http://jebswebs.net/blog/2009/06/is-the-%e2%80%9ctouch-screen%e2%80%9d-the-way-of-the-future/ comments about accessible and universal web design Sun, 13 May 2012 22:33:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://jebswebs.net/blog/2009/06/is-the-%e2%80%9ctouch-screen%e2%80%9d-the-way-of-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-183 Steve Sawczyn Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:37:42 +0000 http://jebswebs.net/blog/?p=164#comment-183 As a blind person, I was initially dismayed at the thought of touch screens which, due to their lack of any tactile information, would pose significant challenges for me. My opinion changed when MobileSpeak, developers of a screen reading solution for Windows Mobile, implemented a system for touch screen navigation. Mobilespeak's system essentially would allow the blind user to "feel" his way around the screen, having objects announced when encountered by the user's finger. By lifting the finger off the touch screen, the user could make a selection; essentially the exact opposite of normal touch screen behavior. Although MobileSpeak's system is still in existence, I have been a bit miffed at the fact that nobody else has done anything similar -- until WWDC. Now, for the very first time, I can purchase an iPhone, a mainstream device, and have immediate access to its touch screen. This is an incredible development for us blind folks who have rarely had full access to mainstream devices out-of-the-box and who have *never* had immediate access to touch screen based devices. My thought is that touch screens are not going away. They're not going away and in fact seem to be on the rise as manufacturers scramble to get them implemented. Apple and CodeFactory have not only both shown great initiative, but have shown that the accessibility barriers imposed by touch screen technology *can* and *are* being overcome. As a blind person, I was initially dismayed at the thought of touch screens which, due to their lack of any tactile information, would pose significant challenges for me. My opinion changed when MobileSpeak, developers of a screen reading solution for Windows Mobile, implemented a system for touch screen navigation. Mobilespeak’s system essentially would allow the blind user to “feel” his way around the screen, having objects announced when encountered by the user’s finger. By lifting the finger off the touch screen, the user could make a selection; essentially the exact opposite of normal touch screen behavior.
Although MobileSpeak’s system is still in existence, I have been a bit miffed at the fact that nobody else has done anything similar — until WWDC. Now, for the very first time, I can purchase an iPhone, a mainstream device, and have immediate access to its touch screen. This is an incredible development for us blind folks who have rarely had full access to mainstream devices out-of-the-box and who have *never* had immediate access to touch screen based devices.
My thought is that touch screens are not going away. They’re not going away and in fact seem to be on the rise as manufacturers scramble to get them implemented. Apple and CodeFactory have not only both shown great initiative, but have shown that the accessibility barriers imposed by touch screen technology *can* and *are* being overcome.

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