user 'freedom' (was RE: [thelist] Site check: Staples.com)

[Jeff Howden]

Anthony,

Please care enough about other list members to properly trim your posts.

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> From: Anthony Ettinger [mailto:apwebdesign at yahoo.com] 
> 
> > Unfortunately, that's not even close to true.  When
> > it comes to things like keyboard navigation,
> > accelerator+key combos, tabbing, etc., no other OS
> > can touch windows.  More over, I'm not even talking
> > about applications specifically, but the underlying
> > hooks available to application developers by the OS. 
> > Non-Windows OSes are getting better, but still can't
> > compete when you combine the underlying assistive
> > hooks provided by the OS as well as the assistive
> > applications available.
> > 
> > http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?15
> 
> From your source above:
> 
> Linux differs from both Windows and Mac OS in that it
> is an open source operating system and is supported
> and advanced by a dedicated community of developers.
> To date, the Linux developer community has produced a
> basic core set of accessibility features (as described
> above), as well as a combined screen reader/screen
> magnification application, Braille output software,
> and an on-screen keyboard. Each of these products was
> developed for the popular GNOME desktop, a graphic
> interface environment that runs on both Linux and
> Unix. Additional information about GNOME accessibility
> is available in the AccessIT Knowledge Base article Is
> Linux Accessible?
> 
> http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?13
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Was there a thought there?  Or, perhaps, some sort of counterargument to my
claims?

Until very recently, Linux has "remained inaccessible to users with various
disabilities".  It has an immsense amount (10 years) of catchup to do.  Once
the OS has caught up to the competition, then the various apps available for
Linux have to do the same.  In the meantime, the defacto standard will
continue to advance.

 [>] Jeff Howden
     jeff at jeffhowden.com
     http://jeffhowden.com/