Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Gmail accessibility issues
If you are sight-impaired then waiting for Gmail to release a more accessible version could be the only option. Gmail accessibility [dive into mark]:
Furthermore, the most innovative feature of Gmail the global keyboard shortcuts appears to have been designed by vi users (j moves down, k moves up, and we are expected to memorize multi-key sequences for navigation). Yet by using fake links everywhere, Gmail throws away the most basic web feature, breaks useful browser-level innovations like Mozilla's Find as you type, and breaks third-party products like JAWS and WindowEyes. So the target market for Gmail appears to be vi users who use Internet Explorer, and have a working pair of eyes. In short, the only way to use Gmail is the way that the Gmail designers use Gmail. The only way Gmail could be less accessible is if the entire site were built in Flash. Update April 13, 2004: Kevin Fox, a user interface designer at Google, says Google is aware of these problems, and that accessibility is very important to them.
TD 7:13 AM