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MICROSOFT TRIES TO MAKE COMPUTING EASIER
August 5, 1999
Online education companies are touting the Internet as the next greatest frontier for education, but if the student cannot use the computer, the Internet will remain on the distant horizon. Microsoft Corp. has launched an extensive effort to bring computers into the world of students and others with disabilities. Microsoft Accessibility, at www.microsoft.com/enable, focuses solely on providing information about accessible computer technology.
As can be expected, the site looks like a public relations project for the company that has occasionally been accused of trying to take over the world, or at least squeeze out other competitors in the computer business. But it is also evidence of a genuine effort by Microsoft to improve computing for people with disabilities. That effort extends not only to operations within the company, where developers work on projects to make Microsoft programs easier to use, but also beyond to programs and events Microsoft funds to spread the word to others in the computer business.
Microsoft Accessibility explains features in Microsoft applications, such as the widely used Internet Explorer web browser, and provides lists of keyboard shortcuts to duplicate the functions of the computer's mouse. "A key goal of the site is to educate, equip, and motivate developers to build accessible software, hardware, Web sites and documentation," the company says. "Developers can learn about major technology projects at Microsoft and can find guidelines and checklists to help them create more accessible programs."
The Microsoft site does not just preach accessibility to other web site and computer developers; it leads by example.
The company set "web accessibility guidelines" that developers of the Microsoft Accessibility site had to follow. For example, the site can be navigated solely with a computer keyboard, and each page uses high-contrast colors to make recognizing text and graphics easier for people with limited vision. In addition, every graphic includes an alternate text label describing the graphic, so synthesized screen readers for blind computer users can more accurately describe the image on the screen. Audio cues embedded in each web page give the screen readers an additional signal for certain types of recurring text, such as a table of contents or the end of a page.
Finally, Microsoft also offers a guide to products made by other companies to assist computer users overcome various difficulties. Products to enlarge images on a computer screen, read aloud or generate Braille displays, simulate keyboards on the screen, recognize speech to navigate a software program or web site and train users in implementing these aids are all described on the Microsoft site. The company also includes the obligatory disclaimer for the third-party products, taking no responsibility for whether they work or not.8
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