The Idea Place Posts

I’m not sure what it says about the social web that I’m writing a blog post about an exchange I had on Twitter. It feels a bit self-indulgent but that aside I wanted to expand briefly on some comments I made around accessibility of printed books.

 

I’ve written here previously about Bookshare.
Basically the organization takes advantage of a 1996 change in U.S. copyright law to make accessible copies of books available to people with print disabilities. The simplified explanation is that I can scan a book, upload it to Bookshare and other people who are blind can read the book without having to invest the hours it takes to scan the same book. This makes sense to me because it seems incredibly wasteful to have multiple people converting the same printed pages to an accessible format.

 

Bookshare recently celebrated the fact that 50,000 books were now available on the site. I’m a big book fan and part of me is thrilled to see this milestone reached.

 

Yet this 50,000 number falls far short of the 300,000 books Amazon currently touts as being available for the Kindle. The point here isn’t to talk specifically about Kindle accessibility (the device isn’t accessible today) but rather to say that current best efforts at book accessibility fall far short of what the marketplace is doing when it comes to the number of books being made available in electronic formats.

 

I’ve not done all the research yet but one thing I frequently (You have a lot of time to think when turning pages to scan a book.) wonder about is what would happen if all the libraries and other book buyers spending public tax dollars told the publishing industry the checkbook was closed until the book accessibility problem was solved. For example, suppose no public money could be spent on books unless an accessible copy of the book being purchased was made available through Bookshare or the National Library Service. I know some of this has happened for some educational categories of books in theory.

 

Today across the U.S. we spend hundreds of millions, if not billions, supporting the publishing industry through public purchases of books. I know when I looked into what my own property tax dollars to the King County library help support, it was something around $10 million annually spent on material acquisitions. Sure, not all of this buys printed books but I’m sure even today the vast majority goes for books on the printed page. What changes in accessibility are we getting with all this public spending? Little to none from what I experience.

 

These books bought with public money are the same books that I or someone else still has to spend countless hours turning page by page on a scanner to make accessible. I say close the public checkbook until this isn’t needed. My guess is that the public dollar isn’t a dollar the publishing industry wants to lose and they’ll take book accessibility much more seriously.

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A couple of interesting news items in the accessible web browsing world worth mentioning here.

 

Yahoo Funding NVDA Development

 

I noticed on the NVDA blog that Yahoo is now providing them some funding.  You can read the details at http://www.nvda-project.org/blog/YahooSupportsNVDA.

 

From the blog posting, initial work will be for some further ARIA support and table navigation in HTML documents.

 

Firefox 3.5 Accessibility Improvements

 

A blog post at http://www.marcozehe.de/2009/06/26/new-accessibility-features-in-firefox-3-5/ details many of the accessibility improvements expected in FF 3.5. Give this a read.  Improved access to text attributes when editing, better DHTML support, accessibility to parts of the HTML5 audio and video embedded controls and improved ARIA support are a few of the items mentioned.

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Today’s announcement that the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind have joined forces to try and stop Arizona State University from taking part in a pilot program using Amazon’s Kindle to make electronic versions of textbooks makes for an interesting legal challenge. My reading of the situation is that it gets to the basic question that needs to be asked much more often when it comes to accessibility and technology. Namely, if an organization who has an obligation to meet a certain level of accessibility is going to deploy technology from another source, how much responsibility does that organization have to ensure accessibility of the technology being deployed?

 

While accessibility legislation would likely never dictate that Amazon needs to make the Kindle accessible, I say if an organization covered by accessibility legislation is going to use such technology, it has an obligation to ensure accessibility. I’m sure the counter argument here is going to be something around the typical we’ll make the books accessible without making the device accessible and such. That’s typically what happens.

 

Yet at some point it isn’t about just the content but the full experience afforded by the technology. I’m no lawyer but the University seems in the wrong here. To me they should be pressing Amazon for accessibility before using their population as a pilot and really helping Amazon sell more products.

 

There’s no good reason other than lack of commitment why the Kindle isn’t accessible today.

 

BALTIMORE, June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) filed suit today against Arizona State University (ASU) to prevent the university from deploying Amazon’s Kindle DX electronic reading device as a means of distributing electronic textbooks to its students because the device cannot be used by blind students. Darrell Shandrow, a blind ASU student, is also a named plaintiff in the action. The Kindle DX features text-to-speech technology that can read textbooks aloud to blind students. The menus of the device are not accessible to the blind, however, making it impossible for a blind user to purchase books from Amazon’s Kindle store, select a book to read, activate the text-to-speech feature, and use the advanced reading functions available on the Kindle DX. In addition to ASU, five other institutions of higher education are deploying the Kindle DX as part of a pilot project to assess the role of electronic textbooks and reading devices in the classroom. The NFB and ACB have also filed complaints with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, asking for investigations of these five institutions, which are: Case Western Reserve University, the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, Pace University, Princeton University, and Reed College. The lawsuit and complaints allege violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.s

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A little more than a year ago I wrote about
Pandora’s failure to understand the current state of Flash accessibility. The net impact is that you are unable to sign into the main web site to use your Pandora account. The Flash used on the web site has several other accessibility issues as well. As I wrote back then, Pandora’s main response was that Adobe needed to do more to make Flash accessible.

 

I used a recent announcement about an update to the Pandora service to revisit the state of Pandora accessibility with the folks from Pandora. While the conversation did move beyond a restatement that Adobe needed to do more, the end result seems to be that improving Pandora accessibility isn’t likely to happen any time soon.

 

I will say that if you use Pandora through the alternative of a Squeezebox, things have actually improved. The integration between Pandora and the Squeeze Center software has improved to the point that you can delete stations, add music to them and in general use your full Pandora account. Still it would be nice to see the main web site fix basic accessibility issues.

 

What follows is an exchange of comments from myself and a Pandora representative on the Pandora blog. Note that in the below I did edit to correct two typing errors in my original comments.

 

Any chance of fixing the sign in accessibility issues for people who use screen readers. I’m on my second year of subscribing to Pandora and Adobe has built an infrastructure to make Flash accessible years ago. Yet the last time I talked with your support department about this a year ago, I was told Adobe had to make Flash accessible. They did long before this so I still wonder if you are looking at this or what’s causing the delay. I shouldn’t have to get assistance just to sign in here. Other web sites have resolved this.

Posted by: Kelly Ford at May 26, 2009 04:27 PM

 

@Kelly Ford–Here’s our FAQ entry with the skinny on accessibility for visually-impaired users: http://blog.pandora.com/faq/#530. Please write support@pandora.com if you have any further questions.

-Alee

Posted by: Alee – Listener Advocate at May 28, 2009 11:49 AM

 

@Alee,

You are missing my point. I already know about the support link telling me the hints for people who are blind and have discussed this very issue with support on numerous occasions. And that support link says to sign in I need to get someone who can see to sign me in. My point is that this an endless circle. Pandora tells me Adobe needs to do more to make Flash accessible. And I’m saying Adobe has done the work and did it years ago. For some references please see http://theideaplace.net/archives/2008/05/trying_to_conne.html, the Adobe accessibility blog at http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/, and the Adobe Best practices at http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/best_practices.html.

The last time I exchanged e-mail with support on this topic I was told to go tell Adobe you needed Flash to support accessibility. And Adobe says they do support it and my use of Flash web sites that comply with Adobe’s accessibility requirements shows that it is possible to make an accessible flash site.

So I’m trying to understand what it will take to get Pandora to move forward on this. Is it a resource issue (you don’t have the funds), a knowledge issue or something missing from Flash’s accessibility support? I’d really like to not have this same discussion in 2010.

Posted by: Kelly Ford at May 28, 2009 04:57 PM

 

@Kelly Ford–Allow me to apologize. It will indeed take more than Adobe’s accessibility for Pandora to create an independently useable sign-in interface for visually impaired users. It is on our to-do list and I am very sorry to say that we have no new developments on when this will be available.

-Alee

Posted by: Alee – Listener Advocate at June 2, 2009 12:12 PM

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The following message is making the rounds of various blindness-related e-mail lists. I know Oregon has been hit hard by the current economic situation but having lived in the state for five years and worked closely with several from the commission (both staff and consumers) I know the excellentwork done there and the positive impact on people as a result. This doesn’t strike me as the right way to resolve economic challenges.

 

ACTION ALERT: NOTICE OF POTENTIAL CLOSURE OF THE OREGON COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND

 

The Oregon Commission for the Blind was informed by Governor Kulongoski’s office on Friday, May 15, 2009 that he is recommending that the Commission for the Blind be “suspended” as a result of the economic crisis. This would mean that the agency would cease to operate effective July 1, 2009 and the services we provide would somehow be integrated into other programs within state government.

 

We believe that this is not a cost effective decision and that the services that the agency provides to blind Oregonians are at great risk if this recommendation is carried out. The Oregon Legislature will be making the final decision as to whether or not to continue the Commission for the Blind.

 

The agency provides specialized vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to individuals who are blind. It is the only organization in Oregon which provides these services.

 

Only 11% of the agency budget is provided by state general fund used to match federal grants. This represents less than ½ of 1% of the total state general/lottery fund budget.

 

Agency services are cost effective. Successfully employed agency clients pay back the state investment of their rehabilitation program in less than

16 months through their tax contributions and create savings in other programs such as the Oregon Health Plan and other forms of public assistance.

 

The older blind independent living program helps seniors live independently after vision loss and prevents or prolongs the need for seniors to enter into assisted living or nursing homes. Delaying the need for this care by even one year can save the state $36,000-$68,000 per individual.

 

 

The agency felt that it is imperative that we share this information with all interested parties so that they can contact the legislature as soon as possible. Contacts should be made immediately with the Ways and Means Human Services Sub-committee and the Full Ways and Means Committee as a decision could be made within the week. Included is a contact list for your information.

 

The following contains a list of members of the full committee and subcommittee on Human Services. Following on subsequent pages is the contact information for each committee member.

Ways and Means Full Committee Membership:

Sen. Margaret Carter, Co-Chair

Rep. Peter Buckley, Co-Chair

Sen. Betsy Johnson, Vice-Chair

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, Vice-Chair

Sen. Alan C Bates

Sen. Fred Girod

Sen. Rod Monroe

Sen. David Nelson

Sen. Joanne Verger

Sen. Vicki L Walker

Sen. Doug Whitsett

Sen. Jackie Winters

Rep. David Edwards

Rep. Larry Galizio

Rep. Bill Garrard

Rep. George Gilman

Rep. Bob Jenson

Rep. Betty Komp

Rep. Tina Kotek

Rep. Dennis Richardson

Rep. Chip Shields

Rep. Greg Smith

 

 

Human Services Subcommittee Membership:

Sen. Alan C Bates, Co-Chair

Rep. Tina Kotek, Co-Chair

Sen. Margaret Carter

Sen. Jackie Winters

Rep. Mitch Greenlick

Rep. Bill Kennemer

Rep. Dennis Richardson

Rep. Carolyn Tomei

Senator Alan C Bates

Party: D District: 3

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1703

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-205, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.alanbates@state.or.us> sen.alanbates@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/bates>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/bates

 

Representative Peter Buckley

Party: D District: 5

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1405

Interim Phone: 541-488-9180

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-286, Salem,, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 71 Dewey Street , Ashland, OR, 97520

Email: <mailto:rep.peterbuckley@state.or.us> reppeterbuckley@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/buckley>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/buckley

 

Senator Margaret Carter

Party: D District: 22

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1722

Interim Phone: 503-282-6846

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-209, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: PO Box 3722, Portland, OR, 97208

Email: <mailto:sen.margaretcarter@state.or.us>

sen.margaretcarter@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/carter>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/carter

 

Representative David Edwards

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: D District: 30

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-384, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.davidedwards@state.or.us> rep.davidedwards@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/edwardsd>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/edwardsd

 

Representative Larry Galizio

Party: D District: 35

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1435

Interim Phone: 503-350-0804

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-282, Salem,, OR, 97301 Interim Address: P.O. Box 231161, Tigard, OR, 97281

Email: <mailto:rep.larrygalizio@state.or.us> rep.larrygalizio@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/galizio>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/galizio

 

Representative Bill Garrard

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 56

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1456

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-480, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.billgarrard@state.or.us> rep.billgarrard@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/garrard>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/garrard

 

Representative George Gilman

Party: R District: 55

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1455

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-493, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.georgegilman@state.or.us> rep.georgegilman@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/gilman>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/gilman

 

Senator Fred Girod

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=senator&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 9

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1709

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-421, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.fredgirod@state.or.us> sen.fredgirod@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/girod>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/girod

 

 

Representative Mitch Greenlick

<http://www.leg.stateor.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&m

ember-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: D District: 33

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1433

Interim Phone: 503-297-2416

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-492, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 712 NW Spring Ave., Portland, OR, 97229

Email: <mailto:rep.mitchgreenlick@state.or.us>

rep.mitchgreenlick@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/greenlick>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/greenlick

 

Representative Bob Jenson

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 58

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1458

Interim Phone: 541-276-5821

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-481, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 2126 N. W. Despain Ave., Pendleton, OR, 97801

Email: <mailto:rep.bobjenson@state.or.us> rep.bobjenson@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/jenson>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/jenson

 

 

Senator Betsy Johnson

Party: D District: 16

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-215, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.betsyjohnson@state.or.us> sen.betsyjohnson@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/johnson>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/johnson

 

Representative Bill Kennemer

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 39

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1439

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-380, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.billkennemer@state.or.us> rep.billkennemer@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/kennemer>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kennemer

 

Representative Betty Komp

Party: D District: 22

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1422

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-273, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.bettykomp@state.or.us> rep.bettykomp@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/komp> http://www.leg.state.or.us/komp

 

Representative Tina Kotek

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: D District: 44

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1444

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-281, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.tinakotek@state.or.us> rep.tinakotek@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/kotek>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/kotek

 

Senator Rod Monroe

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=senator&sort-by=district#top>

Party: D District: 24

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1724

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-409, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.rodmonroe@state.or.us> sen.rodmonroe@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/monroe>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/monroe

 

Representative Nancy Nathanson

Party: D District: 13

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1413

Interim Phone: 541-343-2206

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-280, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: PO Box 41895, Eugene, OR, 97404

Email: <mailto:rep.nancynathanson@state.or.us>

rep.nancynathanson@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/nathanson>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/nathanson

 

Senator David Nelson

Party: R District: 29

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1729

Interim Phone: 541-278-2332

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-211, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 1407 NW Horn Ave., Pendleton, OR, 97801

Email: <mailto:sen.davidnelson@state.or.us> sen.davidnelson@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/nelson_david>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/nelson_david

 

Representative Dennis Richardson

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=representative&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 4

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1404

Interim Phone: 541-601-0083

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-373, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 55 South 5th St., Central Point, OR, 97502

Email: <mailto:rep.dennisrichardson@state.or.us>

rep.dennisrichardson@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/richardson>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/richardson

 

Representative Chip Shields

Party: D District: 43

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1443

Interim Phone: 503-231-2564

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-276, Salem,, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 5313 N. Vancouver Ave., Portland, OR, 97217

Email: <mailto:rep.chipshields@state.or.us> rep.chipshields@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/shieldsc>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/shieldsc

 

Representative Greg Smith

Party: R District: 57

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1457

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-482, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:rep.gregsmith@state.or.us> rep.gregsmith@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/smithg>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/smithg

 

Representative Carolyn Tomei

Party: D District: 41

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1441

Interim Phone: 503-653-5180

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-279, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 11907 SE 19th Ave., Milwaukie, OR, 97222

Email: <mailto:rep.carolyntomei@state.or.us> rep.carolyntomei@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/tomei>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/tomei

 

Senator Joanne Verger

Party: D District: 5

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1705

Interim Phone: 541-756-4140

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-401, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 3696 Broadway PMB 344, North Bend, OR, 97459

Email: <mailto:sen.joanneverger@state.or.us> sen.joanneverger@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/verger>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/verger

 

 

 

 

 

Senator Vicki L Walker

Party: D District: 7

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1707

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-309, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.vickiwalker@state.or.us> sen.vickiwalker@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/walker>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/walker

 

Senator Doug Whitsett

Party: R District: 28

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1728

Interim Phone: 541-882-1315

Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE., S-303, Salem, OR, 97301 Interim Address: 23131 North Poe Valley Rd., Klamath Falls, OR, 97603

Email: <mailto:sen.dougwhitsett@state.or.us> sen.dougwhitsett@state.or.us

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/whitsett>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/whitsett

 

Senator Jackie Winters

<http://www.leg.state.or.us/servlet/XSLT?URL=members.xml&xslURL=members.xsl&

member-type=senator&sort-by=district#top>

Party: R District: 10

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1710

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-301, Salem, OR, 97301

Email: <mailto:sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us> sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us

 

Website: <http://www.leg.state.or.us/winters>

http://www.leg.state.or.us/winters

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Good news for anyone who uses MLB’s
Gameday Audio service. I recently received the following e-mail from Lainey Feingold. For those who are not familiar with Lainey’s work, she’s been behind numerous improvements around accessibility over the past several years in areas ranging from ATMs to web sites.

 

To everyone who has contacted me about this year’s Game Day Audio Player on mlb.com:

 

MLB has put up an accessible player for Game Day Audio.  The new accessible game day audio player and related media center is live now (as of earlier this afternoon), but mlb is still working on all the internal links to integrate this player into the site.  That part should be done early next week.  But in the meanwhile, you can use the new player by going directly to the following url:

 
 

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mpa/index.jsp

 
 

Please let us know what you think, and we’ll let you know as soon as this new player is integrated into the full site.  ACB, CCB and BSCB continue to work on other accessibility issues on mlb.com through the structured negotiations process, including the game day audio service.  We know that problems still exist for mlb.tv subscribers, so please let us know if you subscribe to mlb.tv.  Feedback about the new game day audio player will be shared with MLB.

 

One other accessibility issue that has been address is the all-star ballot.  This year’s ballot has been designed to be accessible and has an audio captcha.  The ballot is available at:  http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mpa/index.jsp  Please send any feedback on this as well.

 

Thanks for everyone’s support as we work with MLB to make the site accessible, 

 

Lainey

 
 

 

Lainey Feingold

Law Office of Lainey Feingold

http://lflegal.com/

510.548.5062

LF@LFLegal.com

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The release candidate for Windows 7 is available for general download as of now. I’ve been running Windows 7 builds with success on several machines for months using JAWS 10 and Window-Eyes 7.01. You can learn more about Windows 7 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx and download the release candidate at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx.

 

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Whether you are a believer or not, the Market Ghost Tour is worth a try should you ever visit Seattle. Aimee and I took the tour last evening with a friend of hers from work and despite being drenched by rain, the experience was entertaining.

 

The hour-long walking tour leads you through parts of Pike Place Market pointing out buildings that are supposedly haunted. While no ghosts were encountered on our stroll, I for one learned a bit of Seattle’s history that I hadn’t heard before.

 

As an example, you can learn all about a Dr. Linda Hazzard who built her medical claim to fame on the theory that starvation was the cure to all ills. I guess you could say the theory worked because in the end the maladies afflicting the good doctor’s patients did go away. Unfortunately something else ended up doing most of the people in. Wonder of wonder it was the same Dr. Hazzard who filled out most of the death certificates in these cases. According to the tour guide, Paramount Pictures is coming out with a movie on this next year. Should you so choose, you can read Hazzard’s book “Fasting for the Cure of Disease”.

 

Our tour guide Mercedes was a walking storybook of Seattle history, much of it not the sort you’d find in any chamber of commerce version of what one should know about Seattle. She has a book of her stories available along with links to several other books that may be of interest.

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A recent message on the WebAIM mailing list talked about a more accessible interface for YouTube. This was created by a student investigating the impact of web 2.0 apps on people who are blind.

 

This isn’t necessarily a finished product but does seem to work well. It is particularly nice if you are using a screen reader and browser that support ARIA live updating. This is a technology that allows web page changes to be announced automatically to the screen reading user.

 

The accessible interface to YouTube can be accessed at http://tube.majestyc.net/. As an example in this version, ARIA live updates are used to announce video states such as buffering, playing and paused.

 

This is a research project so the developer is looking for feedback. Consider dropping by the page and completing a short questionnaire.

 

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