ODF Apps to Work for the Blind

A key application interface -- called iAccessible2 -- has been developed to enable ODF-ready applications (like OpenOffice.org) to be rapidly developed to work well with screen-readers and other assistive computer technologies that help the blind access visual information. iAccessible2 has been donated to Project Missouri, where work will continue.

This removes a friction from ODF's go-to-market progress as well as increases long-term levels of competition in assistive technologies software markets. Expect new open source and commercial entrants into the AT space, made feasible by the iAccessible2 API. And you will see companies including Freedom Scientific -- a segment leader & maker of the dominant but cludgey JAWS screenreader and MAGic screen magnifier -- being driven to improve their products faster due to the ability of OpenOffice.org (instead of only MS Office) to work with their products on Windows. As the Linux market grows, a Linux port of these products is inevitable.

This is unquestionably good for blind people, who have suffered from very poor software quality from AT providers, due to the high cost and low competition providers have traditionally faced in serving such a small market niche. (The percentage of computer users who are blind is significantly below 10%.)

Lack of integration with assistive technologies has hurt open source applications and open standards like ODF in market penetration this year. One prominent example was in Massachusetts, where ODF policies and ODF software testing were hindered by the practical & political concerns of the Disability Community facing potentially disruptive software change. Massachusetts corrected the situation by organizing an assistive technologies task force and now the existence of this key programming interface will go beyond solving the problem by creating more and better software options for the blind and people with other kinds of handicaps.

The ITD also signed a commitment with the Massachusetts Office on Disability and the state's Department of Health and Human Service to design, procure, certify and develop training for software that is accessible to people with disabilities, according to a document obtained by Computerworld. The memorandum of understanding also calls for ITD to establish a unit devoted to accessible technology.

Carol Sliwa | ComputerWorld (18 Aug 2006)

The moves in Massachusetts as well as the swift progress on the development of iAccessible2 API are natural progressions in the market penetration of open source, Free and open standard software. The work had to be done, and will soon solve important requirements that have held back penetration; additionally they will help influence Microsoft and other software vendors to compete more fairly & effectively.

IBM has donated its contributions to iAccessible2 in Project Missouri to the Free Standards Group. Also, Sun, Oracle and SAP AG are participating in the work.

Mozilla Project, too, intends to incorporate the iAccessible2 API into the Firefox browser -- making text on web pages readable through text-to-speech devices. (The Firefox counter reports 268 million Firefox downloads today.)

This is why we support open source & Free software: because it improves in quality and improves peoples lives at a visible rate.

Elizabeth Montalbano | InfoWorld (13 Dec 2006)

UPDATE: Ian Murdock, CTO of Free Standards Group, has an interesting post on this topic.