Quote:
Originally Posted by Sil_liS
The logic of the waiver is like this: the manufacturers are aware that ACS capable devices have to comply with the accessibility laws, and they are going to manufacture compliant tablets; however the current eink e-readers have gray-scale screens with slow refresh rates and in the words of the waiver: "if users attempt to access ACS on an e-reader device, the user experience would not be robust and likely would not encourage future use for ACS".
So color video capable eink has to keep missing from e-readers forever in order for the manufacturers to have a reason for keeping the e-readers exempt from accessibility laws indefinitely as opposed to temporarily the way other classes of devices got waivers.
And color eink with fast refresh rates would be nice. Yes, I am aware that most of us just read text which is black letters on white background (well, technically it's dark gray text on light gray background) but I think that the average consumer is happier to have 16 shades of gray instead of two, and is happier with faster turning pages for a more seamless reading experience.
If the manufacturers receive the exemption, e-readers won't see any great improvements anymore, because improvements would encourage future use for ACS, which would remove the reason for exemption. And as I said before, they made it clear that they want this to be a permanent situation.
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I don't see how a color screen no matter how fast would help a blind person to read on an ereader.
I also don't think that ereaders are the only devices using screens, speakers, fast microprocessors, etc. Development will continue I am sure and be used in ereaders.
And human nature being what it is someone will be working on meeting the minimum ACS requirements in the hopes of cornering the library market for ereaders so a waiver means only that libraries are not required by law to buy only ereaders that are ACS compliant. If one can be made someone will eventually make it.
I think the legislation itself would do more to slow down ereader development by making them more expensive, heavier, and less robust software wise. Unlikely as it sounds some manufacturers are having a hard time producing stable software as it is.
The ereader market is slowing down to a point that ereader manufacturers have to make their products better to sell them.
Someone will make a more ACS compliant ereader and someone else will top them. Trying to force every ereader to be ACS compliant will just cause more manufacturers to turn to tablets instead and slow development more.
Imagine if every car sold had to be fully ACS compliant. And while they don't have to be, development is still going on and their are many cars with features for the handicapped. If for example every vehicle had to have a wheelchair lift, a lot more people would be walking.
Helen