Under New Management

" Late in 2005 I had the notion that most people felt accessible web sites are boring and basically without merit offering only the most simplistic functionality and style. As long as that notion persisted, I thought, it would effectively hold back the masses from embracing the needs of all users, not just those they felt were important. I thought that I could perhaps alter that notion, dispelling the myth, by showcasing sites that are accessible yet still look and work great."

Orion House Bed and Breakfast

" Compared to many other bed and breakfast (B&B) websites that we've seen, the Orion House Bed and Breakfast site is outstanding. We're convinced that evveryone's online search for B&B accomodation would be far easier and pleasanter if all such sites were of this standard."

Refreshable Braille

When guest author Roger Hudson presents accessibility seminars or workshops, he usually asks those attending to indicate if they have seen a screen reader being used. Several years ago, it was not uncommon for only about 10 percent of the audience to indicate that they had. Recently, often more than three quarters of the people attending say they have seen a screen reader in use. However, nearly all assume a screen reader is an audio output device and when asked if they have seen a Braille device, the answer is usually no. So Roger and Braille user, Bruce Maguire, decided to create a video demonstrating a refreshable Braille device in use. They hope that this will provide viewers with both a basic understanding of how the device is operated and a feeling for what it might be like to access the web without relying on the senses of sight and hearing.

Don’t Just Tick Boxes

Meeting the diverse needs of your site's visitors is likely to mean a great deal more than ticking off individual accessibility checkpoints. You cannot just rely on an automated accessibility parser.

As Grant Broome explained, whilst automated testing is useful, it cannot replace a manual review or direct user testing. At Accessites, every site that meets our entry criteria is subjected to a manual review by a panel of Team Access members.

At no point do we rely on automated testing alone. Why?

Le Web Accessible

Le Web Accessible, the web site of web accessibility consultant Jean-François Naud, offers numerous touches which demonstrate a solid accessible web site. The site exhibits conscientious application of semantic HTML and headings, links are clearly evident on mouse-activated hover, and the layout is streamlined and simple, keeping distractions or potentially confusing content sequences to a minimum.

Online Video Captioning

Guest author, Jen Rohrig, looks at online video captioning on US TV networks.

Although I am hard of hearing myself, there was a time when I didn't consider captions for online videos to be of great importance, since I rarely watched videos online. More recently, I've been watching some new online shows and would have been disappointed if captions hadn't been available. In addition I've become more annoyed that interviews with favorite actors are being put online without captions as are clips and previews from TV shows or movies. Interviews can be especially troublesome because some actors either have strong accents or talk very fast -- either of which can make it nearly impossible for me to understand them, even with the volume turned up on both the computer and my hearing aid.

The return of Accessibility 2.0: A Million Flowers Bloom

AbilityNet ran their first Accessibility 2.0 event in 2008. This year sees the return of the well received event, which will be held at Microsoft (Victoria, London) on the 22nd September.

Accessibility 2.0, A Million Flowers Bloom is a conference exploring Web 2.0, social media and accessibility. Bringing together industry experts, accessibility specialists and advocates, the event will create a cutting edge day of practical insights, inspiration and networking.

This year’s keynote is from Christian Heilmann, Developer Evangelist at Yahoo! and the co-creator of Easy YouTube, an accessible YouTube player.

“Last year’s Accessibility 2.0 conference was refreshingly tangible and practical, with a strong focus on users and their experiences. This is essential for anyone wanting to make the things they create easier and more accessible for everyone. I’m sure this year’s conference will again provide us with an opportunity for healthy debate, to learn things we didn’t know and enable us to put those things into practice.”

Antonia Hyde, Freelance Web Designer and Consultant

AbilityNet have invited Lisa Herrod to share her knowledge of usability and accessibility for Deaf web users. Lisa is one of the world’s leading experts in this field so she’s being flown over all the way from Sydney, Australia. Lisa will also be running a workshop on Deaf awareness for web teams on the 21st September.

Mark Boulton, one of the most esteemed web designers in the industry will be discussing the huge impact graphic design can have on sighted disabled users. Steve Faulkner, one of the world’s leading experts on WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and HTML 5, will also be talking about the cutting edge of technical web accessibility. There will also be two panels, one on Mobile Accessibility and one about the recent transition to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 which Bim Egan from the RNIB Web Access Team will be contributing to.

Accessibility 2.0 promises to be an un-missable opportunity to find out what’s happening at the cutting edge of web accessibility and gain practical insight on how to implement the latest techniques.

“We saw a real change come out of Accessibility 2.0 with the creation of Easy YouTube which in turn prompted Scripting Enabled proving that Accessibility 2.0 wasn’t ‘just another accessibility conference’. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of this years conference with its focus on design, mobile web, Deafness and emerging technologies such as WAI-ARIA and HTML 5″.

Henny Swan, Web Evangelist Opera

The event will take place in a fully accessible venue and BSL interpreters will be available on request. You can book tickets on the AbilityNet website.

We hope to see many of you there!