Category: News and Views
The following is a public service message for any one who is blind or visualy impaired.
>
> Here is a clear opportunity to speak, in large numbers, using the web as a
> communication tool, and be heard by a Giant Software Company, and make a
> positive difference in the future of safe computing for everyone.
>
> ...
>
> Hello from BlindSoftware dot com, Through our newsletters, we normally
only
> email out product news about blindsoftware.com and BscGames.com. This
> newsletter is very important and we felt it was necessary to forward onto
> the community.
>
> This letter is written by Justin Daubenmire, president of BSC, as follows:
>
> Microsoft is coming out with a free new AntiSpyware product
> detection/removal tool which is now in beta 1. It is / will be the best
> antispyware utility created. I downloaded the beta and it is 100%
> inaccessible. I was baffled by this since microsoft is so big on
> accessibility.
>
> Since this was so important, I emailed freedom scientific and asked them
to
> contact the accessibility rep at microsoft. Eric damery wrote me back and
> said / asked me to get involved as much as possible since the more people
> that give feedback, the better chance we have of getting accessibility
into
> the program. This is why, as a blind or visually impaired computer user,
you
> are getting this email.
>
> With this utility being so necessary, it has to be accessible. Bare in
mind,
> this will be the best spyware utility made, you can read over its project
> specks later on.
>
> I would ask that each of you get involved and forward this onto any
mailing
> list that is for the blind and ask folks to get involved. If you do not
know
> what spyware is, go to google.com and do a search on spyware.
>
> How can you get involved? Simple. We need to go to the microsoft website
and
> submit a comment asking them to improve the accessibility of the program.
>
> Read these instructions below on how to submit a comment. I have outlined
> exactly how to do it so read them over prior to trying to do it. First,
here
> is a link you can follow to submit a comment to them. Keep reading past it
> though for exact instructions on how to submit the comment:
>
>
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/feedback.aspx
When the page appears, Read
> until you come to the text, not a link, but the text Microsoft Products:
> (you can start at the top of the page and do a screen find for the text
> "microsoft products" and land right on it.
>
> Below that line of text is a combo box, set it to Suggesting Product
> Improvements and tab one time to the go button and press enter on it.
>
> The next page has a form you can fill out and submit to them. Start by
> getting into the combo box for country, tab once to the comment text box
and
> type in a comment to them. I suggest something like this (copy/paste if
you
> wish):
>
> Hello.
>
> I am a blind computer user using a screen reader. I have tried your
> microsoft AntiSpyware application that is in beta 1 and it is inaccessible
> to me. I cannot use it. I would ask that you improve the accessibility of
> this program since it is so essential for us to have access to. Microsoft
is
> committed to accessibility and I am asking that you contact the
development
> team of this application and improve the accessibility of it. It isn't
fair
> that we don't have access to such an important security application.
>
> After you paste in the above text, or type your own comment, tab once to
the
> email box, type in your email address, then tab once to the next button
and
> press enter. Your comment will be posted to microsoft.
>
> If enough of us submit this request to them, we will have a necessary, and
> accessible, anti spyware tool that will be the best on the market.
>
> If you do want to check out the inaccessibility of the beta 1 version, or
> read up on its features, go to this link:
>
>
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=321cd7a2-6a57-4c57-a8bd-dbf62eda9671&DisplayLang=en
>
>
>
> Thank you for getting involved!
>
>
>
>
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Well, fair enough, however I am going to take the liberty to doubt that Microsoft's anti spy products will be superior to those already availible and free and Jaws scriptable on the market, SpyBot and Ad Aware both have Jaws scripts and Ad Aware works reasonably well. It is sad that Microsoft with a group devoted to accessibility issues has let this slip so badly. I was about to give themsome compliments for the way they've handled Visual Studio 2005 but I suppose this sort of cancels that positive comment out. I hope browsers like FireFox become accessible soon and we can show our demonstration strongly by choose those products that are not Microsoft made, go with the Google stuff, it's for the most part, great and much faster and more accurate than Microsoft's (e.g. the search engine).
This being said I am going to complain and hope others will join me.
Thanks
-B