[nfbcs] Commercial IT Blindness Accessibility Issues

[Steve Jacobson]

Hi Everyone,

Judging from a couple of responses, some may not know that Louis Maher is an active member of the NFB in Computer Science, currently the Secretary, 
and has certainly read the Braille Monitor.  <smile>  Having said that, I agree with Aaron that these are very important issues that we're all facing as blind 
people who work in fields related to Information Technology.  In addition, though, at least some of these issues have an effect outside of Information 
Technology as well.  I agree here with Aaron as well that it would be good to try to make this article of interest to a wider audience.  For example, the 
encryption that is referenced is now often placed on all laptops given to employees of corporations whether they are in Information Technology or not.  A 
screen reader cannot well be loaded before there is any access to the hard disk.  We also need to set the stage a little at the outset to show how these 
issues affect those of us working in Information Technology and how they effect future jobs for blind people, and it would be good if a course of action 
could be suggested.  For example, perhaps we, as an organization, need to pursue getting government to take accessibility laws more than it does.  Many 
of us know people who are working for the government but have to deal with inaccessible or barely accessible training courses.  However, it would be 
good to get input from people working for the government to get a sense of whether there could be more that is done internally.  It is my opinion that if we 
can't get the government to follow those laws that apply to it where accessibility is concerned, we have very little hope to get private sector employees to 
take guidelines seriously that they are not legally required to follow.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 13 Jun 2014 11:50:30 -0500, Aaron Cannon via nfbcs wrote:

>Hi.

>I applaud the idea, but I think the article needs some work.  Were I
>the editor of the Braille Monitor (which thankfully for everyone I am
>not), I would want to publish, but I would ask for a rewrite.  I think
>the article lacks two vital elements.  First it lacks a clear
>statement of its purpose.  What is your purpose in writing it?  What
>am I supposed to do, realize or think about after I read it?  Is the
>point to raise awareness of the issue?  Should readers do something
>specific?  Are you just trying to start the conversation?

>The other element that the article lacks is broad appeal to the
>blindness community.  By this, I don't mean that the topic lacks
>appeal, but the way in which it's presented does.  In short, there is
>too much discussion of the nitty-gritty technical details, which makes
>it harder for a non-techy to grock your main points.

>But again, I think what you're saying is super important, and I think
>that this is something that we need to deal with.  Thanks for taking
>the initiative.  I look forward to reading it in the monitor.

>Aaron

>On 6/12/14, Louis Maher via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>> I have attached a four page paper which I would like to submit to the
>> Braille Monitor.  I have also pasted the note below my signature.  Please
>> let me know about any errors.  Thanks.
>> --
>> Title:  Commercial IT Blindness Accessibility Issues
>> Author: Louis Maher (ljmaher at swbell.net, 713-444-7838)
>> Date:   June 12, 2014
>>
>> In a modern commercial environment, several blindness-related accessibility
>> issues remain.  Generally these issues can be grouped into lack of access
>> to: graphical user interfaces (GUIs), graphically displayed data, and
>> mathematically-based books and journals.  I will focus primarily on the
>> effects of not being able to access GUIs.
>>
>> Bit Locker Encryption
>>
>> In Microsoft Windows seven, Bit locker encryption is a Microsoft system for
>> encrypting all the information on a computer's hard disk.  At power-up
>> time,
>> the user enters a personal identification number (PIN) and then the login
>> proceeds.  The PIN dialog screen is completely inaccessible.  While my
>> HumanWare Brailliant Braille display will beep when the pin dialog opens,
>> if
>> I make a mistake entering the pin, then I cannot recover from this error.
>> I
>> must power-off my machine, by holding down the power button, and try again.
>> Often when a machine is abnormally stopped, it goes into a memory scan
>> screen or setup screen.  All these pre-login screens are inaccessible, even
>> to Microsoft narrator.  For this reason, a blind user cannot turn on their
>> own machine if they make a Bit Locker PIN entry error.  The only way out is
>> to go find a sighted colleague who can enable the blind employee to login
>> into their own computer.
>>
>> The Linux Graphical User Interface (GUI)
>>
>> Linux allows for computers, built out of many processors, to solve large
>> problems.  For this reason, most of the hard science problems are addressed
>> using the Linux operating system.  A commercially popular version of Linux
>> is distributed by Red Hat (http://www.redhat.com/).  Currently my company
>> uses Red Hat version 5.7.  Due to the need for an operating system to work
>> well with all the company's applications, and the need for a company to
>> have
>> a stable operating system, operating systems, within a company, change
>> slowly.  An employee's desire to use company software, insures that the
>> employee must use the company's operating system.  For this reason, the
>> blind employee cannot choose which operating system they wish to use.
>>
>> Graphical user interfaces allow users to use a wide variety of applications
>> with ease.  The GUI allows most of the parameters in an application to use
>> defaults. Only a few parameters within an application need be set.  Also
>> context sensitive help allows the user to rapidly find out how to set those
>> parameters.  GUIs also allow a user to string many processes together into
>> a
>> dataflow so that complex tasks can be setup rapidly.  For these reasons,
>> the
>> GUI has conquered computer space.
>>
>> Character-based (also called command-line) interfaces are widely used for
>> computer programming and system administration, and have provided many
>> blind
>> individuals with excellent career opportunities.  While the character-based
>> interface for Linux is wonderfully accessible, the Linux GUI is not.  Based
>> upon work by the now-bankrupt Sun Corporation, the Orca Linux screen reader
>> is available in open source packages
>> (https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/).  Orca is not automatically
>> distributed with commercially popular Linux systems, and employees must go
>> through a long risk-assessment process to have it added to their systems.
>> Orca also accesses the Gnome desktop (http://www.gnome.org/)while most
>> commercial organizations would prefer to use the KDE interface
>> (http://www.kde.org/).  Also since there is no commercial organization
>> caring for Orca, there is no guarantee that it will work for any one
>> application.  People who work on Orca development, due it out of love of
>> computer science, and as an effort to improve the world.  The developers
>> work on what interests them, and on what they can find time to accomplish.
>> Also, Orca can only give access to programs running on the user's machine.
>> It does not allow users to logon to other remote machines using GUIs.
>>
>> The Linux Graphical User Interface (GUI) Remote Access Issue
>>
>> Linux GUI remote access represents another class of accessibility problems.
>> As mentioned above, Orca can only give access to programs running on the
>> user's machine.  It does not allow users to logon to other machines using
>> GUIs.  In modern industrial settings, the blind user will be sitting in
>> front of a Microsoft Windows based machine.  The user can have complete
>> character-based access to Linux through programs such as SecureCRT
>> (http://www.vandyke.com/products/securecrt/).  However, the blind user is
>> going to have to access several remote computers, using graphical user
>> interfaces, to get their work done.  While limited character-based work
>> around exist for some of these applications, in general, the blind user
>> will
>> have to have their sighted counterparts do this part of their job, thus
>> reducing the flexibility of the blind employee.
>>
>> Java
>>
>> Java (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index.html) is a programming
>> language, supported by Oracle, to make applications portable on more than
>> one operating system.  The blind access Java applications through the Java
>> Access Bridge (JAB) (for Windows
>> (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/tech/index-jsp-136191.html),
>> and for Linux
>> (http://linux.softpedia.com/progDownload/Java-Access-Bridge-Download-24104.h
>> tml).  I have found that most Java programs are not very accessible due to
>> the developer's unawareness of the need to write accessible code.
>>
>> Graphically Displayed Data
>>
>> Often commercial Linux packages generate plots to help the user analyze the
>> data in their processes.  These plots are generated by GUI's buried deep in
>> the commercial packages.  If the plots could be generated, and sent outside
>> of the commercial application which generated them, then they could be sent
>> to Braille printers for plotting.  Without GUI access, the blind user
>> cannot
>> generate the plots, nor bring the plots to the outside world.
>>
>> Mathematically Displayed Books and Journals
>>
>> The news is a little better on the display of mathematically-based
>> material.
>> If the blind user can contact the author of a book, and if the author is
>> willing to share their source files, then the blind user can read the book.
>> The best way to get this book would be in Microsoft Word format where the
>> author would have used the Design Science mathematical equation editor,
>> MathType (http://www.dessci.com/en/), to write the equations.  MathType
>> makes mathematics in Microsoft word completely accessible.  Another
>> accessible mathematical language is Latex
>> (http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dwilkins/LaTeXPrimer/).
>>
>> Mathematics on the web is still not reliable since bugs in the Microsoft
>> Internet Explorer versions 10 and 11 have kept math from being displayed.
>> I
>> have heard that the Apple Safari browser can display math, but an
>> accessible
>> version of the Safari browser is not available for the Windows platform.
>>
>> GUI Solution Issues
>>
>> It is unclear how to approach the Linux GUI issue.  If a blind user wishes
>> to install Orca on a Linux workstation, the user will have several issues.
>> 1. The blind individual will have to have a sighted individual install the
>> software because the Linux GUI environment is inaccessible out of the box.
>> Secondly, to be efficient, the blind user will need a Braille display.
>> Braille drivers are not part of the standard Orca package, and separate
>> software must be loaded for Braille displays.  Thirdly, only system
>> administrators will be allowed to load software on company computers.
>> Lastly, bringing new programs into the environment requires risk
>> assessments
>> which can add months to introducing new software.
>>
>> I am fortunate in that my company will purchase any accessibility system
>> that exists; however experimenting with unknown solutions is very tedious
>> and slow.  Due to the size of commercial organizations, it can take up to
>> two years to upgrade the operating systems of computers.  Also, if a blind
>> user installs Orca on one machine, the user has not achieved much, for the
>> user cannot access other remote GUI-based processors, which contain the
>> programs an employee will need.  Lastly, stand-alone work stations are
>> rapidly disappearing from our commercial environment. Our company is
>> experimenting with remote graphic servers (RGS)
>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_Graphics_Software) which are
>> centrally-located graphics servers which are used remotely by windows-based
>> users.  Perhaps remote GUI accessibility can be built into such systems.
>>
>> Conclusions
>>
>> Both government and non-government blind employees are struggling with
>> accessibility because currently no one is insisting that these systems be
>> accessible.  If the government would follow its own rules, then the
>> accessible solutions would be available to all.
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Louis Maher
>> Phone 713-444-7838
>> E-mail ljmaher at swbell.net
>> ---
>>
>>

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