Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

AT in the news for the week of 1/9/2012 thru 1/13/2012

Reading into Technology

How to pick great apps from a sea of mediocre ones

Intel Explores New Modes of Communication for Stephen Hawking

Fashion for all, local student wants to make everyone look fabulous

Upcoming New ADA Rules Will Prompt ATM Overhauls

Grad students to develop GPS project for visually impaired

Handy overview by Webaxe of web #accessibility conferences in 2012

Sprint to Offer Mobile Accessibility Application … to Customers Who are Blind or Have Low Vision

Mainstream Access to E-Books—What Works, What Doesn’t & What Is Still Unclear

Innovative Technology Allows Paralyzed to ‘Step and Stand’

Sweden’s Tobii shows ‘gaze control’ on Windows 8 PC

Readers with Visual Impairments Benefit from Library’s Assistive Technology

Fellowship Opportunity for Master’s Degree in Comparative and International Disability Policy

Assistive Technology Lawsuits to Watch

As 2011 has come to a close and 2012 has just begun, TAP would like to share some highlights of a year that included several important and interesting AT-related lawsuits worth watching. The outcomes of these lawsuits could have a big impact on assistive technology users in the years to come!

August 2011: The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) filed a lawsuit against the internet-based movie rental company Netflix in a Massachusetts District Court. The lawsuit alleged that Netflix violated deaf persons’ rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide closed captioning for most of the streaming video that Netflix makes available on its site. More about the lawsuit here: http://www.nad.org/news/2011/6/nad-files-disability-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-netflix

Beginner Tip # 5 – Page Title

Difficulty: Beginner

Category:

• Content
• Presentation

Providing a descriptive, succinct page title is important for accessibility. The page title (usually appears at the very top of the browser window) is the first thing seen by sighted users, is the first thing read by screen readers, and is used by people and search engines to determine the content of the page. Because the page title is read on each page, it should be short (generally no more than a few words). The site name and other information may be included in the page title is it is succinct and informative (e.g. “Acme, Inc.: Order Form”).

If you like AT and you like to know what’s happening in the world of AT, then you’ll love to follow us on Twitter. We share the most current news articles, blog posts, and DIY videos on assistive technology. Check out the MDTAP Twitter  page to see what’s happening right now in the world of AT.

And if you miss a few days of MDTAP tweets, we’ll recap them for you right here on the AT Blog every Friday during our weekly wrap-up. Click here to check out last week’s news.

JJ’s List: A Chance to Rate Businesses on Their Disability-Friendliness

Increasingly, businesses are recognizing the purchasing power of persons with disabilities – and that failure to provide proper service or that the lack of basic accessibility features can lose them customers!

The way Yelp or Angie’s List lets users review businesses on various aspects of their products and customer service, JJ’s List lets users write in reviews about businesses’ “disability awareness.” Reviewers are encouraged to critique businesses on their physical accessibility and the employees’ attitudes (including helpfulness, respectfulness, and flexibility.) JJ’s List started in Chicago, so many of the businesses reviewed are in the Chicago region; however, there are a few Maryland and DC-area businesses reviewed – and more can be added any time a Marylander wants to write a review! http://www.jjslist.com/

We’re back after enjoying a few Friday holidays and we’re happy to bring you the most current links to AT in the news for the week of January 2-6, 2012. Enjoy!

Canada pioneers the way TV is made accessible for people who are blind or vision impaired

New technology assists families with missing children, people with disabilities, and seniors

10 Tech Research Projects to Watch

U.S. Access Board to Hold Public Hearing on Draft #ICT Rule

I’m Touched by Assistive Touch

National Federation of the Blind Files Complaint Against Baltimore City Public Schools

Bristol M Shed museum celebrates digital access award

Clinton man gets by with help of his friends

Blind, visually impaired New Yorkers contribute to state economy

MND patient regains independence through eye controlled home

Prize-Winning app Helps Users Spot Accessible Places