Re: LIFT Text Transcoder

ATI wrote:

> I have the following two questions if anyone has used or using the LIFT 
> Text Transcoder
> http://transcoder.usablenet.com/tt/index.html
> 
> 1. Can I use the LIFT Text Transcoder offline? I mean, if I provide the 
> web content or the product by CDS, can a blind user use the LIFT Text 
> Transcoder with out connecting through the internet line?
> You know, some people are using very slow internet connection and others 
> even don't have internet connection at all.

 From what I can see, it's a server-side solution that needs to fetch 
web content, transform it, and then re-deliver it via the browser...so 
my guess would be no.

> 2. who is the main beneficiaries of LIFT Text Transcoder?

I'll be contentious and say: if a site is built well from the start 
(e.g. separating content from presentation - no tables for layout, for 
instance - and proper structuring via headings etc) there is no 
difference between using a "proper" text browser, screen reader, or 
other AT with content that's been passed through the transcoder. In my 
mind, this is only useful if the original site is not built with 
standards etc to begin with...a band-aid solution, at best. And, if the 
original site is *badly* inaccessible, even the text transcoder won't be 
able to magically make it accessible (e.g. if you have videos embedded 
in pages, not using structural markup, or similar situations, LIFT won't 
automatically generate text transcripts or give proper structure to the 
pages either).
I'd argue that it's a server-side solution to a problem that, if the 
site is designed/built properly, does not exist. The core functionality 
and a lot of the customisation options that the transcoder provides 
(such as changing font size or colour) are things that, in my view, 
should all be handled client-side.

P
-- 
Patrick H. Lauke
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Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force
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Received on Thursday, 23 February 2006 19:04:51 UTC