MCU on the World Log of Blogs- (Found June 24, 2008 ) I notice that MCU is now listed on the Web Standards and Accessibility Weblogs, compiled by Ed Nixon and the Web Standards Evengelism list. The changeover continues It is still not possible to upload pages to the MCU external web server from my computer within the university (and I still don't know why). But I've decided there is no going back; I will move the content and management of the site to the new CMS. And at least in the short term - you will see some strange behaviour on the site as..http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=5 This weeks tip: Don't just make headings bold, use header tags- (Found June 24, 2008 ) I have noticed that many designers are using CSS or font tags to mimic proper HTML Markup. By following this 'non-standard' practice, they are lowering the accessibility of their web pages. For example, headings are being marked up as bold text, rather than as 'real' headings. Visually such styled text may look like a heading, but for web browsers, screen readers, braille readers, and any technology that has to process the page, they are not headings, and are not treated as such. For...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=4 Joe Clark answers questions at Slashdot- (Found June 24, 2008 ) I don't know how I missed this fantastic feature when it was first published, but I'm glad I stumbled across it today: Joe Clark answers '10 of the highest-moderated questions' from Slashdot users. The more stuff I read by Joe Clark, the more I like what he has to say.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=3 Designing with Web Standards- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Jeffrey Zeldman has published his book: Designing with Web Standards. Sounds like a book I'll be wanting to own real soon. Make forms easier to use by creating a logical tab order. The one time I use a keyboard rather than a mouse on the web, is when I am filling in a form. And in common with many other keyboard users (e.g. web surfers who are blind) - I use the tab key to move from one field to the next. So I tend to notice when the order in which I cycle through the fields does not seem..http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=2 Update: Weblog accessibility problems- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Regarding the 'ampersand in URLs' problem I mentioned yesterday, Ben Hammersley points to a plugin for Movable Type: "As for the ampersands in URLs, in Movable Type there is a plugin available to fix it. MT-Validable - from http:www.MT-plugins.org."http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=11 A Conversation With Jeffrey Zeldman On Web Standards- (Found June 24, 2008 ) The website Meet the makers has an interview with designer and HTML standards advocate Jeffrey Zeldman. I am reading Jeffrey's book 'designing with web standards' at the moment - it is extremely good (although I disagree with his advocacy of pixels as the appropriate unit of measurement for setting text sizes on the web). Accessible web text - Russian translation Yura Zemskov of http:www.computerlibrary.info has translated my article about accessible web text into Russian: " Part 2 'Accessible.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=12 Frontpage improves accessibility support- (Found June 24, 2008 ) From the Web Standards news page: Frontpage improves accessibility support ALVA to Cease Development of outSPOKEN for Macintosh and inLARGE for Macintosh From Maccessibility: A comatose screenreader for a comatose operating system: "ALVA B.V., a leading provider of assistive information technology for the blind and visually-impaired, today announced that it will no longer develop outSPOKEN or inLARGE, ALVAs screen reader and screen enlarger for Macintosh computers. "http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=14 Accessible Web Typography, an introduction for web designers, by Jim Byrne- (Found June 24, 2008 ) ScotConnect have published my eBook, Accessible Web Typography, an introduction for web designers. As I say on the ScotConnect site, "This eBook contains all the important 'stuff' I ever wanted to know about creating accessible text on my own web pages; and now that I have figured it out myself, I am happy to pass it on to others." In my humble opionion - this is a 'must have' book if you want to learn how to create accessible text on your web pages. It is written in my usual informal style,.http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=23 Make a start on those 'legacy' pages- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Sorry that there has been no accessible web design tips over the last two weeks - I've been off on holiday. This weeks tip is short, not technical, and aimed at organisations who have a huge number of inaccessible 'legacy' web pages. Here is a tip to get started down the road towards making them accessible - without it feeling like it is a frightening and over-whelming task. Prioritize your pages according to their popularity with your visitors, and start by making the most popular pages..http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=22 RNIB brings UK's first action over site accessibility- (Found June 24, 2008 ) Jonathan Webdale writes in New Media Age, RNIB brings UK's first action over site accessibility: The Royal National Institute for the Blind is bringing the UK's first case against companies under the Disability Discrimination Act for failing to make their Web sites accessible to people with visual impairments. The story does go on to say that the current actions will not necessarily result in legal action - however these actions are going to get a few more people thinking about whether...http://www.mcu.org.uk/showlog.php?weblogid=21 |