Well I can see assistive technology companies jumping in and manufacturing us a piece of equipment that we can access and use and then charging us £80 for a remote control because everywhere else is supplying a touch display remote control. It's a sighted world and these businesses are keeping up with modern technology. They don't want to lag behind just because there are blind foke who can not adjust to the changes because of their accessibility issues. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Taylor" <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 3:12 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: Windows 7 ?
More worrying is the use of it on remote controls etc. I keep warning peoplewe won't be able to live independently for long unless something is done! Just think, we might not be able to use a radio soon! -------------------------------------------------- From: "Vanja Sudar" <vanja@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 1:49 PM To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [access-uk] Re: Windows 7 ?And to bring accessibility in to this, I wonder is this a bad news for thoseof us who are blind or VI? I know it's very early days now, but there arequestions to be raised here. For example: would this touch screen interface be possible to be disabled? Would some features only be available if you usetouch screen? Vanja http://www.sudar.co.uk http://mashupradio.net MSN/windows live messenger: sudar23@xxxxxxxxxxx AIM: vanja121 Skype: vanja121----- Original Message ----- From: "Derek Hornby" <derek.hornby_uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>To: "Access-Uk@Freelists. Org" <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 12:29 PM Subject: [access-uk] Windows 7 ?Hi all I thought the floowing would be of interest here. Sorry rather long. Touch and go for the new Windows system: By Jonathan Richards The Times 29 May 2008 Microsoft is signalling the end of the mouse with its latest operating system, which aims to build on the success of its rival Apple's iPhone touch screen. Windows 7 will allow PC users to touch, rather than point and click, in a move which indicates that the world's most influential software company believes that the days of the keyboard-mouse combination are coming to an end. But some critics claim that Microsoft is a long way from replacing what has been the dominant human-computer interface since its invention by Xerox researchers in the 1970s. It is unclear how willing office workers or home users are to abandon hard-won typing skills and lean forward to start manipulating images on a large computer screen. Windows 7 -which is not due to be released until 2010 -represents the latest in a long line of attempts by Microsoft to catch up with the technical lead established by Apple -though the software giant usually overhauls its rival in the end. "The way you interact with the system will change dramatically," Bill Gates, Microsoft's billionaire chairman, said at a conference in California this week. "Today, almost all the interaction is keyboard-mouse." He indicated that he expected users to talk and use a pen to interact with their computers as well as caress them. But Roberta Cozza, an analyst at Gartner, said: "With mobiles, which you hold in your hand, touch can make things easier -you get to the phone's functions faster, whereas with a PC you'd have to lift your arm every time, and with a screen that's 17 inches wide that's going to become more difficult." Although Microsoft is loath publicly to acknowledge the success of its competitors, except when it is trying to buy them, it is clearly worried about the popularity of the touch-screen interface on a string of handheld devices, ranging from sat-navs to iPhones. A touch-screen BlackBerry is expected this year. "Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere, including cellphones, remote controls, GPS devices, and more," Chris Flores, a director on the Windows Client team at Microsoft, said. Microsoft is in need of a lift after the success of the Apple iPod and other handheld technologies, the losing battle that it continues to fight with Google over control of the internet, and the lacklustre release of Vista, the operating system released last year. Nevertheless, Windows remains the dominant desktop computer standard, and Microsoft could not resist a swipe at its rival. Asked whether Microsoft or Apple would be first to market with touchscreen computer software for desktop computers, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, suggested that the two companies were not in direct competition. "We'll sell 290 million PCs, and Apple will sell 10 million PCs. Steve (Jobs, Apple's chief executive) can flip his hand and sell a few models -they're fantastically successful and so are we, but it's a different job." This month, the company was forced to abandon a $47.5 billion bid to acquire Yahoo!, the internet portal, in an attempt to wrest control of the internet from the search-engine giant Google. That collapsed because it could not agree a price, although Yahoo! was reluctant to be bought by a company seen as anathema to the entrepreneurial creativity of Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, most of its customers -including businesses -have not upgraded their computers to Vista. The majority of the 140 million copies Microsoft says that it has shipped so far have been sold bundled with new machines. A video of Windows 7 on Microsoft's website shows the technology being used to spin an on-screen globe, zoom in on a map, and scroll through menu lists in a gentle, flicking motion. Yet, despite the slick demonstration, it is not clear that computer makers are clamouring to follow the Windows 7 ideal. Dell, the second-largest PC manufacturer, said that "multi-touch" was "interesting", but declined to say whether it would release a touchscreen laptop in time for January 2010, when Microsoft said it expected Windows 7 to be introduced. LOOKING BACK * Windows 3.0 (1990) Microsoft's first succesful attempt at a graphical user interface (GUI). Still inferior to the look and feel of Apple's Macintosh system, but PCs sold better than its overpriced rival. The tiled windows are still fondly remembered * Windows 95 Microsoft finally caught up with Apple, launching an operating system with an easy-to-use interface and natural language file names. Bill Gates persuaded Mick Jagger to allow the use of Start Me Up on its launch * Windows XP (2001) After a succession of upgrades to Windows 95, XP came in. It was more stable than the 95 family and sold well, but had security flaws, exposed by the Sobig virus, which generated e-mails that filled in-boxes worldwide * Windows Vista (2007) Software demands meant that only higher-end computers could run the system adequately. Concerns on compatibility held back uptake. Sold 20million in first month. 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