One other addendum to this fine list of points: GW may not answer, but it's not because they're ignoring you: it's very likely, if they're working with MS, that they're under a non-disclosure agreement with MS, which may keep them from publicly saying anything at all as regards MS product development.
Chip -----Original Message----- From: Chris Tekell [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 8:35 PM To: Robert Ringwald; GWMicro List Subject: Re: For GW Staff Hi Robert, I'm not a GW staff person, but I suspect I know at least some of the answers. IIRC, the official working with MS arrangement started just this year, before that any cooperations were case by case. While the new phone OS is named phone 7, they've been working on their own phone off and on for years now and I wouldn't be surprised if the roots of what became Windows Phone 7 were being laid out when XP was the shiny new thing. Add to this the fact that the Phone development unit is its own separate division much like the Xbox team and the Zune team are their own divisions. and that each division has their own management with their own priorities and it isn't surprising that accessibility can be an important factor for OS developers while hardware and mobile OS developers completely ignore it. Look at accessibility on the Zune for example. Unless it has changed in the last generation of players, I believe that MS's media players don't even have any attempts at accessibility. It is a shame and it reiterates the importance of a paradigm shift being needed in the realm of technology accessibility. I have said for a very long time that accessibility departments should not be separate departments consulted after the fact or as an afterthought in development, but should instead be educators and trainers making sure that accessibility is integrated organically into the development process. Aside from working better and making things much easier on consumers who need accessibility functionality, it would actually in the end save manufacturers and developers money since their wouldn't need to be expensive fixes and patches. I also still think that all technology companies need to have both their management and product development people including all engineers and programmers go through training where they get to use their own products from the perspective of users who need accessibility functions. If they had to use their product or access their website under sleep shades, with use of only one hand, limited use of hands, or no hands at all and with their ears plugged, they might gain a whole new perspective. With the recent passage of new federal laws concerning accessibility of technology, corporations need to start thinking a lot more about how to make their products useable by the blind, deaf and physically disabled. OK, didn't mean to go all soap boxy, but I've been looking into phones lately and was hoping that the Windows phone would at least be another option even if I didn't go with it, but the fact that it not only doesn't have a token effort towards accessibility, but doesn't even seem to have the potential of it being added at all with the OS as designed was quite a shock to me in this day and age. Regards, Chris At 03:05 PM 11/9/2010, Robert Ringwald wrote: >Since GW Micro works with Micro Soft: > >Why in the world didn't MS design the Windows 7 phone to work with >Window Eyes? That would have been beautiful. > >Was GW Micro aware of the Windows 7 phone being in development? > >Did you try to have any input? > >Were you shut out? > >Hope you can answer some of these questions > >Regards, > > >--Bob Ringwald >www.ringwald.com >Fulton Street Jazz Band >530/ 642-9551 Office >916/ 806-9551 Cell >Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV > >There are two rules for success: >1. Don't tell all you know. >If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original >sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your >message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your >message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. > >GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can >manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv. If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv.
