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The GNOME Project has released Orca – a screen reader with other cool sounding features – as part of the release of version 2.16 of their popular Unix desktop environment. This piece of assistive technology is not just a screen reader. It also makes use of braille and screen magnification.
I need to find some time to have a play and report back about it.

Web Directions 2006 has just been launched! The line up of speakers look fantastic, as well as the workshops which have been scheduled for 26th and 27th of September.

I’m totally excited. Now to find the money to book myself on to the course…..

The Register writes about how text to speech gets emotional, thanks to Swiss based company, SVOX AG, who have produced a text to speech engine that is the result of 15 years of research and development.

The SVOX TTS engine is scalable between mobile, personal and server solutions so that as these new challenges are solved for the mass market they will become available for the specialised accessibility market.

Source: The Register

So perhaps it’s goodbye to the stereotype-basic-speech-synthesiser of JAWS – hello emotional synthesiser!

Photo credit: © Fraunhofer IITB

Mobile impaired but want the freedom of being able to get around any terrain? Check out the new GPS enabled four-wheel drive wheelchair, from Otto Bock HealthCare and the Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Data Processing IITB. This innovative system can check the user’s pulse rate and blood values and even calls for help in emergencies.

This Superfourin, as it’s known, is basically a modified ATV with a high-performance hybrid engine, roll bar, on-board computer, and embedded sensors to monitor both vital signs and vehicle status.

“Our test driver, a multiple sclerosis patient who has been wheelchair-bound for many years, was enthused. For the first time in a long time, he was able to visit the Thüringer Forest with his family without having to rely on outside help.”

Source: Extreme wheelchairing

The call for review of the draft of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 was mentioned multiple times at last week’s OZeWAI conference.

All comments should be sent in by 21st December 2005.

I’m back from this year’s OZeWAI conference, held at La Trobe University in Melbourne. The focus of the conference is accessibility and adaptability of the web. The program included a range of speakers from various backgrounds, including (but not limited to):

• Andrew Arch from Vision Australia
• Paul Bohman and Shane Anderson from WebAIM in USA
• Helle Bjarnø from Videncenter for Synshandicap in Denmark
• Shawn Henry from the World Wide Web Consortium in USA
• Charles McCathieNevile from Opera in Norway
• Russ Weakley and Roger Hudson from Web Standards Group

Some of the key topics that stuck in my mind included adaptability (about adapting the web to the user rather than having the user adapt to the web), the different types of disabilities and accessibility testing. There were many more topics covered during the conference as can be seen by the program.

Vision impairment is one of the most talked about areas of accessibility, but it is important to keep in mind that there are other disabilities that we, as web designers, must design for. In regards to the other types of disabilities, cognitive disabilities are an area that still requires a lot more work. It can be one of the harder areas of disabilities to design for, due to lack of knowledge within this area, and also the diversity that’s within the “cognitive” category.

One of the best things about this conference is getting to meet other people who are also interested in this area of accessibility, and whom many are heavily involved in moving accessibility forward.

Many thanks to Liddy Nevile and her team for organising this conference. Thanks very much to Shane Anderson, his lovely wife, Rachelle and their gorgeous baby Ella, and Paul Bohman who, despite it being very out of their way, rescued me when I was stranded at the wrong Safeway in Melbourne (who would have thought that there were three Safeways in a row! And why is it called Safeway instead of Woolworths?). Despite all that hassle, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Namaste Indian Restaurant.

My OZeWAI Flickr photos are now available. Here’s a quick preview:

Steve Faulkner from Vision Australia has just released the latest version of the Web Accessibility Toolbar EN 1.2. You can download the toolbar here.

I did use the older version of the Toolbar at one stage, but with keyboard conflicts interfering with my web development work, it meant that I had to remove it from my work machine. This newer version seems to address this issue, among other things. I haven’t had a chance to evaluate the latest version yet, but it’s always great having these tools….especially when they’re free (I’m sure donations would be greatly appreciated)!