Microsoft's stated mission is to enable people and businesses to reach their full potential. They "deliver on that promise by striving to create technology that is accessible to everyone—including people who experience the world in different ways because of impairments and disabilities." 1 Microsoft touts the accessibilty of its products at http://www.microsoft.com/enable/. The site contains product information, demos, tutorials, research reports, and case studies. Also on the site, the company also outlines four areas in which its accessibility efforts are councentrated.
Microsoft builds accessibility tools into their software. The Vista Operating System includes an Ease of Access Center, speech recognition, a magnifier, a text-to-speech navigator, captioning, an on-screen keyboard, mouse alterntives, and visual notifications. Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer contain similar tools designed to allow for increased productivity and ease of navigation on the Internet. A cursory examination of these tools indicates a bit of a learning curve is involved.
Microsoft provides leadership and awareness. The company publishes matrials, runs resource centers, helps schools and businesses, and works with industry leaders.
Microsoft researches innovations. The company funds research, hosts an accessibility center, works with manufactures, and develops user interface automation. Several of the white papers on their website show potential for indepth study.
Microsoft collaborates with other organizations. The company works with government agencies, NGOs, other businesses, industry organizations, and advocacy groups. The Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA), Alliance for Technology Access (ATA), Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs (ATAP), the DAISY Consortium, and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) are just a few of the named groups.
So far this post sounds like a commercial for Microsoft. (Full disclosure: I am a very very minor shareholder and a PC user.) I think the first place to start in any study is at the source. Microsoft products are the most widely used on computers and thus their commitment to accessibility will have a large impact on what is available to persons with disabilities. The assistive technology products, leadership, research, and organizations mentioned here bear further investigation. They will be the topics for posts in the near future.
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