Advances in design improve accessibility for impaired users
John McCormick
Government Computer News, June 30, 1997, page 45

The arrival of the graphical interface was a boon to people who disliked the
MS-DOS command line, but it slammed the door on some disabled users just as
MS-DOS speech synthesis software was opening up the work world to them. After
a few rough years, adaptive technology is again making the desktop friendlier
to the disabled. 

Emacspeak, a speech generator program for people who use the Emacs text
editor, can a range of UnIx tasks. Visually impaired users hear all the
commands and resulting computer actions within Emacs. 

To run Emacspeak, download an 82K file from
http://www.unix.digitaLcom/CRL/personal/raman/emacspeak/emacspeak.tar.gz 
You'll also need the Free Software Foundation's Gnu Emacs 19 Version 19.23 or
higher, plus an audio card and TCLX 7.3B, an extended version of the Tool
Command Language. 

Browser that speaks

Emacspeak extensions include W3, a browser that speaks Web hot links; Gnus, a
news reader that lets you listen to UseNet text; the VM mail reader; and
Eterm, which emulates 19 terminals. This tool set will make almost any type
of Unix work accessible to visually impaired employees. 

Impaired mobility can limit workers' access to the Internet and other
graphical environments. Workers with repetitive stress, limited-motion or
fine-motor-control impairments find it hard to us a keyboard and move or
click a mouse. In some cases, all that's needed is a utility to click a
highlighted button automatically if the cursor stays on it long enough.  

See the Web site of Adapted Computer Systems of Iowa City at
http://adaptive-computer.com for several useful products for
mobility-impaired users. 

Visual HTMLboard, a $40 programmer-oriented package, helps mobility-impaired
users create Web pages using any familiar Windows text editor or word
processor in conjunction with on-screen shortcut buttons - no need to type on
a keyboard. 

Visual Surfboard, priced at $795, has a Web browser, word predictor,
abbreviation expansion utility and on-screen key-board for navigating the Web
by cursor movement 

EyeMouse, a combination of video camera and software, tracks pupil movement
in a user's eye to control the cursor. The user navigates via hot buttons,
pull-down menus and on-screen keyboards. 

HeadMouse is a similar device for people with good head mobility. Attached to
eyeglasses or a headband, it tracks small targets. For prices, contact
Adaptive Computer Systems Inc. at 888/232-7811. 

Mobility impairment caused by repetitive stress sometimes can be nipped in
the bud by good work habits and ergonomic keyboards. 

Health Care Keyboard Co. Inc. of Wauwatosa, WI, sells a $495 keyboard,
discounted on General Services Administration schedule contract, that's
highly adjustable for users with wrist, forearm, or hand injuries. 

Adesso Corp. of Los Angeles offers ergonomic keyboards priced around $100
with built-in pointing devices and special keys for Apple Macintosh or
Windows 95 users. 

Microsoft's Natural Keyboard sells for less than $90 and can be ordered from
GSA resellers such as Government Technology Services Inc. of Chantilly, VA. 


John McCormick, a free-lance writer and computer consultant, has been working
with computers since the early 1960s. E-mail him at powerusr@penn.com.