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RE: The Commercialization of Web Accessibility

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From: Kynn Bartlett
Date: Dec 19, 2001 10:59AM


At 7:27 AM -0800 12/19/01, Cohen, Lisa A. wrote:
>Just wanted to pass along some thoughts on the effects of Section
>508 on the marketplace... I attended a conference on "legal and
>procurement issues of Section 508". One of the effects of this rule
>for federal government procurement is that the government is now
>required to purchase the most compliant Electronic and Information
>Technology product, regardless of greater cost. This should have a
>huge effect on the marketplace.

I should probably mention here that I believe this is the silliest provision
of 508 and is non-sensical to the point where this could be used as a
reason to get 508 trashed entirely.

By making accessibility the only criteria (not features, not cost, nothing
else), you only do harm. All you have to do is make a version which is
more accessible (by 508 standards) than your competition, and charge ten
times the price for it!

- --Kynn

- --
Kynn Bartlett < <EMAIL REMOVED> > http://kynn.com
Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain http://idyllmtn.com
Web Accessibility Expert-for-hire http://kynn.com/resume
January Web Accessibility eCourse http://kynn.com/+d201
- --
Kynn Bartlett < <EMAIL REMOVED> > http://kynn.com
Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain http://idyllmtn.com
Web Accessibility Expert-for-hire http://kynn.com/resume
January Web Accessibility eCourse http://kynn.com/+d201


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