[access-uk] Re: "New" access plan?

I think I need to be able to use Outlook and IE because my colleagues use those 
systems. They seem to work fine for me and I don't want to be a lone user.  


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ken Reid 
  To: Access List 
  Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 10:02 PM
  Subject: [access-uk] "New" access plan?


  All, and especially the more technical among you,

  I recently met with a person who is interested in developing an access tool 
that he feels will make life a lot easier for blind and partially sighted PC 
users.  Below is a description of what he is thinking about.

  If you have any feedback on this, I will forward it to the originator.  This 
may be "great idea, why didn't somebody think of this sooner", or "it's been 
done already" - if so where?

  Thanks.

  One sentence 

  Voice led clients to access the popular services of the day, initially email, 
calendar, web, twitter. A client in this sense is a program that facilitates 
access, like an email client is the program one uses to read one's email.


  Summary 

  The screen reader is a layer placed on top of existing software applications. 
It allows the user to interact with these programs. Most of these programs 
access services that are standard. The most common computing activity of the 
day is web browsing. Why have a separate web browser driven by a screen reader? 
Instead, let's create a new web browser that is designed specifically for 
speech output.

  Let's not stop there. Let's do the same for email, for calendaring, for 
twitter. Let's create a suite of tools that are specifically engineered to 
offer outstanding user experience where the principle interaction method is 
sound.

  These are voice led clients. Software programs that facilitate access to 
services through voice.

  Once those voice clients exist, let's create a network of users around those 
clients. Allow users to share relevant data. For example, allow a user to share 
some notes on how to most easily navigate Tesco's web site by voice. Allow a 
user to suggest an alternative site that achieves the same purpose but that's 
easier to use through voice.

  In effect, this creates a meta layer that sits over the top of the web. This 
meta information signposts users to the critical data within pages, provides 
speed enhancements, and empowers consumers. Allow the community of voice led 
users to reward businesses that make voice led interaction easier, faster, 
smoother.

  Empower voice led users to take ownership of their own web experience.

  Ken

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