[Kde-accessibility] claims of inaccesibility

[Cynthia Gropp]

=======[snipped for brevity]===========================================
"...None of the prominent desktop 
applications that can create and save documents in OpenDocument 
currently work well with screen readers, magnifiers and other assistive 
technologies -- at least at a level comparable to that of products from 
Microsoft, whose 40-person Accessibility Technology Group is now widely 
praised by disabilities advocates."
=============================================================

Hi everyone, I'm new to this group. Please excuse me as I an not a
programer, developer, or in anyway affiliated with Linux (other than being
an end user).
I am, however, the daughter of someone who suffers from Macular 
Degeneration.

Right off I have to say Kudos goes out to everyone here who is working to
make Linux accessible to everyone. This is something to be supported! 
However, it would seem that you are trying to follow Microsoft, rather
than blaze a trail of your own. I know you all can do better than 
Microsoft.

Ok, John Winski might be impressed with MS, but I'm not. The basic
tools that come with Windows are so inadequate as to be laughable.
My Dad needs magnification so strong that on his monitor you will only
see the area about the size of a standard desktop icon. 
In other words, if he wants to start up IE, he will have to move around
the desktop until the IE icon fills his screen so he can see it well 
enough to click on it. 

Using the typical magnifyers doesn't cut it. 
My suggestion to this group is this: drop the current approach and study
some real programs that are used by people who are seriously blind. 

Why? Because if you can grant access to those with severly limited sight
and the totally blind, you will more than satisfy the needs of the rest. 

Also, the programs that these people are forced to use typically cost
$500 on up to several grand. Not all of this is covered by insurance.

So what makes these programs so special? They integrate everything and 
eliminiate fancy, but useless, things like split panes and 'magnifyers'.

Here are links to two programs that you need to study: 

http://www.sforh.com/vision/zoomtext-software.html 

http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp

ZoomText is aimed at people with limited sight, Jaws is aimed at the 
totally blind. Both of these programs are supported by the Veterans
Association. They just work. 

I know there are program that allow people to order the computer to do
this or that, but My Dad also suffered a stroke so his speech isn't the 
best.
Not only that, he is a tinkerer - which means I am constantly fixing his
windows system. What I wouldn't do to be able to switch him to Linux!
But I can't, there isn't anything out there that works like ZoomText. 
So here I am - hoping to plant a seed of inspiration and maybe start 
something.
If this is NOT the correct place to bring this up - I appologise and plead
complete noobness. I would also humbly ask that this be forwarded to where
it is appropriate. 
I know this group can easily take on this approach and make it better.
Linux is great for just this sort of thing. 

Anyway, thanks for reading this. Again, I applaud all of your for your 
work thus far. 

C.Gropp
cgropp at csc.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/kde-accessibility/attachments/20060511/12771f71/attachment.html