Niqui Merret

Joe Clark has launched a new site: CaptioningSUCKS to create exposure of the poor quality and often lack of captioning.

Joe points out that:

Why is it called Captioning Sucks? Because captioning *does* suck. And you know it.

• There’s not enough of it.
• Your complaints are ignored (if you can even manage to file a complaint).
• Captions are hard to read, mostly because of lousy fonts.
• Deaf people settle for less than 100% captioning.
• Broadcasters use the wrong kind of captioning (like scrollup or real-time captioning).
• So-called regulators let broadcasters get away with murder– because regulators and broadcasters play a game of musical chairs and swap positions over time.
• And finally… there are no standards.

My research project, the Open & Closed Project , aims to solve that last problem. The purpose of Captioning Sucks is to raise awareness of just *one* of the topics the Project will address.

No, this is not an April fools gag… Check it out for yourself http://captioningsucks.com

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I have been meaning to post this release for a while but unfortunately have been a little busy. I hope that most people have by now heard about SWFObject 2’s release. I wanted to express my gratitude to both Geoff Stearns and Bobby van der Sluis for the amazing work they have done.

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SWFObject is a small Javascript file used for embedding Adobe Flash content. The script can detect the Flash plug-in in all major web browsers (on Mac and PC) and is designed to make embedding Flash movies as easy as possible. It is also very search engine friendly, degrades gracefully, can be used in valid HTML and XHTML 1.0 documents*, and is forward compatible, so it should work for years to come.

I was impressed by the AIR and HTML generators for SWFObject that should help those who don’t want to fuss with the code or don’t really understand all the options for embedding Flash content.

To go with the new version of SWFObject there is a new version of SWFAddress. I have found this a really great way to enable deep linking as well as the use of the browsers back and forwards buttons.

SWFAddress is a small, but powerful library that provides deep linking for Flash and Ajax. It’s a developer tool, allowing creation of unique virtual URLs that can point to a website section or an application state. SWFAddress enables a number of important capabilities which are missing in today’s rich web technologies including:

• Bookmarking in a browser or social website
• Sending links via email or instant messenger
• Finding specific content with the major search engines
• Utilizing browser history and reload buttons

If you have not had seen either of these then you really should take the time.

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When I was in Boston for FlashForward I could not stop myself from getting an iPhone. I, of course, had to hack it so that I can use it in the UK on my Vodafone contract. It is far better than I ever expected. It is in no way perfect but it is by far the nicest phone that I have ever seen or used.

I have read a few reviews about how inaccessible the iPhone is to someone who is blind, has poor vision or suffer from a mobility impairment. It is a very obvious issue - there is no keypad and therefore no tactile feedback for the user with the result that vision is essential for its use. If you don’t have a steady hand then the phone will be far to sensitive to use - I battle if my hand is shaking or even if I am on a bumpy train.

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Considering how many mobile devices available on the market I question why it would be important for the iPhone to be accessible? If you ignore all the comments from the accessibility fanatics and all the Mac Fanboys - of which there are some pretty shocking comments - you can get down to the core concerns. My first though was to dismiss it as not an important issue due to the number of alternatives devices available.
The only reasonable idea I have heard on this topic is that Apple are trend setters and others will move in that direction. I was reminded of all this again today when I was reading Richard Leggett’s thoughts on The Future of Mobile Devices. Devices is not an area that I have spent any length of time researching in the past but after my iPhone I am interested to watch the direction that we are moving in.
What I really love about accessibility is that it makes us think about interacting with technology though different means. I love to see new innovative methods of interaction and feel that this has more to contribute to the main stream technology than most people realise. However with the outdated regulations that are being enforced I have to wonder if accessibility will become a hindrance to the future development of devices and technology.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

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[html]This is a short list of issues and bugs that I have come across when working towards accessible Flash sites. These are all focused on the Flash Player in the Browser. This is not complete and I hope that if you have come across an issue that you could leave a comment. I will keep adding to this list as I find more issues and will, happily remove items that are fixed. If there are any known workarounds please leave a comment. These issues prevent Flash from being as Accessible as it could be.

No tabbing between Flash and HTML elements:


This occurs in plug-in based browsers such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc. This is not an issue in Internet Explorer. This needs to be solved by the Browser manufactures.

Wmode settings can affect tabbing and keyboard access:

The use of wmode="transparent" and wmode="opaque" can interfere with keyboard interactions and prevent the user from tabbing into a SWF.

Wmode settings interfere with MSAA:


The use of wmode="transparent" and wmode="opaque" prevents Assitive Technology from receiving information from a SWF. This means that a SWF will essentially be hidden from a screen reader. This is a limitation of the windowless mode and MSAA.

MSAA does not work in Firefox:

This is relevant to all plug-in based browsers on Windows. This is now in public Beta on Adobe Labs.

Updates not sent to Assitive technology:


It is not yet possible to send an update to Assitive Technology like a screen reader. The updates will only happen when a button is clicked or when the return key is used. Once a page has loaded the content is stored in the virtual buffer. When the content changes it is not possible to force the virtual buffer to display the new content. This is a common problem and is not only in the Flash world but also with AJAX. This functionality needs to be introduces by AT vendors such as Freedom scientific and GW Micro.

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£199 for a 3-day conference pass to one of the best conferences in the world is dirt cheap - no matter which way you look at it. If you are interested in Flash or online media and are anywhere in the UK or even Europe then if would be very silly for you to not jump on this pricing and get a ticket now before the price goes up.

I have heard designers comment that the conference is for developers and not designers but this could not be further from the truth. If you have a look at the speakers list you will notice names like Brendan Dawes, Craig Swann, Joshua Davis, Erik Natzke, Mario Klingemann and Hoss Gifford who, amongst others (the list would be too long), may or may not be great developers but will have sessions that are creatively inspiring. I have been thrilled, entertained and inspired by the speakers that I have just listed at events in the past. Some, like Brendan Dawes and Mario Klingemann I have seen on more than one occasion and will definitely see in the future.

I hope that even my session on accessibility will appeal to the creative minded attendees

So no excuses... You have to get to Flash on the Beach this year!

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