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Tag: accessibility

Is Snap really a snap?

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Rhonda snapped. Now Tom snaps. I’m talking about Snap, which does seem to be a very cool plug-in to WordPress and other blogging tools. When your cursor hovers over a hyperlink, a square cartoon-bubble-like pop-up appears with a miniature version of the site or Web page referred to by the link. I like it. It has a high cool factor, and Tom provides a few thoughts about it on his blog. But is it accessible? How does it work in a screen reader? How does it work with slow connections? (56k modems still exist!) That I haven’t quite figured out yet. Do you know? Update: Rhonda is snapping on her blog, not her work site. That was the type of confusion a technical communication should avoid. I did that just to see if you were awake out there. 😉 And thanks to…

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Can your map talk to you?

Google maps can. T.V. Raman has written about the alternate textual interface in this article. Text interfaces work well screen readers or Braille displays. People who are blind or who have low-vision are not the only ones who benefit from this alternate interface. Users might have a non-graphic interface – or be in a hurry. Try viewing graphic rich sites using a modem. Your patience might wear thin! Text-based pages are a lifesaver in those situations. Remember, providing alternate versions in some way or another increases the accessibility of your site, as this article explains.

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Dialogue in the Dark

For about one hour, a walking stick was my very best friend. This realization came to me as I sat in utter darkness at the end of an amazing experience, clinging to that walking stick. Elisabeth was another trusted friend. She was my guide for the Dialogue in the Dark experience. (The site is in Danish only, but you can get an English-language tour at the museum.) What is the experience? For about one hour, you are in complete darkness. Your only assistance is in the form of the walking stick and the person who is your guide throughout the tour. You experience walking through a park and on a busy sidewalk. Do you know how scary standing on a sidewalk can be when you cannot see? The exhibit has plenty of sounds to recreate the noise of a city sidewalk. At the end of the tour, you visit a…

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