Web 2.0 is about harnessing the potential of the Internet in a more collaborative and peer-to-peer manner with emphasis on social interaction.

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Economics of Web Accessibility - Part 2

The above statistics underline the fact that the size of the market for accessible technology is larger than commonly perceived. This is important because for disabled users, everyday actions can often be completed more quickly and efficiently on the web. Moreover of the 54 million Americans with a disability, 4 in 10 are online and these users tend to spend more time logged on and surfing the Internet than nondisabled users. The number of people with disabilities – and income to spend – is likely to increase as the likelihood of having a disability increases with age, and the overall population is aging. As the world’s population is living longer, there are more older adults using the Internet and physical impairments hamper web usage for users. Moreover over 20% of the EU will be over 65 years of age and the number of people aged 60 or over will double in the next 30 years. This will account for a large section of population which needs effective and efficient access to the Web.

 

Posted by Dr. Jai Ganesh on November 21, 2008 11:05 AM |

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Comments

Can you enlist the tools we can use to increase access to the web. I can think of - Automatic Web Page Reader(podcast).

Also, does WEB ACCESSIBILITY include availing web to illiterates & people with language barriers??

Posted by: Rahul Breh | November 25, 2008 11:51 AM

Hi Rahul,
Accessibility is a multi component solution.
And one important part of the solution is assistive technologies.
These technologies help bridging the gap between user’s abilities and abilities required to access the content.
Here are few examples of such tools and technologies-
1. screen reader jaws http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/jaws9-downloads.asp
2. screen magnifier Magic http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/magic/magic11-downloads.asp
3. voice recognition softwares

About your second question related to availing access for users with language barrier,yes, visitors who are alien to the site language are also considered while thinking/implementing accessibility.
Thanks.

Posted by: Shrirang | November 28, 2008 10:06 AM

Great info about the topic. Interesting !!

Posted by: Rahul Breh | December 1, 2008 09:15 AM

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