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An Accessibility validation workstation product suite.

for

From: Mark Rew
Date: Feb 28, 2002 9:14AM

Folks,

I have been asked to generate a list of products to have available on a
workstation so software and web developers can test and correct their
aplications for accessibility. More than likely this will be a Microsoft
windows based machine.

I have put together a list of urls for products, but I want to try to include
as many disability types as possible. Please send me any ideas or suggestions
that you may have for what to include on this workstation.

List:
Evaluation and Repair Tools

Note: There are a number of tools that can assist with diagnosing and
repairing accessibility problems, but they cannot do the job on their own. It
takes
a well-informed Web developer to interpret and act on the messages these tools
generate. Making a site accessible requires human judgment and informed
decisions. It is a process that cannot be automated.

A-Prompt: This accessibility validator currently has an option for Section
508-checking. Go to
http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/.
A-Prompt is a tool that assists with the design of web pages with a wide range
of users in mind. Authors may also include HTML access features that optimize
access to users with disabilities. It was developed by a joint collaboration
between the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University of Toronto,
and the Trace Centre at the University of Wisconsin.

Lynx (
for Windows, Unix, etc.) and
MacLynx (
for Macintosh)
http://lynx.browser.org
Free text-only browser, very useful for testing how well pages will work on
screen readers, Personal Digital Assistants, phones, braille printers, and
other
non-graphical devices.
Download the
Windows/DOS version (
choose "2-8-3rel") or
Mac version (
choose La Sierra's server). For other operating systems, see the
Lynx download page.
Delorie Lynx Viewer
http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
Free web-based service that shows approximately what your pages will look like
when viewed in Lynx.

Opera
http://www.opera.com
A free, fast, highly standards-compliant Web browser.
Allows you to toggle images, style sheets, scripting, and tables on and off
with a single mouse click. These features allow site managers to check
alt-text,
see how tables linearize, and ensure that pages work with style sheets turned
off.
Windows version offers a preview of what pages will look like when printed.
Versions available for Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.

Macromedia Accessibility Suite
http://www.usablenet.com/macromedia/index.htm
Downloadable extension for the Dreamweaver 4.0 Web-editing application.
Allows Web pages to be "accessibility-checked" much in the same way as you
"spell-check" a Word document.
The extension covers Section 508 and level 1 W3C guidelines.
A 30-day trial download of
Dreamweaver
is also available.

NIST WebMetrics Tool Suite
http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/webmet
Provides a set of tools used to test the usability and accessibility of a
site.

HTML Validation Service
http://validator.w3.org
HTML syntax errors can have dire consequences for accessibility. The World
Wide Web Consortium's free online validation service can help you ensure that
your pages are error-free and cross-platform compatible.

access.adobe.com
Online tools for converting PDF files to HTML or ASCII, resources for visually
impaired users, and more.

Bobby
http://www.cast.org/bobby
Web-based tool for checking Web page accessibility.
Not designed to check specifically for 508 issues. Bobby "approval" does not
guarantee 508-compliance.

Wave
http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/
Helps you check if your page is accessible to people with disabilities.

Corda Technologies
http://www.corda.com
Software for creating accessible, dynamically generated graphs and charts.

Vischeck Color Blindness Simulator
http://vischeck.com/index.php3
Available as online tool, Photoshop plug-in (Windows), and Java version.

Colorfield Insight
http://www.colorfield.com
Commercial tool for designers of web graphics. Simulates color blindness.
Photoshop plug-in (Macintosh).

SSB Technologies
http://www.ssbtechnologies.com
Commercial accessibility-verification and repair software, training and
consulting to government IT organizations.

HiSoftware
http://www.hisoftware.com/access/
AccVerify software package reviews sites for conformance with Section 508.

Crunchy Technologies
http://www.crunchy.com
Commercial accessibility-verification and repair software.

W3C's List of Evaluation and Repair Tools
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html
Descriptions and links to over 30 different kinds of tools that can help with
evaluation, retrofitting, and transformation of Web content.

Assistive Technologies

See the W3C's
Alternative Browsing section
for an overview and links to assistive technologies. Commonly used commercial
products include:

ALVA Access Group
http://www.aagi.com/aagi/crossref01.html
Offers computer accessibility software for the visually impaired.

Henter-Joyce: JAWS for Windows
http://www.hj.com/JAWS/JAWS.html
Offers products to assist the blind in Web accessibility, including screen
readers and Braille assistive technology. Free demo available.

Window-Eyes by GW Micro
http://www.gwmicro.com/
Another popular screen-reader for Windows. Free demo available.

IBM Home Page Reader 3.0
http://www-3.ibm.com/able/hpr.html
Easy-to-use talking browser. 30-day free demo available.

National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
http://ncam.wgbh.org
Provides research and development initiatives on technologies for public mass
media.
Rich Media Resource Center
for developing accessible multimedia content.

MAGpie

Media Access Generator (MAGpie)

Developers of Web- and CD-ROM-based multimedia need an authoring tool for
making their materials accessible to persons with disabilities. The CPB/WGBH
National
Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) has developed such a tool, the Media Access
Generator (MAGpie), for distribution in SDKs, on the Web, CD-ROM and other
methods. Funding for MAGpie comes from the Trace Research and Development
Center at the University of Wisconsin, as part of its Information Technology
Access Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center which itself is funded by
the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation
Research.

Microsoft
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/nhp/Default.asp?contentid=2
8000544
Provides Web development and design guidelines and HTML code examples.

Sun Microsystems' Accessibility Program

"http://www.sun.com/tech/access/
Information on Java accessibility, GNOME development, and other advances in
"enabling technologies."

thanks for any suggestions.
Mark Rew



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