Amazon, Kobo and Sony request e-readers be exempt from accessibility laws

[applesauce]

I have MS, and today is not a good day. My brain is as slow as a wet week. Can somebody please explain the reality of this. Could it affect things like weight, font sizing, availability of eink.

thanks
applesauce

[Elfwreck]

I've skimmed over the request; I think it comes down to how, exactly, ACS is legally defined, and what features are normally mandated to make it compliant.

I'll go with "e-ink ereaders should not be required to provide subtitles for videos." I'm much less sanguine about "should not be required to provide text-to-speech options for email;" I know several people who use their e-ink readers for gmail. (And providing TTS for email and their browsers would push them in the direction of supplying speech-based navigation menus, which is one of the stumbling blocks keeping them out of public schools.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I'm much less sanguine about "should not be required to provide text-to-speech options for email;" I know several people who use their e-ink readers for gmail. (And providing TTS for email and their browsers would push them in the direction of supplying speech-based navigation menus, which is one of the stumbling blocks keeping them out of public schools.)

Forcing eink devices into TTS would be a ridiculous requirement in my opinion. There's no need for it when so many other devices are capable of doing it.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

eInk Readers are primarily (and overwhelmingly) used as substitutes for printed books.
Any other use is low enough to be statistically insignificant.
Whether that is enough to gain them the exemption is a toss-up.

To take this sideways for a moment, eink readers are, yes, primarily used as substitutes for printed books. That includes large print books, yet ereader manufacturers are not yet providing firmware that offers a large-print navigation option throughout (including the on-reader store as well as the reader itself). Maybe this would be a place to start if they are actually interested in providing accessibility to their customers?

In addition, where a device is equipped with TTS capability, I'd suggest that the deliberate hobbling of that ability might not quite be in the spirit of accessibility law.

[Jessica Lares]

I think the whole point is that e-readers are just e-readers. And that cramming them with additional options for the sake of accessibility, will force them to invest into more powerful hardware just to make them function properly.

There are better ways to approach reading a novel/textbook without actually reading it. Like audiobooks, apps on tablets, lectures, and video.

[Kumabjorn]

Whoaa, when I saw the title I thought accessibility laws referred to NSA.

[MikeB1972]

Oh no, a device specifically designed for daylight readability can't be read by blind people, something must be done

Hang on, wait, err

I mean fair enough if they were stopping producing audio and brail books, but ereaders are essentially a replacement for paperbacks, if you have a disablility then continue with what you were using before. My Kobo can't play hi-res movies with 5.1 surround sound, If I'm deaf then my mp3 player is useless, If I have no legs I'm going to have a bit of difficulty riding a horse, If I'm 4'9" I'm probably going to be hard pressed to find work as a bouncer, all people cannot do all things and all devices cannot do all things. I am completely tone deaf, but I'm not going to say it's discrimination because I can't win x-factor - There is always Eurovision

OK, rant over, bring on the flames.

[Billi]

I really can't see the problem. Both my Pocketbook and my Onyx reader have speakers and tts ability. It's good for people with handicaps and it doesn't do any harm to all the other users/owners.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

Oh no, a device specifically designed for daylight readability can't be read by blind people, something must be done

Most blind people have some usable vision, and many blind people can read large print. Doing things like making ereader navigation accessible via larger print menus can be a very useful step in making eink devices more accessible to blind folks.

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

I mean fair enough if they were stopping producing audio and brail books, but ereaders are essentially a replacement for paperbacks, if you have a disablility then continue with what you were using before. My Kobo can't play hi-res movies with 5.1 surround sound, If I'm deaf then my mp3 player is useless, If I have no legs I'm going to have a bit of difficulty riding a horse, If I'm 4'9" I'm probably going to be hard pressed to find work as a bouncer,

This really isn't the most convincing argument. Lots of D/deaf folks listen to music, and horse-riding can be accessible to amputees (and plenty of other people with physical disabilities) with adaptive equipment.

Maybe you need to know a little more about disabled people and accessibility before forming such definite opinion about us?

[Sregener]

While I sympathize with those who struggle with disabilities, I do question the need to destroy a product category because it is not accessible to all.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Sregener

While I sympathize with those who struggle with disabilities, I do question the need to destroy a product category because it is not accessible to all.

I'm pretty sure we're not going to have to all burn our ereaders any time soon.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I think the whole point is that e-readers are just e-readers. And that cramming them with additional options for the sake of accessibility, will force them to invest into more powerful hardware just to make them function properly.

That is my interpretation: the three companies are committed to the idea of eink readers as being cheap and simple and light and cheap. The bulk of their eink reader sales come from the "paperback-replacement" market, not the education market. A waiver for trade book users (individual buyers) is a lot easier to defend than a waiver for institutional/volume sales.
It's a defensive move more than a pro-active stance, I think.

(Plus they might be concerned about further litigation.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

It's a defensive move more than a pro-active stance, I think.

(Plus they might be concerned about further litigation.)

^ this

[ProfCrash]

Personally, I think the option for a larger print menu and TTS is a perfectly good idea and it is feasible. Amazon did have TTS on the Kindle for many years. Getting rid of TTS did not cause Amazon to drop the price because it saved them money. I suspect that it went away because Publishers would not participate and because it was not used all that much.

I am not sure what else accessibility would require, but if adding the option for a larger font menu and TTS is all that it takes, go for it.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Billi

I really can't see the problem. Both my Pocketbook and my Onyx reader have speakers and tts ability. It's good for people with handicaps and it doesn't do any harm to all the other users/owners.

They're also significantly more expensive.
The low end Kindles and Kobos have run as low as US$50 on sale and a list price of $49 isn't far away.

The next challenge for ebook mainstreaming in the US is to reach casual readers and that hinges on reading apps on multifunction devices *and* cheap entry-level readers. The kind of device that might be purchased on impulse, used once or twice a year and stay in a drawer without buyers' remorse the rest of the time. That means very simple, very cheap devices.