Keeping Up with Technology: Commentary on "Computers and People with Disabilities"

Alistair D. N. Edwards

doi:10.1145/1408760.1408762

Keeping Up with Technology: Commentary on "Computers and People with Disabilities"

Alistair D. N. Edwards

Computer Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

Abstract

This is a personal response to rereading the Glinert and York [1992] article “Computers and People with Disabilities.” Comparing the world of assistive technology as it was in 1992 and as it now appears is instructive in terms of the things which have changed --- and those which have not. The technology has certainly developed. This applies both to the mainstream and to the assistive technology which aims to make the mainstream accessible. So, in 1992, the GUI was a threat to visually impaired computer users; now there are powerful screen readers available. Yet what does not appear to have changed much is the fact that assistive technologies continue to lag behind the mainstream, constantly having to “catch up.” Also, while there has been some increase in awareness of the need for accessibility, there is still scope for that awareness to be translated into action.

Original language	English
Article number	8
Journal	ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing
Volume	1
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/1408760.1408762
Publication status	Published - Oct 2008

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abstract = "This is a personal response to rereading the Glinert and York [1992] article “Computers and People with Disabilities.” Comparing the world of assistive technology as it was in 1992 and as it now appears is instructive in terms of the things which have changed --- and those which have not. The technology has certainly developed. This applies both to the mainstream and to the assistive technology which aims to make the mainstream accessible. So, in 1992, the GUI was a threat to visually impaired computer users; now there are powerful screen readers available. Yet what does not appear to have changed much is the fact that assistive technologies continue to lag behind the mainstream, constantly having to “catch up.” Also, while there has been some increase in awareness of the need for accessibility, there is still scope for that awareness to be translated into action.",

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Keeping Up with Technology: Commentary on "Computers and People with Disabilities"

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