Author: Dennis

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twitter

Easy Chirp

Accessible Twitter blue bird icon In cased you missed the news a few weeks ago, the web-accessible Twitter application “Accessible Twitter” changed its name to “Easy Chirp“. Here’s the original Web Overhauls press release. Nice to see the story made it to other PR and news sites including MyNewsDesk.com, PR.com, and Accessible Insights.

Reasons for the change are explained in the press release.

The name change is due to several reasons, the foremost is that the Twitter rules of use for third-party applications does not allow the word “Twitter” in the name of the application. Also, the word “easy” is simpler to understand than “accessible”, especially to those not in the accessibility or disability communities. And, the new name is considerably shorter, especially important with the 140-character limit in Twitter statuses, better known as tweets.

The former Twitter name/handle caused a delay in the update of two application settings that could only be resolved by changing the name.

Earlier this year, Easy Chirp/Accessible Twitter received the American Foundation for the Blind 2011 Access Award.

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conference event expert

IT Accessibility Goes To Camp

A guest blog by Jennison Asuncion.

June 1 marked the date of the second Accessibility Camp Guelph. Led again by Sean Yo, it took place in an appropriate spot for a barcamp-type event, The Bullring Pub at Guelph University (Ontario, Canada). As with the five other accessibility camps I have been involved in over the last two years, Accessibility Camp Guelph offered participants a no-cost opportunity to build and drive an agenda and conversations focused on IT accessibility/inclusion.

I have been asked why I so enthusiastically “instigate” and champion the accessibility barcamp/unconference movement. As I said during Accessibility Camp Seattle last month, I have a keen interest in making the topic of IT accessibility, accessible, to the people who have a hand in making it happen: from the devs, to the usability and UI design folks, and everyone in between. As I experienced attending the first accessibility camp in Washington D.C. in 2009, the barcamp/unconference format lends itself perfectly to this purpose. By its very nature, it calls for a free, less formal, open atmosphere where folks with varying levels of experience with and perspectives on accessibility, including end-users with disabilities, come together to chart the day, discuss and learn. If the numbers of attendees and feedback surveys are any indication, these dedicated accessibility camps are being well-received. What’s more, they are building community (the tribe), and have inspired monthly Accessibility DC and Accessibility Baltimore meetings.

Plans are underway in 2011 so far for events in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Washington D.C., and London UK. Want to learn more? Why not consider putting on an accessibility camp in your city. An accessibility camp website maintained by John F. Croston III is a good place to start.

You can also follow @A11yEvents on Twitter for the latest on these and other accessibility gatherings and traiditional conferences.

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"fixing alt" alt twitter

Fixing Alt – Mr. Twitter

The next in our “Fixing Alt” series is the Mr. Twitter comic on Agent-X Comics. Here’s the alternative text for yet another comic which lacks it. The alt and title attributes are both blank. Sad.

So here the text description:

Image: Two men standing by wall with poster of man with sunglasses, mustache and bow tie. The poster reads “Mr. Twitter, the master of impersonation. Tonight only.”

Man 1: Why do they call him Mr. Twitter?

Man 2: Because he only does 140 characters.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Mr. Twitter poster
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conference google html5 mobile visual

Accessibility at Google IO 2011

So I attended the first day of Google I/O 2011, my first time at a Google event. I was glad to hear a fair amount of talk about accessibility. There were at least 3 sessions focusing on the topic (see below) and a breakout area where you can talk with developers.

There was even an accessibility “Developer Sandbox” area which was great. I tried out the ChromeVox screen reader on a Chromebook with help from Google’s Rachel Shearer. I got a quick demo of the built-in TalkBack screen reader on an Android mobile device. Mika Pyyhkala and I were shown the LevelStar braille device running Android. The University of Washington showed off their mobile ASL Android project which used video chat technology.

Some tips for Android development from the sessions are:

  • In Android code, ensure images, especially ImageButtons, are labeled with contentDescription.
  • Use standard controls.
  • Stick with standard or modified views; custom very complex to make accessible.
  • Ensure all controls reachable with D-pad and Trackball.
  • Test with screen reader using D-Pad. To turn on, enable accessibility under Settings/Accessibility, then enable Talkback.
  • Take advantage of device’s “many eyes and ears” for alternative input/output (microphone, speaker, touch screen, camera, GPS)

The sessions specific to accessibility were:

More resources:


Tim Credo, Charles Chen, and T.V. Raman on stage at Google I/O.

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twitter

Accessibility Twitter Lists

A list of lists! Here are some great Twitter lists relating to accessibility.

Know any others?