🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi, Lida:

I am not aware of any special browser or plug-ins to facilate netsurfing
for people with with disabilities.  They may be some - I just don't know
of any.

I have a little experience of working with people with physical problems
that make it difficult to use a mouse or keyboard effectively.

There is quite a choice of software to handle what you describe.  This
sits "on top" of whatever software you are using, word processor,
spreadsheet - or Netscape. The software you need (that I know a bit about)
does not depend on what browser you are using, it depends on the
particular operating system you are using.

If the computers your patrons will be using run Windows 95, you might as
well use the Accessibility software package which comes with Windows 95,
although it seems to be a well kept secret.  It is not generally installed
at setup time unless someone has specifically been told to do it.  Not a
general requirement for most people.  Threaten your local computer guru
with cookies if you need help.

The Accessibility module lets you do anything that you can do with the
keyboard or the mouse with only the use of one finger, or a mouth stick or
a stick fastened to a head band.  You just tap one key at a time, but the
software lets you send keystroke combinations such as CONTROL + X, SHIFT +
F4, and move the mouse, left-click, whatever.  It takes a while to learn
how to use this method effectively, but then it took me several months to
learn to touch type, and I have full use of 8 fingers and 2 thumbs.

For Windows 3.x, and DOS there is also special software available.  I have
some here ... somewhere!  Contact me directly and if I cannot tell you
where to find it to download, I can always mail you a disk or send it to
you as email attachments.

Do you have a Community Net in your area?  People with serious vision
problems probably have little interest in Netscape, of course. They might
be interested in a text based browser such as LYNX.  LYNX is used by many
Community Nets.  LYNX runs on the server, not on the user's machine.  The
end user needs only a (so-called) dumb dialup terminal program. An
examples would be HyperTerminal (included with Windows 95.  For DOS and
Windows, there are many terminal programs, ProComm Plus, Telix, Telemate
just for starters. The user would also need text-to-speech conversion
software - and sometimes special hardware.  This can all add up to
considerable expense, and the people who could most benefit from it are
sometimes the people who can least afford it.

While trying to figure out how to get the most for the least, I discovered
a communications package called COMMO which I believe is freeware (will
check) and handles the dial up, does text to speech conversion, and feeds
the output to several popular sound cards, including the ever popular
Sound Blaster cards.  I played with it long enough to satisfy myself that
it will do the job adequately.

   ==================================================================
  |    Clive Bagley     |  clive@chebucto.ns.ca  |  (902) 826-2915   |
  | CCN Team Leader for |        CHEBUCTO        |   Day or Night    |
  |   User Training     |      COMMUNITY NET     |  No BUSY signal!  |
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On Wed, 30 Sep 1998, Lida Pinkham wrote:

> How would someone who was not able to use a mouse surf the internet?
>
> In Netscape you can use Ctrl+L and then type in an address, but what if =
> they want to activate a link on the page.=20
>
> Has anyone dealt with this before?  Is there a special browser, plug-in =
> or something that would allow a patron to surf the internet using a =
> keyboard?
>
> Lida Pinkham
> Training Resource Coordinator
> Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg
> 704-353-0631
> lpinkham@plcmc.lib.nc.us
> http://www.plcmc.lib.nc.us
>
> "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the =
> same place.  If you want to get somwhere else, you must run at least =
> twice as fast."
> ~Lewis Carrol, Through the Looking Glass
>