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Re[2]: Text alternative for flash animation

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Sep 24, 2004 1:44PM

Stephanie wrote:
> Actually, I would love to see some numbers on this. I have a good friend who
> is blind. I asked her to check some Flash for me to see if I had made it
> accessible. Her email back said, "I don't have Flash installed." She has no
> reason for it really, and since many/most developers don't bother to do
> things to make it accessible, it stands to reason that many people with
> screen readers do not install it.

I am only guessing that most screen reader users have Flash installed.
If you have or install a browser, chances are that you have the Flash
player installed. It comes bundled with most browsers and on all
Windows computers by default. I assume that when Macromedia states
that 90 some odd percent of Internet connected computers have Flash
installed, then I think it's reasonable to assume that this probably
isn't too different for screen reader users. And getting rid of Flash
once it is installed is quite a chore for anyone. In short, I've yet
to see a modern screen reader computer that does not have Flash
installed, though I'd love to see more concrete figures if anyone has
them.

Jared Smith
WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind)