Hello,
For about 7 months now, I have been in contact with Liz Greenlaw at Oxford
University Press (OUP) about making the new update of the Oxford English
Dictionary on CD (OED) screen reader accessible. Ms. Greenlaw seemed very
open to the idea. Well Ms. Greenlaw is leaving OUP as of the end of March,
and one Ms. Royalynn O'Connor is taking over responsibilities for the new
update. I have written Ms. O'Connor two times about OUP's committment to
accessibility, but so far Ms. O'Connor has not responded. Below is a copy
of the last post I sent her along with her e-mail address. perhaps if a
couple of hundred from the list would send her a note about making the OED
on CD accessible, she might be a little more forth coming with her own
views or intent. If you would copy me on the posts I would appreciate it
very much. PLEASE take the time to send her a note. I believe it would be
most effective in showing Ms. O'Connor that there is a market for a screen
reader friendly Oxford English Dictionary on CD.
Thanks!
Danny
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dear Ms. O'Connor,
I wrote you earlier in the week concerning some accessibility problems of
the Oxford English Dictionary on CD. As I understand it from Ms Elizabeth
Greenlaw, Such concerns as I and many other blind computer users have
should be directed to you. I am sure you are very busy, but I am a little
concerned that you have not replied to my earlier post. Perhaps you did
not get it or perhaps you have been too busy. I would like very much to
learn if Oxford University Press is, indeed, serious about making the OED
on CD accessible and if you are the person we in the blind community should
be contacting.
This issue is very important to many of us, for as you know the OED on CD
is a tremendous academic research tool. Those of us who are involved in
academic pursuits either as careers or students have a real need for this
tool, especially for those of us who are blind since our access to the OED
is limited to using readers to look up a word in the print edition without
the CD version. The unemployment rate among the blind in the US is about
80%, which should not be the case. The blind can and do compete with their
sighted peers, effectively, but it helps to compete on a fair playing
field. If those with whom I am competing have access to the OED on CD, my
effectiveness to compete is diminished if I DO NOT! Will you and Oxford
University Press help?
I believe the effort is one of low cost and high benefit. The problems in
making the OED accessible do not seem to be that difficult and certainly
are not insurmountable, primarily involving a screen reader friendly font
(there are many) type, standard windows, buttons, boxes, etc. Consider the
following evaluation by Carl Wise of the OED on CD and accessibility. Carl
is one of the programers of the JFW screen reader, the premier screen
reader on the market today. For more information go to the following site:
http://www.hj.com
Danny,
Things are not looking good for the Oxford Dictionary. I was finally able
to spend some time on the program and found some serious problems in
developing scripts for it.
Windows do not have control ID's. As such, it is extremely difficult to
identify a window.
Several different types of buttons all have the generic class "button."
Because of this, JFW cannot distinguish between a push button or a radio
button. This problem can largely be overcome with proficient use of the
JAWS cursor.
There is no easy way to navigate between the different child windows in the
main program. If control ID's were used, then there might be an easy way
for JAWS to synthesize this activity.
Window's do not seem to be defined in a standard manor. Many of the Windows
are not actually windows, but simply areas of the screen that are painted to
look like windows. For example, if you turn JAWS restriction on, you should
not be able to move outside the boundaries of a dialog, but in the Oxford
Dictionary you can.
Items are not highlighted in a standard fashion. As you navigate up and
down the lists, JAWS will read the highlighted text, but this is not the
case with the Oxford Dictionary. I tried setting up a custom highlight
color, but to no avail. JFW could not recognize the highlight in the lookup
lists.
GW Micro also makes a very good screen reader called Window-Eyes, see:
http://www.gwmicro.com.
There are others, but I am not familiar with them.
I am sure Henter-Joyce and GW Micro would be glad to evaluate a beta
version of the new release if and when you have one. it may be more
expedient if you consulted them about the OED on CD and accessibility
before hand. I hope Oxford University Press will cooperate.
Thanks ever so much, and I look forward to hearing from you at your
earliest convenience.
Danny Wells, Ph.D.
4934 Firth Lane
Doraville, GA 30360
(770) 452-8221
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, (John 17:3) .
-
Visit the jfw ml web page: http://jfw.cjb.net
