ColorBlindExt – Better Web Accessibility for Colorblind Users

LINK TO US : http://snipr.com/umor8

Have you ever wondered, if you can’t see certain things on a website because of your color blindness? This time is over now—at least for colorblind Firefox users.

The Firefox add-on called ColorBlindExt was released just recently and is a great support to discover things which you couldn’t see up to now. The developers describe it as follows:

His extension helps color blinds while browsing the web, by processing images and text on the page according to the type of user’s color blindness. Color Blindness detection test is included for creating awareness among people.

After installation (see further down) as a first step you should take the color blindness test available through the newly added menu called ColorBlindExt. The test is based on Ishihara plates and will tell you, which type of color blindness you are suffering from. It detects protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia and even monochromacy, which means you are completely colorblind.

After taking the test the filter will be set according to your results. This can be changed at any time. Also the filter can be completely enabled or disabled however you like.

Image obtained from : http://www.colblindor.com/2007/06/20/colorblindext-better-web-accessibility-for-colorblind-users/

Personally I like the image filtering on demand. Through this option, which is also available on the context menu when clicking on an image, pictures and diagrams can be enhanced according to my type of color deficient vision.

The developers took the image filtering even one step further. Through the settings you even can adjust the level of deficiency and a choose from a noise reduction and sharpening option. This lets you play around and find the settings which fit the best to your personal color vision.

The tool also has some limitations, which don’t really restrict the usage to me when I look at them.

Page contents like flash objects, applets, media players can’t be filtered, it is out of scope.
Only elements accessed by DOM are processed.

Unfortunately the installation isn’t a single click and run. I tried to summarize all requirements including the links to get the latest software if you are missing some of them. I hope this helps you to get your colorblind webpage filter up and running without a hassle. Be aware that you need administration privileges if you have to install new software like the Java run time environment.

Hopefully this tool will help you to access some websites more easily than before or to read some colorful and up to now undistinguishable chart lines. And I also hope this tool isn’t used as an excuse for web designers to disregard accessibility, especially concerning color blindness.

Source : http://www.colblindor.com/2007/06/20/colorblindext-better-web-accessibility-for-colorblind-users/

Week 5 poll result

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uktbv

This is the result for week 5 poll. The question was " If we don't have any employee who are disabled,do we still have to make our intranet accessible? As you all can see, most of the readers agreed to make the intranet accessible which was 83.3% and 16.7% readers disagreed on the statement provided.

Why do most of the reader agreed? Because many disabilities are not visible and you therefore may not always know whether a person has a disability or not. In addition, the workplace infrastructure, including its technology infrastructure, should be accessible in preparation for future employees with disabilities so that they are able to be productive from the moment they begin their employment.

Accessible is important for everyone no matter people with disability or ability because its make thing goes smoothly without any error. Sometime there will be some error, with the technology nowadays, solution always there.

Podcast in Indonesian Language - Web Accessibility Guide

link to us : http://snipr.com/uka5w

You might wonder how a blind person can surf the net at all, is it with the visual or other things? Blind and other disabled today can surf the net as long as the web designer consider accessibility requirements when they were designing the web site.

(Anda mungkin bertanya-tanya bagaimana orang buta dapat menjelajahi bersih sama sekali, adalah dengan visual atau hal lain? Buta dan cacat lainnya hari ini dapat menjelajahi bersih sepanjang mempertimbangkan aksesibilitas web designer persyaratan ketika mereka merancang situs web.)

For example, Blind people can surf the net using speech or braille browsers. These browsers either can speak out the text on page or convert it to braille which only read text, so you need to be careful when using image maps as navigation bars or the blind may not be able to navigate your site.

(Sebagai contoh, orang-orang buta dapat menjelajahi bersih pidato atau Braile menggunakan browser. Browser ini juga dapat berbicara teks di halaman atau mengubahnya menjadi Braile yang hanya membaca teks, sehingga Anda harus berhati-hati ketika menggunakan peta gambar sebagai navigasi bar atau buta mungkin tidak dapat menavigasi situs Anda.)

A partially sighted person might need to view your site in larger font size or with more contrast between the text and also background. Most browsers will allow these people to adjust the text size and colours, that is why, you need to ensure your page allows their browser to do this.

(Sebuah terlihat sebagian orang mungkin perlu untuk melihat situs Anda dalam ukuran font yang lebih besar atau dengan lebih kontras antara teks dan juga latar belakang. Kebanyakan browser akan memungkinkan orang-orang ini untuk menyesuaikan ukuran teks dan warna, itu sebabnya, Anda perlu untuk memastikan halaman Anda memungkinkan browser mereka untuk melakukan hal ini.)

A physically disabled person might not be able to use a mouse, and would perhaps use a keyboard or other device to tab down the links on the page. You can help by organised links in a sensible manner.

(Seorang penyandang cacat fisik mungkin tidak dapat menggunakan mouse, dan mungkin akan menggunakan keyboard atau perangkat lain ke tab di link pada halaman. Anda dapat membantu dengan diatur link dalam cara yang masuk akal.

Accessibility in a general sense is about making your site easy to use. This means having intuitive navigation and a clean layout. Visitors to the net are generally looking for information, and are more likely to stay on a site that provides this information in a quick and straightforward manner.

(Aksesibilitas dalam pengertian umum adalah tentang membuat situs anda mudah digunakan.IPengunjung ke net umumnya mencari informasi, dan lebih mungkin untuk tinggal di situs yang menyediakan informasi ini dalam sebuah cara yang cepat dan sederhana.)

PodCast in Mandarin- what is the opportunities has offered by web acccessibility?

Link to us :http://snipurl.com/ui6b1

As we know, the internet is a great tool that is used by millions of people everyday. To accessing websites is very easy and straightforward process if you have great vision, good listening and all of your limbs. But still, at least more than 90 percent of the websites are inaccessible to a large portion of the population. Why? Because of the Internet, one of the best things seems that ever happened to people with disabilities.

(就像我们所知，每一天，都会有数不尽的人在使用着网际网络此工具.当你拥有着健全的视觉，听觉，及四肢， 网际网络的使用其实是非常容易而且也很直接。可是，为什么至少还有90%的网站是达不到那部分庞大数目的人口呢？是因为对残障人士来说，使用网际网络这样棒的工具是不可能发生在他们身上的。)

Did you know for example that someone who is blind can actually use the Internet? Yes. They can use some special software, known as a screen reader. It actually reads what's on screen to them. People with other types of disabilities use technologies to help them use the Internet as well. Example,before the internet, how did blind people read the newspaper? Most of them didn't, If they want to know, they could ask their friends or family member to read for them and if comparing with today's, blind people can actually know the news from internet.

( 你知道吗，其实视觉障碍的人士也可以使用网际网络？是的。他们可以使用一些称为屏幕助读员的特别软件，来帮助他们阅读屏幕上的资料。除了视觉障碍人士之外，他们也可以使用先进科技来协助他们使用网际网络。比方说， 在网际网络的诞生之前，视觉障碍的人，是如何阅读报纸呢？大多数的他们都没有阅读的机会，如果他们想知道关于报章的文字，就必须透过他们的朋友，家人帮忙阅读而跟如今比起来，视觉障碍的人，也可以靠自己透过网际网络阅读新闻。)

screen reader: 屏幕助读员

Most of the online news which publish already in a format which can read by "screen readers" which used by the blind. These software programs can read out the text loud.So,blind people can access any text content through the computers. Similarly, if the people with disabilities who cannot pick up the book and turn it to another page, through the technologies that adapt the computer interface to their own disabilities. Sometimes the adaptations are simple, such as having the person place a stick in the mouth and use it to type keyboard commands. In other cases, the adaptations are more sophisticated, as in the use of special keyboards or eye-tracking software that allows people to use a computer with nothing more than eye movements.

(大多数的网上新闻已经被格式化，视觉障碍的人士可以透过屏幕助读员来协助阅读。透过此软件， 它可以大声地读出文字 所以， 视觉障碍的人士可以使用电脑来阅读文字内容。同样的，面对着不可能将书拿起并翻阅的残缺人士也可以透过如今科技来配合使用电脑。有时候，残障人士面对着这些配合是可以很简单的，他们可以将笔咬着，并慢慢的在电脑键盘上打字。在其他的方案里，他们可以使用特别键盘或 “眼睛追踪”软件来方便一些只可以使用眼神交流的残缺人士。)

special keyboard:特别键盘

eye-tracking:“眼睛追踪”软件

From web accessibilities we know that they really offers unprecedented opportunities and increase more public awareness to everyone.

( 透过这可达性这么高的网络后，我们也知道，它除了提供了无数的机会给公众，更也提高公众对此的注意力.)

Podcast in malay - what is web accessibility?

Link to us : http://snipr.com/uh5cp




Duration : 2.08 minutes

All of us want to use the internet with speed and ease right? And for most of us, there usually no problem in going from one web page to another.
(Semua daripada kita ingin menggunakan internet dengan kelajuan dan kemudahan benarkan? Dan bagi kebanyakan daripada kita, biasanya tidak ada masalah untuk pergi dari satu laman web ke laman web yang lain.)

After a minute or even a few seconds of searching, we normally would find the online information we need. But for people with certain types of disabilities, this may not always be the case. Fortunately, a number of principles and concepts known as web accessibility has been developed to address the concern of these groups.

(Selepas satu minit atau bahkan beberapa detik mencari, kita biasanya akan mencari maklumat yang kita ingini. Tetapi bagi orang-orang dengan jenis kecacatan tertentu, hal ini mungkin tidak selalu demikian. Mujurlah, sejumlah prinsip dan konsep yang dikenali sebagai web kebolehcapaian telah dibangunkan untuk mengatasi keprihatinan kumpulan-kumpulan ini.)

So, what is web accessibility? Basically, web accessibility refers to the practice of creating and developing websites that can easily be accessed and used by persons with special needs.
(Apakah itu web kebolehcapaian? Pada dasarnya, web kebolehcapaian merujuk pada amalan mencipta dan membangunkan laman web yang boleh dengan mudah diakses dan digunakan oleh orang-orang dengan keperluan khas.)

Generally, a website is deemed accessible if anyone who visits it can easily navigate within its pages and quickly find the desired information in the site.
(Umumnya, sebuah laman web yang dianggap boleh dicapai jika siapapun yang mengunjungi dapat bernavigasi dengan mudah dalam halaman-halamann dan dengan cepat mencari maklumat yang diingini dalam laman tersebut.)

This practice is primarily focused on Internet users with disabilities.
(Amalan ini terutamanya difokuskan pada pengguna Internet yang kurang upaya.)

For example, when text and images are large or enlargeable, it is easier for users with poor sight to read and understand the content without wearing a spectacle.
(Misalnya, ketika teks dan gambar yang besar atau diperbesarkan, lebih mudah bagi pengguna dengan pemandangan yang lemah untuk membaca dan memahami isi tanpa memakai kanta pembesar.)

Other than that, web accessibility is easy to achieve. There are numerous companies that provide accessibility consulting to those who want to make their sites accessible.
(Selain daripada itu, web kebolehcapaian mudah untuk dicapai. Ada banyak syarikat yang menyediakan konsultasi kebolehcapaian kepara mereka yang ingin membuat halaman mereka diakses.)

Also, there are organizations willing to give accessibility trainings to web developers in order to increase awareness regarding major accessibility issues.
(Juga, ada organisasi bersedia memberikan latihan kebolehcapaian ke web pemaju dalam rangka untuk meningkatkan kesedaran mengenai isu utama kebolehcapaian.)

Being disable people doesn't mean their life is end, with web accessibility, everything is possible. Don't you all agree? definetely yes!
(Menjadi orang yang kurang upaya tidak bererti hidup mereka berakhir, dengan web kebolehcapaian, semuanya mungkin! Kalian semua bersetuju? sememangnya ya.)


Glossary

web accessibility - web kebolehcapaian
web developers - web pemaju
Navigate - bernavigasi
Awareness - kesedaran

Weekly Poll Result (4)

Link to us : http://snipr.com/ufp4s

Thanks again to all our daily supporter who response to our weekly poll question. And here goes your result from the week 4 poll. The tittle of it was "Who are the people that seriously affected by issues of access to information and information technology?".

The result came out to be 83.3% choose visual disability and 16.7% choose aging.

So it state clearly that, for most of the people who agreed that visual disability people have low vision, or have color blindness. Their assistive screen reader technology cannot obtain information from image. A person who has a visual disability will not find a mouse useful because it requires hand and eye coordination. Those are the focus on visual disability.

The trouble which met by web-accessibility

Link me: http://snipr.com/ufazv

Do you know, web accessibility have benefits but there are trouble occur too. Actually, the web-accessibility community is in deep trouble. The trouble in 1 will be FLASH.

As we know, the technology today's is evolving every moments. Since the Web content accessibility Guildline 1.0 was published as a W3C recommendation on 5th May 1999. That's now well over few years ago. Microsoft's Internet Explorer had just eclipsed Netscape Navigator 4 as the top dog browser.

Few years later, technology has moved on. Using web standards is now a feasible development approach. Flash has come along in leaps and bounds. Unfortunately WCAG hasn't. A WCAG 1.1 would look quite different if it were a snapshot of technology perhaps even of two years ago. (WCAG 2.0 looks drastically different in its accommodation of technologies - for example, the baseline approach.)

Technology evolving! It improves, especially in its ability to make content accessible. Technology is one very important factor in web accessibility today's. In the days of Flash 5, when accessible Flash was an oxymoron. But wake up. It is certainly no longer that clear cut today. Macromedia and Adobe have made some excellent progress in the last five years. And now there is a community springing up that's embracing accessibility.When two Flash Experts spend time with the RNIB, testing, learning, understanding how disabled people use the web, and how Flash can enhance their experiences - it's a Straussian epoc. When the SHAW TRUST is actively engaged in testing the accessibility of Flash, and give it a thumbs up - its another Also Sprach Zarathustra moment. Put those together, and the facade some accessibility 'experts' (still cowering from monolith) desperately want you to believe collapses.

The web accessibility community needs to be actively engaged with the Flash accessibility community. There's a surprising amount of cross-over and idea-swapping opportunities to be explored. The coolest example is Lawrence Carvalho's and Christian Heilmann's Text rezise detection recently published on A List Apart.

Now, They got their Solution which Flash has an advantage over HTML and CSS in that it is far better placed in dealing with learning based or reading based disabilities. Its foundation as a vector based graphics engine trumps HTML's and CSS' mediocre feature set when tackling disability barriers best met with interactivity and graphics. Its time to admit, Flash is part of the web accessibility toolbox.

For more information, you can log in:http://www.isolani.co.uk/blog/access/AccessibilityInTrouble1Flash

Source:http://www.isolani.co.uk/blog/access/AccessibilityInTrouble1Flash