Some history of the GUI struggle
Jamal Mazrui
The following text information is a compilation of various materials rel
ative
to the issue of accessibility for blind and other disabled computer users to
the graphical user interface and the need for real action to resolve the issue.
Please note the
First is the statement of the problem and needed resolution as articulat
ed by
the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind:
Whereas the National Council of State Agencies
Serving the Blind has as it's primary mission, the promotion, advancement and
maintenance of employment opportunities for persons who are Blind both
nationally and within those states represented by the membership, and
Whereas persons who are blind have experienced
unprecedented growth in employment opportunities as a direct result of being
able to access computer technology at work and at home through the primary use
of character based interfaces employing the DOS operating system, and
Whereas this accessibility to the computing
environment and hence employment opportunities is now seriously at risk of
disappearance due to the rapidly emerging graphical user interface and the
inability of adapted hardware and software to access necessary hooks and work
within that environment,
Whereas the Microsoft Windows environment is the
major emerging operating system utilizing and utilized by graphical user
interface program applications, and
Whereas public and private employers are in most
instances not aware of the discriminatory nature of procuring and operating
graphical user interfacing with respect to current or future employees who are
blind, and
Whereas the installation and utilization of
graphical user interfaces within the workplace often conflicts with the equal
access provisions of numerous federal and state laws including but not limited
to the Rehabilitation Act sections 503, 504 and 508, The Assistive Technology
Act and the Ameri
Whereas reported instances of persons who are blind
having either lost employment opportunities or have become at risk of
under-employment, lack of upward mobility or termination from employment; have
grown to alarming proportions without proper attention from those authorities
responsible for protectin
Whereas the failure to immediately remedy this
critical issue seriously threatens the viability of employment opportunities for
persons who are Blind,
Therefore be it resolved by the National Council of
State Agencies Serving the Blind in meeting assembled this eighteenth day of
November in the year 1994 at Tampa, Florida;
1) The officers and agents of the National Council
of State Agencies Serving the Blind are instructed to vigorously call upon the
Executive Branch of the United States government to properly enforce the
provisions of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as a means of properly
protecting the employment
2) All such actions of the National Council of
State Agencies Serving the Blind be conducted in partnership with other
interested parties including but not limited to consumer organizations,
Assistive Technology grantees within the many states, Client Assistance
Programs, Protection and Advocacy or
3) Each member agency of the National Council of
State Agencies Serving the Blind transmit a copy of this resolution to the
proper authorities within their respective states as a means of serving notice
of the problem and subsequent request that such state entity advise the
Microsoft Corporation that
4) The President of the National Council of State
Agencies Serving the Blind report to the organization as to the implementation
and results of this resolution at the next regularly scheduled business meeting
and alert the membership to any significant problems that may arise in advance
of said meetin
** To properly understand the issue and the extent to which it has been a major
problem known to persons in a position to impact upon it; here is a historical
chronology of files leading to the current circumstance.
** President notified in 1990.
March 7. 1991
The Honorable George Bush
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear President Bush,
Please accept my appreciation for the referal that you made of my letter
of
last fall relating to the problem of Graphical User interfacing making
computers not accessible to blind end users. Unfortunately, I must report to
you that I have not receiv
I did receive letters from the Department of Justice and the General Ser
vices
Administration in which GSA essentially advised me that they were working with
Industry on the issue and preferred to take a dialog approach to the issue with
Industry rathe
Since then, the issue has only worsened. I have heard from blind end-use
rs that
increasing amounts of software in the workplace are being installed without
their ability to access it. The employers are saying things such as, "You won't
have to use it;
Honorable George Bush
March 7, 1991
Page 2
Eventually, the net result will be lack of advancement or even terminati
on for
otherwise qualified blind workers who through no fault of their own, have been
disadvantaged from being able to do a job because insufficient atttention has
been placed upo
In view of the above and the enclosed editorial I wrote, I ask that you
assign
someone in a position of sufficient authority at the White House to oversee
federal efforts to ensure Industry compliance with electronic accessibility
issues. I further re
This issue is too serious to ignore and I am hopeful that you will see f
it to
have the federal government do what it needs to do.
Sincerely,
Charles H. Crawford Commissioner
Enclosure:
September 15, 1990
The Honorable George Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. President,
I write you this letter to share my serious and growing concern for the
ability
of visually impaired computer users to remain competitive and productive as
developments, counter to the laws of the United States, proceed with
insufficient attention by
Simply put, developers of hardware and software products are not ensurin
g
accessibility to their products by folks who cannot read the screen without
speech devices. This trend is based upon the use of graphical user interfacing
which presents trash c
The net effect upon an employee without vision whether federally employe
d or
otherwise is clear. You can be productive today, but the introduction of a
computer system or software which does not allow speech output creates at best
a situation of the e
This situation is intolerable from many perspectives. There is no reason
other
than disregard of the necessary software hooks for developers to exclude speech
reliant users. The federal and many state laws prohibit this type of activity,
but where is
I ask that you refer this letter to the Department of Justice Civil Righ
ts
Division for their attention in conjunction with the General Services
Administration who have been working to resolve it. If the federal government
is to be serious in playing
If I can be of more assistance to you or members of the federal governme
nt in
this matter, then please write me at the above address or call my office at the
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind at area code 617-727-5550 ext. 4503 or
4538 to speak w
Sincerely,
Charles H. Crawford
Commissioner
U.S. Department of JusticeCivil Rights Division
DJ#181-16i-17751
Coordination and Review Section P. O. Box 66118
Washington, D. C 20035-6118
NOV 26 1990
Honorable Charles Crawford
Commissioner
Commission for the Blind
88 Kingston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02111-2227
Dear Commissioner Crawford:
Your letter to the President concerning the accessibility of computers t
o
persons with visual impairments was, as you requested, referred to the Civil
Rights Division at the Department of Justice for reply.
As you know, this issue was addressed in the 1986 amendments to the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 508, "Electronic equipment accessibility,"
was added at 29 U.S.C. 794d. The pertinent part of that section, paragraph
(a)(1), states:
(1) The Secretary, through the Director of the National Institute on Disabil
ity
and Rehabilitation Research and the Administrator of General Services, in
consultation with the electronics industry, shall develop and establish
guidelines for electronic
29 U.S.C. 794d(a)(1).
The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued guidelines in this
area,
and has continued to work with the computer industry on the issue. Federal
Computer Week, November 5, 1990, at 14, col. 1.
While the Department of Justice continues to be interested in the issues
you
raise not only as a Federal agency with employees with disabilities, but also
as a member of the Interagency Committee on Computer Support of Handicapped
Employees, the GSA a
- 2 -
However, accessibility to electronic equipment has, with the passage of
the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327) taken on
wider importance. Certainly electronic accessibility for employees to be
covered by the Act wil
Additionally, electronic accessibility in public accommodations and gove
rnment
services will be a concern in facilities that may have an educational or
interactive display, such as terminals, stores, museums, and parks. We
appreciate your raising this
Sincerely,
Stewart B. Oneglia, Chief Coordination and Review
Section Civil Rights Division The Honorable Stewart B.
Oneglia: Chief
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Coordination and Review Section
P. O. Box 66118
Washington, D. C 20035-6118
December 4, 1990
Dear Chief Oneglia,
Thank you for your response (DJ#181-16i-17751) to my letter sent to Pres
ident
Bush with respect to the issue of the non-accessibility to blind end users of
computers using graphical user interfacing. I read your response with interest
and please accep
I have also heard from the General Services Administration on the issue
and am
encouraged by some positive developments. I am attaching a copy of my response
to GSA for your information and you will see that while I remain concerned that
the ultimate
Thank you again for your letter and please add my name to any mailing li
st you
may have for distributing proposed regulations and so forth in accessible media
such as ascii files on computer disks.
Sincerely,
Charles H. Crawford:
Commissioner
General Services Administration
Information Resources Management Service
Washington, DC 20405
November 13, 1990
The Honorable Charles H. Crawford
Commissioner
Commission for the Blind
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Human Services
88 Kingston Street
Boston, MA 02111
Dear Mr. Crawford:
The General Services Administration (GSA) recognizes that the growing use of
graphical interfaces with computers represents a very serious problem for
vision-impaired users. It is not a problem with easy solutions. GSA and other
Federal agencies have h
In 1987, GSA published initial guidelines for implementing Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as revised in 1986. Section 508 requires the
Federal Government to make its electronic office equipment accessible to
individuals with disabilitie
Last year, GSA reconvened the advisory group which developed the original
guidelines to get their assessment of how effective the guidelines had been in
improving accessibility. one of the major themes that came out of that meeting
was that software ac
In response, GSA has begun holding discussions with the computer industry to
help them focus on solutions to this and other accessibility problems.
1) On October 17, 1990, GSA and the Interagency Committee for Computer Supp
ort
of Handicapped Employees held a series of meetings with some of the leading
computer manufacturers to determine what they were doing to make their product
lines more accessi
2) GSA has been discussing the graphical interface issue and other software
accessibility problems with ADAPSO, a leading association of the computer
software industry. In response, ADAPSO has formed a committee to look into
software accessibility prob
In addition, the Department of Education has given a grant to the TRACE Research
and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin to develop blind access
software for the graphical interface.
Products that can "read" graphical icons are being developed and several are now
or will soon be available on the market. one example is "Outspoken" which
allows access to the MacIntosh graphical interface. GSA recognizes that much
new research is sti
Your letter spoke of the need for Federal Government enforcement in the area of
accessibility. GSA has developed governmentwide regulations on accessibility
and these are enforced through our delegation of procurement authority and
through periodic rev
GSA believes that a balance between government regulation and industry
initiative is the best way to achieve accessibility.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Buckholtz
Commissioner
November 21, 1990
Mr. Thomas J. Buckholtz, Commissioner
United States General Services Administration Information Resources
Management Service
Washington, D.C. 20405
Dear Mr. Buckholtz,
Thank you for your letter of November 13 in which you responded to my le
tter of
concern addressed to the President. While I agree with you that the problem of
Graphical User Interfacing for persons concerned with speech access to
computers is, as you
Your reports of activities and discussions and even the so called "Outsp
oken"
software to gain access for blind users are encouraging. Nonetheless the
empirical reality is that access still is not accomplished. Until such is the
case, I would respect
Mr. Buckholtz, I sincerely appreciate your attention to my letter. A con
cern
you must surely share is that industry may well respond more to the lack of
contracts and profits than to a carte blanche. At this time, there are blind
computer users who ar
I understand that there is a Department of Defense order for MacIntosh
computers which order is being held until real access software is provided.
This kind of enforcement is exemplary.Thomas J. Buckholtz
November 21, 1990
Page 2
Please keep me updated on GSA activities since your exercise of your
responsibilities is critical to the efficient accomplishment of access for
current and future blind workers.
Sincerely,
Charles H. Crawford Commissioner
** A bbs editorial from that time frame...
TODAY'S WINDOWS, MIRRORING DARK SHADOWS FROM THE PAST
By Charles H. Crawford
Some may recall the story of John Henry. The fabled "steel drivin' man" who
finally became irrelevant as the technology of processing changed to
automation. In fact, history is replete with the displacement of people as
market forces, automation and ot
Just as John Henry relied upon his hammer, the blind computer user takes
text
based interfacing through synthetic speech output systems and runs the machine
like a charm. As did John, many blind end users have seen the new technology
coming and yet so
Would John Henry have become as legendary if he had learned to run the m
achine?
Perhaps not in the same way, but his family would have eaten, his home would
have remained in his name and the social fabric would have been strengthened
rather then strai
Before entering the arena of what can be done, let's afford John Henry w
ith one
major victory! His humanity and common thread with so many others in the
evolving society tempered the raging bull of capitalism. The "bottom line"
suddenly had to includ
The solution to inclusion of the blind computer user in the graphical
interfacing equation is simple, but not a proportionate positive investment to
the enhanced bottom line. If a company develops a graphical interface in
competition with other compan
As did the descendents of John Henry, the blind and otherwise disabled c
omputer
using communities have sought legal protection from the excesses of
capitalistic thinking. From the early civil rights protections afforded
disabled people within the para
Soon the more or less passive view of blind workers will change to anger
as
more and more software becomes inaccessible and less and less work is
available. Soon the courts will see actions brought for violations of civil
rights and wrongful terminati
The bitterness, litigation costs and many other negatives of the above c
an be
avoided. the computer industry could set standards for icons and other graphics
which would allow speech systems to access the screen information. They did it
with the Ameri
The computer industry will need to develop and implement universal stand
ards
for graphical interfacing or have them imposed by court order or federal law.
Every producer of hardware and software will have to make their products
accessible through the
In conclusion, accessible graphical user interfacing is a technical chal
lenge
well within the means of the industry to resolve, but no resolution will occur
until there is a sufficient outcry from the blind John Henrys facing a world
they can particip
** E-mail to Bill Gates himself.
From: <netmail!C...@delphi.com>
To: Bill Gates
Subject: So how come?
Date: Tuesday, January 11, 1994 9:41PM
Hello Bill,
You run Microsoft and I run the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
We
both rely heavily on computers to get what we need
done. The difference is that you see the screen and I don't.
So I am sending you E-mail because I am concerned that my access to the
information I need is made difficult if not impossible by graphical interfaces.
Microsoft puts out some great stuff and like any other power user, I am deeply
invested in getting
Direct screen writes, icons, BMP files and the like could clearly be mad
e to
work in a dual pictorial and text environment. So why not?
I hope that this was short and sweet since you have already probably hea
rd
about the problem, but you need to get involved to make the solution happen!
Thanks and I would be happy to discuss it further...
You can E-mail me at C...@Delphi.com
** Bill Gates has response sent.
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 1994 21:45:36 -0800 (PST)
From: gre...@microsoft.com
Subject: FW: So how come?
To: c...@delphi.com
Bill Gates and Mike Maples have asked me to respond directly to your email. I
run Microsoft's Accessibility and Disabilities Group, and
we are working to insure the type of access you describe. For example, we now
have a program in place where accessibility software vendors are included in
our beta test programs, and when space permits customers who use these
utilities are also includ
Currently no Microsoft software that I'm aware of writes directly to the screen
in such a way as to be undetectable by screen readers written for Microsoft
Windows. (The products which are not designed for Microsoft Windows do, in
some cases, write di
We are working on features which will allow screen readers to more accurately
determine the names of objects that have only graphical labels, such as
graphical buttons. Specifications for these methods will be going out to
screen reader vendors in our
We are also using a number of other approaches, such as including guidelines on
how to develop accessible software in upcoming versions of our programming
documentation and application design guide.
By the way, I am also in communication (although not as frequently as I'd wish)
with Joe Lazzaro. He might be able to describe to you some of the things that
I spoke about at the Stanford forum this fall. Tell him I said hello.
And if you or any of your colleagues know of specific instances in our products
where we're doing things that make them less accessible, by all means please
send me some email. We also now have a global database of all such
accessibility suggestions a
Don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further help.
Thanks!
Greg Lowney
Senior Program Manager
7-FEB-1994 00:50:04.82
NEWMAIL
Accessibility and Disabilities Group
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
voice: 206-936-8510
tt/tdd: 206-936-2627
fax: 206-936-7329
internet: gre...@microsoft.com (preferred) compuserve: 70714,1542 (binary files
only please)
** Commission for Blind Tech Director says it ain't necessarilly so...
To: Charles H. Crawford
From: Joseph J. Lazzaro
Date: August 18, 1994
Re: The Windows Problem
I am writing this memorandum to describe the current difficulties with the
Microsoft Windows operating system and how it relates to blind and visually
impaired computer users. In summary, Windows and Windows-based application
programs do not work relia
As project director for the Adaptive Technology Program at the Commission, I am
greatly disturbed by this fact. Because Windows is an unreliable operating
environment for blind computer users, jobs are being lost by blind persons, and
more and more com
Because of its vast resources, and technical skill, Microsoft could (with the
assistance of the disabled technical community) easily rectify this problem,
and create an environment where the blind can flourish. Recently, Microsoft
mailed all its develo
In summary, Blind persons cannot use Windows because the screen cannot b
e read
conssistantly.
Text of article...
ADAPTING GUI SOFTWARE FOR THE BLIND IS NO EASY TASK
BY
JOSEPH J. LAZZARO
COPYRIGHT 1994: MCGRAW HILL INC.
The use of GUIs among blind computer users is increasing, for better or worse.
According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind (London, U.K.), 82
percent of the software firms surveyed in Europe and the U.S. see the use of
GUIs increasing among
This widespread adoption of graphical applications adds a whole new set
of
challenges for applications developers and visually impaired users. The World
Institute on Disability (Oakland, CA) estimates that between 400,000 and
500,000 people in the U.S
GUI platforms rely on spatial and pictorial representations to convey
information, which makes them much more difficult to use for many blind users
than text-only applications, according to Kostyshyn. To make a GUI-based word
processor or other type o
Luckily for companies that need to comply with the Americans with Disabi
lities
Act, more GUIs are being adapted for the blind with speech, braille, and
magnification systems. Although not always easy to use with all applications,
this new generation o
The Mac was the first GUI-based platform to become accessible for the bl
ind,
thanks to Berkeley Systems' Outspoken speech software. (For information on
other adaptive products, see "Computers for the Disabled," June 1993 BYTE.) Due
to the overall succ
A previously inaccessible platform for the disabled, Unix and its GUIs,
is
starting to attract developers. Several are working on a suite of adaptive
products for Unix, ranging from speech programs for the blind to
keyboard-enhancement utilities for p
"We want to make the workstation environment friendly to adaptive develo
pers by
creating device-independent tools," says Earl Johnson, manager of enabling
technologies at Sun Microsystems Laboratories (Mountain View, CA). According to
Johnson, DACX is
In addition, the Commission of the European Communities has funded GUIB
(Graphical User Interfaces for Blind People), which is exploring the following
output technologies: speech, braille, and audio. Those involved in the GUIB
project are working to e
Although GUI-based platforms are becoming more accessible, Syntha-Voice'
s
Kostyshyn notes that the next wave of operating systems will offer a new set of
challenges. For example, when Microsoft unveils its new version of Windows with
its overhauled in
The process of adapting GUI platforms will be further complicated by the
expected increase in the number of 3-D applications. Ronald Morford, a blind
programmer and president of Automated Functions (Arlington, VA), says, "The
translation of 3-D graphi
JOSEPH J. LAZZARO
INTERNET: LAZ...@BIX.COM
** What is happening in the real world?
The following article was published in the business section of the Bosto
n Globe
newspaper for Monday, October 17, 1994. The text of it is produced below for
the benefit of persons who are print handicapped. The text may appear a bit
out of line as i
*** TEXT OF ARTICLE ***
"The Blind Community is at the highest risk right now of being first liberated
by computers in the eighties and now enslaved in the nineties. " - Charles
Crawford - Massachusetts Commissioner for the Blind.
GETTING SHUT OUT BY WINDOWS
Visual nature of popular computer program proves a threat to blind workers.
By Michael Putzel of the Globe staff.
Jamal Mazrui had learned a lot about computers and information managemen
t
software in four years on the job at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of
Government. So when he was asked, he jumped at the chance to design a new
system for another department
Then he ran into Windows.
Mazrui is blind. He became a specialist in his field using machines tha
t let
him hear what he can't see. Those machines read words displayed on a computer
screen, but they can't help him point with a mouse and click on the icons and
boxes displayed
"It looked like things were go" for Mazrui's project, using a popular da
tabase
software package that works without Windows, the thirty year old Somerville man
recounted recently. Then the people who had approached him heard about
Microsoft Access, a
Access, however, is a Windows-based product.
"they opted to go with it and hire an outside consultant to develop this
for
them," Mazrui said, adding that his own job eventually will have to be
restructured because the school's computer services department has recommended
that Windows be adopted
The great selling point of Windows, the operating system that has
revolutionized computing in corporate america, is that, in general, it is
easier to use than systems requiring the user to learn and type in sometimes
cryptic commands.
To thousands of blind workers who can't see the graphic images on the sc
reen,
however, Windows has become not just an obstacle, but a threat.
"The blind community is at the highest risk right now of being first lib
erated
by computers in the eighties and now enslaved in the nineties." Said Charles
Crawford, Massachusetts Commissioner for the Blind.
Jeffrey Turner, a systems analyst for John Hancock Financial Services in
Boston, who also is blind, said the widespread adoption of Windows in his
office and others around the country "is just killing us."
Turner has been writing computer programs for his company for nearly ten
years
and said John Hancock has spent more than ten thousand dollars for the special
equipment he needs to do his job despite his blindness. But Turner is now the
only person in
He can't use the E-mail system the company is adopting, nor does he work
in
Microsoft Word, the standard word processing program used by his colleagues.
They operate under Windows. "I'm locked out of it all," Turner said. The Blind
"are going backwa
"When they look at who they can consider for these positions, the cherri
es of
the project, they couldn't consider me because I don't have access to Windows,"
Turner said. Several companies produce software designed to read the
information on a Windows
screen. "Despite the best efforts of a number of manufacturers to make this
environment accessible to persons who are blind, it has been a well intentioned
but dismal failure," Crawford said.
In their book "Solutions; Access technologies for people who are blind,"
produced locally by National Braille Press, Olga Espinola and Diane Croft
compare the development of graphical computer environments to dropping a
guillotine on blind users.
"The technique of choosing from among pictorial images, called icons, in
lieu
of words, has been a deadly development" for the blind, the authors wrote.
An illustration of the problem blind users face shows equally well why t
he
graphical environment has proven so popular outside the blind community.
"Instead of seeing the word "mailbox" on the computer screen, for exampl
e,
you'll actually see a picture of a mailbox," explained Espinola and Croft, both
of whom are blind. "You can point your mouse to the mailbox, click the button,
and presto, the
The Sensory Access Foundation, in a review of screen-reading programs th
at
attempt to translate the information displayed on a Windows screen into audio
for blind users, characterized the situation as a "nightmare."
Although IBM has made great strides with it's screen reader for the comp
any;s
OS/2 operating system, the reviewers said, similar programs for Windows have
serious problems, either because they are unreliable or because they don't work
with some of the
The biggest problem for developers of screen-reading software, the revie
wers
said, is that programmers have few standards that would make it easier to write
programs for the blind, and where standards do exist, the programmers
frequently don't follow
Nick Dotson of Pensacola, Florida a pioneer of finding ways for the blin
d to
use CD-ROM and multimedia technology, said the problem is not confined to
Windows itself but extends to many programs designed to run under Windows.
Microsoft's own programming groups don't follow corporate guidelines in
writing
computer code that a screen reader can follow, Dotson said, and it is,
therefore, impossible to impose any discipline on other software developers.
Greg Lowney, Microsoft's senior program manager for dealing with issues
affecting the disabled, acknowledged that the computer industry overlooked the
implications of moving to the graphical Windows environment. But the blind
community also ignored t
The company now is working with developers of adaptive hardware and soft
ware to
give them the technical information they need to design aids for the next
version of Windows, which is due out in 1995. But Lowney admitted the new
product, to be called
Jennifer Simpson, a Washington Lobbyist who serves on a technology task
force
of the national Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities said it is difficult
to legislate a solution.
"We don't want to lock into any one technology," she said, because that
could
impede progress. Simpson added, however, that making new programs and devices
accessible is critical to millions of disabled people, "and nobody's thinking
about this stuff
Joseph J. Lazzaro, another author of a book on adaptive technologies, sa
id
blind people "are having many of the gains we have achieved over the last ten
years taken away, and the chief culprit is Microsoft Windows." Lazzaro said he
doesn't expect to u
** Beyond speculation and newspapers to to real people...
From: Henry Achin [73007,2605]
Subj: Job Rejection Due To Windows Environment
200 Market Street Unit A9
Lowell, MA 01852 October 20, 1994
Dear Jamal and Bonnie:
I have been totally blind since birth and spoke to you on the telephone recently
regarding employment rejection due to a Windows computer environment. You will
recall that John Robichaud, a technical consultant with the Massachusetts
Commission for th
I experienced a very successful job interview at Wellfleet Communications,
Billerica, MA, in early January of 1994. The proposed position was in the
Telephone Customer Service Department.
A few days after the interview, MCB's John Robichaud went to that Wellfleet
location in order to evaluate the computer environment. He learned that the
company's computer network was based on the graphics system of Microsoft
Windows and that no DOS pr
Wellfleet Human Resources Representative Fred Shea displayed a positive
attitude, promising to investigate whether or not the computer environment
could be modified under the Americans with Disabilities Act. So far, however,
there has been no progress
I hope that this unfortunate information will help you and Microsoft in working
out an agreeable solution. Please feel welcome to contact me if you have any
questions. You may either write to the above address, send me E-mail on
CompuServe, or call m
Yours truly,
Henry Achin
Distribution:
To: Jamal Mazrui > [74444,1076]
** MicroSoft VP sends letter to Charlie Crawford
November 7, 1994
Charles Crawford
commissioner
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Commission for the Blind
88 Kingston Street
Boston MA 02111
Dear Mr. Crawford,
Thank you for contacting us to express the concern you and others in the
disability community share about access to the Microsoft Windows operating
system and our upcoming Windows 95 release.
Microsoft is aware of the problems that many blind individuals are having using
the Windows environment. For the past two years we have had staff working
specifically to define and implement solutions to improve accessibility to our
entire product line
When this project began, our focus for blind access was on providing improving
support for third-party vendors and encouraging them to create blind access
utilities for Windows. In fact, the additional documentation and technical
support we have provid
However, it has become clear that we can do better than the levels of
functionality and robustness offered by the current versions of these aids. As
a result, we are now focusing our effort on ways to fundamentally improve the
capabilities of these aid
To make sure that our effort correctly meets the needs of the disability
community, we are working with many individuals and organizations, such as the
American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, the Trace
Research and Developm
Some of these features will be incorporated in Windows 95, which will have
improved support for blind access techniques over Windows 3.1. Because of long
product development cycles, and the need to work with the disability community
to ensure that our
In the short term, we will continue working with accessibility software vendors
to try to help them provide better access, to the limits that can be achieved
with current software. We will also continue encouraging mainstream application
developers to
Microsoft believes that the graphical user interfaces offer numerous advantages
for the vast majority of users, and that many of these can also be advantages
to computer users who are blind once the initial challenges are overcome.
In summary, the Personal Systems Division is committed to making our products
usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. We welcome your further
participation in this process, and will contact you as our work progresses.
Sincerely,
Brad A. Sliverberg
Senior Vice President
Personal Systems Division
Microsoft Corporation
** Letter responding to MicroSoft from Charlie Crawford...
November 11, 1994
Mr. Brad Silverberg: Vice President
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
Dear Mr. Silverberg:
Please accept this as my appreciation for and response to your letter of
November 7 in which you conveyed the status of Microsoft's activities with
respect to making your product lines accessible to persons with disabilities
and in particular, those w
First, it is necessary to point out the serious nature of the access iss
ue.
There are already reports of persons who are blind becoming subjected to unfair
and discriminatory treatment simply because they cannot access the Windows and
other graphical
Having said the above, let me hasten to add that the solution is more im
portant
than hashing through counter-productive recriminations. That solution is clear
and within the power of Microsoft to accomplish without undue delay. It is a
two step proc
Your letter essentially pointed out that there has been some work done a
t
Microsoft to make the product line accessible to people with disabilities along
with information shared with the adaptive software community towards making
your products accessi
It is laudable that Microsoft has been so successful in making "Access D
OS" and
"Access Windows" so helpful to mostly persons with motor impairments and people
who are deaf. Unfortunately the access software has done next to nothing for
people who ar
I have asked our state's Disabilities Inter-agency Coordinating Committe
e to
take this issue beyond mere discussion and as a result, the recommendation has
been made to the Commonwealth's Office Of Management Information Systems to
notify Microsoft of
I did appreciate your letter and am hopeful that Microsoft will commit i
tself
to the actions requested above. Your DOS products have served the interests of
the blindness community well and I am optimistic from your letter that Windows
will follow su
The serious and critical nature of this access problem, compels the blin
dness,
disability and other interested communities to take all necessary steps to
resolve the issues, however, your letter has served as an important first step
in avoiding a cost
Sincerely,
Charles H. Crawford
Commissioner
** An actual software developer's perspective...
From: INTERNET:eboh...@netcom.com
Subj: MS Windows and incompatibilities
Sender: eboh...@netcom.com
In reference to our phone conversation earlier today:
We often hear that many MS-Windows applications are not speech-accessible
because their developers do not follow Microsoft's API guidelines. However,
specific examples of how the API was bypassed and how it interfered with speech
access seem hard to co
I would suggest that we try to gather a list of such incompatibilities, with
enough details that developers can learn what causes them and how to avoid
them. This is more likely to generate positive results than simply telling
developers to "stick to
To start the list off, here's a problem I've run into while doing non-speech
programming that also affects screen readers:
Several of Microsoft's word-processing applications, including Write and Word,
do not use standard methods for displaying the caret (text insertion-point
marker; most people think of it as the cursor, but in Windows terminology,
"cursor" means the mous
In the case of screen readers, it makes it difficult for the screen reader to
tell what text the user is moving over with the arrow keys.
You have my permission to reproduce this message, including posting it to
listservs and newsgroups.
** Current status of Microsoft actvitity.
From: Jean Grobe <je...@microsoft.com>
To: 74247...@compuserve.com
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 94 13:46:14 TZ
Subject: Accessibility
Hi Mr. Crawford,
Thanks for your letter in response to Brad Silvergergs letter of 11/18/94. I
apologize for not responding to your letter immediately but Brad was out of the
country for two weeks and has just recently returned. Plans are being
formulated at Microsoft
I enjoyed meeting with you and Joe Lazarro and look forward to working toward a
computing enviroment where everyones needs are met.
If I don't speak with you beforehand have a happy and safe holiday season.
sincerely,
Jean Grobe
Microsoft
** Conclusions
The history of graphical user interfacing and it's negative impact upon
the
employment and social integration of persons who are blind is clear. The work
done to resolve the issues has clearly been a question of people not seeing the
priority rather
CONTENTS
ACHIN, Henry - Correspondance---------21
ADAPTING GUI SOFTWARE - Joe Lazzaro---16
BUSH, George - Correspondance----------3
CONCLUSIONS---------------------------28
GATES, Bill - Correspondance----------12
GETTING SHUT OUT OF WINDOWS - Lazzaro-18
GROBE, Jean - Correspondance----------27
GSA - Thomas Buckholtz-----------------8
JUSTICE, Dept of (Oneglia)-------------5
MS WINDOWS & INCOMPATITIES - Bohlman--26
NCSAB RESOLUTION-----------------------1
SILVERBERG, Brad (Correspondance)------22
TODAY'S WINDOWS - BBS Editorial--------10
WINDOWS PROBLEM, THE - Lazzaro---------14