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Ubuntu Open Week - Ubuntu Accessibility - Henrik Nilson Omma - Sat, Apr 28, 2007

TZ UTC-4

(01:59:21 PM) heno: Hi all
(02:00:21 PM) heno: Do I get an introduction? :)
(02:01:00 PM) nixternal: EVERYONE PLEASE STAND UP AND GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE MAGNIFICANT HENO!!!
(02:01:07 PM) ***nixternal notices the crowd go wild
(02:01:17 PM) heno: so this is the accessibility session. anyone here tuned in for that?
(02:02:28 PM) heno: ok, so I won't spend too much time on explaining what accessibility is, as that would get quite boring
(02:02:43 PM) heno: Instead I'll mention briefly what we have done recently and describe some of the new projects we are planning
(02:05:03 PM) heno: So first, see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility for background info and current specs
(02:05:25 PM) heno: for those who want more in-depth info
(02:05:48 PM) heno: Just some brief history:
(02:05:58 PM) heno: We had some access support in Hoary and Breezy, but the big advance came in Dapper when we included the new Orca screenreader in the default install and on the Live CD. With Dapper we also introduced the access menu on the first boot screen of the live CD. This allows people with various disabilities to boot in an accessible mode and install the system independently
(02:06:33 PM) heno: For Edgy we introduced a new on-screen keyboard, written by Chris Jones as a Summer of Code project. It is lighter and less complex (-> less buggy) than GOK, which is important when we want to put it in the default install.
(02:07:06 PM) heno: It's also usable on Tablet PCs, which GOK was not
(02:07:33 PM) heno: we always try to combine access features with mainstream ones where we can
(02:07:46 PM) heno: to attract more development and testing
(02:08:32 PM) heno: putting it in the default install raises the requirements for rubustness, which is always good
(02:08:55 PM) heno: For Feisty we introduced Braille support and multi-lingual speech synthesis. Ubuntu is thereby the first mainstream operating system that can be installed independently from scratch by a deafblind person, which is pretty cool IMO. Admittedly the usability of all this still needs work
(02:09:20 PM) heno: ...
(02:09:22 PM) heno: Now for the future:
(02:09:38 PM) heno: We've got some pretty cool projects coming up where we get to play with new technologies.
(02:09:49 PM) heno: I'm mentoring three Summer of Code projects that use compositing desktop features to enhance access
(02:10:03 PM) heno: Magnification - Compiz/Beryl already has a Zoom plugin, but it needs the ability to be controlled by an assistive technology app like Orca. Using Beryl will improve the magnifier dramatically. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/Specs/compiz-mag
(02:10:24 PM) heno: Colour filters - Some combinations of colours can be difficult to see for colour blind users. We'll create some configurable filters for this. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/Specs/ColorFilters
(02:10:41 PM) heno: Mouse enhancements - Some people are not able to use a normal mouse and some just find it difficult, such as older people with shaky hands. Much of this can we addressed in software. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/Specs/MouseTweaks
(02:11:18 PM) heno: Also, I'm working on some speech recognition stuff - a big and complex problem, but we are making a start https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SpeechRecognition
(02:12:02 PM) heno: ok, that's a brief introduction of where we are and where we are going
(02:12:10 PM) heno: any question so far?
(02:13:31 PM) heno: OK, I'll ask some :) How many people here have tried the accessibility features in Ubuntu?
(02:14:11 PM) heno: Do they work as expected, do they interfere with other things at all?
(02:14:28 PM) nicolai_: hm. I tried them one time, they worked (in edgy)
(02:14:41 PM) janjimusptfajar: never
(02:14:52 PM) nicolai_: But I think where was a bug that some applications looked ugly (I'm not quite sure)
(02:15:10 PM) heno: I'd like to add a few tests of these things to the regular testing schedule
(02:15:40 PM) heno: many of the access applications look quite ugly traditionally :)
(02:15:50 PM) heno: GOK for one
(02:16:06 PM) heno: oh, anyone try Dasher, that's actually quite cool
(02:16:39 PM) heno: It's like an arcade game for inputting text :)
(02:17:08 PM) ***stgraber is apt-getting it
(02:17:33 PM) heno: http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/ FYI

<Pumpernickel> QUESTION: Have you, or are you planning on, marketing these features to places like senior citizen residences where the accessibility features would be either extremely useful or required?

• We have had some collaboration with organisations that specialise in access like http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/. I think access could be a good selling pint for ubuntu generally, esp. with regard to governement regulations. we're currently looking at certification relative to some new access legislation planned in California in 2008. I think it's important that the general user community knows that we have these features, so that the information can get to those who might need it, be it friends or relatives. The developing world is another important area here as well, because special tools like screen readers are very expensive. easily $500 US. just to be able to use your computer. But no, we've not advertised it directly. It's only recently that we really had a compelling solution

(02:26:53 PM) heno: OK, I'll just conclude with some points about how people can help the project
(02:27:10 PM) heno: * End user support in the forums and on mailing lists - http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=145
(02:27:30 PM) heno: * Test the access features when your testing Ubuntu and report bugs
(02:27:56 PM) heno: * Test the synthesised voices in your native language and provide feedback https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/doc/LanguagesAndSpeechSynthesis
(02:28:14 PM) heno: ^ this might actually be quite entertaining
(02:29:00 PM) heno: * Finally - code and documentation!

<samgee> QUESTION: Do you get a lot of feedback about these features?

• we have an active group of users, esp. amongst the visually impaired that group has been testing early releases and reporting great feedback. actually our team overlaps quite a bit with the upstreams like Orca and so the feedback goes directly to them, which is great. the other big area that needs testing and tweaking now is Firefox. the access has not been great so far, but it's being reworked completely for FF3 and is getting some good developer attention. OpenOffice has improved a great deal over the past few years

(02:34:26 PM) heno: I should perhaps explain, that for access to work well we need a) a framework (AT-SPI), b) assistive tools like screenreaders and c0 the applications must do the right thing
(02:35:03 PM) heno: Gnome has the AT-SPI framework build in, so standard gnome apps generally work fine by default
(02:35:28 PM) heno: OpenOffice and Firefox are quite unique in many ways, and so need more work
(02:35:44 PM) heno: KDE also has some catching up to do ...
(02:36:47 PM) heno: I'd love to see both Gnome and KDE converge on a common framework
(02:37:14 PM) heno: but there are technical and community issues
(02:38:40 PM) heno: OK, I think that's it from me. If anyone has further questions about this, there is usually someone in #ubuntu-accessibility who can answer
(02:38:57 PM) heno: Thanks everyone!

< eduard> QUESTION: a few of my blind friends use pirate copies (we're in a developing country, they can't afford it) of screen readers for windows but resist switching to ubuntu because of concerns over the learning curve for keyboard shortcuts etc. any ideas?

• I beleive the keyboard shortcuts are based on the windows ones. There is also a learning mode in orca which tells you what shortcuts are available and they are completely configurable. I would suggest they try the Live CD and see how it works for them. just boot, press F5 to get the access menu, 3 for Orca and Enter to boot. some more details here http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/accessibility