The tech industry still has a long way to go when it comes to accessibility

As many in the accessibility community will tell you, inclusive design isn’t an endeavor that’s “one and done.” It’s a continuous, ongoing effort to ensure that as new products and services are made, people with different needs or disabilities aren’t left out. Over the last three years, Engadget has produced a report, in addition to our regular coverage, that looks back on the developments in the tech industry that impact the accessibility community, focusing on the largest companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta. Of course, there are plenty of other big companies to consider, like Uber, Airbnb, Netflix and more. But the six we’ve selected have an outsized impact and influence on the industry..Last year, we saw significant developments that could pave the way for more accessible designs in future, such as the opening of Microsoft’s Inclusive Tech Lab. In October, the University of Illinois (UIUC) partnered with Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft on a Speech Accessibility Project to improve voice recognition for those with atypical speech patterns that AI algorithms rarely consider. But there were also major setbacks, such as Elon Musk dismantling the accessibility team at Twitter, amid everything else that happened in that hellhole.All around the industry, we saw pieces of news that showed greater interest overall in accessible products and design. According to LinkedIn’s vice president of engineering, Erran Berger, there has been a 33 percent... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-01-16 15:00:07 UTC ]
News tagged with: #mainstream audience #apple books

Other Publishing stories related to: 'The tech industry still has a long way to go when it comes to accessibility'


Coronavirus Response: Spain’s Publishing Industry Mobilizes Bookstore Support

Asking consumers to remember what booksellers mean to them, Spain's publishing industry associations roll out a campaign to reopen book retailers. The post Coronavirus Response: Spain’s Publishing Industry Mobilizes Bookstore Support appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-04 13:07:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus response #bookstore #publishing industry


Black Lives Matter in the book industry

It’s early 2012 and a young boy is walking home when he is fatally shot in the back by a neighbourhood watch officer. The officer claims the boy – only seventeen at the time – was reaching for a gun. All the boy had on him was a packet of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea. Now it’s the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-02 22:33:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #young boy #book industry #walking home #fatally shot


What to buy your dad who's hopelessly low-tech

My dad once downloaded an e-book in French. (He speaks Brooklyn English.) Another time he texted saying he needed help immediately. He’s fallen and he can’t get up, I thought. Turns out, he needed help purchasing a gift basket through Amazon Prime. I... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-06-01 12:00:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon prime #e-book


10 of the Most Accessible Poets in English Literature

How many times have you heard someone say, ‘I don’t read poetry. I just don’t get it.’ Or perhaps, ‘Why can’t poets just come out and say what they want to say? Why say something in such a way?’ For many people, poetry is ‘difficult’. But whilst it’s true that […] The post 10 of the Most... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2020-05-30 14:00:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #interesting literature #english literature


The Book Industry Charitable Foundation Has Never Been Busier Helping Bookstores

Last August, I wrote about the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, or “Binc,” a Michigan-based non-profit created to support booksellers who have fallen on hard times. If a bookseller winds up in the hospital or a bookstore has a flood, Binc can step in and pay their bills, no questions asked... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-29 08:48:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #support booksellers #hard times #questions asked #bookstore #bookseller #book industry


NPD’s Kristen McLean on the US Industry: Weathering the Pandemic

Having dropped up to 2.5 million units in its worst 'acute COVID period' week, Kristin McLean says the US publishing industry needs to assess, predict, and harden weak spots for challenges ahead. The post NPD’s Kristen McLean on the US Industry: Weathering the Pandemic appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-27 12:33:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post npd #pandemic appeared #kristen mclean #challenges ahead #publishing industry


New Tech, Fewer Reporters: Challenges Facing South Asian Newsrooms Post-COVID

Editors from several South Asian news publishers including The Quint (India), The Hindu (India), Times of India (India) and The Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-05-26 18:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers including


‘The Motion of the Body Through Space’ is a fitness industry satire weighed down by its own heavy-handedness

Lionel Shriver’s novel is more determined to make its point than to make us consider what it means to tend a body for the long haul. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-26 15:48:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lionel shriver #long haul


Cuts at The Atlantic Set Off Alarm Bells for the Industry

Even as layoffs, pay cuts and indefinite furloughs become an almost daily occurrence in the media industry, news about such developments grows no less tragic and alarming. Such was the case Thursday morning, when Atlantic Media chairman David Bradley revealed in a staff memo that, despite... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-21 16:30:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #financially viable #full ownership #feel optimistic #monthly traffic #audience growth


Bradshaw launches literary agency to help crack open 'London-centric' industry

Sophie Bradshaw, former non-fiction publisher at The History Press, has launched a new literary agency and editorial consultancy, drawing on her 17 years’ experience in the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-21 08:11:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #non-fiction publisher #history press #literary agency


Meredith Taps ‘Access Hollywood’ EP for ‘People’ TV Series | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_180858" align="alignright" width="150"] Rob Silverstein[/caption] Meredith Corp. is planning to launch a syndicated daily TV show based on the People brand, the company said Tuesday, bringing on longtime "Access Hollywood" showrunner Rob Silverstein as executive... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-20 20:57:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lsc communications #clarion events


The Australian Book Industry Awards’ Digital Show: Undaunted by COVID-19

The transfer of the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards arrives as a slickly edited, expertly produced video evocation of the usual onstage event, full of personality and comedy. The post The Australian Book Industry Awards’ Digital Show: Undaunted by COVID-19 appeared first on Publishing... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-20 16:56:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book industry


A Reading List for Kids on Their Very Long Summer Break

We've got suggestions for classics to rediscover, what to read if your brother is driving you nuts, plus ideas to help you process this whole Covid situation. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2020-05-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The New Normal: How Industry Magazines Are Navigating the Pandemic

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact publishing is still coming into focus, and, as our content director noted last month, will likely take years to fully assess. Absent the luxury of planning years, months or even weeks into the future, publishers of all sizes have been forced... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-05-19 18:45:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #real estate #real deal #non-subscribers alike #state level #editorial side


Latitudes of Longing: An Epic of Ghosts and Glaciers

A debut novel reminds us that the earth itself is alive, and that even in our isolation we are members of a changing world. Continue reading at Guernica

[ Guernica | 2020-05-19 12:00:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #changing world #debut novel


Puffin dreams big with week-long online festival

Puffin is launching a seven-day online festival in partnership with Waterstones on 8th June, The Festival of Big Dreams, featuring a range of its authors and illustrators including Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-18 04:40:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #big dreams #puffin


The long fight for reproductive rights is only getting harder

Three books about the roadblocks for women seeking abortion — or simply dignity and control over their bodies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-05-13 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long fight #reproductive rights


First Quarter Industry Report: The Coronavirus Hits China’s Publishing

A first assessment of the Chinese market, January to March, shows physical bookstore sales plunging 60+ percent, printing stalled, supply chain disrupted. The post First Quarter Industry Report: The Coronavirus Hits China’s Publishing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-05 03:15:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing appeared #chinese market #bookstore sales


Socked by virus, comic book industry tries to draw next page

The comic book shop has long been a wall-to-wall repository for tales of world-threatening cataclysms and doomsday dystopias but it has never before been drawn into a fight for survival like the coronavirus pandemic Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2020-05-01 08:02:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus pandemic #comic book