Thought’s about the Mac; post 1

Jul 26, 2012 | , ,

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I’m still getting use to this Mac. Because OSX is very different My plan is to document my progress as I learn more about how OSX does things. of learning an entirely new screen reader at the same time. Because of this, a lot of my findings are from the perspective of a blind MAC user therefore unfortunately may not be as interesting to the sighted readers of my blog. However, stick around, you might learn something… It’s a huge learning curve and it’s compounded by the necessity of learning an entirely new screen reader at the same time.

As I was saying before, I’m comfortable with some of the more administration type tasks required on the Mac such as joining them to Active Directory, configuring group policy for them, installing different AntiVirus etc but actually using it from an end-users perspective was completely new to me. Fortunately I’m not starting at square one though.

Right, lets get started. The first thing I do when getting comfortable with a new system is install the applications that I use the most for day to day life. That’s a calendar, notes, Email, Twitter and some kind of text editor. A few years ago in the Linux world, I recorded a lot of audio tutorials to assist users with these tasks but I’m delighted to say that I don’t have to this time. I’m coming to the Mac game later than others so a brilliant website is doing a much better job than I ever could. It’s AppleVis. Go over there and listen to some of their podcasts. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough

Now that I have my mail, calendar, notes, text editor and twitter applications set up I am much more inclined to use the Mac over my PC. That’s not to say I think the Mac is better than the PC, I’m not sure about that yet but it means that I force myself to use the Mac to give it a fair chance.

For mail, notes, calendar and text editing, I’m using applications that are shipped with OSX. Thanks to OSX 10.8 Mountain lion, integration with iCloud is stronger than ever so notes, reminders and even files are shared across devices almost instantly.

For Twitter, I’m using YoruFukurou. Is that the right spelling? Ah who knows! I’m too lazy to go look. What kind of a name is that anyway? Don’t get me wrong though, It’s a brilliant application. Probably one of the best twitter clients I’ve ever used. The only thing I would say, and this is try across all applications on the Mac, consistency of keyboard navigation could do with some attention by the Voiceover developers. Sometimes quick nag is perfect, sometimes it’s absolutely terrible and actually causes applications to behave very erratically. In fairness to YoruFukurou the reason why this is such a brilliant Twitter client is it supports dozens of keyboard shortcuts making it very easy to reach almost every Twitter related task.

One application I didn’t mention is for messaging. It’s called Atium. Overall, this application is very good but if comparing it to the usability and efficiency of using Windows Live Messenger, I have to say that it’s lacking a lot. For example, in Windows and Linux, when I get a new message I expect the screen reader to announce it automatically. On the Mac, everything is very manual. That would be fine but without some kind of feedback, messages can and will be missed.

I will definitely blog in more detail about my experience on the Mac but I don’t want to make the posts too long. Come back again tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll have had time to write some more thought’s down.

How lucky am I?

Jul 24, 2012 |

In films etc people talk about the luck of the Irish. Up until now I’ve dismissed this as being a lode of nonsense. That is until I actually thought about it this morning. What is luck anyway? I’ll tell you what luck is. In Ireland, the definition of luck is leaving your rain jacket in work because it’s lovely outside only to find that four hours later the rain poors from the sky before you have the chance to get home. Some how, you manage to get home then back to work the next morning without getting wet. See? This is the definition of luck. Surviving the Irish summer without getting any more wet than you would at any other time of the year.

It’s getting a little tiring though. I leave the house before 7AM and the weather is horrible. At 5PM when leaving work the weather is either all right or lovely. Commuting in Ireland means you need to dress for every season in the one day.

Sexy hardware.

Jul 23, 2012 |

People think I’m funny saying that a computer or something technical is sexy but I really don’t care. Look at the Mac book air! It’s sleek, smooth, light and strong. There’s nothing about the physical design of this tiny laptop I don’t like. I’ve been a fan of the Apple keyboards for years so it goes without saying that for me, this was one of the major selling points of this but I wasn’t expecting to find the entire package this appealing.

I have a good grasp of the basics of using OSX but equally as using a Mac as my primary non-work system I am forced to learn a lot more. Navigation around applications seems slow to me at the moment but this is very likely because I’m not using all the power of the Voiceover screen reader yet. Text editing is definitely the hardest thing to do at the moment. I am finding it hard to become comfortable with the way the cursor moves and it’s placement in relation to words and characters in comparison to the PC. Still, it’s an interesting and enjoyable learning process.

I’m still in the honeymoon stage but I plan to document my successes and failures as I come to grips with this new system.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me. I can’t promise that I’ll be much help but I’ll certainly try.

My first post from Mars edit.

Jul 22, 2012 |

I bought my first Mac on Friday. I couldn’t pass the opportunity. Now, I’m determined to use it as my primary non-work system. This means finding applications that I can use easily and efficiently for mail, Twitter, web browsing, RSS and of course, blogging. I could of course add posts using the browser but I like being able to write off line and posting later when I get the change. One thing I have to say at this stage though is I really love the keyboard on the mac platform. I’m using a Mac book air at the moment and I find it incredibly comfortable.

So, anyway, as I said in the title of this post, I’m writing this post using an application called Mars edit. This application costs just over 31 Euro and it seems to be worth it. I’m still getting use to it but already I’m writing a new post within seconds of opening it for the first time so it can’t be that difficult.

I’m going to keep this post short for the moment. Just a quick observation. When it automatically corrects a mistake, it makes a sound to let me know. Isn’t that cool?

Music or Technology.

Jun 22, 2012 | , , ,

Work to live. Don’t live to work and equally, play to live. Don’t live to play. This is my new aspiration. I’m lucky. I love my job but lately I’ve been spending far too much time working and not enough time playing. Finding a better balance is something I need to prioritise sooner rather than later.

I don’t mind saying that for a long time now I have been giving serious consideration to moving away from my career in computing into the life of a full time musician. It is a very attractive option but it would be a huge change with a lot of draw backs. My father once said that in his opinion. Being a musician carried limited opportunities for advancement. Once you reached a certain level there was no possibility for improvement. I’m sure he wasn’t just talking about musicianship, technical ability and skill. He was quite rightly pointing out that especially in Irish traditional music; there is a certain limit to the size of the proverbial ladders that someone and clime. Once you reach that peak there is nowhere else to go. In the Information technology industry, the ladder is much higher leading to many more possibilities for improvement, promotion and let’s faces it, increased remuneration. There is also a lot of competition in Irish music. That’s a great thing. Don’t get me wrong. It means that the quality of the music is constantly improving at a rate that can be described as nothing less than astounding. Just listen to the children being taught at the moment. Their incredible! It would mean that I would need to ensure that I actually practise once in a while though.

Working with computers every day is posing its own set of problems. I am continually hampered by the fact that the assistive technology that I depend on so much is in a constant state of catch up with the rest of the world. Almost every new application that is released by Microsoft, Symantec, Mcafee, Trend micro, HP, Dell, VMware and IBM causes yet another problem for me as a screen reader user. It has reached the stage that I need to regularly enlist the assistance of users of iPhones and iPads who can take the time to talk to me over face time so they can see the errors on the screen when my assistive technology cannot read them. I ask you this openly. How can we expect employers to see us as having the same potential as people who have sight when a new application is released and a screen reader user can’t access over 50% of the interface. When you administer dozens of systems, how can your employer be expected to look the other way while you struggle to use simple parts of applications because the screen reader can’t read what’s on the screen. I am frequently in the position where it probably looks like I’m just being lazy or wasting time but in actual fact, I’m prolonging a particular job because during my spare time I’m trying to write a script for my screen reader to get around some strange application. Or, worse, I’m waiting until I can get someone to quickly let me use their eyes for 2 minutes. See, I’m stubborn. I hate admitting that I can’t access systems. I’d rather be seen as incompetent, lazy and slow before letting people see that I’m struggling with accessibility. It’s probably silly and without doubt a lot of you think I’m crazy. It’s probably also true that a lot of you are wondering why I’m writing so bluntly with a basic admission that I’m finding it almost impossible to do my job. Simple. I find it almost impossible but I’m absolutely completely committed to doing the very best I can and until that stops, I know I will succeed. That’s not me being over confident or having a big head, I’m simply saying that I can’t afford to give up. I spoke to someone on Twitter two weeks ago and although he doesn’t know me, he was able to see my frustration within ten minutes. I don’t know who this person is really. I don’t’ know how much experience he has or even where he’s from. He however said something that hit home to me. He told me to be careful. “Constantly fighting accessibility battles can very easily burn you out”. How true this is! I would bet that all my stress is caused by trying desperately to access systems. I’m quite good under pressure. Outages, major changes, upgrades and problems don’t bother me too much. They all have a logical solution and it’s not like with the day to day work problems come up every day. Accessibility or the lack thereof is just driving me crazy. I sometimes fear that I may have hit a glass ceiling in this type of work. I can see… excuse the pun… what’s above me and I know how to get there but I can’t get past the step that I’m on now. It’s not like I couldn’t go in and configure a Dell KVM. It’s not difficult. But, the interface is QT based so I can’t access it. See what I mean? That brings me to a very quick point that I wanted to make: This is not the fault of the assistive technology developers. If leading companies such as Microsoft do not use good design practises in all of their applications how then can we hope for any other company to? Making an accessible application is not difficult. It just takes consideration. That’s a topic for another day though.

So, you can see my dilemma. Play music full time, earn less money with fewer prospects for promotion or enhancement or feel like I’m banging my head off a wall every day trying to make a square peg fit into a round whole. I’ve often said that I’m lucky. I love my job. I love working with computers but the more I achieve and the higher on that ladder I keep talking about I clime, the more I seem to hit this inaccessible wall.

Another very important point to consider is, music is my escape. I heard it described yesterday as like jumping off a peer into a deep river. You start off in one world but when you hit the water you are in a completely different world with different rules, different movements, different priorities and different goals. Hold breath under water. Breathe while swimming. Use different muscles. Music is like this. While playing music the same rules don’t apply as working. It’s a very focusing activity. I would be very afraid I’d lose that escape if I played music full time. Where would I go to relax then? Back to a computer? Could the worlds work in reverse?

My mother commented before that until I suddenly announced one day that I had made my mind up to go to college and study computing that she always felt that it was a fore gone conclusion that I would be a full time musician. That’s interesting isn’t it? Here’s a little known fact. Out of both my parents, I would consider my father to be the more musical one. So, that perspective surprised me a lot. In a way, I considered myself very lucky. By fourteen or fifteen, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I even knew the course number. DK054.

It’s an interesting question and an interesting choice. I don’t expect I’ll answer it any time soon. I’d still like your perspective though.

Review of the UltraCane.

Jun 20, 2012 |

Introduction

I have not been using the UltraCane for long so my opinion is not based on Ong term exposure however I have done plenty of walking over the past week in areas that I know very well and areas that I have never visited before in both busy and very quiet environments so I have a decent idea of if this mobility aid will benefit me or not. Of course, I have another two or three weeks before making my mind up completely and I’m certainly going to get as much out of this time as possible.

I thought I should write this review to highlight why I think the UltraCane is so good but yet needs so much improvement to be a mobility aid that people just can’t do without.

background

I have used devices that employ ultrasonic waves in the past such as the Miniguide and the K-Sonar so I am quite comfortable with the concept. The UltraCane is something that has interested me for quite a while so when I broke my previous cane two weeks ago I decided that it was time to try something different.

Summary

I like the UltraCane. I think it is a very good idea. From a short time of using it, I found that I am a little more confident while walking. There’s one thing I really hate about the normal cane. That is, to know an obstacle is there you need to make physical contact with it. With the UltraCane it is possible to sense the obstacle through one of the vibrating plates on the handle. I find that following walls for example is much easier because I can keep the vibrations at a steady level while sweeping the cane from side to side.

I think that the design of the handle should and probably will mature and evolve sooner rather than later as a lot of small but very important details need to be reassessed. Using the cane for an extended period of time results in strain to my hand. Especially my index finger. Maybe this is something I’d get use to tú I find in particular when following a wall on my right, the angle that I need to twist my hand to is not natural or comfortable so after a while I find that I need to move my grip regularly to help. I would actually be concerned that this movement when following something on the right using the sensor has the potential to cause RSI.

Feedback

I have sent the following points to Sound for Sight who have relayed them to the engineers of this very interesting mobility aid.

  1. The vibrating plates on the top of the handle are poorly positioned in my opinion. As a blind person, I find the most sensitive or aware part of my hand is my index finger. This comes from reading Braille and indeed typing. The thumb is probably one of the least sensitive parts. It would be more natural to receive this feedback through vibrations delivered to the index finger or maybe even the index finger and the thumb. I’m aware that the canes are designed to be used by both left and right handed users but this design choice may need to be revisited.
  2. An alternative battery source should be used. Using conventional AA batteries has its benefits of course however a battery that can be recharged by plugging in the cane would be a lot more sustainable and cost effective for users.
  3. I’m sorry to say that the audible tones for low battery notifications are quite useless. In my experience as a user of the cane in built up areas the audible tones produced are not loud enough to be heard in busy areas. Of course, users would not want loud tones as they would draw attention to the cane therefore an alternative method of feedback should be employed. For example, alternating vibrations between the plates and / or vibrations of alternate duration. Of course, looking at a different approach, a third vibrating plate could be inserted to facilitate notifications so that there could be no confusion as to if vibrations signify a notifications or an upcoming obstruction.
  4. The manual refers to a cover that can be fitted over the sensors during heavy rain. I have not received any such cover.
  5. The switch for turning off the cane and changing between short and long distance scanning are in a very unusual place. I suggest that the switch is replaced by three water proof buttons positioned for the three fingers at the bottom of the cane. I regularly change between modes while walking depending on what I am scanning for. The current location of the switch does not cater for this as naturally as on other similar devices.
  6. The ergonomic design of the cane is something that I noticed as soon as I began using it however I suggest a minor change to the positioning of the sensors. The sensors are designed to stick out straight with the users hand in the normal grip position. This means that when twisting the wrist to scan for a wall on the left the motion is very natural and relaxed. However, when twisting the wrist to the right to scan a for a wall on the other side of the user the movement is not as natural. I suggest moving the sensors just slightly so that by default, the users hand is held in a more tilted position to the left to have the sensors pointing in the forward position. This way, while scanning right the wrist movement would not be as strenuous.

I appreciate that a lot of work goes into designing a product like this and the changes I suggest would not be possible in the short term however I would hope that the engineers take them into account during future iterations of the product.

Negatives

There are a few things that annoy me a little when using the UltraCane:

  1. The noise the cane makes while rolling it is very loud and hollow. This is probably because of the UltraCane handle. This sound dims as the tip is worn down a little but the noise is a bit more noticeable than with a standard mobility cane. I must admit however that I hate the sound of a cane with a passion. It is a pet hate of mine ever since after I got my first guide dog so many friends remarked at their relief that they didn’t have to listen to it scraping along the ground any more. It’s something I have been a little more conscious of since.
  2. I think the wrist strap on the top of the UltraCane is handy while walking but it’s a bit cumbersome when trying to secure the cane tightly after folding it up. I’m wondering about trying to put some kind of elasticated strap onto the handle of this one… If I keep it of course to make it faster to store the cane neatly when using public transport. Again, this is personal preference.
  3. The UltraCane has been improved in the past few years. Sound for Sight say that it is now lighter than before but I can’t help wondering why it is still so heavy. There are similar devices out there that are a lot lighter. Why is the UltraCane so heavy?
  4. The UltraCane handle seems to be much bigger than it needs to be as well. Looking at similar devices that do not come with a cane that use ultra sonic waves and vibrations to provide feedback, it seems to me that the size of the handle is much bigger than it needs to be. Take the old Mini guide for example; this was the size of a cigarette lighter!
  5. The UltraCane seems to be more expensive than alternative products as well. Now, I could be wrong here, but why is this?

To me the ultra-cane feels like a very useful mobility aid however it seems like the concept is still in its infancy. Minor design changes to the handle so that it is easier to hold for an extended period of time, better placement of the tactile indicators and more durability will, I hope, make this a tool that becomes a standard mobility aid for many blind people.

Posatives

I do actually like the UltraCane a lot. I am being critical because I don’t want to give you a false sense of what it can and can’t do. I’m still not sure if I’ll keep it. £635 excluding postage is a lot of money. It came to just over €800 in total. If it can’t do absolutely everything I need it to then I think I will give it back. That said, if it can help me get around with a bit more confidence then I might just be convinced. Either way, I think it has a long way to go before I would personally say that it is a mature product.

For faireness sake, here are a few of the reasons I like the UltraCane a lot:

  1. I love the fact I get prior warning before I meet something with the cane. There is a particularly annoying sandwich board on Nassau Street in Dublin. When walking down toward Kildare Street I meet it. It’s a land mark so I could avoid it if I want but meeting it means that I’m along the right line and I’ll be passing the shop doors slightly. I walk out from the edge of the building slightly to make sure I don’t walk straight into people stepping out of doorways at that point. Then I come to the tactile markers so I know I can turn right… It’s a hand enough rout but I hate having to find that land mark. Especially when it’s raining because for some reason the building always drips on me. It’s very irritating. With the UltraCane I walk with the building on my right. I don’t actually touch the wall with the cane. I just keep the vibration on the handle reasonably constant. This is something that is taking a lot of practise because it’s very hard to feel the difference in the speed of the vibrations using my thumb. When their quite slow its fine but if I’m two feet from a wall their almost completely undistinguishable. While I’m walking down the street I will notice that directly ahead the UltraCane detects an obstacle. Because I’m not yet ready to just find a way around this obstacle using vibrations alone, I still meet it with the cane but it’s not as bad because I have time to slow down and meet it on my own terms. From there I orientate myself away from the side of the building and I continue on my way.
    The nice thing about the UltraCane is when I’m walking past the fruit stand outside one of the shops the vibrations get faster so I have yet another land mark to verify my path by without even having to touch it.
    I’m hoping I’ll get better at this with time so that I can avoid the sign without having to touch it. I find it much easier when buildings jut out for example.
  2. One great time to have the UltraCane is during bin day. Again, I’m not as practised with it as some people so I still like to actually touch the obstacle but knowing something is there in advance is a more reassuring than I thought it would be.
  3. Oh of course, the UltraCane has a sensor that tries to detect objects at head level. I am delighted to say that I’ve tested this and it works. I’m tired of walking into wet bushes hanging over a wall or decorative plants hitting me in the face on the way to work in the morning. There are two decorative plants at face level on one side of South Fredrick Street. With the UltraCane I can sense these when their near so I can put my hand out to avoid them. This is going to be great on wet mornings.

Of course, this is just my opinion. I’d be very interested in hearing from other UltraCane users.

Eitleán – The reason that I have been so quiet.

May 9, 2012 | ,

I probably have no readers left on this site at all and you know what? I don’t blame you at all. I haven’t been posting here because I’ve been very busy with other projects that seem to be running at the same time.

I thought I should write something to tell you a bit about what I’m doing. Today’s post will be about the music side of things. I’m playing with two lovely people who live in Dundalk. Andrew Grafton and his girlfriend Trudy Maguire. Their full time musicians who play every kind of music from rock to classical to jazz, to the blues. Trudy even sings in a quire and is an active participant in the Irish accordion association. Andrew is kept busy as he is probably one of the most talented videographers and sound engineers on the east coast. He’s also one of the nicest guitarists I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing music with.

About a year ago we began playing music together. I originally stood in for another musician as he was traveling quite a lot but as time moved on we began to get together more and more. About two months ago we finally settled on a name for the band on the way to the airport for the last of a string of gigs around St. Patrick’s Day. The name is Eitleán. This is Irish for Airplane. For those of you outside Ireland, this is pronounced etchelawn. Yes, it’s a funny way of thinking up a band name but it has stuck and it suits the nature of the band because we’re all messers when you get right down to it.

We have been working on a new CD for the past few months as well and we’re hoping that will be released very shortly. In anticipation of the launch and in an effort to raise awareness of the band we have been hitting social media networks. You may now find us on Facebook, Twitter, Sound cloud and our Eitleán website which is still in the process of being built.

This is the part where I ask you to get involved. Listen to our tracks on sound cloud, follow our twitter account and like our page on Facebook. Eitleán music is definitely here to stay and hopefully this is just the start of what is to come.

Social networks

The accessibility of virtual desktops.

Apr 19, 2012 | , , , ,

This probably could be a much more scientific approach to a review or analysis of the accessibility of a Windows guest running on the ESXI hypervisor however, I don’t really have the time to write such a document at the moment. However, this will serve as verification to some that access to this environment is possible all be it in a limited way.

For the less technical people out there, basically what I’m talking about here is running a Windows computer inside a virtual machine.

You need a more basic description? No problem. Try this. Let’s say you have one large computer. Virtual machines are machines that run inside this big computer. Think about it as if it was a building. This building might have ten different companies. True, each company could probably have its own building but there’s no need. It only needs a certain amount of space. An entire building would be over kill. So, the one building hosts all of these guest companies. Just like one large server can host dozens or hundreds of virtual machines be those workstations that users work with or servers that run the companies IT systems. Having one building hosting all these smaller companies cut down on the space required the cost of maintenance and the cost of power. When you hear the word hypervisor, I am basically talking about the building or the large server that hosts all the virtual machines or companies. When I talk about a guest, I am talking about the companies in the building i.e, the virtual machines. Get it?

  • Building = Server / Hypervisor
  • Company = Guest or virtual machine

Ok. I’m glad we have all of that cleared up. You can take a break for a few seconds before I move on to the next part because it’s going to get a little technical again. Don’t worry. You’ll understand it now that you have a grip of the basics.

For one reason or another, I spent some time yesterday tackling the problem of how a blind person can independently and efficiently access a Windows 7 PC that has been virtualized using a thin client. A thin client for those of you who aren’t aware of the term is a basic PC. It has very limited storage, limited RAM and a low power processor. The idea of this machine is to give a user a platform from where they can access a virtual computer. All it does is start a cut down version of Windows and provide the user with a log in box to start their virtual system.

There is one barrier to accessibility when using thin clients. No additional software can be installed ordinarily as there isn’t enough space to facilitate it. This means installing a screen reader isn’t an option. Even a pen drive version of Jaws won’t work because it requires the installation of a mirror driver. Fortunately, NVDA will work very well. Just download the portable version and run it. If I was to make one suggestion it would be to put NVDA to sleep automatically when the PC over IP or the RDP client started as it can get a little confusing when modifier keys such as caps lock are pressed. I know this can be done using scripts though and it is something I would look at doing if I was using this as my workstation every day.

So, you can now use the thin client to log into your workstation. That’s the first hurdle out of the way. Now what?

With VMware you can log onto virtual machines using two protocols. RDP which is Microsoft’s remote desktop protocol or PC over IP which is the protocol used by VMware. PC over IP is more efficient for a number of reasons but in later versions of RDP Microsoft have gained some ground. I won’t explain the benefits over PC over IP in this post but very quickly, PC over IP is less bandwidth intensive so the experience of remotely using a virtual machine is a little smoother.

You’ll be happy to know that relaying sound back to the thin client is supported by both of these protocols however you won’t get instant feedback like you would if sitting at your own PC. The delay is in the realm of about fraction of a second but if like me you expect instant responses from a screen reader this fraction of a second may as well be an eternity.

Relaying sound back to the thin client is very important. Jaws, my preferred screen reader crashes every time it is started in a virtual machine using the PC over IP protocol. Without fail, it refuses to run. NVDA on the other hand runs very nicely in a virtual machine using the PC over IP protocol. Of course, using NVDA sound mapping to your thin client is vital which is why I made the point earlier.

Unfortunately, there you have it. What I’m saying in a very long winded way is, yes, you can access a virtual machine using a thin client if you’re stuck but I wouldn’t think it’s usable every day. The sound lag is just too pronounced. NVDA’s ability to work in this environment should however be recognised and commended. Jaws, a leader in screen reading software seems to fail badly.

Please don’t’ take this as an endorsement or a criticism of any screen reader. I am simply stating what I have found to be the reality here. I have written this post to highlight this area and to show that improvement is required. More and more organizations and companies are moving to virtual desktops to replace physical machines as they provide significant cost savings. I have a genuine fear that assistive technology companies are not aware of this trend and blind computer users such as me will be left clambering to keep up with my sighted colleagues. I strongly believe that it is vital that companies such as Freedom Scientific, NV Access and GW Micro listen to users and when possible, utilize their experience and expertise. I for one offer it freely.

Systems used are:

  • ESXI 5.0
  • VMWare view 5.0
  • Windows 7 X64 and 32 bit.
  • Thin client running a cut down version of Windows XP.
  • 1GB network connection.
  • Virtual machine had two processors and 4GB of RAM.
  • Thin client had 1GB of RAM and 1 processor at 1.5GHZ.

I should finally note that I do not see RDP as a viable solution for accessing virtual machines using a thin client. Especially for screen reader users. If by some stroke of luck you get Jaws running on your thin client, you would then use Jaws on your virtual machine to tunnel the data back to your locally running instance of Jaws on the thin client. That’s fine, however, what if like me your a system administrator and you will need to establish connections to other remote systems from your virtual machine. You will not be able to use Jaws to establish a second or third connection as you are already using jaws through one RDP session. Drawing on an article from IBM this seems to be a viable solution for some researchers however from the perspective of someone who both administers and uses a virtual environment every day, I would not be able to depend on RDP due to this limitations. PC over IP is a protocol designed and optomized for he VMware virtual platform. We should be able to use it.

The future of browsing the web.

Apr 16, 2012 | ,

When you’re a blind user of technology you are going to depend on a screen reader and it’s very likely you read the web the way I do ordinarily. From top to bottom and then from left to right. This is just how traditional screen readers on Windows, Linux and the Mac do things. Now, let me explain this to the sighted readers of this blog. Take the website TheRegister .co.uk This site has content arranged in columns and it’s very easy to glance through the headlines that are of interest. Almost at a glance you can pick an article and click on that page. Traditionally, a computer user who is blind utilizing a screen reader will need to navigate past the navigation links at the top, down by the search link, past the advertisements until she or he gets to the content. When he or she finds a page and navigates to it the entire journey starts again. I’m dramatizing it slightly to make a point. That is, web browsing for an individual using a screen reader is very linear. Over the past six or seven years the situation has improved steadily with screen reader makers developing shortcuts that allow navigation by heading, table, list, frame, paragraph, image, form element and other standard HTML elements. This revolutionized access to the web as sites that use decent HTML mark-up can be navigated easily by jumping past huge chunks of text.

I think or rather, I hope a new revolution in web accessibility has been reached. It’s in the form of a device I originally publicly discredited as being nothing more than an oversized iPod. Yes, I’m talking about the iPad. I think this big touch screen is actually the most enjoyable interface I have ever used for browsing the web. It’s so nice to be able to explore the layout of a website. Getting a sense of where the navigation links are, where the content starts and where the form fields are located for example is so much nicer than remembering that to find the content on my favourite website, I press h three times to jump to the third heading then I press down five times to move past all the junk. Just like I assume a sighted person reads through the timeline on Facebook very quickly by glancing at specific parts of the screen, I can glance at different parts of the screen with my fingers. I know, it’s very different still but it is probably the closest I have ever been to actually reading a site in a similar way to sighted friends.

It’s also a lot less keyboard commands to remember. For obvious reasons of course.

I recently designedthe website for Computer Support Services from the ground up. Compared to the work of professional web designers, my attempt at design is basic at best but I’m quite proud of it. I regularly checked my layout using the iPad. Making sure I aligned things correctly was so much easier using a touch screen interface. I’d make a change to the style sheet and as soon as it was saved, I’d have a feel of the iPad to make sure I hadn’t broken something and then when I was happy that everything was still in the right place, I’d look for the new component that I’d added. For example, if you look at the twitter feed at the bottom right of the Computer Support Services website. I wanted to give that just enough space to let it stand out but I didn’t want to overwhelm the bottom of the home page. Finding that balance was made a lot easier by exploring the size of the section by touch.

If you haven’t tried browsing the Internet using an iPad, I’d encourage you to give it a shot. If you tried it before and you aren’t convinced, spend some time with it. If you want specific tips drop me a comment.

I should also mention that I’ve written this blog post using wordpress on my iPhone and I finished it using the iPad. The wonders of modern technology ay? 🙂