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Items tagged with: accessibility


From the Firefox 109.0 changelog:

„The native HTML date picker for date and datetime inputs can now be used with a keyboard alone[…]“

Nice! Always great to see native elements being improved.

The full changelog can be found here: mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/109.…

#firefox #mozilla #release #changelog #date #picker #accessibility #keyboard


A Complete Guide To #Accessibility Tooling (Smashing Mag, 2021) smashingmagazine.com/2021/06/c… #a11y #tools #testing


@blindscribe Thanks for letting me know. I was hoping that someone from the #accessibility community had tried it.


Interesting open source alternative to #Calendly that I just DISCOVERED. Anyone know if it's accessible?

"Meet Cal.com, the event-juggling scheduler for everyone. Focus on meeting, not making meetings. Free for individuals."

github.com/calcom/cal.com

#accessibility #usability #calendaring


We had an #accessibility meeting about at-spi2-core, pyatspi2, orca - notes at gnome.pages.gitlab.gnome.org/a…

BigBlueButton seems usable with a screen reader! Everyone was able to participate just fine.

HedgeDoc, not so much?


This is fascinating! The Braille Institute has developed a font - free to download - that's designed to be clearer for readers with lower vision.

An example of one of the aspects of low legibility that they tackled attached.

It's named Atkinson Hyperlegible. Atkinson was the Institute's founder - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Rober…

Here's where you can read about the font and download it: brailleinstitute.org/freefont

#Accessibility

Via @tombofnull


Holy cow! Put a Bluetooth mic by TV. Connected it to @Android and turned on live captions for #GoldenGlobes It’s better and faster than TV captions. Not as accurate but the TV captions delay and ALL CAPS are too much.

Video shows Android and TV with captions
#accessibility


The Atlassian Accessibility webpage: atlassian.com/accessibility Nice. They have a lot of work to do! #a11y #jira #confluence #accessibility #atlassian


Hey you! I want YOU to sign up for Games for Blind Gamers 2 game jam! It doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be fancy, take it as an opportunity to challenge yourself to make something new and learn about accessibility! I hope everyone signs up! It's still 2 months away so plenty of time to plan! Sign up here! Feel free to ask questions if you have any! itch.io/jam/games-for-blind-ga… #GameDev #Accessibility #a11y #


Good read about marketing and accessibility: equalentry.com/marketing-in-ac… by @Equal_Entry #marketing #mktg #accessibility #a11y


If you're looking for samples of #audiobooks narrated by AI, search for the term "Narrated by Apple Books" in the Apple Books app. It will pull up a list of books converted to Audio by #Apple.

Here are a few samples:

books.apple.com/us/audiobook/i…

books.apple.com/us/audiobook/i…

#bookstodon #accessibility #audio


Really glad Sony is finally making an accessibility-focused controller for PS5.

It’s overdue, especially considering all the accessibility work Sony’s been doing on the software side.

Hope they sell it for a reasonable price.

#gaming #VideoGames #Sony #PS5 #accessibility

blog.playstation.com/2023/01/0…


Thanks for sharing this. I do feel though that the answers you received were fed to the machine by nice humans who certainly understand the trends of present times. I felt like I was at the university lecture on #accessibility and not an honest conversation! Good try though! :)


I've been playing with #ChatGPT a lot since it came out on November 30th. A few days ago, I decided to have a bit of a conversation with it about the threat it might pose to the future of digital #accessibility.

The resulting conversation surprised me beyond anything I could ever imagine. Why don't you take a look? :)

inklusiv.ca/will-chatgpt-threa…


I'm willing to pay up to $10,000 (USD), to whomever I need to pay, to solve the #GNOME AT keyboard input handling problem once and for all. Currently, toolkits implementing AT-SPI have to pass all keyboard events to the AT-SPI registry, then wait for a response on whether the event should be processed as usual. No other platform does something like this, and this unique platform-specific requirement is a major complication for #AccessKit. I want to get this fixed. #accessibility


#Storium is built with #accessibility in mind. One of our most active members is blind and (without checking with him beforehand) I'm sure he'll be happy to show you around. But yes, the site works well with a #ScreenReader!

Here's a podcast episode we did about how people with disabilities play on @storium :

storiumarc.com/episode/episode…

#writer #roleplaying #pbp #rpg


In 1993 alt text was added to the HTML specification. Someone then posted an idea: A library where people could store and look up alt text for frequently used images. I've lost the post, and no one else that I can find has talked about it since.

I believe that the time is now, but I can no longer be who. As I announced yesterday, I am closing down the alt-text.org project, but others have expressed interest in carrying the project forward.

(cont)

#AltText #Accessibility #A11y


So since this does not seem to be widely disseminated knowledge, the RH Voice speech synthesizer engine allows for training your own voice models by associating sets of sentences in a text file with their corresponding recordings as wav files. There is a tutorial about this on the project's Wiki at:
github.com/RHVoice/RHVoice/wik….
I haven't tried it myself yet so can't answer possible questions, others have though so it surely works.
Happy hacking, creating SAPI, NVDA, Android voices or whatever else you imagine! ##SpeechSynthesis #Accessibility #NVDASR #Blind


The sign language gloves are making the rounds again. It needs to stop. Here’s why. linkedin.com/posts/meryl_meryl…

#accessibility #Disability


In two weeks on #A11yTalks, @springbroken@twitter.com will discuss how to redesign websites with a focus on cognitive ease

buff.ly/3G3kF1A #A11y #Accessibility


One thing I want to note--given my wrist situation, almost all of the game's art was drawn by voice.

The software itself gave me a lot of trouble though, so I've decided to make a fork and do further dev & maintenance on it.

While I don't know how many people would use it, I think idea of a #PixelArt editor designed for hands-free #accessibility might have legs and I want to explore that further.


With a delay, we arrive at the last window of the accessibility for the blind advent calendar.
This one might be known to some of you as the news has reached quite some peak in media outlets worldwide. Accessible Christmas was an app developed to let blind people enjoy the Christmas lights of Madrit through a geolocation-based audiodescription experience. The great thing about it was, you could also access these descriptions wherever you were. Many blind people do not have the privilege of worldwide mobility so bringing bits of the world closer to them is what I call an extension of accessible tourism. Describing the world you experience through textual blogs, social media postings, audio recordings and sharing interesting highlights of life in different countries is what you can do next year to make others travel even if they physically can't. If you're the one unable to travel, here are a couple of things that help me personally when I wish I could be elsewhere but can't:
1. Play a random radio station in a language you understand nothing of or find the music that you like coming from somewhere obscure or far away. I enjoy checking out local charts in other countries just to see how different languages fit into the music trends of today.
2. Try to find recordings of places on sites like Freesound or Soundcloud; close your eyes and imagine.
3. Read travel blogs, watch or listen to content on the Internet of others travelling where descriptions are abundant; research how topics that interest you are managed elsewhere.
4. Try to find penpals, somebody to exchange occasional packages with and simply make friends; if that's possible, try to find a local language conversation group, groups for people who have moved to your city etc. meet, ask questions but most of all, listen!
5. Maybe one day make your own advent calendar.
coolblindtech.com/this-app-all…
#Accessibility #Blind AdventCalendar #Spain #Travel #Tourism


The Office of Management and Budget should review its strategic plan for improving
management of #Section508. #OMB’s current strategic plan was released in 2013 and
should be reviewed using current information and compliance data.

aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc…

#accessibility #USGov #a11y


So Apple did flip the switch at last and today's window is ready for all of you to try out.
Zuzanka is an app made by Zatoichi, a Warsaw-based startup with one of my blind friends as a tester and head consultant. It reads out the expiry dates on products so it's perfect to run through everything in your fridge before Christmas to see whether your supplies are still safe to be consumed. Once you start it, it will beep continuously to tell you it is ready. Then, once something that it may consider to be a date is found in the camera, it will start beeping faster until it finally recognizes and speaks the date outloud. There is a handy tutorial added telling you where expiry dates are commonly found on different products. The app gives you a 24-hour trial period and a handful of subscription options which I believe should be affordable. There is a lifetime license option too capped at around 30 €.
The AI models for this app have been predominantly trained on products found in Polish supermarkets and I was successful using it on a pack of German Balsen chocolate biscuits so it is interesting to see whether this could work in other countries.
apps.apple.com/pl/app/zuzanka/…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Poland #Mobile #Startup #Shopping


I did not manage to post the window for yesterday, so it's double act time today.
All good things come in threes and as it happens, one of the things I did yesterday was taking part in the Clubhouse meeting of the Czech blind community where 2022 was summed up and different good things that happened in terms of assistive technology were named.
One of the solutions somebody pointed out was the ability to operate an ATM using the banking app of Ceska Sporitelna, one of the leading Czech banks.
Developed with the Covid pandemic in mind, the feature happened to also benefit blind users. The way it works is, every ATM supporting the feature displays a QR code on its screen by default. The user scans it using the dedicated feature in the Sporitelna app, confirms whether the ATM number detected is the same as the one written on the machine itself and once the connection is made, all of the operation: defining the amount of money to be withdrawn, confirmation, authorization etc. is being handled using the app. The money comes out, the operation is successful and everyone is happy.
The number of the machine can be verified either through the list of nearby machines in the app or via an accessible spreadsheet that either the bank or the community have put together, I'm not sure.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #CzechRepublic #Banking


If you would like to be up-=to-date with happenings in Europe in regards to blind and partially sighted people, the European Blind Union has just launched a new podcast today called EBU In Action.
It is a bit of shameless promo as yours truely is one of the hosts so I hope you don't mind me and we look forward to the feedback.
In our pilot, we go over the current campaigns and initiatives the EBU is involved in, we find out about the expectations and fears of blind people regarding Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and we finish off with our correspondent's section where we go to Italy to check what is new for blind people there.
If you have suggestions of topics that should be brought up in future episodes, feel free to share.
euroblind.org/publications-and…
#Accessibility #Blind #Podcast #Europe #CAVs #AutonomousVehicles #Disability #Inclusion


Was great to be on The New IT #podcast techbridgeinc.com/podcast/the-… and talk about #Drupal #accessibility #sustainability #hiring


Highlighting Image Accessibility on Mastodon by @Meyerweb #a11y #accessibility meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/202…


Clickup


Do you use #Clickup or do you know someone who uses it for managing projects and task? Seems that #accessibility is broken and I am looking for better alternatives or maybe workarrounds how to use it. #A11Y


You would probably not be surprised to hear that the :dumpsterfire: formally known as Twitter's new checkmarks are not accessible. They differ by color only which makes them hard to detect by users who are color blind.

help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-…

#a11y #accessibility #UXfail #a11yfail #wtfUX


Today let's go to Spain where a system allowing the blind to control elevators using a smartphone app has been developed.
The way it works is by detecting a Bluetooth beacon near a supported elevator using the dedicated app and calling the elevator almost as if we pressed the physical button. We can then choose the floor where we want to go and, once we board the elevator, notify the app about it and wait until we reach the destination. We will be notified about the arrival through a notification in the app. The developers have even thought of Siri support so you can set shortcuts for favourite elevator +floor combinations. The solution is presented within the following session of the Zeroconf conference in Vienna:
youtube.com/watch?v=_PcPk3BcUL…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #BuildEnvironment #Spain


And so we arrived in the last week of advent so this calendar has only six windows left. To finish it off nicely, from now on I'll try to post some smaller projects that nevertheless have an impact on the quality of life for the blind and partially sighted people somewhere. Let's start with another Polish invention:
Totupoint is an in-door navigation system created by Jan Szuster, a blind engineer from Warsaw. It revolves around Bluetooth beacons placed at key points in a building or at a points of interests such as bus stops, administrative buildings or other venues that are key infrastructure. Those can be discovered through the Totupoint mobile app or an additional module attached to the user's white cane. As soon as you find yourself within the range of a beacon, it is triggered and plays the assigned recording so that you exactly know where it is located. You can repeat the message as many times as you need to locate the point you're looking for or in case of the mobile app read the attached information such as opening hours or address and phone number of the place you're at.
The system also supports tiny interactive HTML apps that can be operated from within the app so it can be adapted to turn on the traffic lights or request line number on public transport. Many successful installations happen at an increasing number of venues in Poland. You can learn more and see the complete list of active locations at:
totupoint.pl/
In other news: as soon as Apple flicks the verification switch, I will have something to share that potentially all of you might find useful so watch this space.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Poland #UrbanEnvironment


Back to the Czech Republic we go, where remote assistance of blind and partially sighted people was in operation years before AIRA was founded.
The navigational center of the Czech Union of the Blind assists their customers in many ways:
- by delivering help through the user's smartphone's camera via Skype;
- by looking up information on public transport routes and general information on places of interest;
- best of all: by researching routes that the user would like to take bearing in mind everything that is of importance when travelling independently with a white cane or/and a guide dog, including possible hazards or characteristic waypoints and landmarks.
It comes as no surprise that the service is available throughout the entire country. Pricewise, it works in two models: it is possible to buy packages of single uses of the service starting at less than six dollars for ten single uses; or a periodic subscribtion starting at around 13 dollars for three months.
portal-pelion.cz/aplikace-a-sl…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #CzechRepublic #Mobility #PublicTransport


This year's FIFA world cup has audio description that can be listened to from anywhere in the world. To access it, grab the FIFA interpreting app on Android or iOS, and enter Lusail's code ADCLUS as the event code. English and Arabic commentary can be chosen. #accessibility


Today's highlight is not strictly accessibility-related but it is in itself accessible and definitely makes electronic payments in Poland quick and painless for everyone.
Blik is a Polish payment system that is based on six-digit codes entered as a confirmation of payment on the website where you want to make a transaction. The way this is used is the following:
1. You open the app of your bank on your phone and press the Blik button. Sometimes banks will place this feature under the app's shortcuts so starting straight from the homescreen or through a shortcut you yourself created is definitely possible.
2. A six-digit code is generated and it is read out to you. You can remember or copy it and from that moment you've got 120 seconds to finish the transaction.
3. You enter the code on the website or in the app where you're trying to complete a transaction.
4. You return to your banking app to confirm the amount to be paid through the biometric authorization method of your choice or a PIN code. In my banking app the time limit is counted down with each second being marked with a chaptic feedback of my iPhone.
Note: meanwhile regular payment terminals already support Blik and more and more shop assistants know how to activate it so the phrase "Poproszę Blikiem" ("By Blik, please") is more commonly heard.
Another component of the system are the P2P micropayments to a mobile phone where it is enough to enter the other party's phone number to make or request a payment straight from the banking app.
I believe similar systems function in other countries but are mostly QR-code based and require a separate app. I find this way much handier. Also, it is universal across all major Polish banks.
blik.com/en/how-to-use-blik
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Shopping #Banking #Mobile #Poland


Staying in the spirit of ticket machines accessibility, France is doing it right, at least in the city of Metz, not sure about other places.
Have a recording of a ticket machine that speaks three languages: French, English and German. Upon pressing a dedicated button above the card read we activate the speech component. Everything that is displayed on screen is read back to us. On starting, the machine greets us in the language of our choice, tells us to insert our travel pass if we have one and reads the minimum and maximum amounts for card and cash payments. The upper part of the touchscreen acts as a navi pad with the left corner taking us to the previous option and the right one to the next. In the lower part, the left corner is "Cancel", while the right is "Confirm". This way we can choose our desired ticket, the preferred payment method and complete our transaction.
The recording is a montage of different clips from the machine indicating a chosen ticket in English, through its welcome message in French and German with the latter going through some ticket options, coming back to the full welcome message in English. The recording is peppered with occasional Polish from me as it was originally recorded for our Polish podcast. It was taken using the built-in mikes of my Motorola One smartphone. Now that I listen back, it sounds kinda condensed.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #France #Metz #PublicTransport #Audio #recording #FieldRecording