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'


Newsweek's Long, Strange Return to Print

Newsweek's return to print is the latest development in an odd timeline for the once-storied magazine. It's changed ownership four times, employed four CEOs and had three editors-in-chief since 2010. It's awkward liaise with the Daily Beast and swings between layoffs and hiring flurries add to... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest development #daily beast


BEA and ABA team up with Toy Industry Association

BookExpo America (BEA) and the American Booksellers Association (ABA) have teamed up with the Toy... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Amazon’s Australian Kindle store: an unhappy ending for the book industry?

Amazon has been prising open the wallets of Australian consumers for years – but what will its local push on Kindle mean for readers, writers and publishers?Ben Eltham Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book industry


Obama's tech wizard hones his media weapons to help Miliband get to No 10

He was the scourge of Mitt Romney in the 2012 US election, now Obama's 'backroom Brit' is heading Labour's digital response team for its 2015 campaignIn his new book about the 2012 US presidential election campaign, the Time journalist Mark Halperin singles out the role played by a young Briton... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2013-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #higher quality #daily mail


Is Self-Publishing and Open Access Viable for Art Publishing?

A German art foundation is experimenting with an open-access self-published monograph as an ebook. Could this be a model for other institutions looking for greater exposure? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


No Game Without Drama: Slovenia’s Publishing Industry in Turmoil

With one of Slovenia's two major publishing conglomerates up for auction, the industry fears the worst; readers, meanwhile, have rallied around a surprise bestseller. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing industry #surprise bestseller


Tech firms furious after denied full view of government reply to FISA court

Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and LinkedIn are objecting to the U.S. government's decision to provide them only a redacted version of its response to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to a request by the companies that they be allowed to publish information on users' data requests... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #redacted version #publish information #greater transparency #edward snowden #phone data


Study: Booze Industry Breaks its Own Underage Ad Rules

The alcohol industry has violated its own rules aimed at keeping booze ads away from under-age viewers, government and university researchers allege in a new report.Beer and liquor marketers have since 2003 pledged to show ads only on TV programs, magazines and web sites where adult viewers... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tv programs #web sites #public health


Digital Printing Moves Beyond the Long Tail

There have been great advances in short-run digital printing (SRDP) and print-on-demand (POD) technologies over the last decade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long tail


Kindle First provides early access to unreleased books

When it comes to reading, I use a Kindle PaperWhite. I hate paper books with a passion -- they take up space and are obsolete. The Kindle is wonderful because it allows me to easily bookmark pages, look up definitions, and scan the book for certain words with the x-ray feature. An Amazon Prime... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle paperwhite #early access #x-ray feature


London Book Fair's Return to ExCel Raises Industry Concerns

Concern is mounting among the publishing community, in London and elsewhere, over a possible relocation of the London Book Fair to the ExCel Exhibition Centre in Docklands, the far east of the capital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing community


Are Unpaid Publishing Industry Internships Unethical?

Paying publishing interns 'zero' is not only unethical, but a likely indication you'll probably never hire them in the first place, writes Ashley Mosley. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


The New Growth Industry: English to Tamil Translations

Tamil publishers are increasingly eager to find bestselling books to translate from English to Tamil, but there is little reciprocity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #growth industry


Polish Ebook Industry Players Eye Rapid Market Expansion

By nixing DRM and selling in the MOBI format, Poland’s ebook players are making strides forward, but the market is still fragmented. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Year-long promotion for Bear Hunt

The 25th anniversary of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bear hunt #25th anniversary #michael rosen #helen oxenbury


Fortune's Most Powerful Women List Has Lots of Tech Stars, With She-Can-Do-Anything Spotlight on Facebook's Sandberg

I say we scramble all the private jets in Silicon Valley and get the "Lean In" book star to D.C. to lean on some pols to open the government again, tout de suite! Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #silicon valley


Scribd, HarperCollins deal casts long digital shadow

Whether publishers want it or not, the Netflix model is coming to the book business.The San Francisco startup Scribd, best known as a site for posting PDFs of documents, announced Tuesday it is launching a multi-platform digital book subscription service that will provide access to a wide range... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary agent #message directly #forrester research #attractive option


Tech Firms Rally, Expecting Justice Department to Oppose Transparency Requests

Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo and other tech companies today sent a letter to the heads of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees in support of proposed legislation that would allow them to publish statistics about secret national security... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #proposed legislation #justice department #disclose information #user data


Self-Publishing and the Industry: Implications and Impact

A discussion with nine experts from Frankfurt Academy's CONTEC 2013 interactive learning lab on self-publishing's implications for the industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #frankfurt academy


Oyster Offers Access Instead of Ownership

Launched a little over a week ago with much media fanfare, Oyster is a New York City–based e-reading startup that offers consumers an all-you-can-read ebook subscription model for $9.95 a month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #week ago