New
research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds general enthusiasm
among disabled people for making services available on the web.
But users face a range of difficulties - including the cost of equipment
and in identifying appropriate assistive devices.
How
to find what you want on the web? That is the challenge which seamlessUK
sets out to face in the area of local and community information,
and the all-pervasive theme of its June conference. Dave Thompson
reports on some of the key issues raised on the day.
In
the most comprehensive examination yet of the accessibility of websites,
a year-long investigation for the DRC has found 80% of sites near
impossible for disabled people to use. It also found unacceptably
high levels of ignorance about accessibility issues among web designers.
The
16th Annual Conference of the Society of Public Information Networks
was held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on Friday
22 May 2004.