Re: OS accessibility is on-topic for this list

> Question: Can or should accessibility issues for OS(s) with browser
> based shells be coupled to those same issues in regards to a WEB
> site (and the underlying protocols) ?
>
> The fundamental point here is that the distinction between what is
> WEB and what is local resource is much less visible to the casual
> user when driving from a browser based shell.  The underlying te
> chnologies are becoming the same.  Then why struggle with
> accessibility issues for the WEB and not the OS ?

DD:: interesting question.

One needs to imagine a desktop (OS) where everything become a Web
document, using HTML and CSS but also XML, XSL, and DOM of course.
The issues we're trying to solve today in WAI, Page Authoring, Browser
and Authoring tool guidelines, will need be applicable to the desktop
at large: how to create any object, how to access them, how to store
them. 

I think the browser "merge" will come first, as seen in IE4:
i.e. browser guidelines will need to apply to the desktop first, with
some new functionalities but maybe no that much (once DOM is included
that is).

I wonder how much of the current Page authoring will be usable as is
for Desktop authoring guidelines. Again, if DOM is well integrated,
maybe not that much, although XML/XSL will have some big impact there
(representation of desktop object using just HTML is not likely to
happen).

Received on Friday, 10 April 1998 04:21:27 UTC