[Athen] Re: athen-list Digest, Vol 72, Issue 33

[Saroj Primlani]

Larry,
Non web-based virtual environments like you are describing the applications
are installed and   processed on the host system and the "host's" interface
(desktop) is sent to the client as an "image" which by it's nature is not
accessible to the blind individual.
This environments uses a remote protocol (RDP for Windows for example) to
send keystrokes/mouse events from the client to the server receive audio
from the server and share files and storage.  The challenge is to make AT
work.

At NC State we started using non-web based environments around 2007 to
provided students with 24/7 access to labs we worked with vendors to make
them as accessible as possible. Since I have been retired for a year my
information on the state of  AT /technology may not be up to date but these
what we were able to make work.  An image was created based on user's
request and generally used  RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) for access.

Input events from adaptive and virtual keyboards/mouse that
sent information to the processor as standard input events had posed no
problems.

Screen readers need to be available on both the remote (host image) and the
client.  The screen reader processes on the host and sends the data to the
client screen reader for audio/braille output.  All commercial screen
readers work this way, I have not tired it with NVDA.  Dolphins Supernova
and WindowEyes required the license version to be installed on the host
system.  JAWS, on the other hand requires the license remote access version
to be installed on the client.

Screen magnification, the challenge is dragging and delay of the changes in
the display required using commercial system.  Super Nova worked the best,
MAGic worked, but there was  shadow/drag if the user switched between the
remote on client system.  ZoomText did not work.

Text-to- speech software can be used, however if highlighting is
used simultaneously with audio output, the audio was always behind the
highlight word so there was no synchronization.

Voice recognition was the biggest challenge and very hard achieve.  We
played around with it but were not successful

I hope this helps.
Please feel free to contact me off list if I you have any other questions
Saroj



On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM, <
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>   1. Accessibility Issues with Virtual Desktop or Thin Client

>      Environments (Larry Kiser)

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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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> Message: 1

> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:17:57 +0000

> From: Larry Kiser <larry.kiser at sfcollege.edu>

> Subject: [Athen] Accessibility Issues with Virtual Desktop or Thin

>        Client Environments

> To: "athen-list at u.washington.edu" <athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> Message-ID:

>        <B598A3F4B82ACD4C95E4F42B13EE0A0B0DED4BD5 at CM063.main.ad-site.us>

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>

> Colleagues:

>

> The IT department at our institution is creating a virtual desktop/thin

> client environment in our math studio computer lab as a pilot project.

>  Apparently the plan is to expand it to all institution computers in the

> near future.  A pilot project attempted a couple of years ago was fraught

> with technical problems and was dropped.  At that time my research

> indicated such environments were not AT friendly.  This time around the two

> companies identified as vendors were Vmware and Wyse.  A preliminary scan

> of their web sites were not encouraging.  Vmware's last posted VPAT was

> dated 2009 and listed many exceptions to accessibility.  On the Wyse

> website the following is posted 'Wyse thin clients are "Assistive

> technology-ready." They can work with any assistive technology that has

> been configured to work in a multi-user server-based computing environment

> operating in any of the Windows or legacy server environments that work

> with Wyse terminals.'  We at the Disabilities Resource C!

>  enter are concerned about accessibility issues with programs such as

> Kurzweil 3000, JAWS and Zoomtext.  Our IT department has never been in

> favor of running such software on our servers.  We are heavily invested in

> the K3000 web version, usb version of JAWS, and standalone versions of

> Zoomtext.   What accessibility experiences have any of you had with these

> two types of environments?  Thank you in advance for your responses.

>

> Larry Kiser, Counseling Specialist Overseeing AT

> Disabilities Resource Center

> Santa Fe College

> Gainesville, FL

>

>

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-- 
Saroj
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