WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: UsableNet's text transponder

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From: Jon Gunderson
Date: Jan 18, 2007 2:50PM

Jason,
What are the requirements for adapting existing web applications?

Is adapting the application something usablenet does as a service or is this something people can do on their own after they purchase the product?

What types of patterns can Text Assist identify and translate?

Can you point to some examples?

Jon

---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:42:51 -0600 (CST)
>From: Jason Taylor < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] UsableNet's text transponder
>To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
>
>Dear WebaAIM members
>
>Lift Assistive was formally know as text transcoder and renamed in part
>due to observations that text transcoder does not explain what this
>solution does.
>
>Lift Assistive is not only a "text" transcoder like BETSIE where if you
>put X in you get X-less-images out. It has the ability to, as it
>transcodes, rewrite the html page to a fully accessible version. Through
>the use of custome annotations we deliver an accessible version of an
>in-accessible page or as-importantly an inaccessible application.
>
>So it is not a text trancoded version of a page, it is an improved
>version, we can help with javascript navigation, remove frames, correctly
>code tables and forms as the new page is generated.
>
>If you are a College or organization that uses a third party application
>like a booking system, purchase system, calender or student records
>application that uses lots of javascript and frames. Lift Assistive can be
>used to make this fully accessible. Without any need for IT or code
>changes of the orginal. There is little alternative for that organization
>apart from waiting for the third party application to change, in many
>cases old apps.
>
>So in many cases Lift Assistive can be used to extend or support more
>traditional efforts. We have never advocated this replacing ground-up
>efforts but in reality there are still lots of content and applications
>that are in-accessible and this is not due to people thinking this is the
>wrong thing to do but due to lack of resources, technology issues and many
>others issues.
>
>I always find it interesting that many comments are based on very limited
>knowledge of this solution but welcome the discussion and wanted to shed
>some light on this for others.
>
>Kind Regards
>Jason Taylor
>product team
>
>> My problem is with people using the service and then claiming that their
>site is accessible. Most web sites today contain many dynamic elements
>and controls. A text transcript of the site does not provide equivalent
>functionality. Finally if the site contains images that do not have
>appropriate text alternatives through alt, captions or linked
>> descriptions then the transponder cannot even present all of the
>content.
>> Try this, run your site through the text transponder. Review the output.
>If it is really equivalent to your site then your site is probably already
>accessible. My guess is that the output of the transponder will not be
>equivalent.
>> mike
>>