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Even Grounds Blog
In this blog, I will reflect on issues which effect the accessibility of technology. I would like to bring certain issues to my readers attention which are either interesting, directly effect our lives, or bring issues into our attention which we would have never thought of.
Tom Babinszki, Director of Even Grounds
Google Fixed the Accessibility Problem
Earlier I posted about how Google made its front page inaccessible to many people with disabilities. In the meantime, the problem got resolved, but this is not the end of story.
Just to recap, what happened was ten seconds after opening the Google front page, a sound started playing. It made it next to impossible for blind people to navigate the page with their screen reader. When you hear music, it is hard to understand your screen reader.
First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to Google that they have resolved this issue. However, there are still some things to talk about here.
Google Slaps People with Disabilities in the Face
Note: several hours after I wrote this post, Google fixed the accessibility problem. However, this is not a happy end. You can read my reflections about it.
How funny, if you go to Google, you can play the Pacman game from the main page. But it is not that much fun for all people.
Just picture this situation: blind people, who use their computer with a screen reader start hearing some sound, and later a siren after about ten seconds. Guess what happens, this is what they will have to listen to, instead of their screen readers reading the page to them. Or, at least, hopefully they will hear it well enough to navigate away.
The Challenges of Internet Users with Low or limited Vision
Once or twice while surfing the Net, you may have felt your eyesight become blurred or find it hard to focus on the screen. This is normally not a problem as you can always rest for a while to regain your perfect vision. But try to imagine yourself having limited vision all the time. What do you think are the challenges you may face as you browse web pages? How can they be solved?
The answers to these questions as well as additional related information are what we’ll focus on in this post. As you may know, we’re running a series about the challenges of Internet users with disabilities. This is the third installment in that series of posts.
Our friend Marvin will help us in identifying the common problems faced by low vision individuals. You may remember Marvin as that guy who shared with us A Day of a Low Vision Person. Let’s see what he’s been up to lately.
How Can the Computer be Harmful to You?
In most of our articles, we discuss the importance of making technologies accessible. While doing so, we talk a lot about compensating for all types of disabilities.
However, we’d also like you to know that there is a lot you can do to avoid long-term health issues which would later require you to use technologies for people with disabilities.
Below we discuss these computer-related health issues and how you can minimize and avoid their negative effects.
Can Blind People See?
Before you think I went totally crazy, let me explain where this question is coming from. Recently I was checking this blog's traffics statistics, and I found that somebody asked this same question in Google, which led to this blog: "Can blind people see?". First, I thought it is just some nonsense, they can't. That's why they are blind. but the more I thought about it, maybe for some reason somebody asked this question in all sincerity, so let me answer it.
When somebody is blind, there are whole lot of things which are given for many, but the lack of sight takes it away. By default, blind people are not able to enjoy many things which eye-sight provides. They cannot enjoy a harmony of colors, cannot explore the environment farther than their arms' reach, they cannot read regular print books, etc. However, as these things are very important to function in life, many technologies were developed to compensate for the lack of site. Here I will discuss some, and will provide links for additional reading.
The Importance of Adding Captions to Your Facebook Photos
Recently, a friend of mine told me that he was at this party and was talking to a group of people. They were talking about the pictures they uploaded in Facebook, and my friend asked if everyone has seen his profile picture.
Most of the group agreed and said nice things about the picture. But my friend suddenly realized that there was one person who couldn’t get what they were talking about. That person is blind so she couldn’t see the photo. After a short awkward pause, my friend started to explain what the photo was about. Although his blind friend appreciated his efforts, my friend admitted the situation made him feel quite ashamed.
What would you do if you were in this situation? You’d most probably feel awkward too. But with a bit more attention to your Facebook pictures, you can avoid these situations and ensure that everyone can enjoy your photos. This is done simply by adding captions to your Facebook pictures.
Show Your Facebook Friends Your Support for Web Accessibility
I just want to kindly invite you to check out our Facebook page and add it to the pages you like.
By simply clicking on the “Like” link, you’ll be able to:
Do Blind People Use a Special Keyboard?
This is one of the most common question asked by sighted people when they meet or hear about blind computer users. Here, I’ll not only answer this question, but I’ll discuss where it may have come from. I’ll also add in some interesting facts along the way.
What Do We Mean by Accessibility?
Recently I have received several comments about the fact that I use the word "accessibility" on this site and it seems to be very technical. Some people expressed that they are really not sure what it is. So, in this post, I would like to shed some light on this concept.
The Challenges of Deaf Internet Users
This is the second post in a series about the challenges of persons with disabilities in using the Internet. Previously, we talked about the challenges blind people are facing when trying to access web sites.
Here, we’ll focus on a disability group which most people think doesn’t have any problems surfing the Net. I’m talking about persons who are deaf and hard of hearing. Many people think that since deaf people can see the contents of a web page, they wouldn’t have problems accessing any site.
Let’s find out if that is true. Our friend Peter, who shared with us A Day of a Deaf Person, joins us in this post.
