Apologies to those of you for whom this is old news. The press release
reproduced below was published on April 8th - I've only just seen it.
It may be of interest to organisations writing applications that want to
build in accessibility features without developing them from scratch.
Whether or not it's any good I can't say!
Phil Satchell
Technical Project Officer, Office for Students with Disabilities, Open
University
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SoftQuad Announces First Development Tools
to Make World Wide Web Accessible to People
with Disabilities
AdaptAble Technologies to be Added to SoftQuad Products,
Licensed to Hardware and Software Companies, Government
Agencies
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (April 8, 1997) -- SoftQuad International
(NASDAQ:SWEBF;
TSE:SKI), a leading provider of Knowledge Publishing tools for
corporate intranets and the
Internet, has introduced the SoftQuad AdaptAbility Toolkit, a
suite of technologies designed to
make the World Wide Web fully accessible to people with
disabilities.
SoftQuad unveiled the toolkit at the sixth international
conference of the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C), here through April 11. The announcement is part
of the Web Accessibility
Initiative co-sponsored by the White House, the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C), and the
Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation -- and reflects the conference
theme of "Accessibility: Everyone,
Everything, Connected."
SoftQuad AdaptAble Technologies will be integrated into upcoming
versions of SoftQuad
products at no additional charge and made available to software
developers and hardware OEMs
under licensing arrangements for third-party products. As the
SoftQuad AdaptAbility Toolkit,
these technologies will also be offered to corporations,
government agencies and end-users.
"Accessibility is the Web's next frontier," said David Gurney,
CEO, SoftQuad. "Roughly 15
percent of the population has a disability that keeps them from
using an unmodified computer. The
tools we're announcing today are just the beginning of a movement
that will empower this group as
never before and provide every user with an easier, more
satisfying way to access the Internet
and the Web.
"We're pleased that SoftQuad has taken the initiative by providing
usable and useful technology for
people with disabilities," said Mike Paciello, executive director,
Yuri Rubinsky Insight Foundation.
"If the Web is to be a mass medium, it's critical that people be
welcomed now, when the medium
is still young."
First Fully Accessible Mainstream Applications
The SoftQuad AdaptAbility Toolkit consists of integrated
application- and content-aware access
tools that equip applications with screen reading and screen
magnification features, as well as with
on-screen keyboards. Together, these tools provide a
fully-integrated, highly usable computer
interface for users with or without disabilities, and make the
World Wide Web and electronically
published information more accessible to all.
With the toolkit, hardware and software vendors will be able to
integrate these access
technologies into their products, enabling vendors to create the
first fully-accessible mainstream
applications and ensuring that people with disabilities can use
the same software as those without
disabilities.
Because these access technologies are integrated into the
application, they provide capabilities not
possible with external alternative access systems. Similarly,
because SoftQuad's AdaptAble
Technologies are compatible with the market-leading browsers, Web
content can become
universally accessible, enabling computer users everywhere to reap
the potential benefits of the
world's information infrastructure.
SoftQuad Products the First to Integrate AdaptAble Technologies
SoftQuad products will be the first mainstream Web authoring and
publishing software to fully
integrate AdaptAble Technologies. An upcoming release of HoTMetaL
PRO, the company's
award-winning HTML authoring tool, will include an on-screen
keyboard to assist Web authors
who have physical disabilities, and an auto-prompting mechanism
that aids in the authoring of fully
accessible content for the Web.
Future releases of HoTMetaL intranet Publisher will also include
these and other AdaptAble
Technologies, including screen reading and screen magnifying
features for users with visual
disabilities.
Tools for Accessibility
Initially, SoftQuad AdaptAble Technologies consists of four
components:
Visual Dynamic Keyboard
SoftQuad's Visual Dynamic Keyboard (VDK) is an on-screen
keyboard that
lets users enter text, select commands, activate dialog
box controls, and so on,
without using a traditional keyboard and mouse. The VDK
supplies a number
of capabilities not available in standalone on-screen
keyboard software,
including the ability of the keyboard to logically
branch to other keyboard
pages, depending on placement of the cursor on the
screen.
The keyboard can also intelligently adjust its position
on the screen so that it
doesn't obscure the viewing area. Because the keyboard
is aware of the
application and HTML markup, the user can choose to scan
chosen elements
of the screen (e.g., the menu, the links or anchors) and
thereby avoid tedious
manipulation of the pointer position.
Screen Enhancer
The SoftQuad Screen Enhancer is a screen magnification
technology that goes
beyond existing screen magnifiers because it does not
simply enlarge the user's
screen; instead, it re-renders the desktop and/or the
application in logical ways
for better, more intuitive navigation and viewing.
In addition, while external screen readers produce
jagged images of the text
when magnifying above a certain power, the Screen
Enhancer has access to
the application's font size adjustment and provides a
higher-quality display.
Screen Reader
Like the other elements of the AdaptAbility Toolkit --
and unlike other
external screen readers -- SoftQuad's integrated screen
reader is both
application-aware and HTML-aware. For users, this means
greater control
over and improved navigation within an application and
its content. Users are
also able to set up automatic routines for reviewing a
page when it appears
(e.g. read URL, read headers, read first text section,
read links, etc.). In
addition, standard screen reader elements are also
available (e.g. read word,
read character, read line, etc.).
User Profiler
SoftQuad AdaptAble Technologies also include
customizable user profiles, in
which users can quickly select display and control
preferences. User profiles
can be selected upon startup, so multiple individuals
with varying preferences
can use a single terminal.
SoftQuad AdaptAble Technologies and the SoftQuad AdaptAbility
Toolkit have been developed
in association with the University of Toronto's Adaptive
Technology Research Centre (ATRC).
ATRC's pioneering work reflects the findings of recent usability
tests, which show that Web
browsers and authoring tools are difficult for both experienced
and inexperienced computer users
without disabilities. As the population ages, an increasing number
of people will have visual
impairments or difficulties that will hinder their access to
computer technology, making such rich
accessibility toolkits critical to the free flow of digital
information.
Pricing and Availability
In keeping with SoftQuad's commitment to ensure universal
availability of AdaptAble
Technologies, the company has established aggressive volume
pricing for hardware and software
manufacturers to bundle the technology. Volume pricing has also
been established for corporations
and government agencies to easily and cost-effectively integrate
the technologies into their
environments. Interested parties can contact SoftQuad directly.
About SoftQuad
SoftQuad is the leading provider of multi-platform,
standards-based Knowledge Publishing
applications that enhance business processes. SoftQuad is
recognized worldwide for its pioneering
work in structured document publishing and, through its
newly-acquired Alpha Software unit,
structured databases. SoftQuad is a founding member and active
participant in the World Wide
Web Consortium, the Internet Engineering Task Force and Editorial
Review Boards. Based in
Toronto, Canada, SoftQuad International employs more than 150
people with additional sales
offices across North America, and European operations based in
London, with offices in Paris and
Munich.
About the ATRC
The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, based in Toronto, Canada,
is an internationally
recognized centre of expertise on equal access to information
technology and the Internet. The
ATRC combines direct service, education and research and
development to meet the needs of
individuals with disabilities. Primary areas of research include
access to the World Wide web,
Java, VRML and videoconferencing for users of assistive
technology. End-user input and usability
testing are an integral part of the design process at the ATRC.
SoftQuad HoTMetaL PRO, SoftQuad HoTMetaL intranet Publisher, SoftQuad
AdaptAble Technologies and
SoftQuad AdaptAbility Toolkit are trademarks of SoftQuad International,
Inc. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are
cautioned that all forward-looking
statements involve risk and uncertainties, including without limitation
risks of intellectual property
rights and litigation, risks in technology development and
commercialization, risks in product
development and market acceptance of and demand for the Company's
products, risks of downturns in
economic conditions generally, and in the software application
development tools and business
intelligence tools markets specifically, risks associated with
competition and competitive pricing
pressures, risks associated with foreign sales and high customer
concentration and other risks detailed
in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For Further Information
Investor Relations Inquiries:
Selwyn Wener, (416) 544-9000 [log in to unmask]
Press Inquiries:
Press and Media Relations, (416) 544-9000 [log in to unmask]
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