The following is an article I have taken some time over my spring break
to write. I hope it helps some blind users access even more
information.
A couple of months ago I began to notice something interesting happening
on the enormous world of the internet. It horrified me at first but I
have found that there is a solution.
I have been on the net for over 2 years now. At first, email, telnet,
and ftp were the only standards in wide use and they were great things. Not
only were users able to use these tools to retrieve vast amounts of
information but there was nothing in the way of graphics that hampered
access to the blind. While the requirement to remember an incredible
amount of information necessary to keep track of the various domains
for all of the systems was quite a pain it worked great.
Then the wonderful world of gopher came along. Many information
resources became available on a great little critter that even allowed
you to search much information stored on hundreds of
computers around the world. Yes, it was headed for graphics but it was
still very friendly to blind users on the net. There was a choice
between using arrow keys and pressing numbers that were to the left of
each option. For many of us either selection method worked equally
well. For some, due to such problems as terminal emulation, using the
numbers was necessary. But, it was far from difficult to use this
critter. Granted, the gopher critter is still frequently utilized to
provide information on the internet. However, I began to notice a
disturbing trend on the internet. Applications were becomming graphical
in nature. There have sprung up numerous internet tools for Microsoft
Windows, Macintosh systems, and Unix boxes running interfaces like
X-Windows. I began to think we were going to have a problem. "We still
might if screen access doesn't improve faster than its current rate but
we still have some time." I will now discuss the new trend of providing
information via a new interface known as World Wide Web.
When I first heard about World Wide Web (WWW) I began to worry. Those
who discussed it on the net and here at school talked about it in terms
of X-Windows and the X-terminals down in our Computing Commons. I
thought, "Wow, here is another system we are locked out of until adaptive
technology companies and researchers get their acts together." I also
noticed new services coming online with no gopher access. I was worried
since I had become dependent on the friendly interface of gopher. Two
examples of Web only services are the mtv.com system operated by Adam
Curry and the Palo Alto Weekly newspaper experiment. Actually, the
gopher on mtv.com still exists but Adam was quoted as saying that he was
only going to be updating the material on the WWW server. Well, I used
my ability to get around and found us blind users a solution.
I have been a member of the National Federation of the Blind for a
considerable time now (over 6 years). "Well, it's a considerable time
for me anyhow." As I wrote the message to adam@mtv.com complaining about
the problem with using WWW for the blind I remembered that we are taught
that we are not to allow our blindness to get in the way of accomplishing
our goals. We are to compete on equal terms with the sighted. I also
remembered mentions of a program called Lynx which was a text-based WWW
interface. Before my revelation I figured, "well, the web uses hypertext
and this depends on highlighted text so how can it possibly work for the
blind?" I decided to give it a fair chance.
I was quite surprised to find that the Web is fairly accessible to us
afterall. No, we can't access any of the image files in a meaningful way
but we can most definitely see the text. As I mentioned earlier, the web
uses hypertext. WWW uses the concept of a universal resource locater
(url) which keeps track of documents that are stored on computers
throughout the world. It works like this:
The user activates the web program and is placed on the home page of a
default server. This page not only has relevant information for that
institution but also points the way to other resources. One selects
items on the web by placing the cursor on various parts of the screen
that contain highlighting. These are known as hypertext links. When a
link is selected the relevant document or page is brought up. I guess
It's supposed to be like using a hypertext document on a standalone
computer from something like Hypercard but I wouldn't know that yet.
The user also has the choice to specify an url on another machine
directly to facilitate quick access to needed information. So, I will
now spill the beans on how Lynx works.
As I have stated earlier, Lynx is text-based. However, there are still
hypertext links and all the concepts that come with them. Lynx allows
the user to select links by pressing the up and down arrow keys only.
The cursor is placed on the first letter of the current link. The up and
down arrows move between links. There are often several links on a
line. The up key moves to the left and wraps up while the down key moves
to the right and then wraps down. The user presses either the right
arrow or the enter key to select a link. The left arrow key is used to
go back up to the previous level. That would be where you were at before
selecting the link.
Reading links is not difficult. As I said earlier, the cursor is put on
the first letter of the link you are pointing at. The user simply
directs his/her screen access software to read the current line. Often,
there are several links on that line. The user then gets more specific
by reading the current word. This word is the first word of the
link in question. Since links normally consist of a couple of words it
is easy to figure out which words on that line consist of your link.
Once the user figures out this process he/she will master reading lines
that consist of 3 or more links.
A braille display completely solves this problem. Since at least a forth
of the line is on the braille display at one time the user can feel where
the cursor is located and the words following it. Often, the link is
right under the user's fingers or one advance of the display away from
complete visibility. Of course, the display's cursor tracking function
must be active when using Lynx in order to have this benefit. I
recommend, when humanly possible, the use of both speech and braille when
using Lynx.
To "go" to another url press the g key. There will be a prompt asking
where to go. The user must type an url in the form:
http://uu-gna.mit.edu:8001
and press enter. This is a real example. If you have Lynx ( or any
other web browser for that matter) try this. The page selected is on an
MIT computer and one of the links is the Globewide Network Academy. Move
up or down to find this link and press enter. Select various links by
moving, reading the ccurrent word, and pressing the enter or right arrow
key. Remember that left
arrow always goes back up one level. Don't worry, it is difficult to
mess up WWW. Press the q key when ready to quit Lynx and absorb these
concepts.
That's about all there is to the basics of WWW. I have told you
virtually everything I know about this subject at this point. Howevwer,
this information is enough to help us navigate through much information
stored on web servers throughout the world. I hope this explanation
helps at least a few blind users out there. You may email or call me at
anytime. Please don't send any print-only snail mail though as I simply
will not read it till my rehab counsellor gets his act together and
delivers the new OCR system that is being or has been ordered. Below is
my contact information:
Darrell Shandrow
600 E. University Drive
Manzanita Hall
Box 233
Tempe, AZ 85281-2030
(602) 784-0211.
Internet: nu7i@indirect.com
Other internet addresses:
shandrow@enuxsa.eas.asu.edu
audxs@acvax.inre.asu.edu
GeNie: d.shandrow2
Packet radio:
nu7i@n6qmy (directly forwarded to internet)
nu7i@kc7y.az.usa.na (home pbbs)
73
Darrell Shandrow at Arizona State University
Member: National Federation of the Blind
(The complete information access agenda - You print it you braille it too!)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Dec 02 2012 - 01:30:03 PST