IBM Creates Browser for the Blind 
The $149 Home Page Reader will aid low-vision Web surfers.

by Judy Heim, special to PC World 
November 4, 1998, 7:52 a.m. PT 

Imagine trying to surf the Web without being able to see the pictures. How
would you follow links if you couldn't see the color changes in text that
signify them? What if you could see your computer's screen but couldn't see
it well enough to track the cursor? 

Computers have opened many avenues for the physically challenged, but the
intensely graphical Web remains daunting to blind or low-vision users. IBM is
addressing this problem with a new browser called Home Page Reader. 

Available in January for $149, Home Page Reader reads Web pages aloud. What
makes it unique among browsers for low-vision users is that it parses a
site's HTML code to make sense of elements such as tables and columns that
normally choke speech readers. 

My husband, who is blind, installed it on his office PC and became
immediately addicted. He was able to view some of a Web site's graphics in
one window (he has some hazy vision), while Home Page Reader read to him the
site's text in another window. The male robotic voice switched to a female
one to signify links. You can set Home Page Reader to signify links by
pinging or chiming "link!" 

You navigate Web sites by pressing numeric-keypad buttons rather than
clicking a mouse. Home Page Reader includes bookmark and history lists, and
even handles e-mail.  

"I was using the Web only for business-related stuff because it was so
stressful figuring out how Web pages were laid out and what information was
on them," commented Christopher Chaltain, an IBM software engineer who is
blind. "With Home Page Reader, I find myself surfing for fun."  

Home Page Reader requires Netscape Navigator and runs on Windows 95, 98, and
NT. It needs a minimum of 32MB of memory for Win 95 and 98 and 64MB for NT;
IBM recommends at least a 150-MHz Pentium MMX. For more information, see the
IBM link at right or call 800/426-4832. 

This specialized browser is not alone in its efforts to help visually
impaired users. Advocacy groups encourage Web designers to make their sites
accessible via all-text versions. Microsoft includes large-print and
high-contrast settings in Windows 95 and 98 that carry over to browsers.
Adobe has even created a special version of Acrobat that allows speech
readers to read PDF documents. 

Home Page Reader doesn't break down all the Web's barriers: It offers no
interpretations of Java applets or image maps, and users may still find
themselves rubbing their brows over graphics-laden sites. But it does
represent a small triumph in the fight.