Thoughts From CSUN 2009
As much as I’m glad to be back home, I was very impressed and motivated by the folks I met and spoke with during my time at the Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference in Los Angeles
CSUN Conference 2009
I’m in Los Angeles, the site of this year’s Annual International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference. Hosted by the CSUN Center on Disabilities, the intention of the gathering is to promote leadership in the technology and accessibility fields.
Virtual Worlds User Interface for the Blind
The research division of IBM known as alphaWorks has released an emerging technology that appears to be very promising. A prototype has been developed to provide users with vision disabilities an opportunity to experience virtual world technology.
Why Google Lively Failed
This week Google pulled the plug on Lively, the virtual world platform introduced less than five months ago to compete with Second Life. There are many speculative reasons why Lively was doomed from the start, but the product’s demise can be attributed to one essential failing: in developing the beta, Google didn’t work to their strengths.
Guitar Hero Trains Amputees on the Use of Artificial Arms
The use of technology as a means to aid people with disabilities can sometimes occur in surprising contexts. As an example, consider a recent research project presented yesterday at the IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference in Baltimore.
Read "Guitar Hero Trains Amputees on the Use of Artificial Arms"
Virtual Ability Island in Second Life
Today marks the grand opening of Virtual Ability Island, an accessibility-friendly virtual world experience in Second Life created by the Alliance Library System (ALS) and Virtual Ability, Inc. (VAI). Funded by a grant from the National Library of Medicine, the island provides residents a place to find fellowship, training and education on topics related to physical disability, cognitive impairments or other chronic health concerns.
(Accessible?) Web Experiences for Second Life Residents
This week saw the announcement by Daden Limited of a web browser that will allow residents of Second Life to browse the Web in-world. Is the gap between virtual worlds and web accessibility decreasing?
Read "(Accessible?) Web Experiences for Second Life Residents"
Second Life for the Disabled
During the past several weeks, I’ve undergone a rather unscientific study of virtual worlds users. Of particular interest has been the use of Second Life among people with some form of a disability.
Lessons From UPA
If you attended this week’s UPA Conference in Baltimore, you would correctly assume that accessibility has gained more positive traction than ever before. Still, I’m worried.
Virtual Worlds, Cognitive Disorders and Usability
I’ve been spending a whirlwind week shuffling between various sessions as part of the 2008 Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) conference, including a most interesting session regarding users with cognitive disabilities and how to design for their needs.
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