Re: PROPOSAL(revised): User Agent Types

Jon Gunderson wrote:
> 
> I am reposting my orginal proposal with a more explicit statement of
> description and examples of current technology.
> 
> A particular user agent can embody more than one user agent type and some
> user agents may embody only part of one type (i.e playing audio files, but
> not video for the MM type).

Yes, but please recall in my original proposal that a type should
only be defined as a set of checkpoints (techniques). The descriptions
should only be informative.

 - Ian

 
> Proposed User Agent Types:
> TYPE: Text Only(TO)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of document text content on text only displays.
> Typically cannot natively render images or other multi-media formats.
> Typically inly uses a keyboard interface to control the user agent.
> EXAMPLES: Lynx and W3 (referenced from Charles last e-mail)
> 
> TYPE: Visual Standard (VS)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of document text content and graphical images on bit
> mapped visual displays with greater than 640x480 pixels resolution with
> default font sizes less than 48 point(the font size is only an initial
> guess).
> EXAMPLES: Mass market browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer,
> Opera and Netscape navigator.
> 
> TYPE: Visual Restricted(VR)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of document text content and/or images on bit mapped
> visual displays with funcational resolutions smaller than 640x480 pixels or
> with default font sizes greater than 48 point.
> EXAMPLES:  Screen magnifiers like Zoomtext from AISquared and
> Magic from Henter-Joyce for people with visual impairments, and portable
> hand held
> user agent technologies for the mass market.
> 
> TYPE: Multi-Media (MM)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of audio, video or animations from file formats
> that contain sampled and compressed sound, bit mapped video or image
> information.
> EXAMPLES: Wave, mpeg and avi files.  Multi-media player sequencing formats
> like SMIL and SAMI
> 
> TYPE: Aural (A)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of document text and text alternative renderings of
> non-text content using text-to-speech synthesis technology. Includes the
> use of non-speech sounds for conveying information related to the content
> or the rendering status of a document (for example: the sound of a door
> opening when a new document is being loaded and the sound of the door
> hitting a door jam when the document is completely loaded).
> EXAMPLES:  Screen reader like Jaws from Henter-Joyce and Outspoken from
> Alva when used with a mass market browser, and browsers developed for the
> visually impiared like pwWebSpeak, IBM Homereader and VPInfoNet.  This also
> includes technology like telephone based user agents for the mass market.
> 
> TYPE: Braille (B)
> DESCRIPTION: Rendering of document text and text alternative rendering of
> non-text content using dynamic Braille display technology.
> EXAMPLES:  Screen readers like Jaws from Henter-Joyce and Outspoken from Alva
> when used with a dynamic Braille display in conjunction with a mass market
> browser.
> 
> Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
> Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
> Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
> University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
> 1207 S. Oak Street
> Champaign, IL 61820
> 
> Voice: 217-244-5870
> Fax: 217-333-0248
> E-mail: jongund@uiuc.edu
> WWW:    http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
>         http://www.als.uiuc.edu/InfoTechAccess

-- 
Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org) 
Tel/Fax: (212) 684-1814 
http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs

Received on Tuesday, 22 December 1998 18:41:53 UTC