[access-uk] Re: smart phones and touch screens
- From: "Steve Nutt" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 11:05:21 +0100
Hi Mike,
You won't get any argument from me on what you've said, except that you
missed the point that accessibility is better in 4.3, while you are stuck
and will be for some time, on 4.1.2, because of Samsung, not Google, unless
you custom ROM your phone.
If you get a pure Google phone, accessibility is quite a bit better. It's
not Google's fault that accessibility is so bad on some phones, it's the
skins that manufacturers like Samsung choose to put on them.
All the best
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Michael A Ray
Sent: 14 September 2013 00:53
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: smart phones and touch screens
Hello Steve,
I don't agree that I'm being unfair on Android's accessibility.
Where devices claim to have accessibility built-in, why does it always
feel like it has been bolted-on after the event? Screen-readers always
seem to have to cope with the visual interface.
This is easy to understand with environments like Windows or Linux where
the screen-reader is definitely something seperate to the operating
system and has to cope as best it can with all the myriad of development
tools and even levels of awareness of accessibility from software
developers. But when the accessibility features are part of the
original system, they still seem to be trying to shoe-horn non-visuality
onto a visual tool.
The only thing I have ever found where that is not the case is in
Emacspeak, which describes itself as 'the complete audio desktop' for
Linux/Unix. And it really is.
If developers in the teams from Android and IOS stop trying to force one
paradigm onto another, non-visual access onto a visual platform, then
accessibility could so much better.
And it's easy to fall into the trap of saying something is good simply
because it's better than nothing or better than the last one. It really
could be so much better.
Sighted programmers sit down to write a visual interface and when they
are done they then think, I suppose we better make it accessible. They
need to start thinking from day one that they need to make an accessible
interface.
Mike
On 13/09/2013 23:31, Steve Nutt wrote:
> Hi Mike,
>
> You're being a little unfair on Google, since the apps are more accessible
> in V4.3, and you only have V4.1.2, since you have the S3.
>
> Get a pure Google phone and you get a more pure experience.
>
> All the best
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: access-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:access-uk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of Michael A Ray
> Sent: 13 September 2013 16:02
> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: smart phones and touch screens
>
> Jim,
>
> I got a Samsung S3 mini a few weeks ago and have gone, and am still
> going through, a long period of adjustment.
>
> It is very frustrating at first and not helped by some things being
> spoken by the screen-reader which are just not accurate.
>
> For example, to unlock the screen, my phone speaks 'double tap and swipe
> to unlock'. It took me ages of double-clicking and swiping before I
> discovered that it is NOT a double tap but a single tap followed by
> putting your fingertip back down and immediately swiping right without
> leaving the screen again.
>
> So I would personally say, yes it is very difficult and frustrating but
> it is possible to get it but it will take work and there will be times,
> at first, when you want to throw the phone against the wall.
>
> And I would say as far as Android goes, a few of the apps aimed at
> improving accessibility are a necessity because Google have just not put
> enough effort into off-the-shelf accessibility.
>
> Mike
>
> On 13/09/2013 14:31, Jim McAuslan wrote:
>> Hi List,
>>
>> Earlier today I wandered into my local O2 shop to investigagte how to
>> use a smart phone with a touch screen. I tried out both the Samsung
>> Galaxy S3 and the S4 and had a very difficult and disempowering
>> experience.
>> I just couldn't seem to get the "double tap" thing going and both
>> phones kept on bombarding me with loads of information that I founhd
>> distracting. I came away feeling slightly depressed and disempowered.
>> Am I alone when it comes to touch phones with speech?
>>
>
--
Michael A. Ray
Analyst/Programmer
Witley, Surrey, South-east UK
Ham Radio Call-sign: G4XBF, licensed since 1982
Don't just sit there, learn something
Raspberry VI:
http://www.raspberryvi.org/
NVDA, the best free screen-reader in the world:
http://www.nvda-project.org/
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