Guide Note

Accessibility generally refers to the ease with which systems or facilities can be used by the greatest number of interested parties. Often the accessibility question is in reference to those with physical disabilities and whether they can effectively and functionally utilize a service or facility.

Fast Facts

Over 750 million people worldwide are disabled¹
One in five Americans are disabled and one in ten is severely disabled¹
40% of disabled Americans are Internet users and spend more time on average online than non-disabled people¹
7.7 million Americans are visually impaired¹
The likelihood of disability increases with age

Web Accessibility

In accordance with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, all federal agencies were required to ensure that their websites were accessible to people with disabilities as of June 21, 2001. Section 508 bans federal agencies from purchasing or developing technology that is not accessible to all of their employees and every member of the general public. The regulations of Section 508 do not apply to private websites.²

Categories

Socially Built Pages | Living | Technology

View Note History

Accessibility

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: Accessibility
Adobe: Accessibility Resource Center
Apple: Accessibility Information
CivicSpaceonDemand.orgCoalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology
InformationWeek: Microsoft Donates Software Specs To Aid People With Disabilities (January 17, 2008)
MSNBC: The Latest Technology: for Goodness’ Sake (January 22, 2007)
KDE Accessibility: KDE Accessibility Project

Accessibility Information

Wikipedia: Accessibility
Wikipedia: Audio Description
Teitac: Redish
Whitepaper: Usability and Accessibility: Best Friends or Worst Enemies?
Redish: Observing Users Who Work With Screen Readers
Oasis: OpenDocument - Accessibility
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
Thinking Of Mathematics - An Essay On Eyes-free Computing
AFB AccessWorld: A Look at the Usability of Technology at Call Centers
The Customer Respect Group: Accessibility and Business Value Study
CETISwiki: Accessibility SIG Meeting 24th July 2007

Accessibility News and Articles

MSNBC: The Latest Technology: for Goodness’ Sake (January 22, 2007)
Washington Business Journal: National Federation of the Blind Develops Cell That Reads (January 28, 2008)
InformationWeek: Microsoft Donates Software Specs To Aid People With Disabilities (January 17, 2008)
PR-Inside: AOL Launches Real-Time Instant Messaging Targeted to Deaf Users (January 15, 2008)
Fox Business: Global Effort To Make Radio Accessible to Hearing and Sight Impaired (January 8, 2008)
Press Release: Companies Derive Business Value by Removing Barriers for Disabled (January 2, 2008)
Computer Weekly: Improve Usability with Assistive Technology (January 2008)
eGov Monitor: Interview with Jan Muehlfeit

Accessibility Blogs and Commentaries

Dotjay's Lab: Assistive Technology: a video tour of accessibility (April 23, 2008)
Beast-Blog.com: Views From a Screen Reader User (March 25, 2008)
Vnunet.com: Social Networking Sites Fail on Accessibility (January 24, 2008)
Sara Ford's WebLog: Which Controls Support Which MSAA Properties (August 20, 2004)
Verva: Comments on CENBT WG 185 Analysis
GameSpy: Game Accessibility Arcade to be Presented at Game Developers Conference 2008

Accessibility Tools, Tips and Support

Juicy Studio: Making Ajax Work with Screen Readers
Juicy Studio: Choosing an Accessible CMS
KDE Accessibility: KDE Accessibility Project
NVDA: Free and Open Source Screen Reader
NCAM/Media Access Generator (MAGpie)
WAVE: Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
BuyAccessible Wizard: Tool to Facilitate Compliance with Second 508
AbilityNet: Creating accessible PDFs from Word 2007
Microsoft: Keyboard Assistance and Shortcuts for Microsoft Products
JenWeb.com: A "How To" Guide for Accessible Web Design

Accessibility Support from Companies

Adobe: Accessibility Resource Center
Apple: Accessibility Information
Apple: iPhone Accessibility
IBM: Accessible Documentation
Macromedia: Accessibility : Macromedia ColdFusion MX 7
Microsoft Accessibility Developer Center
Microsoft: Accessible Explorer
Microsoft: Accessible Event Watcher
Microsoft Office Online: How to Create Accessible Office Documents
Accessibility: OpenOffice.org
Kitchener.com: Committee Supports 2008 Joint Accessibility Plan

Accessibility Groups and Associations

Accessibility Merchandise

Accessibility Video and Images

CNET TV: Announcing Closed-captioning! Video