Here it is...Ubuntu Phone

Sat Jan 5 19:34:00 UTC 2013

Terrible! I am appauled reading that your msg was marked spam.
Sadly, your friends and you are in the majority of blind computer users in deciding that Windows meets their needs better than current Linux realeases due to the lack of major progress of a<ccessibility.i
There is no doubt that as far as web-browsing goes NVDA/firefox gives a muuch better experience on most web-pages than does any
browser with Linux screenreading options. I'd go as far as to say that NVDA/firefox is the gold standard for accessible web-browsing.  There's also no doubt that web-browsers are if not the most important programs on most computers they are one of the most used and most indespensible pieces of software for the majority of users. This is close to as true for blind users as it is for the population in general, and I think  that I'm not alone when I say that it is very hard to continue to be pasient waiting on an acceptable level of web-browser accessibility. The ball is not in Ubuntu's court in general here, but as is said below at the very least it is important to fast track the inclusion of latest accessibility software in to Ubuntu.
I think I'm correct in saying that it's a scramble to get the LTS releases minimally accessible when first deamed ready for production use. When major accessibility bugs are still not fixed when the LTS comes out of beta this says to me that Canical needs to dedicate more resources to making Ubuntu usable by blind users. 
I'd like to see mid-term Ubuntu releases have  a similar level of accessibility to that now acheived with the LTSs, and resolvable accessibility issues dealt with issues treated as critical for all long-term-support Ubuntu releases. 
Especially with a mobile Ubuntu option top line accessibility seems like it could even make good business sense. Apple has captured a much larger share of the blind-mobile-user market than they'd have if other platforms offered similar levels of out of the box accessibility. (I hope that latest android has acheived comparible accessibility to ios, but do not have devices to compare to know if this is the case or not.) 
Anyway, it'll be an uphill battle for Ubuntu to catch up in mobile space, so why not try and do so everywhere possible, including  with blind folk?
I'll be looking at the Shuttleworth blog post for sure, and if enough of us speak up who knows! I hope others find the minutes required to comment as well, and if we are consistently treated as spammers then we certainly need to take this to as broad an audience as is possible. I really hope that this was an odd exception and that our voices will be heard by the Ubuntu community at  large, and especially by the powers that be at Canonical. 
--
Burt Henry  

 On Fri, Jan 04, 2013 at 10:50:33PM -0600, Nolan Darilek wrote:  a 
> > So if you wish to see Ubuntu accessibility improved, here area some
> > blog posts you might wish to comment on.
> > 
> > Here is Mark Shuttleworth's post on goals for 2013, not wishing to
> > leave anyone behind, and striving to be relevant to the types of
> > computing everyone wants to do. It's silly for a company like
> > Canonical to state that they don't wish to leave anyone behind in
> > 2013 when the next guaranteed accessible release will be in 2014.
> > Similarly, it's silly for Canonical to want to be relevant to all
> > types of computing, while telling blind users and others that we
> > cannot have the latest At-SPI or ATK releases for our browsers. I am
> > a developer. I need the latest accessibility infrastructure so I can
> > develop accessible websites, and I struggle to do so  as my browser
> > fails to render some sites accessibly. When I used Ubuntu 11.04, I
> > found that I had less access in Firefox than I do under 12.10,
> > possibly because I wasn't using the latest AT-SPI. I'm finding that
> > Windows 7 is more relevant to my needs as a blind web developer than
> > is Ubuntu because Firefox under NVDA is more accessible than is
> > Firefox under Ubuntu:
> > 
> > http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1221/comment-page-1#comment-400356
> > 
> > Unfortunately, I wrote a nice and diplomatic comment only to have
> > Akismet decide that my sentiments were spam. I returned to the post
> > a few days later to find a message to that effect, and now there is
> > no record of my comment at all. It's sad when you expend so much
> > effort on being diplomatic and respectful only for some automated
> > system to decide that your sentiments are spam and that they should
> > be removed.
> > 
> > Here is Jono's announcement of Ubuntu for Phones:
> > 
> > http://www.jonobacon.org/2013/01/02/announcing-ubuntu-for-phones/
> > 
> > My comment there appears to still be around, but I find that under
> > Ubuntu 12.10 I cannot arrow down the list of comments. Focus appears
> > to bounce to the top. That isn't Canonical's fault I'm certain, but
> > one would hope that a distribution that is changing so much about
> > how we use our computers could afford to hire enough of an
> > accessibility team to work on these types of issues.
> > 
> > If people want to work on this then I'm happy to help. Quite
> > honestly, I'm burning out on accessibility. I've used and have
> > developed for Android since 1.6, when the accessibility situation
> > there was barely tolerable, and even today I'm trying so hard to
> > contribute to the Android accessibility ecosystem and am being
> > snubbed by Google. I don't know what it is about accessibility and
> > open source culture that makes it so hard for people to contribute.
> > My girlfriend has CP, and she too wishes she could use Ubuntu but
> > doesn't because of accessibility issues. I'm almost to the point of
> > replacing my Ubuntu system with Windows just because I'm tired of
> > battling with these access issues. I have a lot of respect for
> > Canonical's small access team, but if Canonical just wishes to stick
> > its head in the sand again and again, to throw a bunch of resources
> > at shiny things while ignoring the disabled, then it will quickly
> > become apparent that Linux for Human Beings *really* means Linux for
> > Completely Able-bodied Human Beings. I understand that other
> > distributions may not be accessible either, but that is no excuse
> > for Canonical, Redhat, etc. to simply stand aside and let Linux
> > become less accessibly relevant than Windows. It's sad that I enjoy
> > using my VirtualBox Windows 7 install more than I do Ubuntu for many
> > tasks, and is sad when accessibility developers ask me why I don't
> > just abandon Linux for the far more accessible Windows.,
> > 
> > On 01/04/2013 09:06 PM, Robert Cole wrote:
> > >Hello, Burt.
> > >
> > >Your e-mail was accidentally sent to me, but not to the list. I am
> > >forwarding your message to the list. I hope that this is alright.
> > >
> > >Kind regards.
> > >
> > >Take care.
> > >
> > >On 01/04/2013 07:00 PM, B. Henry wrote:
> > >>Well, I certainly am behind, and if the opportunity presents
> > >>itself alongside of those who would like to see an effort made
> > >>to make all Ubuntu releases as accessible as is reasonably
> > >>possible.  The big word is of course reasonably.
> > >>I am someone who wants things to work for me and those with
> > >>similar and other limitations when it's practical. Personally
> > >>I'm not that unhappy with using LTS releases, but enjoyed using
> > >>Maverick on several machines and I'm writing to you from the
> > >>version of Vinux based on Natty, so I'm certainly not one who'd
> > >>never use a mid-term Ubuntu version.
> > >>Perhaps if Ubuntu can gain market share and hence money from
> > >>some of the changes that are being implemented then some of that
> > >>money can be put back in to accessibility development. I can be
> > >>patient with a short term lapse in accessibility, but do
> > >>sincerely hope that this is not a strategy that is considered
> > >>good enough for the long term, and I'll certainly add my voice
> > >>to those who are calling for  a more inclusive Ubuntu.
> > >>On the other hand I can't see that out of the box accessibility
> > >>is better with Fedora, or for that matter any major cutting
> > >>edge/rapid release distro. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but even
> > >>if I'm not there's no reason why just keeping a half a step
> > >>ahead of average is good enough when it comes to accessibility.
> > >>Regards, and yes special regards and thanks to Luke and others
> > >>who work with what they have to give us the accessibility that
> > >>they can.
> > >>-- 
> > >>Burt Henry
> > >>
> > >>On 01/04/2013 01:09 AM, Robert Cole wrote:
> > >>>Hello, Nolan.
> > >>>
> > >>>When I first switched to Linux, I did so because I fell in
> > >>>love with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is what I used (exclusively) until
> > >>>the accessibility issues began to kick in. I am very
> > >>>appreciative of the hard work which the Accessibility team
> > >>>puts into Ubuntu, and I understand that they are very limited
> > >>>because fo various reasons. My frustration si most certainly
> > >>>not with them, but with teh company whose operating system I
> > >>>fell in love with back in 2006. I still remember the
> > >>>excitement I felt when I saw the Ubuntu philosophy "for human
> > >>>beings".
> > >>>
> > >>>But then, as time moved on, I had to move on as well. I really
> > >>>enjoyed using Unity, and I absolutely loved all that Ubuntu
> > >>>had to offer. If it was always as accessible as it once was, I
> > >>>would definitely go back. I don't want to sound strange in
> > >>>saying this, but I am kind of "homesick" for my first Linux
> > >>>operating system. While I am enjoying my experience with
> > >>>Fedora, I really miss what I had come to know in Ubuntu.
> > >>>
> > >>>I am not sure how I can help. I had posted a comment on Mark
> > >>>Shuttleworth's blog sometime in 2012, but it seemed to go
> > >>>unnoticed.
> > >>>
> > >>>I forwarded this message to the AccessibleFreedom Support
> > >>>mailing list; I hope that this is alright.
> > >>>
> > >>>In this world's eyes, I am basically a nobody, but if I can
> > >>>somehow lend my voice in support of what you are standing for,
> > >>>I will certainly do so. I am not online as much as I used to
> > >>>be, but as I am able I will help you in making this call for
> > >>>accessibility known.
> > >>>
> > >>>Kind regards.
> > >>>
> > >>>On 01/02/2013 03:50 PM, Nolan Darilek wrote:
> > >>>>I would like to organize some sort of advocacy effort to get
> > >>>>Canonical to take accessibility more seriously. I understand
> > >>>>the limitations of the current accessibility team, but if we
> > >>>>look back at the state of computing two years ago vs. today,
> > >>>>any reasonable person would agree that telling a certain
> > >>>>subset of the population that they can only be assured
> > >>>>accessible software on that schedule while others get
> > >>>>upgrades every six months is unreasonable. I don't want
> > >>>>Ubuntu to be another Android, an accessibility situation
> > >>>>with which I am quite familiar.
> > >>>>
> > >>>>I tried posting a comment here:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1221/comment-page-1#comment-400356
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>>because a post that claims that Canonical doesn't want to
> > >>>>leave users behind in 2013 seems at odds with a company
> > >>>>whose next release I will have guaranteed access to won't be
> > >>>>out until 2014. Unfortunately, my comment got caught up in
> > >>>>Akismet and appears to have vanished. Perhaps others who
> > >>>>feel the same should ask Mark not to leave accessibility
> > >>>>behind while Canonical charges ahead in so many other areas.
> > >>>>
> > >>>>Ubuntu Phone uses QML 5. I get that QT isn't as accessible,
> > >>>>but it's being adopted by a bunch of companies in the mobile
> > >>>>space, so you'd think that they'd have all contributed
> > >>>>toward making it accessible. Perhaps it's time for Canonical
> > >>>>to set a good example in this space and contribute more
> > >>>>toward accessibility than it currently does.
> > >>>>
> > >>>>I'm going to start actively commenting on Canonical and
> > >>>>other blogs, advocating for the expansion of the
> > >>>>accessibility team. Thoughts on what else we can do? I'd
> > >>>>love to do this stuff myself, but I'm already writing an
> > >>>>Android screen reader and working on Android accessibility
> > >>>>projects, and end users can't always be called upon to take
> > >>>>up the slack that paying companies leave behind.
> > >>>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list
> > Ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com
> > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility