2007 PhD Thesis Final Revised.pdf - Curtin University

an operating environment which was inaccessible to people with vision disabilities
but it also rendered much of the existing AT equipment useless, since the AT
equipment relied on the output of text from the computer and most devices were
unable to convert the graphical information into a text-based output. In addition to
the inaccessibility of the GUI there are other disadvantages. Firstly, the use of the
GUI means that there is a need for greater design complexity in computer software.
Secondly, the intuitiveness of a computer may have improved with the GUI but
learning is still necessary and that learning is more dependent on the overall ‘look’
over the interface. Thirdly, performing simple tasks has been made harder for blind
and vision impaired people. What once took a few quick commands to achieve now
requires more interaction.
As a result, the removal of computing access from people with vision
disabilities also meant the removal of functionality from existing AT equipment.
Furthermore, people with vision disabilities had to replace redundant, expensive
equipment and face the inaccessibility of emerging technologies. The software-
based AT technologies have only become effective since the turn of this century,
some fifteen years after the initial launch of the graphical interface. The introduction
of the GUI effectively resulted in a second disability divide. This again
demonstrated a lack of consultation with people who are blind or vision impaired. If
a significant amount of consultation had been undertaken before the launch of this
graphical OS, it may have been possible to ensure that accessibility features were
included. Further consultation after the development of the GUI could have
potentially produced more benefits to this product.
3.6 Accessibility barriers of the Internet
The development of the Internet heralded the potential for unprecedented access to
information, a potential that was realised more fully with the introduction of the
World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW was to provide universal access to
information across all boundaries. By 2002, WWW creator and director of the W3C,
Tim Burners-Lee (2002) stated that “the power of the web is in its universally.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”.
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