Why should it take @sovtechfund to fund accessibility work on the Linux distribution of a multi-billion-dollar corporation like IBM? Why the fuck isn’t IBM paying for it?

#accessibility #linux #foss #corporations #BigTech

I love that a multi-billion-dollar corporation like RedHat/IBM can ship an operating system with a broken screen reader in 2024 (it’s not just them, it’s true for basically every major Linux distribution today) and, when you point it out, the response is “it’s no one’s fault… it’s all free labour… it’s FOSS, man”. And then: oh, and this charity is paying for one person to work on accessibility support to be implemented now… Anyone else see how fucked up that is?

#accessibility #foss #linux

How can we improve #accessibility for scientific conferences? This short guide by Ulla McClurg covers many of the issues that organisers (and attendees) can consider.

#academia #disability

https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/137/10/jcs261858/352179/A-short-guide-to-addressing-accessibility-at

A short guide to addressing accessibility at scientific conferences

Summary: Solutions to improve the accessibility of scientific conferences are proposed, including designated accessibility officers, accessibility checklists and measures to avoid personal disclosures of disability.

^{McClurg, Urszula Lucja (The Company of Biologists)}

I had given up on pleading for more alt-text but I'll try again!

Please add alt-text to your photos/pictures it only takes a minute and does not have to be fancy. My policy is not to boost images without alt-text and I am not the only one.

This is one of the cultural things I like about Mastodon, the inclusiveness. Please don't ruin it.

(Edit) was sent a guide for alt-text
https://www.perkins.org/resource/how-write-alt-text-and-image-descriptions-visually-impaired/

#Mastodon #AltText #Ottawa #Blind #Accessibility

How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired – Perkins School for the Blind

Making your website and social media accessible to people with blindness and low vision.

^{Perkins School for the Blind}

In case anyone missed it - @trishgreenhalgh dropped a HUGE multi disciplinary study on masks & respirators yesterday.

This study involved people from all over the world and tackled everything from are masks effective against COVID (spoiler -
They are), why were there bad RCTs saying the opposite and what were their flaws, what are the sociological barriers to masking (with input from @DALupton).

It was exactly the kind of gold standard, irrefutable study on masks and respirators that we need to counter the “masks don’t work” crowd. Unfortunately I realize many of them won’t ever read it - but it still feels wonderful to see it laid out so clearly.

If any of the other contributors are on here - please drop a comment so I can find & follow you!

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #N95s

Did you know that #GoogleHome devices are
- able to call 911
- but only with an $8 monthly subscription?!?

Google (and Amazon, and Apple) put the ability to call emergency services behind an monthly paywall, creating a dystopian tiered system where only rich and technologically savvy families have the means to save themselves in a crisis.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9678051?hl=en#zippy=%2Cset-up-emergency-calling
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/can-alexa-call-911/

#smarthome #latestagecapitalism #inequality #accessibility #911 #bigtech #gafam

Can Alexa call 911? How to set up Alexa for emergencies

You may be wondering whether or not Alexa can call 911. Here's how to use Alexa to help promote safety.

^{Erika Rawes (Digital Trends)}

A friend of mine made this fantastic respirator graphic with a QR code that links to the huge study on efficacy of masks & respirators that came out yesterday.

I love that’s it’s eye catching - but the best part is the QR code takes you straight to the study! He’s not on here (yet) but says people are welcome to save & share!

#CovidIsAirborne #CovidIsNotOver #CovidCautious #sarscov2 #maskup #WearAMask #CleanAir #Pandemic #Disability #accessibility #DisabilityRights #N95s #respirators

How can we further improve Accessibility on the new Pixelfed app?

Feedback and ideas greatly appreciated!

#pixelfed #accessibility

There were a lot of #webinars for #GAAD 2024, too many to attend them all. But a lot of them were recorded, so I rounded up links to 30 or so #OnDemand webinars and videos and put them into a blog post.

https://www.tpgi.com/global-accessibility-awareness-day-2024-on-demand-webinars-and-videos/

#Accessibility #a11y #TPGi

Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2024: On-Demand Webinars and Videos - TPGi

Global Accessbility Awareness Day 2024 On-Demand Webinars

^{Ricky Onsman (TPGi)}

Access for All: Two friends helping change opportunities for blind people with an open-source screen reader for all. Now on Microsoft Unlocked: https://unlocked.microsoft.com/nvda/

#NVDA #NVDAsr #Accessibility #ScreenReader #A11y #Microsoft #FOSS #OpenSource #Free #News

An open-source screen reader for all – Microsoft Unlocked

Read our Story, An open-source screen reader for all on Microsoft Unlocked

^Microsoft

Are you blind? Have you heard of the commandline, but don't know what it means or how to use it? I recorded a tutorial that shows how to use a popular commandline utility called YT-DLP to download the audio version of a video with a screenreader, and how you can apply this to other commandline applications. This will accomplish jobs more quickly and bypass inaccessible graphical user interfaces. I hope you find it helpful!

#a11y #accessibility #screenreader

Excellent, does it have a working screen reader?

#a11y #accessibility #ubuntu #linux

For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we want to recognize the work being done on accessibility by @matt as part of the @gnome Foundation. He is the lead for @accesskit and is currently working on Newton, a Wayland-oriented solution for assistive technologies that can modernize accessibility on the Linux desktop!

➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9psDfEFf9c

#Fedora #GAAD #Accessibility #A11y #Linux #OpenSource

Modernizing Accessibility for Desktop Linux - Matt Campbell, GNOME Foundation

Modernizing Accessibility for Desktop Linux - Matt Campbell, GNOME FoundationThe desktop Linux ecosystem has changed dramatically since accessibility was fir...

^YouTube

Well, happy #GlobalAccessibilityAwarenessDay!

While my original proposal to hide images in order to highlight the importance of well-written alt text did not gain a whole lot of traction, I'm still glad there was some conversation, and grateful to everyone who is still interested in joining in.

If you do participate, I would love to hear from you!

https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/fediverse-world-sight-day-global-accessibility-awareness-day/

#accessibility #AltText #ImageDescriptions #MastoAdmin #FediAdmin

Data on sending a post into the fediverse

Highlighting the importance of well-written image descriptions

^{Stefan Bohacek (stefanbohacek.com)}

Article on a11y in #k12 and #HigherEd web content. Too often places don't think about it until they have a student with a11y needs, and then it is like "oh, how do we do that?" (or, worse, "do we really need to do that for just one student?")

Quote from UNM prof: “Spending your whole life advocating for yourself” to get accessible materials is “demoralizing and draining and inappropriate,”

A11y should be built in, not added after needed.

https://www.k12dive.com/news/schools-colleges-title-ii-digital-accessibility/715184/

#a11y #accessibility

How can schools prepare for ADA digital accessibility requirements?

A new U.S. Department of Justice rule aims to ensure that state and local government web content and mobile apps are accessible for people with disabilities.

^{Kara Arundel (K-12 Dive)}

Impact of fediverse clients on the use of alt text | Stefan Bohacek

Featuring @phanpy by @cheeaun

https://stefanbohacek.com/blog/impact-of-fediverse-clients-on-the-use-of-alt-text/#conclusions

#fediverse #mastodon #accessibility

The ways we keep the fediverse sustainable

Analyzing the ways fediverse apps handle image descriptions.

^{Stefan Bohacek (stefanbohacek.com)}

Got very excited by @matt demo of AccessKit integration in #GTK

AccessKit is a cross-platform abstraction for accessibility infrastructure written in Rust.

His work will bring a11y support for GTK on macOS and Windows as well as for the new accessibility architecture on Linux code-named "Newton".

https://github.com/AccessKit/accesskit

https://blogs.gnome.org/a11y/2023/10/27/a-new-accessibility-architecture-for-modern-free-desktops/

#GNOME #rustlang #accessibility #a11y #Linux #Windows #macOS

Week 7. In this weeknote, I mentioned the @eleventy conference, linked to a post by @JonathanMosen about the Sonos app update, and included other miscellaneous points.

https://justtext.net/weeknotes/7/

#11ty #accessibility #a11y #blogging #elevnty #weekNotes

Manyfold v0.65.0 has been released! This release is all about #Accessibility, after our audit last week. There's a big pile of improvements around screen reading, keyboard navigation, colour, labelling, and so on, which will benefit everyone! More to come, too!

It's been great to be able to get some expert advice and then put time into this, thanks to NLNet and @NGIZero. It's a rare opportunity in open source!

https://manyfold.app/news/2024/05/03/release-v0-65-0.html

#3DPrinting @3dprinting #SelfHosted

Likewise, I don't think about describing or transcribing everything that's in a picture, rather, explaining the point of the picture, and why I'm sharing it.

#accessibility #a11y #AltText #ImageDescription