Re: Possible additional CSS media type: 'reader'

*Joe Clark*:
>
> MULTIMODAL DEVICES
> 1. speak
> 2. manipulate the screen (as by scrolling or highlighting words or
> phrases as they are spoken)
> 3. produce Braille
>
> CURRENT MEDIA TYPES
> These adaptive technologies appear to combine the braille, screen,
> and speech media types. The spec tells us:
>
>>Media types are mutually exclusive in the sense that a user agent
>>can only support one media type when rendering a document. However,
>>user agents may have different modes which support different media
>>types.
>
> I take this to mean:
> * A device can use one output method at a time to render a document.
> * The device may change from mode to mode-- as long as only one mode
> is in use at any time.

Well you could also interpret it as being bound to the output device, i.e. a
UA might use 'screen' for the display on your CRT or LCD and 'aural' via the
speakers next to it at the same time, but 'tv' cannot be combined with either
one. Alternatively you could see a screen reader as three UAs in one.
If that's the intention of the Working Group, it probably should be made
clearer. Maybe as soon as in CSS 2.1.

> The current CSS media types do not describe real-world screen-reader
> usage, since those technologies use one or more combinations of
> output methods at once, and we don't have a media type for that yet.

REC-CSS2 says in chapter 7.3: "Due to rapidly changing technologies, CSS2 does
not specify a definitive list of media types that may be values for @media."
Thus it should be possible to add [an informal] one for screen readers, if
really required.

Received on Monday, 3 November 2003 10:04:11 UTC