RE: Assistive Technology Detection

I use adaptive technology based on tool for task rather than tool for disability. Depending on my location, environment and the content I might use screen reading, Text-to-Speech, voice recognition or nothing. I’ve always been against technology or people telling me what I can and can’t use to view and interact with content. The choice should be mine and I support the accessibility/universal design of content that lets me choose.

 

If a site/application detects that I am using a screen reader, what does it do when I switch technologies? How long would I have to wait for it to catch up or would it? Would it force me to continue using the technology I started with, even if, at some point I wanted to switch adaptive technologies?

 

Another problem with alternate versions of content is that they are not usually updated as people forget they are there or they are not updated as quickly as the “real” site.

 

I too get annoyed with redirection to a mobile only site without asking me if I want the mobile site or the regular site. I know where things are on a regular site and don’t like learning how to navigate the same content in a different way…again, it should be my choice how I view and interact with applications and digital content.

 

My 2 cents CAD.

 

Cheers, Karen

 

From: Lovely, Brian [mailto:Brian.Lovely@capitalone.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2018 9:02 AM
To: Mark Weiler <mweiler@alumni.sfu.ca>; David Woolley <forums@david-woolley.me.uk>; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: RE: Assistive Technology Detection

 

Mark Weiler said: Related to AT detection is how can a site or app know what web content technologies to serve up that are accessibly supported without knowing the user agents and AT the user is using?  

 

This is where standards and avoidance of fanciful “unicorn” widgets over combinations of standard HTML form elements comes into play. You are correct that there is no “one size fits all” solution. For instance, JAWS will deduce a possible accessible name for a form element even when a properly associated label is missing, whereas NVDA will not. The best approach is to adhere to standards, incorporate accessibility principles early (if that unicorn widget never makes it into the design, the developers won’t build it), and test.

 

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