Re: mouse target size

At 7:20 AM -0400 7/13/00, Jim Tobias wrote:
>Hi All (and sorry for cross-posting),
>
>Are any of the WAI Content Guidelines aimed at establishing a minimum
>target size and separation?  I've looked and can't find such.  If
>there are none, it seems that the assumption is that people will
>be using the keyboard instead of the mouse.  I'm pretty sure that
>there are lots of people for whom mouse use is better than keyboard,
>especially on portal-type pages with a hundred links.  Am I missing
>something?  (BTW, the 508 NPRM is silent here as well.)

I don't believe there are any currently.

These kinds of concerns -- which can't be handled adequately with
a -single- user experience -- are why Edapta is working on our
adaptive user interfaces that morph the site to fit the user's
needs and preferences.

In a world where you have to balance not only single disabilities
but often multiple disabilities -- as well as allowing for author
creativity over their main design which is used by 92% or more of
the audience -- it's nearly impossible to meet such needs within
a single rendition, no matter how well it degrades.  Our approach
is to alter the layout, interface components, and the very look
of the site dynamically when necessary.  Single source -- multiple
renditions.

An approach like this makes it easy for us to add increased target
size and greater separation for people who need -- or prefer! --
mouse-based interfaces that are more granular.

Sorry if this sounds too much like a plug -- I just feel that asking
for guidelines on target size and separation is an undue burden for
most people; at least, until they all have the kind of technology
that's kept me up late tonight (it's 4:30 as I write this). :)  Fun,
exciting stuff. :)

--Kynn, shilling for edapta
-- 
--
Kynn Bartlett <kynn@idyllmtn.com>
http://www.kynn.com/

Received on Thursday, 13 July 2000 07:41:05 UTC