Alternative Google Color Schemes

Following up on my earlier post about the lack of accessible Vista themes and my current feelings on standard internet color schemes, I posted the following to the accessible Google Group: Alternative Google Color Schemes - accessible | Google Groups

For the visually impaired, Google's (as well as MS and most websites) color scheme is downright bad. Does Google have or could it develop an alternative accessible co or scheme? Not only should it be high contrast, but also light-on-dark. For me, I like yellow-on-black. Firefox and IE allow users to impose color schemes while browsing, but this method changes all text and background to the same two colors. This ruins the full use of each page. For example, in Gmail, the star feature becomes useless.For another, regular text and hyperlinks become indistinguishable. So this solution is only partial. This remains true for other websites and for Windows as well. Both Vista and XP have high-contrast color schemes, but there are both aesthetically unappealing (Visually impaired does not equal aesthetically unaware) and more problematic then helpful. Is this something that Google could/will implement? Is this something a third-party could do well? There are some third party tools (e.g. Firefox's Accessibar), but none are subtle enough to retain the full nature of each web page. Is anyone up for the challenge? Thanks! PS Can someone create a nice Vista/XP theme with accessible and aesthetic colors and font sizes

I will relay any useful responses.

Fast Food Menus

Yet another gripe I have are the wall menus at fast food joints. From food court Burger King to local McAlister's Deli to the airport Starbuck's, all of these places have their menus on the wall, but no handy large print paper menu on hand. Asking the over-worked and under-trained cashier for help picking your meal either ends up in confusion or inappropriate questions and always holds up the line full of hungry folks. When I was a kid, I always picked and memorized one thing, "doublecheeseburgerlargefiriesandacoke". This worked well for McDonald's and BK's, but did not extend well to other spots. It definitely does not work today since I do not eat at either burger joint anymore. [See Fast Food Nation.] Why can't these places have a hard copy of the menu available?

I know that some do, usually a take-out menu. This is useful, but it would not cost these big franchisers a lot to design and distribute a large print version. Some might say that the menus are available (mostly) on the web, but who is going to print out and carry around a binder full of menus on the off-chance they hit a fast food spot that day?

Food for thought.

Inaccessible Web Design

This is what a bad website looks like after I have set the font sizes so that I can read them. This is from Audible.com.

[Audible]

Off-Topic: Changing Things

I am a big believer in fixing problems that I find. I recently discovered some locations incorrectly mapped on Google. I submitted a correction to Google, but I also let the affected businesses know. Here is a copy of my exchange with one of them.

Their response:

wecare@m400.alexlee.com to me Good afternoon, Thank you for contacting the Lowes Foods Customer Care Center. Thank you for bring this to our attention. We have forwarded your comments to the appropriate company official. Thank you for giving Lowes Foods the opportunity to serve you better and for shopping at Lowes Foods. Leslie Robbins Lowes Foods Customer Care Center

My email:

to lfscustomercare Your location at the Chatham Crossing Shopping Center in Chapel hIll is incorrectly mapped on Google Maps. It shown across from Southern Village here, As you know, it should be listed here. I submitted this to their contact us page, buy I am only a user. As an effected business, your request is more likely to be heeded. The reason I am sending you this is that I am legally blind. I live in ... and google mapped some nearby stores (CVS, Lowes, etc.) and found them to be ... Imagine my surprise when I went for a walk and never found them. Please see if you can have this fixed to save some other poor soul this trouble. Thank you

I hope this works. Either way, I will keep trying.

Response on Cell Phon High-Contrast Color Schemes

I had a response form Verizon (who obviously did not read my initial message carefully) which just blew me off. Here is the response and my response:

As I said in the original message, I had difficulty testing each phone in the store. First, the store's inventory did not match the online store's inventory. Second, I was unable to turn on many models. Lastly, it was not easy to search for the correct font/display.color/theme settings on each phone that I could turn on since I am legally blind. Can you at least suggest it to Verizon's accessibility team that they (1) test each phone for high-contrast color scheme options and publish the results and (2) they suggest /require the suppliers to add high-contrast color scheme options if they do not already have them? Thank you. On 4/27/06, Verizon Wireless Customer Service S - Hide quoted text - wrote: Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website. I appreciate your inquiry regarding starting service with Verizon Wireless. My name is Desmond, and I am happy to assist you today. Unfortunately, I am unable to inform you which handsets have the contrast capabilities you are in need of because I do not have each handset available to test for you. I would recommend visiting your closest Verizon Wireless direct store which will have working models of the handsets we offer for you to test. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. To obtain a list of stores in your area, please click on the following link, which will direct you to our "Store Locator" page: www.verizonwireless.com/storelocator We provide three options to choose from for obtaining new service with us: 1. You may place orders online by clicking on the following link, www.verizonwireless.com/plans which will direct you to the "Plans" page of our website. 2. You may visit a local Verizon Wireless store in your area, where a sales representative will be happy to assist you. To obtain a list of stores in your area, please click on the following link www.verizonwireless.com/storelocator which will direct you to the "Store Locator" page of our website. 3. Additionally, service may be ordered over the telephone by calling our Verizon Wireless Sales Department at 1-800-2-JOIN-IN (256-4646). A representative will be happy to assist you with your request. We appreciate your business. Please contact us at our website for any of your future needs. Again, thank you for using Verizon Wireless products and services. Sincerely, Desmond Verizon Wireless Customer Service "We never stop working for you!" If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by replying to this e-mail and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof. If you are the intended recipient and are a Verizon Wireless customer, this response is subject to the terms of your Customer Agreement.

So to whom can I write, if I want a real reesponse?

High-contrast Cell Phones

I am looking at getting a new cell phone. I don't need a fully voice-controlled, phone, but I would like one where the text is large and easy to read. I am having a hard time finding one. Companies do not advertise high contrast text settings, even if they have them.

My wife and I are currently planning to leave our current cell phone provider and are strongly considering Verizon. The main issue is that I am legally blind with partial sight. I don't need the text-to-speech features of the LG VX 4500. I need a phone with a clearly legible text where the font color contrasts sharply with the background color (black on white, white 0r yellow on black, etc). I went to a Verizon store to check the phones, but it was not possible to check many phone (the stores inventory did not match the website, many of the phone on display could not be turned on and it was not easy to check the Display Settings of the phones that were on). Is there a way to find out which phones have high-contrast color themes? The only one I could find is the CDM 8945, but I don't need all the VCAST features and don't want to have to pay for them. A serious attempt to help would be appreciated.

UPDATE: I have posted a link to a review of the Jitterbug phone. The Jitterbug might be the best phone for folks with low, but functional, vision.

On the Side: Inaccessible accessibility

A couple of months ago, the Times' David Pogue wrote an article, Spending Time to Save Time, about why we do not take enough advantage of available computer technology that could make our lives easier, more productive or both. The lessons Pogue discusses apply directly to adoption of any level of 'assistive technology' whether it is a fancy screen reader or a simple Internet Explorer trick to make the text larger. I have spent countless hours finding these little ways to make using my computer easier and it has been an investment too high for most people. I would like to extend Mr. Pogue's call on software makers to make accessibility feature more accessible.

Accessibility Switch

The technology guy for the NY Times posted some thought about an issue that had not crossed my mind, "But What About the Color Blind?". I think that browsers should come with some default accessibility option. I do not mean the complicated range of options available now, but a simple on/off switch. This switch would automatically reformat all websites in some easy to read, high contrast and nice looking style, something that uniformly addresses the widest range of accessibility issues. For more advanced users, they could leave all the tweaks available now. For those who prefer simplicity, this accessibility switch could make a huge difference in the quality of internet life. Such a feature on publicly available machines, at kiosks or in computer labs for example, would allow anyone to make the web accessible with the touch of a single button. I suspect that the technology exists already. There is something called a style sheet that controls the look and feel of a web site. All it would take is a web designer could develop a style sheet with the characteristics listed above and the browser designers incorporated a single button that strained all web content through that style sheet.