July 26, 2006
by Jon Whiting
I spent last week in sunny San Diego at the Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) conference, which was comprised of over 1,200 professionals who serve students with disabilities in postsecondary education. Although San Diego was unseasonably warm, the weather was still beautiful. Here is a picture from the balcony of my sixth-story hotel room.
Below are just a couple of the interesting experiences I had at AHEAD 2006.
"508 Doesn’t Apply to Us"
Continue reading Impressions from AHEAD 2006
July 20, 2006
by Jared Smith
Google Accessible Search has been released. It is “designed to identify and prioritize search results that are more easily usable by blind and visually impaired users.” Hurray to Google for providing this useful tool.
Google Accessible Search provides a simple, scaled down interface. Continue reading Google Steps Forward
July 7, 2006
by Jared Smith
During @media 2006, I blogged about the need for a U.S.-based conference that focused on web standards for web developers. Well, now we have it. The Refresh the Web conference, held in Orlando, Florida in November, will provide over 16 hours of non-stop web standards, plus optional crash courses from Andy Budd and Jeremy Keith.
July 6, 2006
by Jared Smith
I’m pleased to announce that the National Center on Disability and Access to Education has been appointed to the newly formed Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee. This committee will be reviewing and updating the existing Section 508 and Telecommunications Act accessibility guidelines for telecommunications products and accessibility standards for electronic and information technology. These laws apply widely throughout U.S. federal government and industry. I’m excited that as part of WebAIM’s partnership in NCDAE, I will be taking the primary role, with Cyndi Rowland as an alternate, in sitting on the committee.
The appointees include some very big names in the IT industry and I’m excited to be able to represent both NCDAE and our constituent groups in influencing accessibility at such a scale. As the process begins, we will be looking for ideas and feedback on how these accessibility standards and guidelines might best be revised to increase accessibility for all.
July 5, 2006
by Jared Smith
The final version of Opera 9 web browser is now available at opera.com. This version is a sleek, minimalist, and fun browser. It has a very polished Macesque look. Unfortunately it may still be inaccessible to some users.
Continue reading Is Opera 9 the “most accessible browser on the market”?
