low vision
Facebook Commits to Accessibility
Robin Wauters posted that Facebook has been working with the American Federation for the Blind (AFB) for two years to make their web site accessible to the visually impaired. Some suggestions I have to help make Facebook more accessibile include:
- Provide an audio narrative describing the site. It would be helpful to know what Facebook is all about. Many adults know little about “Social Networking”.
- Force the users to provide alt-tags for their images. I know this sounds harsh, but photographs are an important part of the Facebook experience and it would be helpful if users would tag their images.
- Provide help text for data entry fields. It is not always clear how fields are used and when the fields are required. Though most fields are self evident, there are times when I don’t know what Gacrbook is going to do with the input.
- Improve Java Script usage for Screen Readers. Most Web 2.0 applications have difficulty with htis.
- Allow for larger fonts for the iPhone Facebook application. This application is almost impossible to use because of the tiny fonts. I do like the navigation though.
Kindle 2
I am legally blind and have been searching for the best low vision e-book reader. I think I have found it. With minor changes, it could be a real tool for low vision users. I think the following should be done by Amazon, (1) Make Kindle friendly in low light, that is, let the user adjust the background color to increase the contrast, (2) Allow the user to increase the font size to 24 and 28 font size, (3) Make the text in the menu as large as the text in content, (4) Make the cursor easier to see and (5) Settle the disagreements with the Author’s Guild so all materials can be read using the Speech to Text feature. Now I know why Amazon advertises the device in a beach setting. I have an iPhone, and I use the Kindle iPhone app in low light situations. The first four items should be easy enough since the Kindle is a computer running the Linux OS. The fifth needs some backbone and encouragement from Amazon and common sense from the Authors’ Guild.
I find the buttons easy to use. I find the device very intuitive. The Whispernet feature is great and almost worth the purchase alone. I have not used the browser yet. The Kindle store is easy and too addictive. I have not read so many books since childhood. Customer support was responsive and very helpful.
If I were Amazon, I would build Mac and Windows OS versions of the Kindle application. It would help sell content. (I would be disappointed if the Mac app is not built.).