Promoting idea of getting Ubuntu to adapt to users' accessibility preferences...

[Scott Rippon]

Dear Eric

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.  I've replied to your comments on
the Ubuntu Brainstorm site: http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/20263/

Here's the message I left:

You raise a very interesting question about what will happen when, say using
> the Web-4-All system, you plug your card in and the machine doesn't have the
> accessibility software you need? What happens, as you said, when the system
> doesn't have the appropriate speech recognition software you need to use the
> system?
>
> I like your idea of having portable applications. I would be very
> interested to see how this could all integrate and work.
>
> But I still believe there is value in implementing a Web-4-All type system.
> The 3 reasons why I think this are:
>
> 1. Certain users just need to customize system settings:
>
> Aren't there certain users who simply need to customize the system settings
> to make system more usable? For example:
>
> - Users with an visual impairment (low vision):
>
> Set system settings to increase font size and switch to high contrast mode.
>
>
> - Users with an auditory impairment:
>
> Set system setting so that auditory notifications display visually.
>
> 2. Can customize/use bundled s/w as fall back:
>
> I believe one of the core ideas behind Web-4-All is to abstract out the
> kind of accessibility settings you would like to set. So it's not just
> passing settings for your preferred accessibility application but also
> general settings.
>
> For example GNU/Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X all come bundled with certain
> accessibility applications (screen magnifiers, screen readers, etc.). I know
> the quality of bundled software may vary in comparison to applications
> developed by 3rd party providers but hopefully if you pass generic settings
> to the system the system will be able to transform to become usable.
>
> 3. Use Web-4-All to launch portable apps:
>
> Down the track could the Web-4-All system be used to pass settings or
> launch portable apps?
>

Kind regards,
Scott.

On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 5:53 AM, Eric S. Johansson <esj at harvee.org> wrote:

> Brian Cameron wrote:
>
> > This does seem like an interesting idea.  To expand upon it, I think
> > GNOME also needs a solution that works more generally.
> >
> > There has been talk of enhancing gnome-settings-daemon so that it is
> > possible for users to hit particular keybindings or other sorts of
> > gestures (e.g. mouse gestures) to launch AT programs.  This would
> > allow a user to launch the on-screen-keyboard, text-to-speech, or
> > magnifier by completing the appropriate gesture (e.g. keypress or
> > mouse gesture).
> >
> > I would think that using a specific smart card or USB stick is another
> > form of "gesture" that would also be good for launching AT programs.
> > However, wouldn't it be better to come up with a solution that would
> > support all of these sorts of "gestures" in one place?
> >
> > Providing a solution that can recognize different sorts of gestures
> > (perhaps configurable so users can define their own sorts of gestures -
> > perhaps with other unique hardware based solutions - like pressing a
> > button on their braille display) seems a way to go about implementing
> > your idea and also supporting other mechanisms that could be used to
> > launch AT programs as needed.
>
> as I added as a counter proposal
>
> """
> It is unrealistic to expect all machines a user uses to have accessibility
> software. There may be multiple reasons for this ranging from
> administrative
> overhead to licensing issues to interference with normal operation. By
> adopting
> the perspective that the user interface moves with the user and not the
> machine
> opens up new possibilities for widely available accessibility. By
> associating
> the user interface software (speech recognition, text-to-speech, various
> dog and
> pony tricks, etc.), the impact on the general machine is lessened, and
> administrative costs are lowered, licensing issues are reduced or
> eliminated,
> and the user has increased control over the software they need to function.
>
> This can be implemented today using virtual machine technology and
> relatively
> minimal bridge software making the accessibility software interface visible
> on
> the host and enabling interaction between the application and the
> accessibility
> software."""
>
> The Web for all model doesn't address something I consider fundamental flaw
> of
> accessibility technology. I should be able to use any machine I have access
> to.
> I shouldn't have to wait for an administrator or buy new license just
> because
> I'm using a new machine whether it be for a lifetime or just a few minutes.
> I
> should be able to plug-in, click a few icons and start working. After all,
> that's what keyboard and mouse allow tabs to do. Why put any further
> barriers
> disabled people?
>
> I believe the future of accessibility will start with putting accessibility
> tools on a netbook and connecting that network to other systems on demand.
> I
> believe this because if you give me an accessibility interface, you control
> how
> I use the computer. If you give me an API, and a remote accessibility
> toolkit, I
> can control how I use any computer.
>
> Yes, I'm a wee bit cranky about this because I spent the past 15 years
> watching
> speech driven user interfaces get almost no support and I am seeing speech
> recognition on Linux (NaturallySpeaking on wine) sit at the cusp of being
> useful
> by disabled people and getting no traction with the developer community.
>
> --
> Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list
> Ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
>
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