RE: User Agent Types - palmtops

In response to Denis Anson:
In my original message on this topic I do have two categories.  One for
rendering element text as speech and another for rendering multi-media
content.  I agree we need different requirements for multi-media vs. speech
rendering for text.

Please review my orginal posting on user agent types:

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/1998OctDec/0353.html

Jon


At 01:57 PM 1/4/99 -0500, Denis Anson wrote:
>Jon,
>
>Much as I hate to disagree, I think I have to there a bit.  Rendering text
>as speech is not the same thing as rendering audio.  Text to speech is one
>way of rendering text content so that a person with a visual deficit can
>have access to it.  But the media being rendered is text, not sound.  The
>output is sound.
>
>Auditory rendering would include MIDI, AU, and WAV files, which might be
>language, or might be music.  Rendering sound on a web page would be
>rendering those things that the author of the page included as sound, not
>those things the user decided to turn to sound.
>
>This is an important distinction, I think.  When rendering text content, it
>is vital to be able to move from chunk to chunk of text, to move through the
>document.  This need is independent of the output as visual stimulus,
>tactile stimulus, or auditory stimulus.  However, the same need is not
>present in auditory rendering.  While you may want to be able to "fast
>forward" through an audio track, that is not necessarily an accessibility
>issue.  Able-bodied folks don't have that functionality either.  It is
>entirely conceivable that a user agent may render text via text to speech,
>but not have the ability to render sound content at all!
>
>Denis Anson, MS, OTR
>Assistant Professor
>College Misericordia
>301 Lake Street
>Dallas, PA 18612
>
>Member since 1989 of:
>RESNA
>The International Association of Assistive Technology Professionals
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org]On Behalf
>Of Jon Gunderson
>Sent: Monday, January 04, 1999 1:13 PM
>To: WAI UA group; Charles McCathieNevile
>Subject: RE: User Agent Types - palmtops
>
>In response to charles.
>In my interpretation of the user agent types, if a palmtop has
>text-to-speech capabilites and uses text-to-speech to render the a WWW
>document then to be compatible with the guidelines it must implement the
>user agent type techniques associated with auditory rendering.  Whether it
>is done by the developer or through assistive technology, the guidelines
>would not care.  The guidelines only care about the funcational user
>interface as the result for that user agent media type.
>
>I am not sure how many palmtop developers would include text-to-speech for
>just disability access. But since there are many other reasons to include
>text-to-speech capabilities, let us have guidelines for that media type to
>help them make it accessible to people with disabilities that can beenfit
>from that media type.  It is the media type that is important, not whether
>it is a plamtop or desktop; naive or through assistive technology that is
>important for our guidelines.  Although we may want to have a media type
>that is related to the LCD displays found on palmtop devices.
>
>I do agree that palmtops are potentially very useful to persons with
>disabilities for many types of tasks, but we need to focus on WWW access.
>There are other groups that are working on some of the other issues you
>mention.  If you or others are interested, I would suggest contacting the
>trace center.  I beleive they are doing a lot of work on access that
>includes palmtop technologies (www.trace.wisc.edu).  We may want to
>consider having a Kiosk media type that could reference the use of palmtop
>technology for Kiosks based on WWW technology.  But I think this should not
>be a primary task at this time.
>
>Jon
>
>
>At 02:29 PM 1/2/99 -0500, Charles McCathieNevile wrote:
>>I am not sure if this is the case, and I doubt that it will continue to be
>>the case. Palmtops are capable of interfacing with computer devices, and
>>could be used for example to provide assistive access to kiosks, ATMs and
>>other public information devices. They are also, in essence, little
>>computers which can run software. Since they could be used as a personal
>>assistive device, a User agent designed for a palmtop should where
>>possible provide an interface. More to the point, if we say now that this
>>is not necessary, and then decide in a year or two that it would have been
>>a good idea, we are doing a disservice to developers. If we think that it
>>is not very useful now, but we expect it to be necessary in two years, we
>>should flag that by requiring it 'where possible'. That provides a
>>common-sense test. It also notifies designers now that their products may
>>have to be extended to provide a particular functionality in the future -
>>this can make life a lot easier than having to retrofit accessibility into
>>a product afterwards.
>>
>>Charles McCathieNevile
>>
>>On Fri, 1 Jan 1999, Jon Gunderson wrote:
>>
>>  Technologies like palm tops I do not think have any assistive
>technologies,
>>  so it maybe impossible for it to be compatible with assistive technology.
>>  If it wants to provide access to people with visual impiarments it would
>>  need to directly implement the user agent techniques that appply to
>Braille
>>  ad Auditory rendering.
>>
>>
>Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
>Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
>Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
>University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
>1207 S. Oak Street
>Champaign, IL 61820
>
>Voice: 217-244-5870
>Fax: 217-333-0248
>E-mail: jongund@uiuc.edu
>WWW:    http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
>        http://www.als.uiuc.edu/InfoTechAccess
> 
Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
1207 S. Oak Street
Champaign, IL 61820

Voice: 217-244-5870
Fax: 217-333-0248
E-mail: jongund@uiuc.edu
WWW:	http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
	http://www.als.uiuc.edu/InfoTechAccess

Received on Monday, 4 January 1999 14:24:14 UTC