#WebAim#Screenreader survey is open until January 31, 2024. If you're a Screenreader user or know someone who is, ask them if they want to participate.
I always found the results very interesting, especially when it came to headings / heading levels. It helped to make a point why this is so important (and easy to implement and fix).
It takes a truly talented designer to put black hotel room numbers on shiny dark-bronze plaques. This attention to detail ensures that people with vision like mine will be unable to read the numbers from more than a meter away, or at an aspect angle greater than 30°. I admire companies that put in the extra effort required to minimize accessibility. Well done, Doubletree! </sarcasm>
Sometimes I can't help but wonder whether some large fraction of product designers actively hate people with low vision. For example, I just had to take a photo and use zoom and image enhancement to determine that this Keurig pod is decaffeinated.
If I were Empress of Earth, I would allow only vision-impaired people to work as product or UX designers.
@JeffBishop Hi Jeff, great question. VSCode is a core tool for me, I use it to create documents, PDFs, diagrams and project plans.
I make all notes in Markdown format. No extensions are required for this, VSCode is a fully functional Markdown editor.
To generate PDF files from Markdown, extension Markdown PDF works well and is easy to use.
This is an excellent guide about the different types of white canes available to assist blind and low vision people. They cover what is available, how & why to use each type.
Produced by charity Henshaws. #blind#lowvision https://youtu.be/v6I5D98AKj0?si=6c4Jq1cKK7WwDVlK
The podcast by @blindguyschat is always a good listen. Delighted to hear @TimDixon82 on the latest edition.
Tim, I hear what you say about not having enough hands when using a cane + bags + phone etc. I've recently started using a short cane.
I use a backpack so I decided to clip the elastic cord of my cane to the backpack, using a quick release carabiner. When I temporarily run out of hands, I can let go of my cane and it hangs conveniently in place. Worth a try maybe? #blind#lowvision
Want cities that are more easily navigated by short walks and public transportation? Sounds like a win for the blind & disabled communities. This NPR article lays out how NIMBY'ism and conspiracy theories are threatening to derail efforts to make cities less dependent on car travel.
Anyone else noticing how conspiracy theories pop up whenever someone wants to change the status quo?
Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/08/1203950823/15-minute-cities-climate-solution
Hey VIPs, if working with PDFs is important to you, check out
Stirling-PDF. A very powerful tool to make, edit, OCR and convert PDF files.
But, could be a complicated installation for some people. There's a lite version for many platforms. The full version is Docker based, so install Docker Desktop first.
More info at: https://github.com/Frooodle/Stirling-PDF #blind#lowvision#visuallyimpaired
This is pillar 1E on the arrivals level at LAX, where I was directed to meet a shuttle last weekend. Ordinarily, I am not a vindictive person, but I wish I could impose my impaired vision on the people responsible for this accessibility disaster for a month or so. I doubt they would let this sort of thing happen again.
Order Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests for Blind or Low Vision People
As of September 25, 2023, you can place another order for one set of #12 free at-home tests with enhanced accessibility for blind or low vision people, while supplies last.
Looks like I'm likely to lose a summer teaching gig because I won't/can't commute to a campus to teach in person. I managed to hold a fairly well-attended and well-received online-only course for two years but the organization is pushing hard to eliminate online teaching.
I am a low-vision person and cannot legally drive a car. This campus is far enough away from me that even if I wanted to I could not commute there(1). This mad push to make everything in-person again has numerous consequences for #accessibility, even for relatively privileged people like me.
Eyo, #BlindMasto / #BlindMastodon / #BlindFedi. I come to you with one question: is #TikTok accessible? I would love your input as I will be at a meeting with a blindness group who is intending to launch a TikTok page, and I have concerns that the content posted there will be inaccessible to blind viewers. Any thoughts appreciated. #Blind#LowVision#VisuallyImpaired#Accessibility#A11Y
I thought it couldn't get any worse, but the Instagram website, specifically the direct messaging chats list, has gone even further down the accessibility toilet. As of now, my screen reader cannot see chats that I know exist. Particularly frustrating as fellow students and student groups use Instagram direct messaging religiously.
I need to read #German#Braille, and have configured #JAWS with two braille profiles: English and German. However, JAWS does not render the capital letter indicator (dots 4-6) when in the German profile, even though the “Suppress Capital Signs” checkbox within the “Profile details” dialog for the German profile is not checked. I am running JFW version 2023.2307.37. Any help is appreciated. #Blind#LowVision#VisuallyImpaired#BlindMasto#BlindMastodon#BlindFedi@freedomscientific
This is a lovely article about Hayley who set up a Braille greetings card business in the UK recently called Dotty About Braille, via Blind New World | ‘What’s really surprised me is the global response I’ve had – I’ve sold to 10 different countries all over the world, and I’ve typed #Braille in German, Dutch and French!’
“Accessibility shouldn’t just be a box you check. It should be cool.”- Steve Decker, Target’s Senior Manager of Accessibility 🎯
On Episode 5 of Access Matters 🎙, our host Jenine Stanley will sit down with Steve to discuss how his team has built inclusion through accessibility into the Fortune 50 retailer’s offerings.
👁️ How Does Reflowing Content Affect People With Screen Magnification?
"People using screen magnification software may experience problems when navigating a website. Part of that is down to the magnification software itself, but part of it is how content flows on the website."
This week in KDE: #Plasma6 is not only gearing up for a big technological shift, but is also adding cool new features and improving the user experience
Look forward to sound themes! Snappier responses! Prettier widgets! More awesome things!
Can anyone recommend some type of screen reader as I age into having problems focusing on text? Windows narrator doesn't seem to like reading the text on a PDF. #accessibility
@zoe_squonk PDFs our a pain for most of us. although I don't use windows, I know of two other screen readers that others do use on that platform:
Ndvda: it is open source and free.
JAWS: it is proprietary and expensive. #A11Y#Accessibility#LowVision
in case you're wondering, I use Apple products for that reason.
@sofasophia hat mich mit ihrem „Narbengel“ auf die Idee gebracht, etwas über verwirrende bis lustige Fehlinterpretationen durch Screenreader zu schreiben.
Der Klassiker: „beinhalten“ (be-in-hal-ten) wird wie „Bein halten“ gelesen (heute aber oft korrigiert).
Mein alter #Screenreader am PC hat „der Urinstinkt) (wie uralter Instinkt) als „der Urin stinkt“ gelesen.
Mein Favorit: „Thermofenstern“ (Ther-mo-fens-tern) wird wie „Term-Ofen-Stern“ gelesen. #blind#lowvision#barrierefrei
@MrLovenstein Panel 4: Red person running away from a building with the word “website” on it, while yellow person yells “you get the fuck out you app-less bitch!”.