AccessWorld Editor's Page: The Apple Model

Posted by Paul Schroeder on 10/14/2009 9:51:39 AM

The latest issue of AccessWorld went live this week, and the following musings on Apple and the implications for accessibility appear in the Editor's page. I hope it gives you some food for thought, especially about the kinds of topics you'd like to see us cover in future issues.

Apple has been the darling of the technology world for years, but only recently has it risen from the scourge of people with vision loss. And, wow, it has risen like a rocket!

In the past few years, Apple has revolutionized our thinking about technology accessibility. People with vision loss have relied on increasingly robust assistive technology developers to build work-arounds and add-ons to allow us to use new hardware and software, albeit with added cost to the consumer. With the launch of Voiceover and Zoom for the Mac OS, followed by the inclusion of Voiceover in the iPod and iPhone, Apple has charted another course.

Let's call this the Apple model: robust access built in and improved in conjunction with the regular product release cycle. It marks the end of what some call the "blindness tax" for access, and a potential boon for many in the developing world as well who cannot afford the cost of assistive technology. However, there are consequences, illustrated by the recent access problems resulting from changes made by Apple to the iTunes store. This model also means a shift away from the highly specialized AT model which provides dependable products from developers who work closely with our community and often share our disability.

Is this ultimately what we want? Do we expect Microsoft, RIM (of Blackberry fame), Nokia, etc. to add full accessibility into their products? Apple's foray into built-in accessibility has been greeted with enthusiasm, although not uncritical. I remember the consternation surrounding the short-lived rumor in the 1990s that Microsoft might purchase or license the screenreader JAWS, and the concern raised about the functionality it would put into a Windows voicing app called Narrator.

Should we expect mainstream companies to adopt the Apple model and build robust accessibility into their products? I invite you to join in on this discussion. To read the full letter, and the rest of the September issue, visit AccessWorld now.

Re: AccessWorld Editor's Page: The Apple Model
Posted by Liz Neal [http://www.afb.org] on 10/15/2009 1:03:36 PM

I admit I was skeptical when I heard that Apple was adding speech to a device with almost no detectable buttons, so I was pretty amazed to read about how well it works. Let's hope the Apple model of built-in accessibility gains ground.

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