Buzz Archives for January 2005
Once Bitten…
Sam Palmisano, the CEO of IBM, challenged his entire company to migrate to Linux for their desktop systems by the end of this year. Turns out things aren't going so well. IBM is running into this one tiny little problem. You may have heard of it, it's called Internet Explorer. See, ...
By Dave Shea | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- I Got An “Easy Button” For You
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If you’re an especially sharp-eyed WaSP reader and you’re shopping for office supplies, you might have seen that Staples just redesigned their customer rewards center. While the new look isn’t a huge departure from the old yellow ‘n’ red, things under the hood look quite different—the site’s new layout ...
By Ethan Marcotte | Filed in CSS, HTML/XHTML
- Ground Up, Accessibility
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In a Digital Web Magazine article this past week, a W3C web accessibility specialist Matt May offers up a short primer for web designers. The article, Accessibility From The Ground Up, gives a quick overview and answers key questions regarding accessible web design. Accessible design or authoring may seem ...
By Holly Marie Koltz | Filed in Accessibility, Web Standards (general)
- Because You KNow Someone Will Ask…
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Every once in a while, you might wind up with a project sponsor who since 1997 hasn't let go of their opinion that aniGIFs are the panacea for web design ennui. For you hapless, Bruce Lawson has adapted the CSS Zen Garden template. [Warning: may cause seizures in susceptible viewers.] [From L. ...
By Ben Henick | Filed in CSS
- Buzzwords, Web Design, and Me
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There is a saying amongst engineers: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” Making the rounds is an AP Wire story admitting that the stench hasn’t gone away: “Tech Marketing Words Getting Scrutiny.” At the very least, I can relate. As of the end of September, web site ...
By Ben Henick | Filed in Web Standards (general)
- Macworld Expo and Web Standards: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
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I just got home from Macworld Expo, and I spent some time looking around through the eyes of someone who cares about Web standards… The good: If you have OS X, and you don't have TextWrangler 2.0 from Bare Bones, go download it now. It's okay, I'll wait. Back now? Hey, ...
By Dori Smith | Filed in Authoring Tools
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
Recent Buzz
WCAG 2.0 is a W3C Recommendation
By Matt May | December 11th, 2008
After 9.5 years of work, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 have reached W3C Recommendation status. On behalf of the WaSP Accessibility Task Force, I’d like to welcome WCAG 2 officially into the pantheon of Web standards.
I think this tweet by caledoniaman sums up the level of anticipation:
WCAG 2.0 and a new Guns ‘n’ Roses album in the same year. What’s the world coming to.
Interesting comparison. They’ve each had about as many pre-releases. In any case, I can say, having spent over 8 years with it, that WCAG 2 is not as entertaining as Chinese Democracy. But I do think that it’s better equipped to stand the test of time.
If I had to pick one thing I’m most happy about, I’d say it’s that the HTML- and text-centrism in WCAG 1 is largely gone. In its place is a much more flexible (dare I say robust?) concept of accessibility-supported technology. So when newer technologies can show themselves to be directly accessible, they too can be used in WCAG 2-conformant content.
Over the years, many people have conflated “WCAG-conformant” with “accessible,” and that’s led to people making statements like: “Don’t use JavaScript–it’s inaccessible.” That’s bad for everyone, from users with disabilities who actually can work with JavaScript (which is to say, the vast majority), to Web designers and developers, to policymakers, to those developing new technologies.
With WCAG 2, “Don’t use x” is no longer valid. (Was it ever?) It is now up to you, the developer, to work on the direct accessibility of your content, no matter what technology you choose. I believe we’re about to experience a new wave of accessible design techniques, as a result.
But first, we need to flush “Don’t use x” out of our system. Some are accustomed to saying it about anything they’re not comfortable with. That’s only holding accessible design back. It’s time to learn what’s out there, today, and use it in everyday Web design. It’s time to make everyone’s Web more accessible. Have a look at the WCAG 2.0 Recommendation, and its supporting material. Then, start thinking about what a more accessible Web could be. We still have a lot of work to do.
Filed in Accessibility, Accessibility TF, W3C/Standards Documentation, Web Standards (general) | Comments (8)