RE: Macromedia increasing web access

Dear Sirs,

Please be advised that your company's main page on accessibility at URL:
<http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/>
Can not itself be consider accessible because it violates one or more
priority one checkpoints of the W3C WAI WCAG 1.0.  (The page that provoked
me to write cites this resource, so I won't repeat the link address!)

Specifically, the frames on the page do not have meaningful titles.  Also,
your NOSCRIPT content is not adequate.  I get the message "Your web browser
does not support frames. Please upgrade to the latest [4]Netscape or
[5]Internet Explorer browser."  Actually, I am using Lynx, which handles
frames quite satisfactorily, thank you very much!

The frame with the main content is at URL:
<http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/contents.html>

This page also had problems in that some ALT content was missing for some
spacer elements.  This was odd because you, quite appropriately, used ALT=""
on many of the content-free GIFs used for positioning.

I am very interested in the accessibility of Flash and other MacroMedia
products.  I am especially interested in learning how Flash (with the
accessibility hooks) compares to SVG.  I could not find any reference to SVG
on your web site.  Also, could you post or reference or send examples of
accessible Flash content?

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Bruce Bailey


> -----Original Message-----
> To: EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
> Subject:      Macromedia  increasing web access
> Date:         Fri, 27 Oct 2000 10:18:35 -0400
> 
> Macromedia Enables Creation Of Accessible Web Content
> Company ships Dreamweaver accessibility extensions,
> outlines Macromedia Flash plans
> 
> Macromedia Inc (NASDAQ: MACR) today outlined its commitment 
> to ensuring the
> immersive Web experiences created by its market-leading products are
> accessible to everyone.  Macromedia is working to help 
> overcome the Web
> technology challenges for people with disabilities through community
> involvement, software features and documentation, third 
> party support,
> promotion of accessibility standards and company awareness.  
> Macromedia
> today delivered free downloadable extensions to its 
> Macromedia Dreamweaver
> platform to enable developers to more easily create 
> accessible content.
> Information about Macromedia's accessibility program is available at
> http://www.macromedia.com/accessibility/
> <http://www.macromedia.com/accessibility/>.
> "Macromedia is dedicated to providing software that enables 
> our customers
> to deliver the fullest potential of the Web," said Kevin 
> Lynch, President
> of products for Macromedia. "We will continue to innovate in 
> providing and
> promoting accessibility standards across our market-leading 
> Web authoring
> solutions to ensure the vision of what the Web can be 
> includes everyone."
> Macromedia today announced the availability of free extensions to
> Macromedia Dreamweaver and Macromedia Fireworks that make it 
> easier for its
> customers to deliver accessible Web content.  The 
> Dreamweaver extension
> enables developers to evaluate their Web pages for 
> accessibility based on
> the guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).  The extension
> performs a test similar to that of Bobby (http://www.cast.org/bobby/ 
> <http://www.cast.org/bobby/>) , which has become a standard
> online benchmark
> for accessibility.  The free extensions are immediately
> available for
> download from the Macromedia Exchange for Dreamweaver
> at http://exchange.macromedia.com <http://exchange.macromedia.com>.
> 
> Macromedia also announced plans for a Macromedia Flash Accessibility
> Developer Kit and future enhancements to the Macromedia Flash Player,
> expected by the end of the year.  The Macromedia Flash Accessibility
> Developer Kit will contain guidelines, Smart Clips and 
> sample code to fully
> support development efforts.  An upcoming version of the 
> Macromedia Flash
> Player will be modified to allow access to underlying data within a
> Macromedia Flash (SWF) file, permitting the text within to 
> be interpreted
> by assistive devices.  Further, developers can choose to expose their
> Macromedia Flash content, making properties such as scale 
> and visibility controllable by end users.
> As part of its accessibility initiative, Macromedia today delivered
> extensions that assist developers with accessible design. 
> Two new commands
> for Fireworks confirm that ALT Tags (which describe the information
> contained in images) are being used, and that complex sliced 
> image maps are
> properly tagged for readers with disabilities and reading software.
> About Macromedia
> Macromedia is passionate about what the Web can be.  Its 
> award-winning
> products empower developers to provide the most engaging 
> experiences on the
> Web and enable more effective e-business.  Headquartered in 
> San Francisco,
> Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 1,200 employees 
> worldwide and is
> available on the Internet at www.macromedia.com/uk
> <http://www.macromedia.com/uk>.
> Macromedia is a member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA)
> · ENDS-
> 
> For Further Information Please Contact:
> Sarah Mowatt
> Macromedia Europe
> Tel: 01344 458600
> Fax: 01344 458666
> Email: smowatt@macromedia.com
> <mailto:smowatt@macromedia.com>
> 
> Or
> Nigel Cayless/Caro Bamforth/Julie Elliott
> Stewart-Muir Communications
> Tel: 020 8943 2111
> Fax: 020 8943 2888
> Email: macromedia@stewartmuir.com
> <mailto:macromedia@stewartmuir.com>
> 
> 25th October 2000

Received on Thursday, 2 November 2000 11:34:20 UTC