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WAKEFIELD, Mass., Dec 15, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA), www.AccessInteropAlliance.org, a coalition of leading information and assistive technology companies dedicated to enabling developers to more easily create accessible software, hardware and Web products, welcomes the addition of 26 new members to the association in 2008. This brings total AIA membership to 39 organizations, all of which
joined within 12 months of the coalition's founding in 2007. Members joined in three categories: Developer, Contributor, and Supporter.

"Our newest members are a diverse group of leadership organizations, including usability experts, magnification software developers, academic institutions, reading solutions providers, and touch user interface developers," said Rob Sinclair, chair of the Steering Committee and director of the Accessibility Business Unit at Microsoft. "By bringing new and often unique expertise into the organization, we continue to strengthen the AIA's capacity to solve longstanding interoperability challenges between Assistive Technology (AT) and Information Technology (IT) products. This is what makes the AIA unique, and we are delighted to welcome these new members to our organization."

-- 11 December 2008 -- Today W3C announces a new standard that will help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of users with disabilities and older users. Drawing on extensive experience and community feedback, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 improve upon W3C's groundbreaking initial standard for accessible Web content.

This new standard from the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative
(WAI) will advance accessibility across the full range of Web content (such as text, images, audio, and video) and Web applications. WCAG 2.0 can be more precisely tested, yet it allows Web developers more flexibility and potential for innovation. Together with supporting technical and educational materials, WCAG 2.0 is easier to understand and use.

A new BSI draft on Web accessibility for disabled people has been produced that will change the way digital consultancies and Web development groups operate in the future.

Design groups are already required to consider the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the World Wide Web Consortium (known as W3C) guidelines when designing websites.

Now, according to Julie Howell, chairwoman of the committee responsible for the draft (BS 8878, titled Web Accessibility - Building Accessible Experiences for Disabled People), the draft will seek to create a unified standard that will instruct both client and consultancy to create improved accessibility for the consumer.

Howell says, 'It's crucial we get feedback from Web groups. It's a social responsibility and it makes good business sense even though [the proposal] is not law. Complying means opening Web content to a much bigger audience, although people tend to think of disability as a minority issue.'

One example of how the DDA has affected brand design is when the Design and Artists Copyright Society revealed a new identity in November, designed by 300million. The decision to change the identity was partly driven by the old identity falling foul of the DDA.

Tania Spriggens, DACS director of communications, says, 'There were two areas - the use of lime green on the Web and in print - that were causing issues. We had a lot of feedback and found out that people were finding it difficult to read. We are aware that the DDA takes into account those with visual impairment and needed to address the issue.'

The British Standards Institute (BSI) is calling on digital marketers to review its proposed standard for accessible web content.

It's planning to introduce the standard next April to give marketers a clear outline of commissioning and creating accessible websites. The BSI is inviting marketers to comment on a draft version throughout December and January.

Google has launched a new experiment aimed at improving the accessibility of its search results for blind and partially-sighted web users.

The opt-in experiment, Accessible View, allows users to navigate through Google listings by only using the keyboard and is based on World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) specifications, as well as the Google-AxsJAX HTML DOM properties for AJAX-style applications.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Working Group announces the publication of WCAG 2.0 as a W3C Proposed Recommendation on 3 November 2008. WCAG 2.0 explains how to make Web sites, applications, and other content accessible to people with disabilities, and older users.

"Proposed Recommendation" means that the technical material of WCAG 2.0 is complete and it has been implemented in real sites.

In a joint statement, Royal National Institute of the Blind (UK) and BarrierBreak Technologies today announced to bring to Mumbai Techshare - Europe’s biggest
technology event to promote accessibility and assistive technology for people with disabilities. Techshare India 2008, will be held in Mumbai on Tuesday,
4th November, 2008 on the premises of Ali Yavar Jung National Institute For The Hearing Handicapped, Bandra (West), Mumbai.

In a first of it’s kind activity in Mumbai, Techshare India 2008 will highlight the importance of implementing accessibility standards and complying to
different accessibilities laws. Techshare India 2008 will also showcase IT products and services that will allow visitors to browse through the latest in assistive technologies available. It will showcase the role of technology in the lives of people with disabilities, looking not just at web accessibility but also software accessibility and accessibility on the move for mobiles and PDAs.

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and Target announced that they have settled a class action lawsuit regarding access to the Target.com Web site by blind people.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "Access to Web sites is critical to the full and equal participation of blind people in all aspects of modern life. The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to have reached a settlement with Target that is good for all blind
consumers, and we recognize that Target has already taken action to make certain that its Web site is accessible to everyone. We look forward to working with Target in the coming months to help make additional improvements that will enhance the experience of blind visitors to Target.com. It is our sincere hope that other businesses providing goods and services over the Internet will follow Target’s example and take affirmative steps to provide full access to their Web sites by blind consumers."

-- 21 October 2008 -- The World Wide Web Consortium, the leading organization that develops Web standards, is holding its annual
Technical Plenary week near its European host site in France.

More than 350 software engineers, developers, and other experts in a wide range of technologies such as HTML, XML, CSS, Mobile Web, Semantic Web, and Video in the Web, come together to address a variety of challenges in the development of Web standards. Through joint meetings, panels, and "hallway discussions," participants build shared understanding of these challenges, an important step in the design of standards that ensure that the Web remains open, interoperable,
and accessible for all people. W3C thanks Nokia, whose generous support as a Platinum Sponsor
has helped make this meeting possible.

A number of UK retailers of spectacles and other vision products are failing customers when it comes to website accessibility.

This is according to the latest accessibility study by Sitemorse for
Retail Bulletin, which found that factory outlet Direct Specs was one of the worst performing websites in September.