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September 27, 2006
W3C "Accessible RIA"
W3C "Accessible RIA": [link now really fixed!] This paper addresses an issue we've all been grappling with for awhile: How can you make dynamic, multi-media presentations which gracefully include audience members with limited visual acuity or other differences from the majority? The focus here is on JavaScript connecting to system-level speech abilities. The campaign five years ago for "accessibility" stressed static text presentations with occasional photos, but now there's much wider agreement that some useful presentations are richer and more interactive than static text. We're all different from the majority in some way -- lots of body differences (reading small fonts, distinguishing certain colors, cannot move easily), and lots of situational differences too (low English skills, old equipment, mobile device) -- the interface must conform to the audience, not the other way around. This W3C document is a welcome guideline to how JavaScript engines might evolve in the future. I just regret I don't have time to read each clause fully right now, that's my own little need for accessibility there.... ;-)
Posted by JohnDowdell at September 27, 2006 7:23 AM