Software-center not accessible - Please avoid webkit!

[Dmitrijs Ledkovs]

On 22 February 2010 09:27, Bill Cox <waywardgeek at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ubuntu developers need to know not to use webkit.  Any application
> based on webkit cannot be accessed by Orca in any meaningful way.  The
> Ubuntu Software Center, as a result, is 100% useless for the blind.
> Software-center should be modified to used gecko.  Until that happens,
> the blind will need to keep using gnome-app-install... except that
> it's broken in Lucid.  Please stop making such mistakes, as it makes
> Ubuntu less and less useful for the blind over time.
>
> If there is any way to help Ubuntu developers test accessibility
> during development, let me know.  I believe the blind would be happy
> to help.  There are basic things, like avoiding webkit and Qt, which
> everyone needs to know about.
>
> Bill
>

There are open tickets against GtkWebkit with respect to accessibility
and as far as I'm aware Gnome/GtkWebkit devs are working on this.
Unfortunately it is Gnome 3.0 goal and even previous gnome 2.30 =
gnome 3.0 schedule had accessibility regressions noted. As for design
decision webkit is far superior for embedding (gnome has only yelp
left using gecko and it has experimental webkit branch). You concerns
are valid but they affect upstream (gnome => all other distros) even
more because epiphany & gnome-dev-help are not accessible by orca at
the moment. At the current stage of ubuntu release schedule it will be
impossible to switch rendering backend for ubuntu-software-centre. So
the only hope to fix this accessibility issue is to fix
gnome-app-install & backport accessible webkit later to lucid after
the release.