by Alden Smith
If computers are viewed as they should be - a helpful aid to allow humans to perform a multitude of tasks, then they should not be limited in scope to just a certain percentage of users, but to all people who want to use them. Because a computer is a visual medium, people with poor eyesight and other disabilities would be at a loss without the help of certain programs that allow them access to the power of the computer. Computer manufacturer's and builders of operating systems do a fairly good job of making their product accessible, but there are many more things involved than what little is given to you by the operating system. The number of severely visually impaired older people is expected to double to nearly 10 million by the year 2030. With our growing dependency on computers, strides are being taken to insure everyone has access. Here, we discuss computer accessibility and what has been accomplished, and what is needed.
Problems Facing Users
Because a computer is a visual system, those that are visually impaired can have a hard time accessing data. To overcome this, Microsoft has several accessibility options to help users. It is accessed through the Control Panel on Windows XP. If you are visually impaired as I am, changing the settings on your computer's display goes a long way to alleviate this problem. I have had to move to a 22" monitor and adjust settings to accommodate my vision, and it works well for now. When further vision problems become evident, a screen magnifier will help further. They can be had at online stores such as Tigerdirect.com for around $149.00. You can change the contrast in the Windows environment, with a variety of settings for every need. High contrast settings are often advantageous to those who are visually impaired.
Microsoft Sam, the Text To Speech engine for Windows, allows text to be read by Sam and interpreted to the user. His voice is clunky and sounds like a robot. Even better is CoolSpeech. This is a part of the Microsoft Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI) which gives you a choice of many different voices, a choice of 11 mother languages, and is, according to the Microsoft website, able to:
With all these features, and a multitude of different voices, it is a boon to the visually impaired. More information can be found at http://www.bytecool.com/coolspch.htm.
Keyboard Advantages
Microsoft also uses keyboard menu items such as Sticky Keys, which allows you to access such commonly used keys as CTRL, ALT, and Windows Start Key by pressing one key at a time, instead of having to press several keys at once. They have Filter Keys, which helps people who may be a bit shaky have their keyboard not recognize repeated keystrokes or to slow down the repeat rate. Toggle Keys allows you to hear a tone when buttons such as Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock are pressed. Sound Sentry pops up a visual warning when your computer makes a warning sound. The mouse can be set to be controlled by the numeric keypad of the keyboard.
Apple accessibility Options
For Mac users, the offering is much the same as for Microsoft. They have many features that make using a computer much easier for people both visually and auditory impaired. iChat AV featured on the Mac allows you to video conference with people using American Sign Language (ASL). Voice Over, the spoken interface for the Mac, helps disabled persons access the Mac and collaborate with other disabled people. The beauty of Voice Over is that it allows you to "ask" the computer what is on the screen. Voice Over is also an intuitive trainer, so people with their first Mac and vision problems can quickly learn the system. It features subtle audio sound effects to let you know when you reach certain places in navigation, such as the end of a line. The Zoom feature of the Mac allows you to zoom in on text to a high magnification to allow you to read text.
Computers should be accessible to anyone that wishes to use them. In our technology driven age, not having access to a computer and the internet takes a huge amount of learning available for people today. With steady advances in access accommodations, the computer is now a learning tool for everyone.
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