> > Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:42:22 -0500 > From: "Peter Parente" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Forming an Accessibility Steering Committee > To: gnome-accessibility-list@gnome.org > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Back on the technical side of things, I haven't seen anyone mention > emerging tech and research in accessibility as topics of interest for > the committee. While the bleeding edge isn't as important as getting > accessibility working today for users who need it, it still warrants > attention for ensuring longevity and innovation in the GNOME > accessibility stack. For instance, some activities of the committee > might include: > > 1) Staying abreast of trends in technology to ensure GNOME > accessibility is prepared to handle the "next big thing." There's a > lot going on in the Web 2.0 / online desktop space. It would be nice > to have a leg up on accessibility matters when it begins to have a > large influence on the desktop and GNOME users. > > 2) Making sure infrastructure work doesn't preclude advancement. Most > times, platform improvements open doors to new and interesting uses. > Still, someone has to be wary of changes that force us to get stuck > doing only what we need today. > > 3) Brainstorming / developing improvements that push the envelope in > the user experience. It's great to have a set of familiar assistive > technologies for people to use today when migrating to GNOME from > other platforms. But a benefit of developing on an open stack with an > excellent (the best?) accessibility infrastructure is that it affords > us the opportunity to create alternative, better, more usable, (pick > an adjective) software to help users. Dasher is a perfect example: > born out of research and later packaged with GNOME releases as a new > "flavor" of on-screen keyboard. > > Pete
This is exactly right. Among the many different people who monitor this list are the researchers who are developing next-generation interfaces. For example, I'm a PhD student whose primary research is intelligent interfaces for the elderly and users with disabilities. My development platform of choice is Gnome; without open-source, much of my work would be near impossible. Although I'm trying to imagine next-generation UIs, my goal is to make improvements to accessibility in the near future, and particularly in Gnome. Changes to the accessibility stack (such as AT-SPI, available features (e.g. MouseTweaks), and even IPC) affect my work, so I read this list daily. If a steering committee is formed, I'd like to second Aaron Leventhal's vote for openness because, as Pete says above, I want to make sure that "infrastructure work doesn't preclude advancement." Finally, why not dedicate a little thinking time to thinking about the future? We're all doing the best we can just to make a11y work today, but let's not keep our heads in the sand lest we get surprised by new technologies, as nearly happened with AJAX. Even better, why not dream a little? If nothing else, it'll help us remember that the accessibility platform needs maximum expressiveness to do the things nobody has yet imagined. Brett Clippingdale _______________________________________________ gnome-accessibility-list mailing list gnome-accessibility-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
