Clever Hamster

Tools to check web accessibility

Testing and correcting accessibility problems throughout the development process is all about tools. Here are tips I've collected:

• Support the fewest back versions of JAWS you can: just as with browsers, supporting earlier versions makes development infinitely harder. Current version is 11.
• Fangs is a free screen-reader emulator, a Firefox plugin: http://www.standards-schmandards.com/projects/fangs/
• Study Juicy Studio (http://juicystudio.com/) for Javascript accessibility fixes: they've figured out tons.
• Use Juicy Studio accessibility plugins and toolbar: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/user/320.>
• WebAIM now has an accessibility toolbar: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6720.>
• There's also a free Web Accessibility Toolbar for IE: http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/wat-ie-about.html

Finding more tools:

• WAI lists of all manner of accessibility tools (many of which are commercial): http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/Overview.html
• SitePoint wrote up "12 Tools to Check Your Site's Accessibility": http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/07/06/site-accessibility-tools/

InnoTech Austin 2009: Oct 29

October 29, 2009 is the 6th annual InnoTech Austin event, held at the Austin Convention Center. It's a one-day blast of talks, demonstrations, summits, and expo, which is a steal at $35.

With its focus on innovation, this conference is a handy barometer for business and technology trends. This year, there is new attention being paid to start-ups ("Austin Startup Row"), and the Beta Summit will present live demos of six of the hottest technologies being developed in Austin. The Software track this year is emphasizing social networking and cost-savings, and there are sessions on Windows 7 and Google Wave.