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Re: Mac browser users of assistive technology

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From: Pratik Patel
Date: May 24, 2010 10:06AM

[Mike's Question]
Everett,
Does VoiceOver work with FireFox or Chrome on the Mac? And if so, does Flash
work with VoiceOver on either of those browsers? Have you confirmed that
VoiceOver and Safari do not work with Flash objects that have been designed
for accessibility.

P: Voiceover does not work completely with either Firefox or Chrome on the
Mac. Firefox access is being tested. I see updates from Mozilla reps from
time to time giving snippets of updates from time to time. Nothing firm has
been announced.

The last I heard, Chrome UI was using standard Coco components, which would
mean that it is accessible. But, this does not include the browsing part of
the UI itself. I have not been successful at browsing with Chrome on the
Mac and Voiceover. Google's public efforts have focused on MSAA
implementation and not UA implementation.

Finally, a question for Andrew or Bob if you are lurking around this
morning. If there really is a lack of compatibility is this due to the
reliance on MSAA on the windows platform that is preventing operation on the
Mac?

P: At Csun, Adobe announced that Flash accessibility for the Mac was being
improved whereby IAccessible 2 was going to be supported along with Apple's
UA. The primary reason for the lack of current support for Flash on the Mac
is this lack. Voiceover does not read flash objects at this time.

Regards,

Pratik