There are a lot of conflicting opinions about the relative accessibility or inaccessibility to blind consumers of the Android platform from Google. I have been involved in the testing, development and evaluation of accessible mobile devices for well over 10 years. I have used some of the very early proprietary devices, the phones running Microsoft’s [...]
This information is being shared because I was seeing so many posts on the various blindness related mailing lists and such a large number of my friends who are blind were expressing challenges they were having on the site but lacked the technical background to identify the programming and development issues that were causing inconsistencies [...]
I have seen a lot of requests for QWERTY or external keyboard recommendations for android phones. This post will share my experience while experimenting with QWERTY keyboards on android. I have a Samsung galaxy nexus running ice cream sandwich (ICS). I have gotten 3 separate keyboards to work with ICS. 1) RII 66-key Mini Bluetooth [...]
Today, I was reading a friend’s profile and had a little moment of reflection. It reminded me of just how important braille is for younger kids. The note in the profile read: So, get off your butt and above all else LEARN BRAILLE!!! If you can’t read then you are missing skills such as sentance [...]
I often get asked about what organizations should be doing to improve their service and the accessibility of their communications for people with disabilities. It can often be difficult to figure out what tangible activities should be looked at and where to focus one’s initial energy. I’ve written this article to try and provide a [...]
I often get asked about what organizations should be doing to improve their service and the accessibility of their communications for people with disabilities. It can often be difficult to figure out what tangible activities should be looked at and where to focus one’s initial energy. I’ve written this article to try and provide a [...]
I ask why Blind Canadians are not afforded the same right to vote independently? The recent Ontario provincial Elections showed that it can be done. For the first time this year, during the provincial elections, I had the opportunity to cast my vote without anyone else knowing who I voted for. This is a simple [...]
There are 1,000s of keyboard shortcuts that can be used when using Windows to do a lot of very cool things. Lots of people use keyboard keystrokes for a variety of reasons. People who are blind use these keystrokes to use the computer completely without a mouse. People with repetitive strain injuries use keyboard keystrokes [...]
What provider are youlooking to use ? That dictates the options. Telus and Rogers have the most options for accessible phones The next question is: how much are you willing to pay? The least expensive & easiest option is from Rogers who offer the E71-RVI; which is a symbian phone from nokia. It comes with [...]
Blind consumers may soon no longer be able to do many tasks and activities that they currently perform. Simple tasks like going shopping for groceries, clothing, paying for lodging or travelling may soon be a task that is more difficult or may times impossible unless they are willing to put themselves at a far greater [...]
As many screen reader users have found out the hard way; Microsoft’s SharePoint service is not very screen reader friendly. It can be navigated, but is clearly not understandable for your average user. Microsoft’s apparent lack of interest in adhering to w3c standards further complicates the situation. Despite this, many of us have to [...]
Sighted visitors are provided with maps in their conference booklet that allow them to plan their routes through the exhibit hall and figure out where each booth is located. This is information that is deemed so important that It is even posted on the conference website. When you call the conference information # and ask [...]
Updated: 2010-03-08: A call to action met: Proving their willingness to address issues brought forward, CSUN has shocked many (including this reader) by their responsiveness in addressing the accessibility issues identified on the page below. Having fixed up the link issues on the page itself, fixed heading issues, cleaned up some of the code, provided [...]
Every year, the California state university’s annual conference on technology & persons with disabilities brings thousands of people together who have an interest in disability. This conference is widely viewed as the premier event in North America in this field. Some are coming for a professional reason, some for a personal one, some to [...]
ZBA Bluetooth Media System This device scans its surroundings and finds Bluetooth enabled devices. When it discovers a device it offers it 1 or more files. It uses the standard Bluetooth file sending protocol to send the file and thus no additional software is required on the device. With the proliferation of mobile devices [...]
January 1st, 2010 marks the deadline that public sector service providers operating in Ontario . have to meet the Customer Service standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), January 1st, 2012 marks the deadline for all other service providers. If you operate a business within Ontario you should have already: Establish policies, [...]
As the newly appointed chair of the TEC committee, I want to first express that I am honored and encouraged by the large amount of excitement and interest I have been hearing within both the TEC committee & within CWDO as a whole. I am hoping that we can put together something extremely [...]
Executive Summary Moving to an open source content management system such as Drupal would allow more capability, quicker page updates, multiple authors, multiple revisions, better integration with social media such as twitter, and a more standard compliant site. Current Situation Currently the CWDO.org web pages are manually entered using a Microsoft [...]
I just wanted to extend an invite to anyone who would be interested in participating in an on-line public consultation with Charles Beer October 22, 2009 from 7-9pm EST The provincial government has hired Charles Beer to do an independent review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). The AODA calls for [...]
This week, my father confirmed with Rogers that they were not passing through the DVS signal on an American station where it was available, despite Roger’s commitment to already having done so in a public forum with the CRTC. For those who are not familiar with DVS, the Described Video Service is an extra [...]
It has already been shown to be unlawful for OC Transpo to not have an accessible system in place for announcing stops for passengers. For those of us who live in Ottawa. It would be in our best interest as a community, to individually write something to the various councilors on this new stop announcement [...]
The Top Five Reasons Why System Access (SA), System Access Mobile Network (SAM Net) and Serotek are leading the industry in innovation: Community : Serotek unlike many of the AT manufacturers are working to build more than just a basic screen reader (something in my opinion the market is already flooded with); it is [...]
Who needs alternate formats? While a bit general in nature, here are some examples: Readers who are blind or have low vision, require one or more of the following formats depending on their needs & the usage of the material, may require: Braille, electronic text, audio or large print Readers with various [...]
Canadian ATMs that are not run by the banks not required to be accessible? They are installing an ATM machine at my building at work. It’s run by one of these “non-bank” service providers. These types of ATMs are called “white label ATMs” because they are independently operated and not run by a bank. We [...]
On September 14, 2009, the CNIB Lake Joseph Centre will be hosting five days of technology training for users of adaptive technology This training is open to all Canadians. There are few opportunities to learn to leverage technology for use in the workplace as a blind or low vision user. This training is not on [...]