Cable Forum - View Single Post - IBM making web surfing easier for Blind people?

Stuart · 28-10-2009, 10:59

IBM has developed a new technology that should make it easier for Blind people to surf..

Now, Screen Readers are good, but the problem is they can get confused by bad web design. They do well on large bodies of text, but can get confused by the layout of a lot of modern websites. These will include pictures, flash movies, ads and little blocks of text. As such, the layout can be a little disorganised, and the screen reader may not be able to flow directly to the next one.

IBM's project is simple. They have written a sidebar that volunteers can use to mark out the "flow" of a webpage. The flow data is stored on IBM's servers, and is automatically retrieved by compatible screen reader software, which can then use it to work out which bits of the screen to read and when.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/27/ibm_voice/

28-10-2009, 10:59	#1
Stuart - Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Somewhere Services: Virgin for TV and Internet, BT for phone Posts: 26,546	IBM making web surfing easier for Blind people? IBM has developed a new technology that should make it easier for Blind people to surf.. Now, Screen Readers are good, but the problem is they can get confused by bad web design. They do well on large bodies of text, but can get confused by the layout of a lot of modern websites. These will include pictures, flash movies, ads and little blocks of text. As such, the layout can be a little disorganised, and the screen reader may not be able to flow directly to the next one. IBM's project is simple. They have written a sidebar that volunteers can use to mark out the "flow" of a webpage. The flow data is stored on IBM's servers, and is automatically retrieved by compatible screen reader software, which can then use it to work out which bits of the screen to read and when. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/10/27/ibm_voice/