[bcab] Re: Fw: AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?

Hi Alasdair, one example I've come across is Googlemail.  (I know it can be 
accessed by Pop3 which 
helps, but I'm referring specifically to the web based mail.)  Luckily, this is 
screen reader 
accessible, but only if you choose the "basic html" link after signing in.

Whenever I've tried it without selecting this version, practically none of the 
links show up. 
Tried this in both Jaws and Hal.  And sadly the basic html version doesn;t have 
as many features as 
the AJAX/javascript one.  It is good enough to compose, reply, etc but people 
who can read ajax get 
a lot more options.  These include context sensitive tips which add extra 
functional links (e g add 
this person to contacts, which is far easier than doing so manually by going 
into contacts first).

I found this out as I literally needed an accessible web based mail provider 
last term to get around 
my college's firewall.  Despite the above it still turned out that "google mail 
the basic html 
version" was far more accessible webmail than the other major providers such as 
hotmail/yahoo. 
Sadly though there were some usability issues too though, e g it doesn't 
remember that you need the 
html version if you do, so you end up needing to select it every time 
immediately after signing in. 
Also googlemail doesn't allow you to create folders, which to me is an 
essential for keeping them 
tidy, it has some sort of "star" message labellng system instead.

Hope this is a useful example.    Leon Gilbert.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alasdair King" <alasdairking@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 8:06 AM
Subject: [bcab] Re: Fw: AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?


OK, so here's another AJAX example: a text entry autocomplete:
http://www.brandspankingnew.net/specials/ajax_autosuggest/ajax_autosuggest_autocomplete.html?

It'll update the page (a floating text list) with every character you
type. I don't think that should be communicated to an end user. How
does one handle that?

I'm interested, of course, because of WebbIE. WebbIE detects
Javascript attached to elements like links, and automatically
refreshes its rendering of a page after a user event that is likely to
update the page content (e.g. selecting something from a dropdown
list). AJAX accessibility (which is really Javascript accessibility)
is a hot topic, but I'd appreciate any suggested sites where the AJAX
components are a problem for users.

All the best,
Alasdair King
WebbIE

On 7/24/07, Steve Nutt <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I Isaac,
>
> I don't think one should ever ignore a part of the page that is updated.
> System Access does this with either a beep, if it is reading something else,
> or it reads the update if it is silent.  At that point, you can either press
> enter on the link if it is a link, or if you wait for the reading to stop,
> you will be placed back where you were reading.  So I think it has the best
> of all worlds.
>
> All the best
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Isaac Porat
> Sent: 24 July 2007 00:15
> To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bcab] Re: Fw: AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?
>
> Hello Léonie and all
>
> I wonder what AJAX support really means. AJAX is a technology that modifies
> part of the web page rather than updates the whole page.  It is one thing to
> detect that something has changed and another to do something about this.
> What I wonder is how the screen reader is to know how to respond.
>
> For example, in some situations, it may be appropriate to jump to the part
> of the page that changed and then come back to the original point of
> reading.  In some other situations it is appropriate only to alert the user
> that something has changed and let him to view that later if required.  Yet
> in other situations it is better just to ignore the change as it is of
> little value to the user.  Unless there is a way to mark this somehow to
> screen readers how can they respond properly?
>
> So the value of carefully crafted pages by screen reader's vendors to
> demonstrate AJAX support is probably limited in respect to real world
> situations.
>
> Any comments?
>
> Regards
> Isaac
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Léonie Watson
> Sent: 23 July 2007 19:56
> To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bcab] Re: Fw: AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?
>
> Evening,
>
>         It's worth noting that Jaws already has reasonable support for AJAX.
> Using a set of seven benchmark tests, SA To Go completes all tests
> successfully, whilst Jaws failed one and partially failed another.
>
>         I haven't had the opportunity to test Window Eyes just yet, but will
> publish the full results as soon as I can find time to complete the tests.
>
> Regards,
> Léonie.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of editor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: 23 July 2007 13:44
> To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bcab] Fw: AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?
>
> Met Steve Nutt at Sight Village, he was telling me that System Access is
> currently the only screen
> reader to support AJAX fully.   Well, looks like this could be about to
> change, although just a
> rumour at this stage.   Whether or not it's true, I wouldn't be surpised to
> hear that Windoweyes
> will be supporting it soon, in the least!   Leon Gilbert.
>
> ENCS.
>
> AJAX and accessibility - Jaws to the rescue?
> E-consultancy.com 23/7/07
> by Chris Rourke
>
> RIAs like Ajax often have an accessibility weak spot since they need to work
> with JavaScript off to meet the basic accessibility guidelines.
> Rumour has it that the next version of the popular screen reader Jaws may be
> able to handle Ajax interfaces.
> Accessify's Ian Lloyd recently made reference on his blog to rumours
> regarding screen reader Jaws 9.0 possibly having support for Ajax. According
> to Ian's source, the release notes for Jaws 8.0 made reference to support
> for Ajax functionality, however all references were removed prior to launch.
> It would be an interesting development if Jaws 9.0 were to support Ajax.
> Ajax and other similar technologies such as Flex have revolutionised the way
> in which we interact with the web and have enhanced the user experience
> significantly. If this increase in usability was available to blind or
> partially sighted users then their entire experience of the web could be
> different.
> Presumably the new version of Jaws will be using the small data transfers
> that occur in AJAX as triggers for the screen reading interactions, rather
> than full page refreshes which is currently used. Still, careful
> standards-compliant coding of the page will no doubt be necessary.
> Screen reader software manufacturers have been notoriously slow to react to
> Internet trends. Any indication that they are starting to move with the
> times is welcome. The other factor in the interia is the relatively high
> cost of Jaws and other assistive technologies that can deter many users from
> upgrading to the latest versions.
> Perhaps more significant is the presumption that where one leads the others
> must follow. Freedom Scientific's competitors would surely require to
> provide similar functionality in their own software.
> Only when Jaws 9.0 is released will we finally discover whether it supports
> Ajax and if so, exactly how it will go about reading pages designed this
> way. Until then, we wait with anticipation.
> For those interested in the world of AJAX and the impacton accessibility a
> couple other useful areas to check out are the IBM Ajax Accessibility page
> by Becky Gibson, and the W3C's ARIA framework.
> Chris Rourke is the managing director of User Vision.
>
> (Source URL)
> http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/363851/ajax-and-accessibility--jaws-t
> o-the-rescue.html
>
>
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-- 
Alasdair King
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