Re: Screen readers - usage stats?

Tagged PDF files are hard to edit with accessibility in mind and I would
suggest further research into using Tagged PDF as it stands right now.

I think there needs to be some type of survey on ALL types of assistive
technology being used, and how the AT is being used, for web access.  This
should be a good indication of what WCAG 2.0 needs to focus on.  And
making the survey results public would go far in promoting the
accessibility issue in the public eye.

-Steve


ADAM GUASCH-MELENDEZ said:
>
> When writing and testing HTML, it's standard practice to test with
> multiple browsers and multiple versions of those browsers. It's also
> pretty standard to look at usage stats for those browsers - how many
> people are still using IE 4.0 or Netscape 4.7? Such statistics are often
> unreliable, but they're still worth considering, especially if pulled
> from your own server logs.
>
> What about screen readers? Is there any available information on usage
> of various screen readers, and specifically on version? Obviously
> statistics in this case would be difficult to compile, since you can't
> simply pull the information from server logs. But it would be valuable.
>
> As an example: for a particular upcoming project, tagged PDF files are
> being considered as the primary document format. When discussing the
> need, if any, for alternative versions, it would be helpful to know how
> many users of screen readers would be able to read a tagged PDF file,
> and how many are using software that can't handle that format.
>
> Please note: I'm not asking for opinions on the need for alternative
> versions - this is just an example of one situation in which having
> statistics would be valuable.
>
> Any pointers to any real numbers would be greatly appreciated.

Received on Wednesday, 14 April 2004 13:57:50 UTC