Screen readers

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Google Maps make Sydney public transport directions accessible

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Google and Transport New South Wales have teamed up to introduce Sydney public transport directions to the Google Maps app.  After testing, we can safely say that accessibility has been a key consideration in the feature’s development.

Media Access Australia staff tested the public transport option in the Google Maps app for iPhone and found it is accessible via the VoiceOver screen reader. This means people who are blind or vision impaired will now have greater access to information on Sydney’s trains, buses, ferries and light rail services when using the Google Maps app on the Apple iPhone.

Information that can be accessed through the public transport option on the Google Maps app includes:

Taxonomy: 
General
Blind or vision impaired
Digital technology
Web
News
Practical web accessibility
Digital media and technology: 
iOS
iPhone
Screen readers
VoiceOver
Smartphones
News alert taxonomy: 
Blind/vision impaired Digital Technology & Online Media news

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Free and mobile screen readers on the rise

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The use of free screen reader NVDA and screen readers on mobile devices has increased significantly over the last year, according to a survey conducted by WebAim. The results of the Screen Reader User Survey, conducted in May this year, has shown that the popularity of commercial screen readers such as JAWS and Windows-Eyes have waned in the last year while use of NVDA has increased in the same period. Screen readers on mobile devices have also become more popular in the last year.

The survey, which received 1782 valid responses, was a follow-up to the original WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey of January 2009 and the follow-up survey from December 2010.

Taxonomy: 
General
Digital technology
News
Digital media and technology: 
NVDA
Screen readers
VoiceOver
News alert taxonomy: 
Blind/vision impaired Digital Technology & Online Media news

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In it together: NVDA gets help from Adobe on PDF compatibility

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Adobe has announced it is working with NV Access to improve the accessibility of its Portable Document Files (PDFs) with the free, open source screen reader NVDA.

According to a statement on the Adobe website, Adobe will help NV Access, the team behind NVDA, to improve the way the screen reader interacts with Adobe’s PDFs. In addition to PDFs, Adobe will help NV Access improve how its screen reader works with eBooks viewed in the Adobe Digital Editions software.

Taxonomy: 
General
Digital technology
News
Digital media and technology: 
NVDA
Screen readers
eReaders
News alert taxonomy: 
Blind/vision impaired Digital Technology & Online Media news

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A screen reader for everyone: why the world needs NVDA

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In 2006, two Australian friends were frustrated with the expensive screen readers on the market. They decided to do something about it and created the first open source, free screen reader, NVDA. Funded by donations, the NV Access organisation is a labour of love for founders Mick Curran and Jamie Teh, who devote their time to ensuring that NVDA is the best it can be.

NVDA, or Non Visual Desktop Access, allows blind users to access the web and applications within Microsoft Windows by translating text and other elements into synthetic speech. Screen readers have been around for decades and are regarded as the go-to assistive technology for blind users.

Taxonomy: 
General
Digital technology
News
Practical web accessibility
Digital media and technology: 
NVDA
Screen readers
News alert taxonomy: 
Blind/vision impaired Digital Technology & Online Media news

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