOW Web Professional Award is an international contest honoring excellence in the Web profession. WOW Web Design Award categories include:

• WOW Web Design Contest for Students within
    - Middle school
    - High school
    - College and Tech Ed

NewsBlaze.com - "...Challengers documented their progress as they demonstrated their skills in Web Programming (HTML, XHTML and CSS), Web graphics, Web site design, Web accessibility and usability, Web site management, project management, Web multimedia and equally important professionalism.

$190,000 in education scholarships and prizes were generously provided by the following list of contributors:

* Adobe Corporation
* The Art Institute
* Center for Digital Imaging Arts or CDIA at Boston University
* Santa Clara University
* World Organization of Webmasters

Published by: Linux.Sys-Con.com

Date: June 3, 2009

URL: http://linux.sys-con.com/node/988047

"ARMONK, N.Y., June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) has elevated eight employees to the title of IBM Fellow -- its most prestigious technical honor -- acknowledging their important contributions, industry-leading innovations and collaboration with clients and business partners worldwide. ...

Chieko Asakawa, Ph.D.

Research, Tokyo, Japan

Chieko Asakawa's crucial contributions in the area of accessibility technology have enabled IBM to become a worldwide leader in the field. As a blind researcher, she has helped to establish awareness, both within and outside IBM, while leading the creation of technologies that have changed the way disabled individuals communicate and interact. Her early digital Braille work in the 1980s is still helping the blind community in Japan, and her work on IBM Home Page Reader opened up the Web for non-visual access. She has supported accessibility-related open standards and open community development with the Accessibility Tools Framework (ACTF) project within Eclipse and is leading the Social Accessibility Collaboration service, which seeks to improve the accessibility of the Web through the power of the open community. Chieko is actively working to help women engineers pursue technical careers within and outside of IBM, and she serves with distinction on various committees as a senior accessibility researcher. "

 

Read the entire article at: http://linux.sys-con.com/node/988047

ECS.Soton.AC.UK -- "An innovative research project based in ECS has won a prestigious award in the world’s annual competition of high impact use of technology to support and enhance learning.

A Learning Impact Award was made to LexDis, a JISC-funded project which is assessing some of the difficulties which arise in e-learning for disabled learners. The award was made last week at Learning Impact 2009, the IMS Global Learning Consortium's annual conference which brings together the world's leading creators, vendors, users, and buyers of learning technology.

LexDis, which is led by Dr Mike Wald and E.A. Draffan at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science’s Learning Societies Lab, and Dr Jane Seale, from the School of Education, received a Best in Category award and was named Best Assistive Technology Network.

The Learning Impact Awards (LIAs) recognize the use of technology to improve learning across all education segments and in all regions of the world. The finalists were evaluated by an expert panel of judges and the attendees at the IMS annual Learning Impact conference and Summit on Global Learning Challenges, held this year in Barcelona.

More than 30 students participated in the LexDis project and fed back their strategies for accessing various technologies.

Some of the key recommendations from the project were:..."

Published by: GuamPdn.com

Date: April 18, 2009

Read the entire article at:  http://www.guampdn.com/article/20090518/NEWS01/90518004/1002

"The Guam Office of the Public Auditor has won a national award for its web site.

...

Sites were judged in four categories: usability, accessibility, design and uniqueness. According to judges, the "Guam (web site) scored the highest in uniqueness and was very strong in content and design." The site was designed by A.J. Rosario, Ron Brigman and iCON Corporation, according to an OPA media release.

 

Visit the web site at http://www.guamopa.org."

Published by: FullCodePress

Date: May 14, 2009

by Raena Jackson-Armitage

Read the entire article at: http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/05/13/fullcodepress-inside-the-judging/

FullCodePress: And The Winner Is …

Published by FullCodePress
by Matthew Magain

The final sites are available for viewing online, and handover will occur after both teams have caught up on sleep! "

PRWeb -- "Quantum Receives Platinum Award for 'Best Practices for Online Distance Learning Programming' from the United States Distance Learning Association

This year's award was for Quantum's work in building accessibility into its chemistry tutorial software to provide online tutoring and homework help for blind and visually impaired students. Certified by the National Federation of the Blind's (NFB) Nonvisual Accessibility Web Application Certification Program, Quantum is the first to deliver accessible artificial intelligence tutoring software for the blind.

Published by: NewsMaker.com

URL: http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/933

Read the entire article at: http://www.newsmaker.com.au/news/933

Published by: Books.Slashdot .org

Date: April 26, 2009

http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/27/1648226

    Book Review by: Michael J. Ross with Laura Andres 

Read the entire review at:  URL: http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/27/1648226

Published by: PublicTechnology.net

Date: May 27, 2009

URL: http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20156

"We are looking for an energetic, organised and flexible Web Services Coordinator to join our Business Technology team. This varied role will involve working closely with all areas of the Agency to obtain content for the staff intranet and our corporate website. You will be adding and amending content to keep it up-to-date; monitoring and coordinating any enquiries received; and undertaking routine administrative tasks to ensure the sites meet accessibility standards. ... --- For the detailed job vacancy description & application details see this link"

Posted by: ThirdSector.co.uk

Date: April 30, 2009

URL: http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk/job/317225/website-project-manager

How to apply? - Visit: http://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk/job/317225/website-project-manager

Published by: CoffeeDesk.com

Date: June 10, 2009

by: Anthony

URL: http://thecoffeedesk.com/news/index.php/2009/06/09/unobtrusive-antispam/

"...Hiding The Form With DOM Code

...Placing a div element with an id attribute used by an external JavaScript function to place the actual form via DOM-modifying functions is the preferred method of doing so, with a noscript tag alerting users to enable JavaScript in case of NoScript or users with JavaScript disabled.

 

Preventing HTTP POST-based attacks

...

Form randomization

 

...

Remember: while this will block probably 99% of your form-solicited spam, it will not indefinitely stop all spam from occurring. A user whom wishes bad enough to attack your site could still manually download and parse a form via a premade script."

.......................................

Read the entire article, comment and share at:  http://thecoffeedesk.com/news/index.php/2009/06/09/unobtrusive-antispam/

ComputerActive --
 

"But are not breaking disability discrimination laws

Social-networking websites and those based on user-generated content are “effectively locking out” disabled users, charities have said.

In the UK there are estimated to be 1.6 million registered blind people, 1.5 million with cognitive difficulties and six million that have dyslexia.

Accessibility charity Abilitynet and the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People (BCODP), said by not providing accessibility options, it is often too challenging for people with disabilities to use sites such as Facebook and Twitter. And they warned as these sites become more popular the situation could get “more challenging”."

GoGoInFlight Broadband for Airlines

• President of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts Makes GoGoInFlight a Top Priority

  Mika Pyyhikala, the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachussetts makes GoGoInFlight use of a CAPTCHA a top priority. "I serve as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts, and I have made this GoGoInFlight issue a top priority of my administration. We will not rest until blind people can access the internet on these airplanes free of barriers like captcha." Mika pointed out that a competing service called Row 44 provides WiFi for Southwest Airlines and it doesn't have a CAPTCHA -- a visual verification tool that is used to keep spam out of web sites that provide online services.

  Read the entire article here at SimplyRaydeen.com

• Read comments now being posted on Twitter.com regarding GoGoIn-Flight and CAPTCHAs, accessibility of

  1st inflight TweetUp w/Gogo & AirTran @baltimoresun @bbjonline @todayinthesky @bizavdaily @ATWonline @todayshow @tramike @newmediajim

Anne Ryman -- "...The National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind are seeking a preliminary injunction in federal court to stop ASU's plan to use the device in place of traditional textbooks in three class sections. They say ASU's decision to pilot the Kindle discriminates against blind students because they cannot access all of the device's features.

At issue is the Kindle's navigation menu, which contains no audio option. A blind person cannot select a book or activate features such as the function to have the book read aloud...

Amazon.com is not a party to the lawsuit and did not return calls seeking comment. On March 19, Amazon's "Kindle Team" wrote on the company's Web site that they have heard from many blind or visually impaired customers regarding the Kindle's accessibility.

"We want to let those customers know that this is something we are working on, and we look forward to making it available in the future," they said on the site..."

Published by: eGovMonitor.com

Date: June 4, 2009

Source: BrowseAloud

URL: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/25458

SNIPET:

"Kent County Council is delighted to announce that they have renewed their BrowseAloud subscription so that their website can continue to assist people with literacy difficulties, dyslexia, mild visual impairments or for non-native speakers.

Tracey Gleeson, Web Manager for Kent County Council comments, “Making our website more accessible to visitors who may have had problems reading the web content fits into our overall vision to offer services that are fully inclusive and reach out to all communities. It made sense for us to join BrowseAloud as we are constantly striving to provide the best service possible.”

...Key features of BrowseAloud include the text magnification which increases text size, Dual Colour Highlighting, MP3 Output and a talking dictionary. BrowseAloud will also read accessible HTML, PDF documents, hyperlinks and tags behind images."

Published by: KansasCity.com

Date: May 11, 2009

by: Suzanne King

Special to The Star

URL: http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1191371.html

"A Web developer from Cerner Corp. has come up with a new way for computers, cell phones and BlackBerrys to connect to the Web.

...Essentially, the Bootstrapper lets the computer server that is hosting a Web site dish out just the right amount of information when a Web surfer accesses it. So someone using an updated computer with a fast connection gets all the bells and whistles, while someone surfing on a cell phone gets the bare bones...."

Read the entire article at: http://www.kansascity.com/business/story/1191371.html

Published by: News.PRNewsWire.com

Date: May 12, 2009

URL: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-12-2009/0005024836&EDATE=