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<DIV>I agree with feeling that tools such as the accessible Google one present
the unfortunate possibility of encouraging the scenario for a
"separate but (not-quite) equal" approach to Web site. design.<BR><BR>My
best example at the moment is the Amazon accessible site, which doesn't seem to
allow me to actually use any of the tools I always use, such as my
wishlist.<BR><BR>Kes<BR> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT><BR><BR>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=skeegan@htctu.net href="mailto:skeegan@htctu.net">sean keegan</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=athen@athenpro.org
href="mailto:athen@athenpro.org">'Access Technologists in Higher Education
Network'</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, August 03, 2006 8:28
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Athen] Google tests web
search for blind</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>I have seen the new google accessible search and have some
mixed reactions<BR>about it. From the user's perspective, it is much
easier to use with a<BR>screen-reader and can be "reflowed" reasonably
well. TV Raman seems to be<BR>the one who really put some work behind
this (he is the blind developer who<BR>created Emacspeak), so it is not
surprising that it is designed for those<BR>using screen-readers.<BR><BR>My
concern about this, however, is how Web developers will interpret this<BR>new
search function. There is a difference in search results between
the<BR>accessible search and the regular google search - the accessible
search<BR>relies on a different page ranking algorithm to identify Web sites
that are<BR>"screen-reader friendly". There is a whole field of Web
"professionals"<BR>dedicated to giving their company the highest ranking
possible for the<BR>google search results. It would be unfortunate if we
saw the reappearance<BR>of "text-only" sites in an attempt to get the ranking
high on both the<BR>regular google search AND the accessible google
search.<BR><BR>It will be interesting to see how this plays out...<BR><BR>Sean
Keegan<BR>Web Accessibility Instructor<BR>High Tech Center Training Unit,
California Community Colleges<BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: <A
href="mailto:athen-bounces@athenpro.org">athen-bounces@athenpro.org</A>
[mailto:athen-bounces@athenpro.org] On<BR>Behalf Of James Bailey<BR>Sent:
Thursday, August 03, 2006 2:43 PM<BR>To: Access Technologists in Higher
Education Network<BR>Subject: [Athen] Google tests web search for
blind<BR><BR><BR>Interesting article at:<BR><A
href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3739435a28,00.html">http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3739435a28,00.html</A><BR><BR>Here's
a teaser:<BR>"TV Raman, a research scientist at Mountain View,
California-based Google,<BR>said his project sorts search results based on the
simplicity of page<BR>layout, the quality of design and the organization and
labeling of<BR>information on each page."<BR><BR>James Bailey<BR>Adaptive
Technology Access Adviser, University of Oregon<BR>1299 University of
Oregon<BR>Eugene, OR 97403-1299<BR>Office: 541-346-1076<BR><A
href="mailto:jbailey@darkwing.uoregon.edu">jbailey@darkwing.uoregon.edu</A><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Athen
mailing list<BR><A href="mailto:Athen@athenpro.org">Athen@athenpro.org</A> <A
href="http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org">http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org</A><BR><BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Athen
mailing list<BR><A
href="mailto:Athen@athenpro.org">Athen@athenpro.org</A><BR><A
href="http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org">http://athenpro.org/mailman/listinfo/athen_athenpro.org</A><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>