British Computer Society charity Ability Net and the Royal National Institute of the Blind, have launched a scheme that accredits websites accessible to people with disabilities.
The See it Right with UseAbility scheme will involve human testers with a variety of disabilities rather than just automated testing. Organisations that act on all the recommendations from the assessment can display an accessibility logo.
B.N.P. Paribas, France's largest bank is to make its A.T.M. services accessible for visually impaired people. Financial technology provider, Diebold has supplied 265 voice-enabled Opteva cash machines to the bank and these will be installed in its branches through the second quarter of 2006. The service will be available in six languages.
Diebold, a global leader in the financial self-service industry, has provided text-to-speech technology through its partnership with Nuance Communications, a global leader in speech and imaging solutions.
Dr. Eli Peli, lead investigator of the study at S.E.R.I. had found that by increasing the contrast of details of certain sizes television watching could be made more enjoyable for people with low vision.
The information from the study will aid in the development of an electronic device that will help millions with low vision due to macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other eye diseases.
On December 2, 2005, National Federation of the Blind (N.F.B.) in Baltimore, U.S.A. hosted an interactive opportunity for a select group of blind students to explore the sun through a new and exciting book Touch the Sun.
The book allows blind and visually impaired students to experience images of the sun and solar activity by feeling transparent raised textures bonded to the pictures.
Page Accessibility Labs (P.A.L.) offers the experience of its visually impaired test specialists to conduct website accessibility testing. Their work ensures websites are as convenient as possible for visually impaired users.
To access the computer and the internet, visually impaired people require special hardware or software known as assistive technologies. The experience is quite different from that of a non-visually impaired user.
‘Prologix Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.’ which developed the local language speech synthesis software 'Vaachak' was felicitated with the National Technology Award by the President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, for this achievement on World Disability Day in the capital.
Are banks empowered enough to put restrictions on blind customers thereby depriving the latter of the right to operate their accounts like any other ‘normal’ (non visually impaired) person? That’s the question visually impaired Prasanna Kumar Pincha posed to the Guwahati High Court.
In a prompt response, the Guwahati High Court issued an interim order stating that the petitioner must not only be allowed to open a savings bank account but also be allowed its usual operation.
Created by LevelStar (U.S.), this P.D.A., called the Icon mobile manager plus docking station, isn't the first P.D.A. designed for visually impaired users. Yet, it’s different from the rest. Icon comes with a detachable Braille or regular full-size keyboard, which is easier to use for taking extensive notes and was designed with the Internet at its core.
It’s like having a personal guide in hand. As the user moves around, it announces where he or she is. ‘Trekker’ is a small, lightweight device that uses the Global Positioning System (G.P.S.) to help visually impaired people find their way around. Along with G.P.S. technology, the device also uses talking digital maps and talking menus to provide real-time information on surroundings and also pinpoints user location.
The people at Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind don’t refer to their students as having disabilities.
Many of them are totally blind, some are legally blind and others are totally deaf, but instead of dwelling on what students and employees can’t do, the school focuses on what they can do.
The school was host to a technological symposium sponsored by the Alumni and Workers Association of Alabama School for the Blind.
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