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-----</span><br></div><div id="yiv875527733"><div>From: Dan Jellinek [mailto:dan@headstar.com]<br>Sent: Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:51:59 -0000<br>To: eaccess@headstar.com<br>Subject: E-Access Bulletin, March 2013: Smartphone for older people; Neil Cottrell interview.<br><br>> <br>> +++E-ACCESS BULLETIN<br>> Access To Technology For All, Regardless Of Ability<br>> - ISSUE 156, March 2013.<br>> <br>> A Headstar Publication.<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eab/ .<br>> In Association With Go ON Gold:<br>> http://www.go-on-gold.co.uk/ .<br>> <br>> Please forward this free bulletin to others<br>> So they can subscribe directly, at no cost.<br>> (subscription details at the end).<br>> <br>> <br>> ++Issue 156 Contents.<br>> <br>> 01: Tech Giant Launches Smartphone For Older People<br>> - Audio and touch screen features enhance usability.<br>> <br>> 02: UK Government Funding For Assistive App
“Georgie”<br>> - Free user training for 200 visually impaired people.<br>> <br>> 03: Web Content Accessibility Checker Pitched At Wider<br>> Audience<br>> - Switch to JavaScript hoped to open up QUAIL content<br>> checker.<br>> <br>> News in Brief: 04: Partner Power – national Go ON Gold<br>> campaign increases its reach; 05: Tech4Good Returns –<br>> accessible internet nominations; 06: Social Awards – request<br>> for projects; Newspaper Problems – news website falls short;<br>> 07: Generous Grant – digital accessibility prize.<br>> <br>> Section Two: Inbox.<br>> 07: Smarter Homes – more ICT in homes doesn’t always mean<br>> more accessibility, warns one analyst.<br>> <br>> Section Three – Profile: Neil Cottrell, founder of LexAble.<br>> 09: How To Spell Innovation: After encountering barriers in his<br>> university studies due to his dyslexia, Neil Cottrell built
his<br>> own autocorrection tool to help him write essays. Several years<br>> later, Cottrell has started his own company and sold thousands<br>> of copies of the spelling tool he developed. He explains how it<br>> all happened to Tristan Parker.<br>> <br>> [Contents ends].<br>> <br>> <br>> ++Section One: News.<br>> <br>> +01: Tech Giant Launches Smartphone For Older People<br>> <br>> A smartphone designed for elderly people has been developed<br>> by global technology company Fujitsu.<br>> <br>> When setting up the Stylistic S01 phone the user inputs their<br>> age, which customises some aspects to work differently. For<br>> example, the audio frequency range will be optimised for older<br>> people so they can clearly hear the voice of the person they are<br>> speaking to, and the phone can also slow down the speech of a<br>> caller without losing audio quality, again making it easier
to<br>> understand.<br>> <br>> The Stylistic also features a forgiving touch-screen which<br>> highlights icons if they are only touched lightly. This means<br>> that accidental touches – common by people not familiar with<br>> smartphone controls – will not immediately lead to an<br>> undesired function.<br>> <br>> Each sub-screen on the phone also contains a question mark<br>> icon which gives the user<br>> guidance for that page.<br>> <br>> “People are living longer, have access to better healthcare and<br>> want to have access to the same communications channels<br>> (email, social media) that their younger family does.” James<br>> Maynard, product marketing director at Fujitsu, told E-Access<br>> Bulletin.<br>> <br>> The Stylistic S01 phone will be released in France in June. The<br>> cost has not been confirmed, but it will be priced as a “mid-<br>> range handset”, Maynard
said. The phone’s release in other<br>> countries is under discussion between Fujitsu and<br>> telecommunications partner Orange.<br>> <br>> Fujitsu also recently unveiled another technological innovation<br>> designed to assist elderly people, the ‘New Generation Cane’.<br>> This is a prototype of a walking stick with built-in GPS and<br>> heart-rate monitor, which could send the user’s location and<br>> health data to a cloud network. Data could then be sent back to<br>> the cane to help direct the user. Family members can also<br>> check the heart rate of an elderly relative using the cane via the<br>> cloud, to check that they are not encountering difficulties.<br>> There is currently no indication of if and when the cane might<br>> become a purchasable product, however.<br>> <br>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=838<br>> <br>>
<br>> +02: UK Government Funding For Assistive App “Georgie”<br>> <br>> Up to 200 blind and visually impaired people are to be trained<br>> to use a package of smartphone apps that can help with<br>> communication and everyday tasks, with £14,000 of funding<br>> allocated by the UK government.<br>> <br>> The training is for an app bundle for Android smartphones<br>> named “Georgie”, developed by husband and wife Roger and<br>> Margaret Wilson-Hinds through their company<br>> Screenreader.net. The apps help blind and visually impaired<br>> people operate smartphones using functions such as voice-<br>> assisted touch-screen operation, and also help people with<br>> daily tasks such as catching public transport, reading printed<br>> text aloud and navigation outdoors (see also our previous<br>> report on the apps – full link:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=751 Short link:<br>>
http://bit.ly/X8zS7I ).<br>> <br>> The free training sessions will be available at 30 locations<br>> across the UK with funding from the Department for Work and<br>> Pensions (DWP) provided to the charity Communication for<br>> Blind People, the parent organisation of Screenreader.net. As<br>> well as funding the trainers’ time, the money will help buy<br>> phones and develop learning resources including Braille and<br>> large print manuals, Tim Carrington, Screenreader.net’s<br>> business development manager, told E-Access Bulletin.<br>> <br>> The app training programme is part of a three million pound<br>> government funding project entitled Strengthening Disabled<br>> People’s User Led Organisations, launched in July 2011.<br>> <br>> “A training session will enable a hesitant smartphone user to<br>> learn how Georgie can provide them with the confidence to<br>> better venture out into the
world”, Carrington told E-Access<br>> Bulletin. “Trainers will provide hands-on use of Georgie to<br>> Blind Association staff who will go on to act as local learning<br>> champions, to support Georgie users and direct them to web<br>> pages and other learning resources once the trainer has left.”<br>> <br>> Local maps and data will also be integrated into the sessions,<br>> Carrington said. For example, one of Georgie’s features is a<br>> bus app, and this will use local information to help users find<br>> their nearest bus stop, see bus times and find out when to get<br>> off at the right stop.<br>> <br>> Sessions will begin in May, and blind and visually impaired<br>> people can find out more by emailing:<br>> mailto:reply@screenreader.net.<br>> <br>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=836<br>> <br>> <br>> +03: Web Content
Accessibility Checker Pitched At Wider<br>> Audience<br>> <br>> An updated version of a free web content accessibility<br>> checker, originally developed because its creator was frustrated<br>> at the limitations of similar products, has been launched in<br>> JavaScript to allow wider usage.<br>> <br>> QUAIL ( http://quailjs.org/ ) is a piece of software that uses<br>> more than 200 tests to assess if web content conforms to the<br>> widely used Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)<br>> 2.0.<br>> <br>> Kevin Miller, a web developer at California State University,<br>> Monterey Bay, developed the first version in 2009 after he<br>> found other accessibility checkers that he used in his job too<br>> limited. “I wrote QUAIL out of frustration about what products<br>> were out there at the time,” Miller told E-Access Bulletin.<br>> <br>> Issues for which QUAIL can test include seeing if
headers on<br>> web pages are being used correctly; if links to other pages<br>> make sense when read on their own – perhaps by a screen-<br>> reader; and if images have appropriate text to describe them for<br>> someone who cannot see the image. It can be used to provide<br>> accessibility checking for any web page, including learning<br>> management systems, social media sites or content<br>> management systems.<br>> <br>> The software is aimed primarily at developers and content<br>> authors. “Ultimately, the goal was to provide instant feedback<br>> to content creators, kind of like spell-check-as-you-type lets<br>> users know they misspelled a word with a red underline,<br>> QUAIL can do the same about images missing a description …<br>> When a document is easier to read for everyone, it’s also a big<br>> win for users with assistive technology” Miller said.<br>> <br>> QUAIL has now been
converted from PHP (a programming<br>> language commonly used in web developing) to a jQuery<br>> plugin – software that uses the widely used JavaScript<br>> programming language – to open it up to more users. “I really<br>> wanted this to be a project that could be embraced regardless<br>> of what someone was building”, Miller said. “Because<br>> JavaScript is ‘the programming language of the web’, moving<br>> to JavaScript meant a much broader potential audience.”<br>> <br>> Speaking about how he would like to develop the software in<br>> the future, Miller said that QUAIL can help make accessibility<br>> testing a more automated and integrated experience, by<br>> registering and testing every change made when a web<br>> application is being built, for example.<br>> <br>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=834#more-834<br>>
<br>> <br>> ++News in Brief:<br>> <br>> +04: Partner Power: Go ON Gold, the national campaign to<br>> raise awareness of the barriers faced by disabled and elderly<br>> people in accessing the internet and digital technologies, has<br>> signed up several new high profile new partners. These include<br>> the Rix Centre; Birmingham-based Castle Vale Community<br>> Housing Association (CVCHA); and the Scottish Disability<br>> Equality Forum. All partners have agreed to helping to raise<br>> awareness of the barriers faced by disabled and elderly people<br>> in accessing technology and the internet. To find out more<br>> about how your organisation can help the campaign, see:<br>> <br>> Full link:<br>> http://www.go-on-gold.co.uk/resources/champion/partner-<br>> signup<br>> <br>> Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/11nW8rU<br>> <br>> +05: Tech4Good Returns: The third annual Technology4Good<br>>
Awards is now open for nominations. The event, organised by<br>> technology charity AbilityNet, celebrates the power of<br>> computers and the internet to affect positive social change.<br>> Categories include an Accessibility Award, which recognises<br>> the work of an individual or organisation using digital<br>> technology to help people overcome a disability. Nominations<br>> close on May 3:<br>> <br>> Full link:<br>> http://www.technology4goodawards.org.uk/<br>> <br>> Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/gwQUvZ<br>> <br>> +06: Newspaper Problems: Changes made to the website of<br>> daily Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald – to<br>> link in with the printed paper moving to a smaller, tabloid size<br>> format – have created a number of accessibility issues, claims<br>> IT consultant and web accessibility expert Tom Worthington.<br>> Worthington found 29 problems with the site by using
the<br>> AChecker tool, which bases its tests on the widely used Web<br>> Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0:<br>> <br>> Full link:<br>> http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/03/new-tabloid-sydney-morning-<br>> herald-fails.html<br>> <br>> Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/WPNmUO<br>> <br>> +07: Generous Grant: US accessibility software company<br>> Deque is offering 10,000 US Dollars to one innovative idea –<br>> with working prototype – that makes the internet more<br>> accessible. International applications are allowed for the<br>> Amaze Digital Accessibility Grant, with the deadline for<br>> submission 1 May:<br>> <br>> Full link: http://www.deque.com/amazegrant<br>> <br>> Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/YJdVX2<br>> <br>> [Section One ends].<br>> <br>> ++Section Two: 'The Inbox'<br>> - Readers' Forum.<br>> <br>> Please email all contributions or responses to:<br>>
inbox@headstar.com .<br>> <br>> +08: Smarter Homes: Australian accessibility academic and<br>> consultant Tom Worthington, a regular contributor to the<br>> bulletin (see News in Brief, this issue), writes in to point<br>> readers to a response he has posted on his “Net Traveller” blog<br>> to a story in our last issue on the release of some new Smart<br>> Home Accessibility Guidelines by John Gill Technology (E-<br>> Access Bulletin, February 2013 – Full link:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=821 Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/160aLCL ).<br>> <br>> “These recommendations suggest that ICT in the home can<br>> help the elderly and others with disabilities, but only if their<br>> needs are taken into consideration when designing the<br>> interfaces for the smart home”, Tom says. “I suggest that voice<br>> and other hands-free controls would be useful for the<br>> population generally,
as well as those with a disability. Also<br>> designers of smart home controls and displays tend to make<br>> them too complex and hard to use, and so an accessible design<br>> would benefit everyone.<br>> <br>> “However, I question the value of controls and displays for<br>> smart homes. A truly smart home should anticipate needs and<br>> adjust, without having any explicit input from the occupants<br>> and any need for them to look at displays.<br>> <br>> “Smart meters are an example of what is not a ‘smart’<br>> technology. Householders should not have to read the tariff<br>> from a meter and then manually adjust the appliances in their<br>> home: this should happen automatically. Smarter technology<br>> has existed for decades with off-peak electric hot water<br>> systems, which switch on automatically when tariffs are low.<br>> An electronic smart meter should be able to be interfaced
to<br>> major energy using appliances, which also monitor the pattern<br>> of use and so can optimise energy saving without bothering the<br>> householder.”<br>> <br>> More can be found at Tom’s blog, below:<br>> <br>> Full link:<br>> http://blog.tomw.net.au/2013/03/accessible-smart-home-<br>> guidelines.html<br>> <br>> Short link:<br>> http://bit.ly/160aLCL<br>> <br>> [Comments please to inbox@headstar.com ].<br>> <br>> [Section Two ends].<br>> <br><span style="font-size: 12pt;">> Section Three: Profile</span><br>> - Neil Cottrell, Founder, LexAble<br>> <br>> +09: How To Spell Innovation<br>> By Tristan Parker<br>> <br>> After being diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, Neil Cottrell<br>> used various forms of assistive technology to help him study.<br>> He went on to develop his own autocorrective software, Global<br>> AutoCorrect, forming the company LexAble to develop
and<br>> market it. Global AutoCorrect has now sold about 10,000<br>> copies. E-Access Bulletin spoke to Cottrell about how his own<br>> innovations helped him achieve a first-class degree at<br>> university and start his own business.<br>> <br>> E-Access Bulletin: How did it all begin?<br>> <br>> Neil Cottrell: I was identified as being dyslexic when I was<br>> about 10 or 11-years-old. I was a very bright kid but my<br>> dyslexia was really quite severe, so it meant that I was really<br>> good at some things and really bad at others.<br>> <br>> I ended up using lot of technology through school and<br>> university. My Local Education Authority bought me a laptop<br>> with a couple of assistive technology (AT) programs on, which<br>> I used in all of my lessons. My computer would read<br>> everything aloud to me, and I was using it to help organise my<br>> ideas. So I grew up benefiting from
technology from a young<br>> age.<br>> <br>> Then when I got to 15, I started doing my GCSEs. Once I’d<br>> written something I could read it back with text-to-speech and<br>> spell check and all those things, but where I still had a problem<br>> that the AT wasn’t solving was with the process of writing.<br>> <br>> I’d start writing a sentence and get to a word I didn’t know how<br>> to spell, then the red underline would pop up from the spell<br>> check and when that happened, what I’d do – which was a<br>> really bad strategy – was stop mid-sentence and go back and<br>> work out how to spell that word. I’d lose track of the sentence,<br>> because I was constantly switching between the processes of<br>> writing and checking. What I often ended up with were<br>> sentences that were disjointed and didn’t make practical sense.<br>> <br>> So I started developing a tool for myself which
would<br>> automatically correct my spelling as I was writing. Whether I<br>> was writing in Microsoft Word or doing a PowerPoint<br>> presentation or using Facebook, I could have this tool that<br>> would sit in the background. It really helped because it meant I<br>> wasn’t worrying about how I was spelling a word when I typed,<br>> I could just get my ideas down and not have to go back and<br>> correct things later on.<br>> <br>> EAB: How did you learn to build this tool?<br>> <br>> NC: Basically using the internet and online tutorials. Initially, I<br>> hadn’t envisaged this being something that thousands of people<br>> would use, it was just a case of, “I’ve got this problem, so it’s<br>> worth investing a few hours to do something that’s going to<br>> make everything a lot easier.” I enjoy writing software and in<br>> order to get it working pretty crudely it was quite quick,
but<br>> then I was making a lot of improvements and building it up to<br>> work better. I got really into it and saw the benefits.<br>> <br>> EAB: Did the tool help you with your studies at university?<br>> <br>> NC: Yes, I had a very basic version I could use and then it was<br>> just adding improvements as I went through school and<br>> university. My degree was an essay-writing subject,<br>> Psychology, so I had to write projects and other things. I did<br>> very well actually, I graduated with the top mark in my year in<br>> Psychology at Cardiff University and I also got the top mark<br>> for an essay in my year out of everyone who took Psychology,<br>> so it showed me that once I had overcome those barriers, I was<br>> quite good at the fundamentals of writing essays – coming up<br>> with ideas, forming arguments, putting it together logically. It<br>> was just the spelling and my thought process
getting disturbed<br>> that was causing problems.<br>> <br>> EAB: How did LexAble and Global AutoCorrect take shape?<br>> <br>> NC: I set up LexAble as soon as I graduated and built a<br>> commercial version of the tool, which became Global<br>> AutoCorrect. Then I started to show people Global<br>> AutoCorrect, asking companies if their clients would benefit<br>> from the software.<br>> <br>> That lasted a couple of years, then it got to the point where, as<br>> LexAble developed, I would call people up and ask if they<br>> wanted to know more about the software, and they would say<br>> ‘Oh yes, I’ve already heard about it, my colleague<br>> recommended it.’ So, we hit critical mass when we realised that<br>> people were becoming aware of it. And at that point, things just<br>> really exploded.<br>> <br>> EAB: You went on to win the ‘Accessibility’ category at the<br>>
Technology4Good Awards…<br>> <br>> NC: That was really useful for us, partly as a validation that<br>> what we were doing was a really good thing, but it also<br>> introduced us to some corporate clients. Some of the people we<br>> met at the awards are now helping us to distribute Global<br>> AutoCorrect across large companies.<br>> <br>> EAB: Do you think people with dyslexia and other print<br>> impairments might struggle with computer-based tasks but not<br>> know how they can go about overcoming those difficulties?<br>> <br>> NC: Yes, I’m sure they do. If you have the correct, easy-to-use<br>> assistive technology on a computer, it can actually circumvent<br>> a lot of the problems that you have.<br>> <br>> When you’ve invested time and perhaps when you’ve got<br>> some support with using a computer and technology, then<br>> actually, using a computer can make your life so much
easier<br>> and more fulfilling.<br>> <br>> Using a computer is quite a stressful, new thing, and you’ve got<br>> to learn skills in order to start using it. For some people that can<br>> cause a lot of anxiety and stress. The same goes for pieces of<br>> software. There are a lot of things out there that can help<br>> people, but you’ve got to find out what suits your working<br>> style and how to use the piece of kit. Once you’ve got over<br>> those initial barriers to using computers and AT, the benefits<br>> they can give in terms of productivity and reducing stress are<br>> absolutely massive.<br>> <br>> NOTE: You can find out more about Global AutoCorrect at<br>> LexAble’s website: http://www.lexable.com/<br>> <br>> And you can comment on this story now, on EAB Live:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eablive/?p=831<br>> <br>> <br>> [Section Three ends]<br>> <br>> <br>>
++Sponsored Notice: Accessify Forum<br>> - Accessibility Discussion.<br>> <br>> Established in 2003, Accessify Forum is a popular destination<br>> for accessibility discussion. The “site critiques” section has<br>> helped hundreds of people improve their websites, with<br>> members offering friendly, no nonsense advice.<br>> <br>> You'll find discussion of accessibility at all levels, from<br>> beginner to guru. So whether you’re looking to learn more<br>> about accessibility, want to help others and improve on your<br>> own knowledge, or just to browse the archives, head over to:<br>> <br>> http://www.accessifyforum.com/ .<br>> <br>> [Special notice ends].<br>> <br>> <br>> ++End Notes.<br>> <br>> +How to Receive the Bulletin.<br>> <br>> To subscribe to this free monthly bulletin, email<br>> eab-subs@headstar.com<br>> with 'subscribe eab' in the subject header. You can list
other<br>> email addresses to subscribe in the body of the message. Please<br>> encourage all your colleagues to sign up! To unsubscribe at any<br>> time, put 'unsubscribe eab' in the subject header.<br>> <br>> Please send comments on coverage or leads to Dan Jellinek at:<br>> dan@headstar.com .<br>> <br>> Copyright 2013 Headstar Ltd http://www.headstar.com .<br>> The Bulletin may be reproduced as long as all parts including<br>> this copyright notice are included, and as long as people are<br>> always encouraged to subscribe with us individually by email.<br>> Please also inform the editor when you are reproducing our<br>> content. Sections of the bulletin may be quoted as long as they<br>> are clearly sourced as 'taken from e-access bulletin, a free<br>> monthly email newsletter', and our web site address:<br>> http://www.headstar.com/eab<br>> is also cited.<br>> <br>> +Personnel:<br>>
Editor: Dan Jellinek.<br>> Reporter: Tristan Parker.<br>> Editorial advisor: Kevin Carey.<br>> <br>> ISSN 1476-6337.<br>> <br>> [Issue 156 ends.] <br>> <br>> <br>
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