- From: William Loughborough <love26@gorge.net>
- Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 16:33:28 -0800
- To: "w3c-wai-ig@w3.org" <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
As Chuck has suggested I have gone into the "remarks of Bill Gates" at Accessibility Day '98 held in February at Redmond, WA. These are excerpts from the delivered remarks to be found at: http://microsoft.com/BillGates/billgates_l/speeches/accessibilityday.htm Although these are taken from a larger body of words, I don't feel they are out of context and if my comments are impolite and impolitic, that's one of the privileges of old age. Bill Gates: "I think there's no doubt that legislation and regulations are <em>going to be</em> looking at these areas. We want to make sure we get out there with solutions way, way <em>before that happens.</em>" The added emphasis is to provide a further "I can't believe he said that" marker to the remarks. The dates on the "legislation and regulations" are from many years ago. To get out there "before that happens" is an absurdist position from la-la land. Then in response to a question from Charlie Parker (Bird Lives! <g>) about what MS could do about other companies (presumably those sporting a Microsoft 'seal of approval'): BG:: "And we can say to them, look you're crazy not to just do this stuff first, before, in a very visible way, you're shamed into doing it." In becoming a leader in the "rush to access" he seems to be acknowledging: a) MS *was* "crazy not to just do this stuff"; b) that MS was "shamed into doing it" by the "visible" efforts of the disability rights movement - not to mention legal and regulatory considerations. Finally his advice on how to get the accessibility message across to those who are primarily responsibility for the inaccessibility in the first place: BG:: "And so rather than just taking a broad approach of sending this accessibility nudge into all our developers, which we're already doing, if you could tell us 5 or 10 that we need to be fairly pointed in that dialogue, and share our experience, we would be glad to do that, starting out with the low key approach, and then if necessary, you understand how, the message can be given more and more volume and impact." The "low key approach" apparently didn't work too well so it is now "necessary" to get into "more volume and impact" and we do indeed "understand how" and as to telling them "5 or 10 that we need to be fairly pointed..." perhaps *ONE* will do and that's MicroSoft Corporation. So to be fairly pointed and give more volume and impact: 1. We are all in this together. 2. We are all members of one another. 3. ACCESSIBILITY IS RIGHT - NOT PRIVILEGE. Love.
Received on Tuesday, 31 March 1998 19:36:30 UTC