IBM announced on Monday they would be adding source code to make the browser, Firefox by Mozilla, more accessible for users with disabilities, lay foundation for government agency adoption and give Internet content providers more ways of serving customers.
This announcement comes none to soon for the open source scion known as Firefox. Recent market research show Firefox losing ground against the massive Internet Explorer (IE).
IBM said this will make it possible for web pages to be automatically narrated or magnified and to be better navigated with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks. This will also give developers the ability to utilize Dynamic HTML for the new Firefox 1.5.
This will allow software developers to build accessible and navigable “Rich Internet Applications” (RIAs) — a new class of applications that are particularly visual and interactive. DHTML will also allow users to efficiently navigate content more easily using keystrokes rather than a mouse.
“The Accessible DHTML Technology offers great advantages to disabled users and we will continue to leverage the technology to provide visually-pleasing and content-rich web browsing experiences to users,” said Victor Tsaran, Accessibility project manager, Yahoo!. “Having such a powerful technology at our disposal will enable Yahoo! to make more of its services accessible to people with disabilities worldwide.”
The contribution of accessibility code to Firefox is the latest development in IBM’s 76-year history of supporting employees and customers with disabilities through easy-to-use software, hardware and consulting services.
The market for accessible information technology is large and growing. Between 750 million and 1 billion of the world’s 6 billion people have a speech, vision, mobility, hearing or cognitive disability, according to the World Health Organization.
“IBM’s commitment to further Firefox’s capabilities and reach people who have disabilities marks an important technical advancement for Firefox. On a larger scale it is necessary to make the Web and all of its content accessible to everyone,” said Mitchell Baker, president of the Mozilla Corporation.
John Stith is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
