Access on Main Street

Here we go again. First the Kindle promised compatibility with speech output, then the Authors Guild objected. Looks like we might be heading into a similar fray with the iPad, which will have VoiceOver, Apple’s proprietary blindness-friendly screen reader, built in. Will it make a difference that VoiceOver, unlike Kindle’s speech technology, works with all apps instead of just e-books? Stay tuned.

Gizmodo: Apple’s iPad Will (Perhaps Controversially) Read E-Books Aloud

ETA: Things are looking up. The Authors Guild has just joined a coalition to “ensure that when the marketplace offers alternative formats to print books, such as audio and electronic books, print-disabled consumers can access the contents of these alternative formats to the same extent as all other consumers.”

Authors Guild: White House Applauds Joint Effort for Print Disabled

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

What if there were a surface with varying acoustic qualities, so that it could be combined with a set of projected keyboards and menus–tap on a different part of the surface, and the projector would know which keyboard/menu to bring up? Researchers from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft realized there is such a surface, readily available: the human arm and hand. Their prototype, Skinput, consists of an acoustic detector and a pico projector built into an armband. They already know that it will work for arms in motion, but we’re curious to know if it’ll work for a range of arms–short, long, atrophied, bariatric, juvenile, elderly, and so on. If it does, it could be a great accommodation for people with limited range of motion.

New Scientist: Body acoustics can turn your arm into a touchscreen

People who don’t have or use fingers for controlling touchscreens have problems with capacitive models like the iPhone.  You can’t use it with most metal or plastic styli because the touchscreen is expecting a certain amount of capacitive charge found on typical extremities.  But have no fear (except around mealtime) — it seems that sausages work well.  Some may skewer such a solution, thinking it the wurst idea they’ve ever heard.  But let’s be frank — it’s certainly in the ball park.

South Korean iPhone users turn to sausages as a cold weather ‘meat stylus’ — Engadget

We find much to like about Corky, a prototype mouse that’s a splendid example of convergence between universal and green design. Cork is generally considered to be non-allergenic, so it’ll be beneficial to folks with various environmental illnesses. In addition, it’s both wireless and self-charging–no batteries to dispose and no rechargers to fumble with. Our main quibble is that it’s the same ol’ not-particularly-friendly mouse shape–but once the basic technology is available, we feel pretty confident that ergonomics will follow.

Wired: Cork mouse charges itself

A company named Displax is developing a thin film that can be put on any piece of glass or wood as well as plastic to turn it into a touch screen. Not only does this hold promise for people whose dexterity or cognitive disabilities make touch screens preferable to the traditional keyboard and mouse interface, but it also means the possibility of making green/hypoallergenic devices more widespread.

Wired: Thin Film Turns Any Surface Into a Touchscreen

The Airmouse fits on your hand and lets you perform mousing functions based on ligament movement without having to touch an actual mouse. When you move your hand to a typing or other non-neutral position, the Airmouse automatically puts itself on pause. This, plus the supposed one-week battery life, makes it a good alternative mouse candidate for people with any type of hand injury or limitations.

Gizmag: AirMouse - the mouse that fits you like a glove