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May 17, 2006
Information from Mr. Aqeel Qureshi
Our friend, Mr. Aqeel Qureshi from India sent us the following information
dawn loaded from BBC NEWS.
Gadget firms tackled on usability
Technology firms are being targeted in a bid to make hardware and software
easier to use for everyone.
The initiative, backed by disability charities and big firms like BT, aims
to make hi-tech firms take usability more seriously.
They want to get companies thinking about how to make goods and services
easy to use while design work is done.
Firms signing up will be expected to make big changes to all the things they
do that customers encounter.
Building block
The initiative, which has been given the name of the E-Inclusion Charter,
has the backing of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID),
Disabled Living Foundation, technology consultancy Scientific Generics and
the Alliance for Digital Inclusion.
Despite the involvement of charities that try to raise awareness of
accessibility issues, Guido Gybels, director of new technologies at the
RNID, said the charter aimed to help everyone.
"We are not talking about small groups of people with specialist needs," he
said.
Instead, said Mr Gybels, the charter wanted to make companies apply
accessibility and usability to everything they produce - no matter who buys
it or uses it.
"This is about making the experience better for every single one of your
customers," he said.
It was also intended to go beyond the basic obligations that laws on equal
access impose on businesses.
It was not just those with disabilities that could benefit from products
that are straight-forward to use, he said. Studies had shown the business
benefits from applying the principles of usability and user testing to
products and services.
"We recognise that technology can be both a cause of and a solution to
exclusion," said Heidi Lloyd, spokeswoman for the Alliance for Digital
Inclusion (ADI). "Through this charter, we hope to maximise the potential
that technology has to offer everyone."
The ADI has among its members BT, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft and IBM.. In
particular, the backers of the charter are looking to sign up the makers of
computers, mobile phones and TVs and get them making products easier to
navigate and use.
"The charter is a starting point rather than an objective in itself," said
Mr Gybels. "If you sign up to it, it's not just a piece of paper, it's an
undertaking to bring about real change."
Sally Lincoln, commercial director of accessibility firm Nomensa, said
knowledge of usability issues and adoption of best practice was patchy
across all sectors of industry.
"Fundamentally, there needs to be an attitude change amongst the industry,"
she said. "Brands, government services and agencies all need to realise that
inclusivity does not mean compromising on creativity and innovation."
**For more information
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4772139.stm
http://hardware.silicon.com/desktops/0,39024645,39158908,00.htm
Posted by jicafriends at May 17, 2006 02:54 PM