News extracts on web accessibility issues gathered from various sources on the web
05 December 2006 UN reports on dismal state of web accessibility
OUT-LAW.com News reports that: Ninety-seven percent of websites fail to achieve a minimum level of accessibility according to the first ever global web accessibility survey. A new UN convention aims to change that.
UK-based web accessibility agency Nomensa released its report today based on research commissioned by the United Nations.
Using a combination of manual and automated testing against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Nomensa examined the leading website in five different sectors in 20 countries, including its Head of State and leading airline, bank, newspaper and retailer. In all, the survey tested 100 websites.
Only the websites of the German Chancellor, the Spanish Government and the British Prime Minister met WCAG Level A, the minimum recognised level. No site met Level AA or higher.
See the full article on OUT-LAW.com
04 December 2006 - UN Calls For Standardizing Accessibility Technologies For The Disabled
The UN observed its International Day of Persons with Disabilities by holding panel discussions on Web accessibility and launching an initiative to standardize information technologies for people with disabilities.
See the full article on Informationweek.com
September 2006 WCAG 2.0 - The new W3C web accessibility guidelines evaluated
The second version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is in final working draft and will soon be released. Although the guidelines are generally recognised as the de facto standards for accessibility, version 1 of the guidelines came under much criticism for being vague and extremely difficult to use. The W3C has been working on version 2.0 of the guidelines for over 5 years now -read this article to find out if it's been worth the wait!
See the full article on webcredible.co.uk