Accessible Web Articles
From: Stanford Weekend Reading - 06/12/2009

Refreshable Braille and the Web

Many people have not had the opportunity to see someone use a refreshable
Braille device to access the web. In this video, Bruce Maguire describes how
he uses the internet with a refreshable Braille display. He also demonstrates
finding a book on the Amazon site. 
  http://www.dingoaccess.com/accessibility/refreshable-braille-and-the-web/


Using zoom layouts - alternative style sheets for improving your site's
  accessibility 

This article explains who benefits from Zoom layouts also known as
alternative style sheets or skins, the best way to put them into practice and
key resources that will help you explore this topic further. The article
assumes familiarity with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). 
  http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/zoomlayouts


If They Can't See Your Site, They Can't Buy Your Stuff

The web opens doors. It brings the world into our homes. Yet sadly, for
people with disabilities, only 3% of that world is accessible, according to
the 2006 United Nations Global Audit of Web Accessibility. Agencies and
retailers often give a wink and a nod to the website accessibility topic, but
in truth few know the breadth and the impact of the issue. They should. It's
not just the right thing to do; it's good for business. 
  http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=132057  


Deafness and the User Experience 

How many times have you been asked this question: if you had to choose, which
would you prefer to be: deaf or blind? The question illustrates the
misconception that deafness is in some way the opposite of blindness-as
though there's some sort of binary representation of disability. When we look
at accessible design for the deaf, it's not surprising to see it addressed in
a similar fashion: audio captioning is pretty much the equivalent of alt text
on images for most designers. 
  http://www.alistapart.com/articles/deafnessandtheuserexperience 


Purpose of the Summary Attribute

The purpose of the summary attribute is to provide a concise overview of the
structure of data tables. WCAG 2.0 covers this issue under guideline 1.3.1:
Information and relationships, where they have a success criterion for using
the summary attribute to provide an overview of data tables. The summary
attribute is most useful with complex data tables, but can also be useful
with simple data tables. 
  http://juicystudio.com/article/purpose-of-the-summary-attribute.php


05/29/2009

Importance of HTML Headings for Accessibility

According to a screenreader survey, 76% of screenreader users use headings to
navigate either 'often' or 'all the time'. With that statistic we can't argue
how important headings are especially for people with disabilities. One way
to make your site more accessible is through the use of headings. Headings in
HTML are created with the h1-h6 elements and they should be used as headings
just like the ones you see in newspapers, books and other print documents. 
  http://www.raymondselda.com/importance-of-html-headings-for-accessibility/


How Do People Use the Computer without Hands

There are people who have very limited ability to move their hands, or they
cannot use their hands at all. Fortunately, computers are available to them
as well. The combination of built in operating system functionality, voice
recognition systems and switches among other assistive solutions can help
them interact with their computer. 
  http://www.evengrounds.com/blog/how-do-people-use-the-computer-without-hands


05/08/2009

The 5 Layers of Web Accessibility

Dirk Ginader works at Yahoo! and has shared the following Slide Deck. 
  http://www.slideshare.net/ginader/the-5-layers-of-web-accessibility


Autoplay is Bad for All Users

Autoplay is a bad idea not just for accessibility but for usability and
general sanity while browsing. This article will explain what the problems
are, where to find backup for arguments and what you can do if autoplay is a
must have. 
  http://www.punkchip.com/2009/04/autoplay-is-bad-for-all-users/


The ALT Attribute is Not for Tooltips

I'm am so tired of the never-ending misunderstanding of the alt attribute
versus the title attribute... 
  http://robertnyman.com/2009/05/07/the-alt-attribute-is-not-for-tooltips/