[acbny-l] Fw: Press release: ACB endorses top web software.

From: "Frank Casey" <frcasey@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "acbny acbny" <acbny-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 03:25:18 -0400
Greetings,

Below, please find the ACB Press Release listed, below.


Enjoy,

Frank Casey


Frank Casey

frcasey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


>
> For Immediate Release
>
> For more information, contact:
>
> Charles Crawford, Executive Director
>
> ccrawford@xxxxxxx
>
> American Council of the Blind Endorses HiSoftware Company Cynthia Says
(TM)
> and AccVerify Cynthia Says (TM) Edition as excellent resources for testing
> web site accessibility
>
> WASHINGTON, May 21, 2003 -- The American Council of the Blind (ACB) today
> announced that, as the leading organization of blind and visually impaired
> Americans, ACB endorses and recommends HiSoftware Company solutions
Cynthia
> Says (TM) as well as AccVerify Cynthia Says (TM), as excellent tools for
> guaranteeing that web sites will be accessible to people who are blind and
> visually impaired.
>
> "Because of their scalability, cost effectiveness, and usefulness in web
> site accessibility testing," says ACB President Christopher Gray, of San
> Francisco, Calif., "these products offer a wonderful, affordable solution
> to web masters for making their sites accessible to people with
disabilities."
>
> HiSoftware Company, Inc. launched Cynthia Says (TM) in March of 2003, in
> cooperation with the International Center for Disability Resources on the
> Internet, and the Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter.
> Cynthia Says (TM) provides testing of web sites for compliance with
Section
> 508 and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) web accessibility standards.
> Cynthia Says (TM) tests web sites and reports accessibility issues
> immediately through simple and easy-to-understand web browser based
reports.
>
> According to Robert B. Yonaitis, HiSoftware President and CEO, "The goal
of
> this service is to provide a well-supported accessibility validation
tester
> for those who need to test a page and to expose them to the underlying
> technology and the benefits of using the technology."
>
> Through its endorsement, the American Council of the Blind will also be
> promoting the downloadable version of the software, AccVerify Cynthia Says
> (TM) Edition. This solution, which is available at no cost to all K-12
> schools and at a nominal cost to others, helps educate and assist web
> content developers to make their Internet content accessible to computer
> users who rely on assistive software, such as screen-reading and
> magnification programs and refreshable Braille displays, to access
> information on their computer screens.
>
> "HiSoftware Company is pleased and honored that our solutions were
selected
> for recommendation by the ACB," said HiSoftware CEO Yonaitis. "Our
> customers recognize the importance of complying with accessibility
> standards on their web sites so that the information they provide is
> available to everyone regardless of physical ability. Cynthia Says (TM)
> enables anyone to test a web page, and it also educates the tester about
> the underlying technology behind accessibility and promotes accessible web
> design."
>
> "In selecting HiSoftware Company and its products, ACB specifically sought
> a company with qualities and solutions that make them leaders in web
> accessibility testing," says ACB President Gray. "Cynthia Says (TM) helps
> users to ensure that their web sites have the functionality needed for a
> diverse population of user needs and preferences."
>
> ACB Executive Director Charlie Crawford, of Silver Spring, Md., added, "We
> are very impressed by this tool. A web master can get immediate feedback
> about the accessibility of a site. There's no waiting around for any kind
> of external endorsement and virtually no additional expense involved in
> determining whether a person with a disability can access the information
> presented on the screen. This is good news for people with disabilities,
> and for all the entities out there who want people with disabilities to
> have access to what they have to offer via the web. Cynthia Says (TM) is
> easy to use, and we find that it provides clear and easily understood
> reports. We believe that this much-needed online tool will help fill the
> accessibility gap which blind computer users experience so often when
their
> screen readers refuse to 'read' the graphics, tables, or other visual
> displays on a computer screen. We all look forward to a day when surfing
> the Internet will be just as easy for people who have disabilities as it
is
> for the more typical computer users out there."
>
> Cynthia Says (TM) allows users to quickly receive an immediate "pass/fail"
> for automated checks of their web site accessibility along with direct
> links to the technical rule passed or violated. It also directs and
assists
> users to validate human testing requirements as required. Accessibility
> issues are detected within web sites from web-based applications, dynamic
> pages, or static HTML pages. Cynthia Says (TM) utilizes HiSoftware's
> AccMonitor Server technology and deploys USER Agents (crawlers/scanners)
to
> collect individual page or dynamic page accessibility data. This
> information is then sent to the central server where actual accessibility
> verification is performed. The output of the accessibility verification
> results in easy-to-read reports that can then be viewed securely over the
> Internet through a user's own web browser. More information is available
at
> http://www.cynthiasays.com.
>
> The National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Engineering Society of
> Detroit selected HiSoftware Company as the 2002 recipient of the
> prestigious da Vinci Award for Electronics and Information Technology. The
> da Vinci awards were developed to recognize individuals, organizations,
and
> corporations in the engineering, construction, and technical realms whose
> design innovations have improved accessibility, and empowered people,
> regardless of their physical ability.
>
> Since its launch in March of 2003, Cynthia Says (TM) has been used to test
> over one million web pages around the world. Cynthia Says (TM) was used as
> an educational tool to demonstrate accessibility issues with Scotland's
> national election. See: http://www.dmag.org.uk/election/details.asp.
>
> About the American Council of the Blind
>
> The American Council of the Blind is a national membership organization
> whose purpose is to work toward independence, security, equality of
> opportunity, and improved quality of life for all blind and visually
> impaired people. Founded in 1961, ACB's members work through more than 70
> state and special-interest affiliates to improve the well-being of all
> blind and visually impaired people by: serving as a representative
national
> organization; elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind
> people; improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and
> opportunities; cooperating with public and private institutions and
> organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and assisting all
> people with severely impaired vision to develop their abilities, and
> conducting a public education program to promote greater understanding of
> blindness. To learn more about the Council's work, visit the
organization's
> web site at http://www.acb.org, listen to ACB Radio online at
> www.acbradio.org, or contact the national office in Washington, DC at
(202)
> 467-5081.
>
> About HiSoftware
>
> HiSoftware Company, the leader in enterprise content quality management
> solutions, provides innovative products that empower quality assurance
> teams, content developers, web site architects, and company executives to
> work collaboratively on their efforts to create and manage corporate web
> standards for accessibility, privacy, searchability, usability and custom
> guidelines and policies. HiSoftware's integrated, full life cycle
solutions
> dramatically reduce the time required to test, manage and deploy
e-business
> web sites.
>
> HiSoftware works closely with industry leaders and visionaries to provide
> solutions for today's information accessibility, content quality, search
> and retrieval needs. HiSoftware's customers represent Fortune 500
companies
> and many of the largest e-commerce, government, and educational sites in
> North America and around the world and include ChevronTexaco, Commerce
One,
> Mercury Interactive, and Microsoft Government.
>
> Founded in 1998, HiSoftware Company maintains North American corporate
> headquarters in Concord, N.H. Further information about HiSoftware can be
> found online at www.hisoftware.com.
>
>
> --
> -- Charlie Crawford
>
>
[acbny-l] Fw: Press release: ACB endorses top web software.

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