Like a Virgin?
We’re mulling over the news that Virgin America has decided to remove Flash from its site (well, from some of the site, anyway…as noted on the TUAW comments, it’s still on the Route Map page at least) because it won’t run on iPhones. Is this a good thing for accessibility? Would it be better to keep Flash but also follow the guidelines for providing accessible Flash alternatives? And while we’re at it, could Virgin address some of their other issues, such as the inaccessible navigation bar?
TUAW: Virgin America dumps Flash over lack of iPhone support
Applecalypse Now
Not content to ban suggestive iPhone apps from their store, Apple has decided they can also ban apps based on “minimal user functionality.” So the quirky utility that might just solve an access problem–like the air blower–won’t be available via the most central app resource. Not good.
Gizmodo: Apple rejects app for containing minimal user functionality
As it is Twitten
Carmen Gonzales has come up with a summary of pretty convincing arguments about why Twitter has made a huge difference for people with physical disabilities. Some of these involve the potential for generating and receiving information with little effort, but there is also the fact that if everyone is communicating in 140 characters, assistive tech users or slow typists will be able to generate messages of an acceptable length with less effort than, say, typing a full email. There are parallel arguments to be made for cognitive access as well.
Twitup: Twitter remaking the persona of the physically challenged
Stoov jobs
Some folks don’t have the ability to put a pot on the stove…but what if you could put a stove on the pot? Mathieu Baele has envisioned the Stoov, which is a magnetic device that can be charged and attached to your cookware. For big cooking projects, you can attach multiple Stoovs–the charger can handle up to six units at a time. Turn off the unit, and it auto-releases; forget to turn off the unit and there’s probably a significantly lower chance of fire than with traditional cookers.
The Skype’s the limit
Skype announced that they’re working with LG and Panasonic to bring VoIP capabilities to selected TV models…the same day that we got an email from a woman looking for a Skype access strategy for her older parents overseas, who find computers too complex. Nothing like well-timed idea convergence.
New wrinkles in TV for elders
Here’s a new 32 inch LED TV with minimal, easy controls — the remote only has 6 buttons. The price includes installation and personal support. It even turns itself off if it thinks you might have drifted off. This thing is not only perfect for TV, it should point the way for other bright designers looking to simplify their products to snag some seniors and others who appreciate ease of use.
“Senior-Friendly” TV Ears TV turns itself off at naptime, has Jitterbug-style remote — Engadget
Hulu whoop
Seems hard to believe it’s been almost three years since we ran across the Blinkx search engine, which returns results based on audio info, and wished that it could also search captions. Blinkx has yet to oblige, but Hulu, bless their hearts, has rallied to provide caption searches as a last-minute addition to our Christmas stocking. Still seems to be in a beta stage (it found several instances of “inconceivable”–although not the one we were looking for–and none of “truthiness”), but holds considerable promise. As a bonus, you can also see a graphic showing which portions of the video have been searched most often, and jump straight to it.
Access Tech News: Search Hulu videos using closed caption text