New Technology Aims to Improve Internet Access for the Impaired
From: Wall Street Journal - 09/22/2005 - P. B6
By: Chris Reiter

The government, standards bodies, and companies such as Microsoft and IBM are
working to improve the accessibility of computer programs and the Internet to
disabled users through new technologies. IBM has contributed software
programming that will allow assistive features to be incorporated into
Mozilla's upcoming Firefox 1.5 Web browser. Such features will include the
ability to tab over to pull-down menus in the browser window through the
keyboard rather than the mouse, and Mozilla also plans to expand screen
reader support. Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system promises to
streamline navigation and standardize common elements in Windows-enabled
programs through its User Interface Automation Design, which the company will
offer to the industry without any royalty scheme attached. Dissimilar
accessibility standards among various industry and federal standards groups
have long thwarted improved access to Web pages. Such access will enable
businesses to tap the enormous market of visually impaired consumers, says
Knowbility executive director Sharron Rush. Microsoft estimates that the
number of U.S. citizens using assistive technology will rise from 57 million
in 2003 to 70 million by the end of the decade. 

Links:
What's New in Firefox 1.5 Beta 1
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/releases/1.5beta1.html

Release Notes for Windows Vista Beta 1 and Windows Server "Longhorn" Beta 1
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/relnotes.mspx

Knowbility
http://www.knowbility.org/main/

Sharron Rush
http://www.knowbility.org/conference/?content=sRush
