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…
Search
Items tagged with: accessibility
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…
Introducing Project Leonardo for PlayStation 5, a highly customizable accessibility controller kit
Designed to remove barriers to gaming and help players with disabilities play more easily, more comfortably and for longer periods on PS5.PlayStation.Blog
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? :)
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
Episode 70! Storium with Disabilities - Storium Arc
Producing and hosting for the first time, Zachary (Rattannah) takes a deep dive into a side of Storium that often hides in plain sight, or in this case, behind a screen.Justin Hall (Storium Arc)
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)
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
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
Home · RHVoice/RHVoice Wiki
a free and open source speech synthesizer for Russian and other languages - Home · RHVoice/RHVoice WikiGitHub
The sign language gloves are making the rounds again. It needs to stop. Here’s why. linkedin.com/posts/meryl_meryl…
Meryl Evans, CPACC (deaf) on LinkedIn: #merylmots #disability #inclusion #entrepreneurs #startup #accessibility
Just got another link to the sign language gloves asking if I had seen it. Yes. It’s an old video that seems to make the rounds once a year. Even though…Meryl Evans, CPACC (deaf) (www.linkedin.com)
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
Redesigning for Cognitive Ease - Alyssa Panetta (A11yTalks - January 2023)
After all the WCAG standards are met, how accessible is your site for users with cognitive disabilities? How can you tell? What does that mean? Where would y...YouTube
Today's Web Design Update: groups.google.com/a/d.umn.edu/…
Subscribe info: d.umn.edu/itss/training/online… #Accessibility #A11y #WebDesign
Featuring @knowbility, @redcrew, @dequesystems, @jaredsmith, @MikePaciello, @LFLegal, @brucelawson, @ericwbailey, @alvaromontoro, @pxlnv, @j9t, @codepo8, @rachelandrew, @estelle, @5t3ph, @matthiasott, @tempertemper, @gerrymcgovern, et al.
Web Design References: Webdev Newsletter
Web Design References: News and info about web design and development. The site advocates accessibility, usability, web standards and many related topics.www.d.umn.edu
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
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
This app allows blind people to enjoy Christmas lights - COOL BLIND TECH
The Human Language and Accessibility Technologies (HULAT) research group at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has developed and validated a mobile application that allows people with visual impairments to enjoy Christmas lights in the city …Nelson Régo (COOL BLIND TECH)
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.
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
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
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
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
The EBU Podcasts | European Blind Union
Ebu has created podcasts on topics related to our communitywww.euroblind.org
Was great to be on The New IT #podcast techbridgeinc.com/podcast/the-… and talk about #Drupal #accessibility #sustainability #hiring
The New IT Episode 54 | Video | CivicActions | TechBridge Inc.
Is Drupal still? In todays episode learn why you should consider go to Drupal and what makes it standout from the other CMS systems.TechBridge Inc.
Highlighting Image Accessibility on Mastodon by @Meyerweb #a11y #accessibility meyerweb.com/eric/thoughts/202…
Highlighting Image Accessibility on Mastodon
Styling images posted on mastodon.social based on whether or not they have alt text.meyerweb.com
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
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
ZeroCon22: Zero Project`s Shark Tank
Welcome to #ZeroCon22 - The Zero Project Conference 2022 on Accessibility!Five high-tech start-ups pitch to experienced investors, who question their potenti...YouTube
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
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
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
Aplikace a služby využitelné při sebeobsluze a samostatném pohybu zrakově postižených - Pélion
V textu si povíme o aplikaci, která existuje již pár let, ale i tak se stává, že o ní někdo slyší úplně poprvé. Je to aplikace Be My Eyes.Linda Albrechtová (Pélion - Vzdělávací portál pro zrakově postižené)
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
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
How to use BLIK
BLIK in a blink of an eye! Pay for your purchases, wherever you are, in a few moments, with BLIK`s fast and secure payments!blik.com
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
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
Welcome to Innsbruck, Austria again. This time we go to the main train station where I spent a part of my mobility training. Through this training I have learnt that there is a semi-independent way for blind passengers to operate the on-site ticket machine. How come semi, you might ask?
Well, on the front of the machine, there is a dedicated customer service number embossed in Braille where you can call and tell the representative where you would like to go. They are able to remotely operate the machine, find your connection, choose the right ticket options for you and bring you to the payment screen. Once the payment is complete, the ticket comes out as usual. Kind of makes me wonder: if the railway staff are able to access these machines remotely, why isn't this possibility open to those who might need it for accessibility reasons?
I am not sure whether this works in other Austrian cities, I haven't also heard of this implementation in any other place.
Unfortunately, I have never had a chance to use this so no recordings or first-hand experiences this time.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Railway #Transport #Trains #Austria #Innsbruck
Well, on the front of the machine, there is a dedicated customer service number embossed in Braille where you can call and tell the representative where you would like to go. They are able to remotely operate the machine, find your connection, choose the right ticket options for you and bring you to the payment screen. Once the payment is complete, the ticket comes out as usual. Kind of makes me wonder: if the railway staff are able to access these machines remotely, why isn't this possibility open to those who might need it for accessibility reasons?
I am not sure whether this works in other Austrian cities, I haven't also heard of this implementation in any other place.
Unfortunately, I have never had a chance to use this so no recordings or first-hand experiences this time.
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Railway #Transport #Trains #Austria #Innsbruck
Since some time I have been drawn to research Minitel, a French Videotex-based system for accessing information that predates the Internet. It was a revolution in terms of digitalization which made activities such as buying train and plane tickets, signing up for classes and reading newspapers digitalized as early as the 80's. You can read more about it in the following Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
There were many devices invented to make Minitel accessible to the blind, although the system itself wasn't designed with this target group in mind. Mostly, they were external speech synthesizers like in the case of Lectel:
lemonde.fr/archives/article/19…
or the Valentine text-to-speech card for the Apple II:
blog.atalan.fr/valentine-carte…
The history of the Eurobraille company, the makers of the popular Esys, Esytime and B.Note Braille displays, starts also with a speech synthesizer for the Minitel terminals.
eurobraille.fr/notre-histoire/
As I found out, however, most of France's blind community at that time did not have access to this kind of technology and Minitel only became accessible on a global scale in the 90's when regular PC's did but then it was almost the time of the Internet so it never gained the same momentum as it did with the society at large. Pity as this could have been an opportunity to push the inclusion of blind and partially sighted people to whole new levels.
Always design with accessibility from the start!
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #France #Internet #Minitel #Videotex #RetroTech
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
There were many devices invented to make Minitel accessible to the blind, although the system itself wasn't designed with this target group in mind. Mostly, they were external speech synthesizers like in the case of Lectel:
lemonde.fr/archives/article/19…
or the Valentine text-to-speech card for the Apple II:
blog.atalan.fr/valentine-carte…
The history of the Eurobraille company, the makers of the popular Esys, Esytime and B.Note Braille displays, starts also with a speech synthesizer for the Minitel terminals.
eurobraille.fr/notre-histoire/
As I found out, however, most of France's blind community at that time did not have access to this kind of technology and Minitel only became accessible on a global scale in the 90's when regular PC's did but then it was almost the time of the Internet so it never gained the same momentum as it did with the society at large. Pity as this could have been an opportunity to push the inclusion of blind and partially sighted people to whole new levels.
Always design with accessibility from the start!
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #France #Internet #Minitel #Videotex #RetroTech
Les ordinateurs ont la parole
Un Salon vient d'être consacré aux machines parlantes et aux innovations techniques destinées aux aveugles. Le matériel existe, pas encore le marché !CHRISTIAN TORTEL (Le Monde)
Encouraging to see the dream of #AccessKit (github.com/AccessKit/accesskit) becoming a reality. I just finished the first iteration of macOS support for text edit controls, and the work I did in egui, which I had tested with the AccessKit Windows adapter, only required a one-line fix to be fully functional on macOS. And even that change wasn't exactly Mac-specific, just something that didn't happen to be needed on Windows. Also, integrations in other GUI toolkits are in the works. #accessibility
GitHub - AccessKit/accesskit: UI accessibility infrastructure across platforms and programming languages
UI accessibility infrastructure across platforms and programming languages - GitHub - AccessKit/accesskit: UI accessibility infrastructure across platforms and programming languagesGitHub
This might not be the most uplifting "2022 wrapped" list - but we hope it helps teams prioritising #accessibility in 2023 to find and fix the most critical accessibility issues we found over hundreds of accessibility reviews in 2022.
Here's to a more #inclusive 2023! Stay safe and merry holidays 🎉
intopia.digital/articles/top-5…
Top 5 Accessibility Issues in 2022 - Intopia
In 2022, the most critical accessibility issues were: keyboard accessibility, supporting smaller viewports/zoom, using semantic markup and ARIA attributes correctly, and managing focus visually and programmatically.Larene Le Gassick (Intopia Digital)
Today's one might be familiar to some of you as this has received a bit of media attention bacccccccccccccccccback in 2016 when Sweden hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.
To celebrate another win, for the time of the contest's duration, the audible traffic lights at some of Stockholm's locations have been revamped to play Loreen with "Euphoria" (winner of the 2012 ESC) when the lights are red, then when they turn green, they ticked to the beat of Mans Zelmerlow's "Heroes", the song that brought the contest back to Sweden in 2015. What a fun twist on an accessibility feature!
youtube.com/watch?v=pj3V06Thvo…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Sweden #Eurovision #ESC #UrbanEnvironment #Music #SoundDesign
To celebrate another win, for the time of the contest's duration, the audible traffic lights at some of Stockholm's locations have been revamped to play Loreen with "Euphoria" (winner of the 2012 ESC) when the lights are red, then when they turn green, they ticked to the beat of Mans Zelmerlow's "Heroes", the song that brought the contest back to Sweden in 2015. What a fun twist on an accessibility feature!
youtube.com/watch?v=pj3V06Thvo…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Sweden #Eurovision #ESC #UrbanEnvironment #Music #SoundDesign
Music Traffic Lights Stockholm Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (Take 1)
This was take 1 - I decided to re-record this a second time.YouTube
I make games. I often have the requirement to quickly build a dialog or a window of some kind. Using native HTMl here makes sense to me, so I'm implementing a bunch of components that implement the most common features I need in my UI.
Now they have to be accessible, so read well with screen readers, and be fully keyboard navigable. This includes things like lists, tab bars, menus, etc.
So here's the problem. I have some things that need to be inside a container. A list for example. So you have the list container, and then the list items inside it.
When you tab around, I want the container to be tabbable, not the list item. So you don't tab through the list, you tab to the list, and then use the arrows to move around.
Now here's the problem. When the container is tabbable, and not the list item, when you tab to the container, it either:
* reads something like "List title section" and then nothing, not even the item you have selected. Or
* Reads all the list items at once.
Either of those are not great obviously. Ideally, I'd like it to read the list title, then list, and then the selected item.
So the way I get it to do this is by detecting when you tab/focus the list container, and then immediately set the focus to the selected list item instead.
Now this works fantastic. You can tab around, and it automatically puts you right on the list item you have selected, and it even gets read.
But somehow, when you don't just tab around, but also shift tab around, this shift tab lands you back on the list container. And that automatically moves your focus back inside the list. So effectively, once you're in a list, you're trapped.
Does anyone have an idea how to get around this without doing ugly hacks like stealing tab and shift tab and implementing tab order myself? I want to use as many native browser features as possible so if there's another way to do this, please feel free to tell me.
#HTML #JavaScript #accessibility
Now they have to be accessible, so read well with screen readers, and be fully keyboard navigable. This includes things like lists, tab bars, menus, etc.
So here's the problem. I have some things that need to be inside a container. A list for example. So you have the list container, and then the list items inside it.
When you tab around, I want the container to be tabbable, not the list item. So you don't tab through the list, you tab to the list, and then use the arrows to move around.
Now here's the problem. When the container is tabbable, and not the list item, when you tab to the container, it either:
* reads something like "List title section" and then nothing, not even the item you have selected. Or
* Reads all the list items at once.
Either of those are not great obviously. Ideally, I'd like it to read the list title, then list, and then the selected item.
So the way I get it to do this is by detecting when you tab/focus the list container, and then immediately set the focus to the selected list item instead.
Now this works fantastic. You can tab around, and it automatically puts you right on the list item you have selected, and it even gets read.
But somehow, when you don't just tab around, but also shift tab around, this shift tab lands you back on the list container. And that automatically moves your focus back inside the list. So effectively, once you're in a list, you're trapped.
Does anyone have an idea how to get around this without doing ugly hacks like stealing tab and shift tab and implementing tab order myself? I want to use as many native browser features as possible so if there's another way to do this, please feel free to tell me.
#HTML #JavaScript #accessibility
Somehow we made it through the first half of this calendar. Thank you for all of your interactions and encouragement. It's very motivating to see how far these little posts can reach.
So I realized that all the time I have been doing this calendar, I haven't mentioned Poland, where I come from, once. Shame on me! Let's try to make it right.
Inpost is the pioneer as the provider of parcel locker technology in Poland. It's quite common to order something and, instead of requesting that the package is delivered directly to your door, have it dropped at one of the lockers which are often located quite centrally, at a post office or another place of significance in a given city, town or village.
Inpost have come up with quite a clever way of allowing blind people to open these lockers and find the right door. Not only is the app itself accessible so you can track your delivery all the way through but once your order arrives, all you have to do is go to the place where your locker is located, open the door for your parcel from within the app and read the instruction telling you which door is yours E.G. third up, sixth to the left of the touch screen. The system has become so useful for the general public that in order to become more sustainable, Inpost have begun installing screenless lockers so that everything has to be done with the app. This way, it is also possible to send a package somewhere without the need to stick a physical label on it. Other accessibility accommodations include the "easy access zone" as per the link below.
inpost.pl/en/help-easy-access-…
What are you ordering this Christmas and how is it delivered to you?
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Poland #Shopping
So I realized that all the time I have been doing this calendar, I haven't mentioned Poland, where I come from, once. Shame on me! Let's try to make it right.
Inpost is the pioneer as the provider of parcel locker technology in Poland. It's quite common to order something and, instead of requesting that the package is delivered directly to your door, have it dropped at one of the lockers which are often located quite centrally, at a post office or another place of significance in a given city, town or village.
Inpost have come up with quite a clever way of allowing blind people to open these lockers and find the right door. Not only is the app itself accessible so you can track your delivery all the way through but once your order arrives, all you have to do is go to the place where your locker is located, open the door for your parcel from within the app and read the instruction telling you which door is yours E.G. third up, sixth to the left of the touch screen. The system has become so useful for the general public that in order to become more sustainable, Inpost have begun installing screenless lockers so that everything has to be done with the app. This way, it is also possible to send a package somewhere without the need to stick a physical label on it. Other accessibility accommodations include the "easy access zone" as per the link below.
inpost.pl/en/help-easy-access-…
What are you ordering this Christmas and how is it delivered to you?
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Poland #Shopping
As the app that is the star of today's window has updated on my phone today, let me introduce you to Greta, the German app for audiodescription, closed captions and other forms of accessibility in movies.
It works by first downloading an encrypted, I believe, copy of the movie's audio and then when we want to watch it described or subtitled, we just start the app, let it listen to the sound around us and it will tune in at the right spot in time with the accessibility accommodations we need. Should you forget your headphones to hear the audiodescription in, you can still listen to it over the earpiece. The system is not context-aware so it can tune into the movie at a cinema or at home when watching on the Internet or on TV which gives universal access to all the accommodations. The only wish I would have is more independent cinema productions and the ability to combine multiple adjustments so that I could watch that movie with a lot of Austrian dialect in it with both audiodescription and subtitles.
Today's update brings sound amplification. If I understand correctly, you can also have the actual audio track of the movie played through your phone in sync with the original.
I believe the concept was replicated in other countries already so you might know it under another name.
gretaundstarks.de
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Germany #Culture #Movies #Audiodescription #Cinema #TV #Subtitling
It works by first downloading an encrypted, I believe, copy of the movie's audio and then when we want to watch it described or subtitled, we just start the app, let it listen to the sound around us and it will tune in at the right spot in time with the accessibility accommodations we need. Should you forget your headphones to hear the audiodescription in, you can still listen to it over the earpiece. The system is not context-aware so it can tune into the movie at a cinema or at home when watching on the Internet or on TV which gives universal access to all the accommodations. The only wish I would have is more independent cinema productions and the ability to combine multiple adjustments so that I could watch that movie with a lot of Austrian dialect in it with both audiodescription and subtitles.
Today's update brings sound amplification. If I understand correctly, you can also have the actual audio track of the movie played through your phone in sync with the original.
I believe the concept was replicated in other countries already so you might know it under another name.
gretaundstarks.de
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Germany #Culture #Movies #Audiodescription #Cinema #TV #Subtitling
Kino einfach gemeinsam erleben mit GRETA und STARKS
Barrierefreies Kino für Alle! Audiodeskriptionen und Untertitel überall und einfach auf dem eigenen Smartphone mit den Apps GRETA und STARKS.GRETA und STARKS | Audiodeskription und Untertitel
Today's is more of a handy implementation rather than best practice example per se. Still, I haven't seen it anywhere else and I find it a socially mindful design.
You know the talking info boards at public transport stops, right? The ones that you press a button on and it reads the next few lines that will depart even when all you really need is the next one? I'm pleased to tell you that Luxembourg is doing it differently:
The spoken information is given only as long as you hold down the button that activates it so it is a kind of walkie-talkie that does the talkie part instead of you. This way, you can hold it down, listen to the next train or two arriving then release the button and be done with it. Not a perfect design as it excludes those with limited dexterity but it is a start.
Sadly, the information is given only in French which goes to show that accessibility should also include those who can't speak the country's language. This is in Luxembourg which boasts three official ones so most of the native population has grown multilingual from the start. Unfortunately, I have seen these info boards only at some train stations in the Luxembourg city - would be amazing to see the availability expand.
Again, no links and also sadly no recordings so have some more interesting facts instead:
1. Luxembourg is the first European country to make the public transport completely free of charge to everyone. Bear this in mind if you ever come to visit.
2. The city of Luxembourg has been awarded the European Commission's Accessible City Award of 2021.
#Accessibility #Blind #Adventcalendar #Luxembourg #PublicTransport
You know the talking info boards at public transport stops, right? The ones that you press a button on and it reads the next few lines that will depart even when all you really need is the next one? I'm pleased to tell you that Luxembourg is doing it differently:
The spoken information is given only as long as you hold down the button that activates it so it is a kind of walkie-talkie that does the talkie part instead of you. This way, you can hold it down, listen to the next train or two arriving then release the button and be done with it. Not a perfect design as it excludes those with limited dexterity but it is a start.
Sadly, the information is given only in French which goes to show that accessibility should also include those who can't speak the country's language. This is in Luxembourg which boasts three official ones so most of the native population has grown multilingual from the start. Unfortunately, I have seen these info boards only at some train stations in the Luxembourg city - would be amazing to see the availability expand.
Again, no links and also sadly no recordings so have some more interesting facts instead:
1. Luxembourg is the first European country to make the public transport completely free of charge to everyone. Bear this in mind if you ever come to visit.
2. The city of Luxembourg has been awarded the European Commission's Accessible City Award of 2021.
#Accessibility #Blind #Adventcalendar #Luxembourg #PublicTransport
Back in 2018 I spent a month in Brussels. It was the first time I lived in a capital city so it was quite a stressful experience: not much time, a couple of routes to learn, pretty loud and congested streets and trash bags put directly on the pavements - an easy target to hit with a white cane. I enjoyed it though and one takeaway I've got is how easy to read the tactile plans at the Brussels central station are.
Normally, I have difficulties relating what I touch on a tactile plan of a building to the real world. That station made a heavily simplified version of the experience by placing a pole at each crossroad of the tactile floor marking, with a simplified tactile plan at the top telling you where each of the forks of the floorline would take you. It looked a lot like the four navigation keys and the confirmation key on a classic mobile. Each of the arrows ended with a Braille description of the destination in both French and Dutch. This was a great help.
Also QDos to the sound designers who created the jingle for the Brussels public transport company. It's a pretty dancey beat of five notes played on a synthesizer which would make a nice text tone. Find it at the end of the company's promo video below:
youtube.com/watch?v=kmNBW0jdms…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Belgium #PublicTransport
Normally, I have difficulties relating what I touch on a tactile plan of a building to the real world. That station made a heavily simplified version of the experience by placing a pole at each crossroad of the tactile floor marking, with a simplified tactile plan at the top telling you where each of the forks of the floorline would take you. It looked a lot like the four navigation keys and the confirmation key on a classic mobile. Each of the arrows ended with a Braille description of the destination in both French and Dutch. This was a great help.
Also QDos to the sound designers who created the jingle for the Brussels public transport company. It's a pretty dancey beat of five notes played on a synthesizer which would make a nice text tone. Find it at the end of the company's promo video below:
youtube.com/watch?v=kmNBW0jdms…
#Accessibility #Blind #AdventCalendar #Belgium #PublicTransport
Go Easy MIVB
http://goeasy.mivb.behttp://www.stib-mivb.be/https://twitter.com/STIBMIVBhttps://www.facebook.com/lastibhttps://www.facebook.com/mijnmivbhttps://www.linkedin...YouTube
As there were no links today, have a binaural audio postcard from Amras, a village that became a part of Innsbruck itself some hundret years ago. The recording was taken in the lovely park near the Schloss Amras castle which is located somewhat uphill and makes for a good basic hike for starters. Recording made using the Ambeo Smart headset hooked up to an iPod touch 7th Gen.
The recording is a 1:26 long collage of several clips taken in the park.
Clip 1: Birds chirping with some cars driving past in the background (the park was located directly over a highway);
Clip 2: The call of a group of peacocks mixed with footsteps and somewhat strong wind blowing into the mikes;
Clip 3: A waterfall flowing to my right and footsteps over a wooden bridge;
Clip 4: Moving further past the waterfall so that it's moving in the stereo spectrum and a white cane hitting the wooden bridge;
Clip 5: Another perspective of the waterfall;
Clip 6: Clearly can't get enough of waterfalls;
Clip 7: The last sounds of a waterfall, peacocks and the white cane;
I recommend listening in headphones for the best spacial experience.
#Accessibility #Blind #Austria #AudioRecording #BinauralRecording #FieldRecording #Nature #AdventCalendar
The recording is a 1:26 long collage of several clips taken in the park.
Clip 1: Birds chirping with some cars driving past in the background (the park was located directly over a highway);
Clip 2: The call of a group of peacocks mixed with footsteps and somewhat strong wind blowing into the mikes;
Clip 3: A waterfall flowing to my right and footsteps over a wooden bridge;
Clip 4: Moving further past the waterfall so that it's moving in the stereo spectrum and a white cane hitting the wooden bridge;
Clip 5: Another perspective of the waterfall;
Clip 6: Clearly can't get enough of waterfalls;
Clip 7: The last sounds of a waterfall, peacocks and the white cane;
I recommend listening in headphones for the best spacial experience.
#Accessibility #Blind #Austria #AudioRecording #BinauralRecording #FieldRecording #Nature #AdventCalendar