Tuesday July 26, 2005 
The collected occasional commentary by Peter Korn, Accessibility Architect at Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Peter Korn's Weblog The collected occasional commentary by Peter Korn, Accessibility Architect at Sun Microsystems, Inc. |
Tuesday July 26, 2005 An Open Letter to Scharffen Berger Chocolates - I'm sorryDear Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Staff, I'm sorry. I only meant it as a joke. When I saw it at the Dad's Follies booth at the DC Big Flea Market last week, the story came to me immediately - about how I'd found a very old, well preserved chocolate bar at an auction, and my fellow chocolate friends and I should give it a try. The mold, of course, would be filled with Scharffen Berger 70% Bittersweet. They would be blown away. The old style lettering, from the 1920s or so, would keep them guessing for hours, wondering if it could actually be true (except the couple of folks who know your stuff so well, they would see through my ruse immediately). But I fear that I must have disturbed the cosmic balance somehow, because we all know what happened next. My story, my joke, has turned out to be true. And I'm very, very sorry. (2005-07-26 12:51:58.0) Permalink
Thursday July 21, 2005 Screen readers - the computer industry's air bags...After a too-long pause from blogging, this seems like a great time to return! With the release of Mac OS X v10.4 with the built-in screen reader Voice Over (let me give a plug for the nice user community coalascing around it at Mac Visionaries), and of course our own release of Solaris 10 with the built-in screen reader/magnifier Gnopernicus and built-in on-screen keyboard GOK; we are seeing a surge in accessibility support in the industry. [This is in sharp contrast to the Windows-world today, where serious assistive technologies remain an expensive 3rd party add-ons] It rather reminds me of the 1970s and 1980s time period in automobiles. In the 1960s most cars had lap belts in at least the front seat. But then Ralph Nader had published Unsafe at Any Speed, and after a lengthy campaign by consumer organizations the auto industry decided to install lap belts and shoulder belts in all seats of automobiles. Then in the 1980s U.S. legislation requiring "passive safety systems" led to the introduction of air bags. Before these additions (these "built-in" safety features), anyone who was serious about safety had to go aftermarket, to 3rd party add-ons like roll-cages and multi-point harnesses. Now it seems there is something of a "safety-race" in the auto industry, with each new generation of cars incorporating more safety features (crumple zones, anti-lock breaks, side-impact air bags, radio-for-help-in-an-accident systems, etc.). Safety has gone from a begrudgingly added option to a competitive differentiator. Similarly in computing, accessibility functionality was sometimes thought of and provided by mainstream computer vendors (things like EasyAccess, AccessDOS, AccessX, and CloseView; along with mouseless support and large-print themes - the "lap belts" of their time), but for any kind of serious user, you had to look to 3rd party alternatives. But with a growing awareness on the part of the computer industry of the importance of accessibility support (along with legislation like Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act), the quality of accessibility support being built into computing system (and other information technology) is increasing dramatically. With our release of Solaris 10 last January, and Apple's release of Mac OS X v10.4 in April, serious support for blind access is becoming a standard feature of the operating system - just like all OSs now come with a web browser. And in Sun's case, serious support for people with severe physical disabilities is likewise a standard feature, along with Braille access for deaf-blind. Even banks have gotten into the act with talking ATM machines (they now have ATMs that talk in multiple languages). Can Microsoft be too far behind? [it is hard to resist seeing them as the GM of the computer-industry, selling the most stuff, but lagging behind in technology and functionality] I'm sure there will always be a market for 3rd party assistive technologies - just as there are people who feel the passive safety systems (scroll to "Safety and Security") of some cars aren't enough, and have to add their own. But unquestionably the trend is to put more and more accessibility support direclty into operating systems and mainstream software (like the accessibility features of Adobe Reader 7), thereby supporting a larger audience of people with disabilities no extra cost to them.
[Re]Joining the San Francisco Symphony ChorusAfter a hiatus of some years, I am thrilled to be rejoining the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The Chorus is attached to the San Francisco Symphony, and is ably led by Vance George (to the tune of three Grammy awards!). This professional chorus has a very demanding rehersal and performance schedule. In the upcoming season the Chorus is performing in 9 separate programs, with each program presented over 3 to 6 evenings - for a total of 34 concerts (so nearly 10% of the time we're performing!). In this upcoming season the Chorus is part of the following programs/performances:
It is going to be a great season, and I'm really looking forward to being back with the Chorus. Some of the pieces have become old friends (Carmina burana, Messiah, Mahler 8, and the Verdi Reqiuem). Others will be new to me. The Russian in the Stravinsky and Shostakovich will be a particularly fun challenge (I fondly remember my in first season with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus in 1990, when we performed Alexander Nevsky by Sergi Prokofiev, conducted by Kurt Masur. He was a guest conductor visiting from the about-to-longer-be-East-Germany Stadtkapelle Orchestra & Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, where he almost single handedly convinced Erich Honecker to call off the police from stopping a pro-democracy march and thereby preventing a lot of bloodshed as the Communist East German government collapsed). For tickets, contact the San Francisco Symphony Box Office at (415) 864-6000 Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm, and Saturday noon to 6pm. (2005-07-21 15:29:15.0) Permalink |
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