scripts for skype:Fw: Fwd: A wonderful coincidence, and a request for accessibility improvements in Skype

"david poehlman" <david.poehlman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Fri, 19 Nov 2004 21:25:51 -0500

Johnnie Apple Seed

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laura Eaves" <leaves1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <BLIND-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 9:21 AM
Subject: Fwd: A wonderful coincidence, and a request for accessibility 
improvements in Skype

For all the Skype users or prospective Skype users (of which I'm one) here's
an interesting post:
--le

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Pattison" <srp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "GUI-TALK" <gui-talk@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 8:54 AM
Subject: [gui-talk] Fwd: A wonderful coincidence, and a request for
accessibility improvements in Skype

> *********** BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE  ***********
> On 15/11/2004 at 9:37 AM Doug Lee <dgl@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I spent last week in Arizona on business.  On my way through the
> Phoenix airport, I chanced to meet a public relations person for Skype
> Technologies.  She took interest in my accessibility concerns and said
> she'd heard from others on the subject.  I made the following two
> suggestions, which she said she'd take to the Skype programmers:
>
> 1.  A way to change the highlight color used by Skype, so low-vision
> users can adjust it to their needs and screen reader users can adjust
> it as necessary to make it easier for the screen reader to track
> highlight bars.
>
> 2.  A more standard Windows control for lists, such as the Contacts
> list, so screen readers can take advantage of automatic MSAA support
> provided by standard list controls.  This would allow us to hear
> the position and count of items in the list, track the list more
> effectively without all the problems we're now having with highlight
> tracking, etc.  I also suggested a more standard control type for
> the text chat windows, such as an HTML control or a true RichEdit
> control that supports the iTextDocument interface.  I asked for
> this because this would allow at least JAWS to be set up to let the
> user move through chat messages without worrying about truncation,
> things scrolling off the screen, etc.
>
> I do not claim that these are our biggest issues with Skype.  I was
> totally surprised by this chance meeting and just managed those two
> suggestions off the top of my head, having bumped into need for
> these things while helping Chris Nestrud with the Skype scripts.
>
> Further things that came to mind since that surprise meeting include
>
> - MSAA or on-screen text describing a person's status (online,
> offline, away, DND, etc.) that is accessible at all times, as opposed
> to a tool tip, which is only accessible for the currently selected
> contact.
>
> - Hot keys or menu options to enable each of the four Call List
> filters (All Calls, Missed Calls, Incoming Calls, Outgoing Calls).
>
> - Inclusion of links in the tab order, such as (from the Start tab)
> SkypeOut, Search for Skype users, and Share Skype with a friend.  If
> they are in the tab order and can be activated with Space and/or
> Enter, they will become apparent to blind users, which they
> currently are not.
>
> I will pass these suggestions on to her as well.  I believe she has
> already passed the first two suggestions above on to Skype programmers,
> and I'm sure she'll pass the rest of them on as well when she can.
> Since Skype is being developed for multiple platforms, not just
> Windows, I'm not sure how practical my second numbered suggestion
> above will be (e.g., Unix variants won't likely have direct equivalents
> to Windows' SysListView32 class, so using that class in Windows
> might constitute a complication with Skype's portability).
>
> I just thought I'd let everyone on these lists know of this.  If
> anyone else here has a Skype Technologies contact for accessibility
> concerns, please let me know.
>
> The person I talked to (and she's ok with me giving this information
> out here) is
>
> Kelly Larabee
> Kelly.Larabee@xxxxxxxxx
>
> She also pointed out that forums exist on skype.com for suggestions
> for and discussions of Skype.  Since meeting her, I have examined
> these and found a number of messages from blind Skype users and
> messages discussing accessibility concerns, including a few comments
> from Skype developers and at least one message advertising the Skype
> scripts.  I confess I'm in the habit of avoiding non-email-based
> discussion forums for the most part, simply for lack of time to manage
> the almost always slower interfaces associated with web-based mail
> compared to normal email; but the forums are a more official place to
> get help and offer suggestions.
>
> --
> Doug Lee           dgl@xxxxxxxx        http://www.dlee.org
> Bartimaeus Group   doug@xxxxxxxxxxxx   http://www.bartsite.com
> "It is not the mountain in the distance which makes you want to stop
> walking; but the grain of sand in your shoe."  --Anon
> *********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE  ***********
>
> Regards Steve,
> mailto:srp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Skype:  steve1963
> MSN Messenger:  internetuser383@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> gui-talk mailing list
> gui-talk@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gui-talk

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