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Accessibility

Accessibility is an imperative in the networked world. It is an issue for both the physically-disabled computer user and the individual who wishes to communicate, produce and share information across international "borders" (i.e. location, culture and language). On the most basic level, this means that all operating systems and applications must be made available and easy-to-use for all audiences.

With its cross-platform and "write-once, run-everywhere" capabilities, Java is already the key ingredient for accessibility development. The recent collaborations between Sun, IBM and other groups on the design of the Java Accessibility API and JFCs is the first step. IBM's Java research and development in the areas of assistive technologies and application internationalization also continues to increase at an unprecedented rate. The end result, as evidenced by the following collection of whitepapers, articles, and technologies, will be a networked world more accessible to all...

Building Next-Generation Accessibility into Java
In many cases, people who have disabilities cannot use mainstream applications. Applications either do not take advantage of accessibility features provided by operating systems, or operating systems do not provide the infrastructure for developers to consistently build accessibility features into their applications. Fortunately, Java provides the ideal environment for solving these and other accessibility issues.
 
Re-directing Access: IBM's Outlook on Java, Accessibility and Special Needs
The Java environment includes the building blocks for "direct accessibility." For the first time in computing history, we have the opportunity to store accessibility information and export this very information to access software. Now the accessibility community and the Java development community need to work together.
 
Java Cookbook: Creating Global Applications
The emergence of the Internet and other distributed networks puts increasing importance on the ability to create global software -- that is, software that can be developed independently of the countries or languages of intended users and then translated for multiple countries or regions. Java 1.1 takes a major step forward in creating global applications and applets.
 
Making Educational Resources More Accessible
The Web is an outstanding educational resource. Making this resource widely available to students could have a tremendous impact on education. Java is an important key to making the Web more accessible--and that's not the only educational benefit of the Java environment.
 

Featured Technology

RealThings
RealThings include computer applications developed in Java whose interface style uses functional representations of real-world objects, such as books, phones, and CDs. Seeing familiar objects makes the transition into the computer realm smoother for new users, and can make tasks easier for advanced users as well. RealThings use realistic images, animation, and sound to create a natural, intuitive and more accessible interface. Books open to pages and tabs, CDs open and play, and phones ring and contain a pull-out tray with a phone number list.
 

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