user 'freedom' (was RE: [thelist] Site check: Staples.com)
Ian Anderson
ian at zstudio.co.uk
Wed Sep 21 05:56:37 CDT 2005
Anthony Ettinger wrote:
>
> Care to cite your source?
>
> Either way, I'm sure both OS's offer great accessible
> applications if you know where and how to find it.
Jeff is quite correct. Windows has long been the only platform with a
significant support for many types of assistive technology.
The key part is Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA), which is a layer
in the OS that talks to devices like screen readers, braille tablets,
screen magnifiers and so on. If you want to use most assistive
technology, you need a Windows box.
Apple has only just added basic access support to their OS to allow you
to use the keyboard alone to navigate, and the relevant preferences that
allow it at all are off by default. Very few Mac applications support
keyboard only access.
Macs have been the least accessible computers on the planet for 20
years; the situation is changing slowly but not significantly.
I understand there is a movement to create an accessibility layer for
Linux, but I don't think it's mature yet and is not supported by the
majority of AT devices out there.
Cheers
Ian
--
_________________________________________________
zStudio - Web development and accessibility
http://zStudio.co.uk
Snippetz.net BETA - Online code library
File, manage and re-use your code snippets online
http://snippetz.net
More information about the thelist
mailing list