Fw: Java Access Bridge 1.0.2 released; Java Accessibility Helper 0.5 available

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Korn" <korn@sun.com>
To: <JAVA-ACCESS@JAVA.SUN.COM>
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 9:50 PM
Subject: Java Access Bridge 1.0.2 released; Java Accessibility Helper
0.5 available


The Sun Accessibility team is pleased to announce the availability of:

    - Version 1.0.2 of the Java (TM) Access Bridge for the Microsoft
      Windows operating system, which allows existing assistive
      technology products such as screen readers and screen magnifiers
      for the Microsoft Windows operating system to provide access to
Java
      applets and applications which support the Java Accessibility API.
      This release fixes a few critical bugs, including one that
      appeared when using JAWS for Windows with Java 2 SDK 1.3.

    - Version 0.5 of the Java Accessibility Helper, a test tool for
      Java application developers and testers to help them find and fix
      accessibility problems with Java applications.  This release
includes
      dramatic improvements in usability, based on user feedback,
including
      automatic installation, improved online help, simpler Test Set
      configuration, and a class path editor.


  Java Access Bridge for the Microsoft Windows operating system
  -------------------------------------------------------------
    The Java Access Bridge is a technology which allows native assistive
    technologies (such as screen readers, magnifiers, etc.) to make use
    of the Java Accessibility API in the Java 2 platform, and thereby
    provide access to Java applications and applets.

    The Java Access Bridge for the Microsoft Windows operating system
    consists of a pair of Windows DLLs (dynamic link libraries), and a
    Java language classfile, which together make a bridge for the Java
    Accessibility API between the Java virtual machine and the Microsoft
    Windows host platform.  Several vendors of assistive technologies
    for Windows 95, 98, 2000 and Windows NT have announced support for
    the Java Access Bridge in their products.  Henter-Joyce supports
    the Java Access Bridge in their shipping JAWS for Windows screen
    reader, and Ai Squared supports the Java Access Bridge in their
    shipping ZoomText Xtra screen magnifier.

    The Java Access Bridge includes an installer, which will install
both
    the Java Access Bridge, and the appropriate Java Accessibility
    Utilities, into the Java virtual machines under Windows 95, 98, NT,
    and Windows 2000.  This release of the Java Access Bridge supports
    JDK 1.1.8 with Swing/JFC 1.1 and greater, Java 2 SDK 1.2.2, and Java
2
    SDK 1.3, as well as the Java Plugin versions 1.2.2 and 1.3.  The
    Java Access Bridge also supports the Java Web Start technology.

    The Java Access Bridge may be redistributed royalty free (please
read
    the license agreement contained in the package for terms and
conditions).

    The Java Access Bridge for the Microsoft Windows operating system is
    described at, and can be downloaded from:
      http://java.sun.com/products/accessbridge



  Java Accessibility Helper version 0.5
  -------------------------------------
    The Java Accessibility Helper is a test tool for Java application
    developers and testers to help them find and fix accessibility
problems
    with Java applications.  The Helper runs in a separate Java VM, and
    works by exercising the application to be tested via standard
    Java APIs, and via the Java Accessibility API.  The Helper generates
    a report that includes a prioritized list of problems and potential
    problems with the application being tested (e.g. verifying that
    all input fields in an application can be reached using only the
    keyboard).

    Version 0.5 includes dramatic improvements in usability, including
    automatic installation, improved online help, simpler Test Set
    configuration, and a class path editor.  The Java Accessibility
    Helper development team maintains a special e-mail alias for
    questions and issue regarding it.  Please direct your Java
Accessibility
    Helper e-mails to: jaccesshelper@sun.com

    To download the Java Accessibility Helper version 0.5, go to the
Java
    Developer Connection Early access page (log in, or establish
yourself
    as a new user if you haven't logged in before):
      http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/earlyAccess/jaccesshelper


We actively welcome your comments on our releases - please tell us what
you think of them, whether or not they meet your needs, and how we can
make
them better.  Send your comments to the Sun Accessibility team at
<access@sun.com>, or share your comments with others interested in Java
Accessibility by joining the Java Accessibility mailing list,
<java-access@javasoft.com>.  (To join, send a message to
<listserv@javasoft.com> and put "subscribe java-access" in the body of
the message).

If you have any trouble downloading these or any other Java technology
from
Sun that you are interested in, please send mail to the Sun
Accessibility
team at <access@sun.com>.  We can make those technologies available to
you
via our private ftp site that has no known compatibility problems with
any
text-based browser, or any graphical browser when used with a screen
reader.


On behalf of Sun Microsystems,

Peter Korn
Sun Microsystems Accessibility team
access@sun.com
http://www.sun.com/access

========================================================================
===
To unsubscribe, send email to listserv@java.sun.com and include in the
body
of the message "signoff JAVA-ACCESS".  For general help, send email to
listserv@java.sun.com and include in the body of the message "help".

Received on Tuesday, 5 February 2002 10:48:15 UTC