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

[tompe]

I really do not get it why all devices have to have this access. Why is it not enough that there is devices available that can access it?

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by GlennD

If you're trying to make a device as light and flexible as possible, being required to include the hardware for audio could heavily affect your design.

Then you could offer Bluetooth to transmit audio. There are integrated WiFi/Bluetooth chip combos, so no additional space would be required if you already have WiFi.

Originally Posted by tompe

I really do not get it why all devices have to have this access. Why is it not enough that there is devices available that can access it?

It is probably mostly push-back from the era when people with many disabilities were completely marginalized.

On the other hand, I can think of reasons why it is desirable for accessibility to be a universal:

1. Consideration. Many disabilities would not receive consideration otherwise. Able bodied people rarely think of disabilities unless someone in their life has a disability. Those who do may consider accessibility as an additional expense that their competitors don't have to deal with.

2. Cost. Many products that are developed for people with disabilities are very expensive, thus placing disabled individuals at an economic disadvantage. Products that are developed for the general market tend to be cheaper, both because of competition and because development costs are spread over a larger market.

3. Dignity. Imagine having to go through your life constantly having to ask for assistance because it is difficult if not impossible to find products that meet your needs (or you can't afford those products). It ends up taking a psychological toll.

4. Universal benefits. A lot of those accessibility requirements benefit other people as well. If you need your hands free to do other work, you can use TTS. Wheel chair ramps are useful to people with strollers or temporary injuries. Accessible busses are as useful to people with limited mobility and strollers as they are to people in wheelchairs. The advent of handicapped parking spots led retailers to consider pregnant women and the elderly. Audio signals at crosswalks mean that you can listen for a cue rather than stare at the sign ahead of you.

[tompe]

It is still hard to see what is required. On my iPad what in that is there because of this law? I have not found any voice navigation...

[wawasteele]

Originally Posted by tompe

I really do not get it why all devices have to have this access. Why is it not enough that there is devices available that can access it?

I agree.

I am disabled. I use a power wheelchair. I used to love hiking trails in the mountains. Now, I am limited to the very limited amount of wheelchair accessible trails. Would I like all trails to be accessible? Of course! Is it a reasonable request? Of course not.

In public bathrooms, there is always at least one handicap stall. Should all the stalls be handicap accessible? No. That would hurt all the non-handicapped people, because the handicap stalls take up a lot more room, so there would be less total stalls.

Being handicapped limits people. Can society help us adapt? Yes, and they should. But should everything thing made be accessible? For every possible disability? No. It's just not possible or reasonable to expect.

So, as long as there are viable options for all readers, I don't see why every reading device has to be made for blind people, just like every trail or bathroom stall isn't accessible. I also don't see why in schools or libraries, that every reading device has to be accessible, as long as there are some for those that need them.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

I agree.

I am disabled. I use a power wheelchair. I used to love hiking trails in the mountains. Now, I am limited to the very limited amount of wheelchair accessible trails. Would I like all trails to be accessible? Of course! Is it a reasonable request? Of course not.

In public bathrooms, there is always at least one handicap stall. Should all the stalls be handicap accessible? No. That would hurt all the non-handicapped people, because the handicap stalls take up a lot more room, so there would be less total stalls.

Being handicapped limits people. Can society help us adapt? Yes, and they should. But should everything thing made be accessible? For every possible disability? No. It's just not possible or reasonable to expect.

So, as long as there are viable options for all readers, I don't see why every reading device has to be made for blind people, just like every trail or bathroom stall isn't accessible. I also don't see why in schools or libraries, that every reading device has to be accessible, as long as there are some for those that need them.

Well said

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by tompe

I really do not get it why all devices have to have this access. Why is it not enough that there is devices available that can access it?

Because businesses aren't allowed to say "I don't need to provide accessibility features; someone else is already doing that." Stores aren't allowed to say "my store doesn't have wheelchair access, but it's okay; those customers can shop next door." Not even if "next door" is owned by the same company.

That said, we haven't established what actual features are at issue here, and whether it makes any sense to require then for e-ink devices. If the issue is speech-based navigation, I don't see that e-ink readers should be exempt; if the issue is video captions or translating speech-to-text for chatrooms, it'd be ridiculous to require those features.

However, I suspect the manufacturers are hoping for a broad, "we're exempt from accessibility" ruling, rather than one that avoids certain specific requirements.

[Tarana]

I think that they should receive the exemption. Ereaders supply a resolution for a much, much larger group of partially, visually disabled people as well as those who physically are unable to read because books (even paperbacks) are too heavy. I have a tablet now. I hate it because of its weight. Once I am able to return home to my normal lighting situation, I will sell it. As my BIL (who is blind) said, most blind people in the US already can get a free or reduced cost 'speaking' device. He has to keep turning them down because he has no desire to read (didn't before he lost his sight).

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Because businesses aren't allowed to say "I don't need to provide accessibility features; someone else is already doing that." Stores aren't allowed to say "my store doesn't have wheelchair access, but it's okay; those customers can shop next door." Not even if "next door" is owned by the same company.

Well, but why not if this give you the best solution? Suppose you have a mark to put on product that satisfy some requierements for access and you get some money (from the state) to produce it and customers that need these products get them payed for by the state. Would a system in that direction not be more efficient?

Originally Posted by wawasteele

In public bathrooms, there is always at least one handicap stall. Should all the stalls be handicap accessible? No. That would hurt all the non-handicapped people, because the handicap stalls take up a lot more room, so there would be less total stalls.

(...)

So, as long as there are viable options for all readers, I don't see why every reading device has to be made for blind people, just like every trail or bathroom stall isn't accessible. I also don't see why in schools or libraries, that every reading device has to be accessible, as long as there are some for those that need them.

That comparison doesn't really work out since every public washroom must have an accessible toilet. Similarly, every parking lot (that meets certain criteria) must designate a certain number of handicapped parking spots. Libraries should be forced to provide accessible ereaders if they provide ereaders to their patrons. Again, it doesn't have to be all of them.

Should every ereader on the market be accessible? That depends upon what you mean. It would be absurd to integrate a braille display, and even turn page buttons aren't realistic in the era of the touch screen. However, adding software hooks for assistive technologies should be considered mandatory. Ditto for inexpensive modifications to the hardware that do not fundamentally alter the form of the device (e.g. enabling USB host mode or adding a headphone jack). That may leave the user buying a specialized input or output device to access the hardware, but at least that possibility exists.

Oh, and I wouldn't dismiss the efforts that people have gone to in order to improve the lives of the disabled. There was a time not so long ago when it was difficult for the disabled to even leave the block they live on or do their own groceries. It is easy to take that stuff for granted because it is so commonplace these days.

Originally Posted by tompe

Well, but why not if this give you the best solution? Suppose you have a mark to put on product that satisfy some requierements for access and you get some money (from the state) to produce it and customers that need these products get them payed for by the state. Would a system in that direction not be more efficient?

Have you seen what happens to the price of a specialized product when the state (or private insurance) funds it?

[tompe]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Have you seen what happens to the price of a specialized product when the state (or private insurance) funds it?

It might still be more efficient than forcing all products to be more expensive.

Also products can be tailor made to the exact problem each person have.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by tompe

It is still hard to see what is required. On my iPad what in that is there because of this law? I have not found any voice navigation...

iOS has VERY GOOD accessibility support. Some of the best.

Settings->General->Accessibility:

VoiceOver: Speaks items on the screen (tap once to select, twice to activate, three fingers to scroll)

Typing feedback, speaks characters and/or words, both with touchscreen keyboard and physical keyboards.

Supports Braille devvices
Something called Rotor, that I have no idea what that is...

zoom capability, can zoom anything on the screen...

Large text support for the entire UI (supported apps)

Color inversion for colorblind folks

Ability to read selected text (I turn that on always, it allows you to highlight a paragraph and choose "Speak" to have it read to you)

Supports connection to hearing aid devices and had adjustments for its internal speaker to better work with regular hearing aids.

Flashing the camera LED for alert notifications for the deaf
Mono audio for people who use a single headphone in one ear, mixing both the L&R into whichever ear you prefer (or balanced however you need them to sound equal)


Guided access, helps keep you in one app

Assisted touch devices for helping with using touchscreens if you have no fingers

Adjusting home button clicks speeds


There are a LOT of settings in iOS for the disabled... more customization there than anywhere else in the OS, actually.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by twowheels

iOS has VERY GOOD accessibility support. Some of the best.

Ah, I had never explored these options. I just thought that since a blind person would not find these things to enable them they did not exist. Mistaken assumption.

Originally Posted by tompe

It might still be more efficient than forcing all products to be more expensive.

In a lot of cases, the increase in cost would be minimal. Take larger print for user interface elements on an ereader, which would help people with limited vision. It would take additional development time, but the expense of that development time would be spread across the sale thousands to millions of units. Done properly, those software features can be used across multiple products and product lines to even further diminish the added expense. Even minor modifications to hardware (such as adding a headphone jack for TTS) would cost pennies per unit.

There are a lot of low hanging fruit out there that will make the life of disabled people easier, and even be useful for people without disabilities. I think that it is a bit selfish to pinch those pennies, nickles, and dimes in cases like that.

Now accessibility features that incur a major expense, are disruptive to the intended purpose of the device, and are highly specialized are a different issue. Designing an ereader with an integrated braille display or inputs for people with limited mobility would fit in that category, but surely developers could spend a bit of time incorporating features that interface with external assistive devices.