[access-uk] Re: Setting the cat among the pigeons
- From: Chris Moore MBE <moore.c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 11:23:56 +0000
I think the point of the exercise was to road test accessibility out of the
box, without having to replace stock apps to achieve accessibility/usability. I
still think iOS is ahead here. Just look at the built in web browser for
Lollypop, it is still no match for Safari. This can also be said for a number
of other stock iOS apps. Android is intuitive to experienced users, but I
wonder how intuitive it is compared to iOS?
Yes there is Firefox for Android and the impressive email client Steve now uses
(sorry name escapes me at present) and so on. Users have to go to the trouble
of seeking these apps, and then downloading and installing them. So still not
an out of the box solution for most basic tasks, which might even put off some
users who just want to buy something that just works. Yes there are other
options like GeorgiePhone or Telorion, but you can’t exactly purchase those in
Tescos.
This said though, we are starting to see some very good accessible apps for
Android and the landscape is changing on a daily basis. Samsung have introduced
some nice iOS accessibility touches to their S5 handset and hopefully these
will be adopted by Google as standard.
I can’t be bothered with getting into the 'mine is better than yours’ debate, I
am more interested in the user’s perspective. Healthy competition drives
innovation, which results in better products for us all. One day it would be
nice though if many of the commands or gestures were the same or very similar
across all devices. This would be simpler for everyone. We have web standards,
so maybe it is time we have screen reader standards too? This would certainly
make my job easier.
In the meantime though Steve, keep flying the flag and pushing Android forward.
I also welcome the improvements to WindowEyes as JAWS needs a competitor.
Although Microsoft could easily wipe the floor with Apple and also Freedom
Scientific, if they purchased AI Squared and made ZoomText their Windows
default magnification application and morphed WindowEyes into Narrator. Between
WindowEyes and Windows 10, I am starting to get a little excited and pleased to
see accessibility on the Windows phone platform starting to grow legs.
I am a Mac boy, and wish Apple would just take some time out and fix all the
bugs. Voiceover on the Mac can be a clunky mess at times and it still has a few
kinks when it comes to HTML 5 and ARIA.
Great topic though guys.
Chris
On 29 Nov 2014, at 10:12, Saqib <saqibh23@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Well said Steve! These experts sure know how to spit their dummy out.
>
> Twitter Saq5000 and Skype Saq5000
>
> On 28 Nov 2014, at 20:33, Steve Nutt <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> It is no longer honest though in terms of accessibility. I would say
>> Android is virtually equal to iOS in terms of accessibility, provided you
>> know the operating system, especially Android 5.0, AKA Lollipop.
>>
>> As for Marco's blog, the second time he was supposed to do it for 30 days
>> and quit on day 18, just because he couldn't find a way to turn the screen
>> off. I could have told him of at least two apps that do it, Filters and
>> Shades, so his research left a lot to be desired.
>>
>> Sure Android is not perfect, but it strikes me these so-called experts want
>> it to be like iOS, and it simply isn't.
>>
>> All the best
>>
>> Steve
>>
>> --
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>> Email: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Web: http://www.comproom.co.uk
>>
>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
>> Dave Sheridan
>> Sent: 28 November 2014 14:26
>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Setting the cat among the pigeons
>>
>> Hi Peter
>>
>> Whilst it may not be the response you had hoped for It is honest in respect
>> of how long you may need to wait for this app to be developed before its
>> release.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On 28 Nov 2014, at 13:50, Peter Bentley <bentleypdlists@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> Afternoon
>>
>> I contacted BlindSquare support yesterday to see if they might be preparing
>> to relaease their program on the android platform. This was their reply.
>> What do you think?
>>
>> Peter
>>
>> “Currently iOS is superior on accessibility, so 99% of blind users picks
>> that one. Android is coming better, but still long way to go...
>>
>> I appreciate lot Marco Zehe, who is blind and also works on Mozilla's
>> accessibility team. He has tried to switch over to Android 2 times now. For
>> him it
>> was not yet possible, but he has written a lot of differences and where
>> Google still have something to be improved:
>> http://www.marcozehe.de/2014/08/03/revisiting-the-switch-to-android-full-time-experiment/
>>
>> That said: I hired Android developer 3 months ago and we have been building
>> some groundings. BlindSquare is currently 80 000 lines of beautifully written
>> code, so making port of all of it would be possibly 6-12 months task, so I'm
>> aiming first lite version. I have no idea, when that would be ready.
>>
>> One of the best Android apps is DotWalker. It has probably 5% of features of
>> BlindSquare, but worth trying.”
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