Spider Trax

Dutch Government Promotes Web Accessibility

In September 2006, a Dutch “Ministerial Decision” regarding the quality of government web sites came into force. As I understand it, a “Ministerial Decision” is not a “law” but is something a Minister can proclaim without needing to get approval from the legislators.

This particular document makes certain accessibility levels mandatory on all new government web sites and further demands that all existing sites achieve these levels by 2011. The document supports and endorses W3C guidelines but, suprisingly, it’s own guidelines go beyond WCAG 1.0 and are being hailed as a blueprint for modern, standards-compliant web development as a whole.

Dutch Government Promotes Web Accessibility: continue reading …

IE7, Screen Readers And Screen Enlargers

With the release of Internet Explorer 7 (IE7), questions have been raised as to how well the new browser will integrate with current screen readers and magnifiers and whether users of these products should update to IE7 immediately or remain with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) for now until they upgrade their existing software.

The Microsoft IE Accessibility Team suggest that users of Assistive Technology (AT) should check with the manufacturer of their product about compatibility with IE7. That said, they believe there are several currently available products, or public betas, that do support IE7 and that users of these products should install IE7 as soon as possible.

IE7, Screen Readers And Screen Enlargers: continue reading …

US organisations liable under UK law?

Until recently, it was assumed that the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) only applied to organisations, and web sites, within the UK. However, a recent successful complaint brought under the DDA might just change that assumption.

US organisations liable under UK law?: continue reading …