[access-uk] FW: [UID-FORUM] MathPlayer 2.0 - accessible math on web pages
- From: "Catherine Turner" <catherineturner2000@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Access-UK" <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 16:38:24 +0100
I've not seen this in action but thought it sounded interesting and people
might want to read.
Catherine
-----Original Message-----
From: Communications with other UID projects
[mailto:UID-FORUM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Karen McCall
Sent: 24 July 2004 12:51
To: UID-FORUM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [UID-FORUM] MathPlayer 2.0 - accessible math on web pages
This press release should be of interest to the publishing industry,
educational content developers, web browser makers and the accessibility
community. This release and others are available on our web site at:
http://www.dessci.com/pr
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MathPlayer 2.0 Makes Math in Web Pages Accessible to Visually Impaired
Readers
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- July 22, 2004 -- Design Science announced today the
release of version 2.0 of its free MathPlayer mathematics display engine for
Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0 web browser. MathPlayer enables Internet
Explorer to display, and now speak, mathematical notation embedded in HTML
and XHTML web pages using MathML. Its new features include math-to-speech
technology, compatibility with screen reader software used by the visually
impaired to read web pages, increased cross-browser compatibility via XHTML
support, and improved mathematical formatting. MathML is an XML-based
language for representing mathematical notation standardized by the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1998.
The accessibility of online content to visually impaired readers is already
a requirement in many environments. Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act
mandates that government web sites be useful to the visually impaired and
accessibility is virtually required for online educational material.
Visually impaired readers often use software packages, called "screen
readers", to speak the content of the web page using a computer-synthesized
voice. Until the release of MathPlayer 2.0, screen readers were unable to
speak the math embedded in a web page because equations were often merely
bitmapped images. Using Microsoft's Active Accessibility (MSAA) interface,
screen readers can now take advantage of MathPlayer's math-to-speech
technology to read web page text and math together, providing a seamless
experience for the reader.
Screen readers known to work with MathPlayer include JAWS, Window-Eyes, HAL,
Read & Write, and BrowseAloud. Another MathPlayer 2.0 feature, MathZoom,
aids partially sighted readers by providing an enlarged view of an equation
whenever the reader clicks on it.
MathPlayer 2.0 also includes better cross-browser compatibility by
supporting the XHTML+MathML format also supported by the Mozilla and
Netscape browsers. This allows online content providers to publish a single
web page format for which a compatible browser is available on virtually all
platforms, and eliminates the need for a special stylesheet to provide
browser-compatibility. MathPlayer 2.0 also provides better math formatting
than earlier versions and, with the addition of expression alignment,
provides virtually complete MathML support. According to Paul Topping,
Design Science's CEO, "With the release of MathPlayer 2.0, we have made it
possible for scientific, technical, and educational publishers to have a
powerful new way to add value to their online content. Not only will
MathML-enabled content make it possible for the visually impaired to hear
the mathematics in web pages, MathPlayer also allows engineers, scientists,
and students - sighted or not - to copy math from a web page into
MathML-enabled computational software packages."
In an effort to accelerate the adoption of MathML in the math, science, and
education communities, MathPlayer can be downloaded free from the MathPlayer
product area (
www.dessci.com/mathplayer)
of the Design Science website.
Anyone publishing web pages that include MathML can use the company's
"Download MathPlayer" button on their web pages, linking their readers to
the free software.
About Design Science
Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Long Beach, California, Design Science
develops software used by educators, scientists and publishing
professionals, including MathType, Equation Editor in Microsoft Office,
WebEQ, MathFlow, MathPlayer and TeXaide, to communicate on the web and in
print. For more information please visit:
http://www.dessci.com
###
PRESS CONTACT:
Bruce Virga, VP of Sales & Marketing
brucev@xxxxxxxxxx
562-433-0685
http://www.dessci.com
4028 Broadway
Long Beach, California 90803
USA
Design Science, Inc. "How Science Communicates"
MathType, WebEQ, MathPlayer, MathFlow, Equation Editor, TeXaide
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