These testimonials are in support of UAAG
1.0 Press Release. See also the list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about UAAG
1.0.
Accessibility of the Web is
essential to ensuring equal access for people with disabilities. Web sites
and the software used to build Web sites must be accessible, but so must the
browsers and multimedia players that people use on the Web; and these must
also become more compatible with assistive technologies such as screen
readers and voice recognition software upon which many people with
disabilities depend. The American Association of People with Disabilities
(AAPD) urges developers of browsers and multimedia players to accelerate
their implementation W3C/WAI's User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, in order
to better meet the needs of their customers who include millions of Americans
with disabilities.
-- Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO, American
Association of People with Disabilities
The American Council of the
Blind (ACB), a national organization of blind consumers, strongly endorses
the productivity of the W3C and its development of the User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines. These Guidelines provide crucial, in-depth guidance
to developers of browsers and multimedia players on how to make their
applications more accessible to people with disabilities, and how to make
those applications work more effectively with assistive technologies. ACB
energetically endorses all the good work of the W3C to provide true access
for blind and otherwise disabled people to the Web, and encourages industry
and users to continue implementation of this critical work.
-- Charles Crawford, Executive Director, American
Council of the Blind
America Online applauds the W3C
on the release of guidelines that promote the design of user agents that are
usable by everyone, including individuals with disabilities. These guidelines
are an excellent resource for developers of Internet software who wish to
gain an understanding of essential features that enable users with various
disabilities to take full advantage of the power of the Internet.
Additionally, they provide common ground for assistive technology and
information technology companies to work collaboratively to further the
accessibility of the Internet, an important priority for AOL.
-- Tom Wlodkowski, Director of Accessibility, America
Online
The Assistive Technology
Industry Association (ATIA) applauds the work of the W3C User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG) and supports it wholeheartedly.
Definition of interoperability standards has long been a requirement for
ensuring information technology is truly accessible by people with
disabilities. The work done by the UAWG will allow assistive technology
vendors to go well beyond what has been traditionally possible in developing
accessibility tools for the Internet. This standard, and others like it, are
fundamental in bridging the gap between Information Technology and Assistive
Technology in a way that will truly benefit thousands of people with
disabilities.
-- David Dikter, Executive Director, Assistive
Technology Industry Association
Boeing has a large and
diverse user community, including many people with disabilities. We believe
that tools implementing these guidelines, in association with a commitment to
implementing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, will allow all users
the opportunity to use the Web more effectively. Boeing will be using these
guidelines as one measure of suppliers' performance as we evaluate future Web
products.
-- Scott R. Vesey, Boeing Enterprise Windows Web Browser
Component Manager, The Boeing Corporation
As a major implementor of
the W3C's Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), the DAISY
Consortium is delighted to have the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
released as a Recommendation of the W3C. In the Information Age, access to
information is a fundamental human right. The DAISY Consortium will use the
UAAG in our open source developments and we will promote the UAAG in our
interactions with commercial developers and other standards
organizations.
-- George Kerscher, DAISY Consortium
Educational Testing Service
applauds the release of the W3C User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as an
important step forward in enhancing the use of the Web by all. We see these
W3C guidelines as helping Web-based tests and related applications meet this
goal.
-- Kurt M. Landgraf, President and CEO, Educational
Testing Service
The European Disability Forum
regards the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 as a valuable
contribution to increase awareness on the needs of disabled people to have
access to the Internet. It is vital that guidelines illustrate that different
categories of disabled people face different types of barriers when assessing
Web pages. These guidelines are a step in the direction of greater
awareness-raising on these types of problems, among format designers, authors
and software developers. This is an important practical tool to follow up
European level initiatives to ensure accessible Web sites for all.
-- Helena González-Sancho, European Disability Forum
In the last three
versions of Freedom Scientific's screen reader JAWS, we looked to WAI's User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines to help us build our specifications for
delivering Internet based information to our users. Having such a resource
makes our job far easier, and makes JAWS a much better product. I frequently
receive phone calls from mainstream software developers asking how to make
their Web-centric products accessible, and I can always answer them with a
reference to the W3C/WAI Web page. In my opinion, the guidelines published by
the WAI rank among the most valuable resources available to both assistive
technology and mainstream information technology companies today.
-- Chris Hofstader, Vice President, Software
Engineering, Freedom Scientific Inc.
As academic
developers of on-line and multimedia applications, especially for people with
disabilities, we are very excited to see these new guidelines that will help
ensure that Web software consistently supports effective accessibility for
all users. We particularly endorse the recommendations regarding critical
tools such as captioning. Implementation of these guidelines will give
developers of educational media confidence that their content will be
accessible to everyone, regardless of their specific communication or
cognitive needs.
-- Cynthia M. King, Ph.D., Executive Director, Academic
Technology, Gallaudet University
Thanks to the W3C's
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, we now have a framework for developing
even more robust access to Web content for our users. Our implementation of
the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines in our Window-Eyes screen reading
software will allow our users to become more proficient in navigating Web
content, as well as provide them with tools for understanding their Web
environment.
-- Aaron Smith, Webmaster & Technical Support
Specialist, GW Micro
HP is committed to connecting
everyone to the power of technology, promoting access to the Web for persons
with disabilities, and supports the W3C User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
1.0 (UAAG 1.0). We believe that these guidelines will ultimately result in
more accessible browsers and multimedia players as well as benefit
accessibility of assistive technologies and other user agents. HP plans to
adopt UAAG 1.0 guidelines for the browsers and multimedia players procured in
the future, and is interested in the improvements in the accessibility of
browsers and multimedia used by HP customers and the general public.
-- Natasha Lipkina, Web Accessibility Program Manager,
Hewlett-Packard
As a major sponsor of the Web
Accessibility Initiative, IBM is proud to endorse the User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines. IBM has been on the forefront of accessibility
technology that includes creation of the earliest console and GUI based
screen readers, co-development of the Java accessibility API, and development
of an industry leading talking Web browser Home Page Reader. Until now,
accessibility standards for the Web have been limited to content and
authoring. This effort completes the picture by defining how software that
retrieves and renders content may do so accessibly and with interoperability
between other technologies making the Web more usable for all. IBM looks
forward to the further adoption of these guidelines in its product
offerings.
-- Shon Saliga, Worldwide Accessibility Center Director,
IBM
The release of the User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines as a W3C Recommendation will make it much
easier for Government bodies to define their needs in procurement documents,
in the same way that we reflect that Web content created must conform to the
W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Now the accessibility of
technologies used to access the Web can be defined as well.
-- Mary Frances Laughton, Director, Assistive Devices
Industry Office, Industry Canada, Government of Canada
The Japanese Society for
Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (JSRPD) welcomes the release of
the W3C WAI User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. Our efforts to promote
information accessibility for all will benefit from the widespread
implementation of these guidelines. At JSRPD we are using the guidelines in
our own open source software projects for multimedia DAISY playback and
encourage others to do the same. With the release of the guidelines, the
software development community now has an authoritative source for creating
user agents that support the fundamental right of information
accessibility.
-- Hiroshi Kawamura, Director, Information Center,
JSRPD
The Konqueror development team
is highly supportive of free and open standards, and is currently
implementing the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0) in
Konqueror, the KDE Web browser. The KDE accessibility project is also working
on improving accessibility support in the K Desktop Environment in
general.
-- Dirk Mueller, K Desktop Environment (KDE) Project
The Web
Accessibility Initiative at the W3C represents a vitally important effort in
making the Web accessible to all, and Macromedia welcomes the release of the
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. Through their work, the W3C has provided
great guidance to software developers, Web designers and assistance
technology vendors on design and development practices to enhance
interoperability and accessibility.
-- Kevin Lynch, EVP/Chief Software Architect,
Macromedia
Microsoft is proud to be a
founding supporter and contributor to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
and to the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines. Improving Web accessibility
is vital to empowering people to realize their potential through the use of
technology. These guidelines represent a critical step toward providing full
Web access for all people, including those with disabilities.
-- Chris Jones, Corporate Vice President, Windows Client
Group, Microsoft Corportation
NIST is pleased to see the
release of the UAAG 1.0 Recommendation. As an active participant in the
development of industry accessibility specifications, such as the work of the
InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) V2
Technical Committee, NIST has been in the forefront of defining
accessibility. NIST looks forward to the opportunity for synergy that future
harmonization of these efforts will bring.
-- Sharon Laskowski, manager of the Visualization and
Usability Group, Information Access Division, NIST
On behalf of blind and
partially sighted persons in Spain, ONCE welcomes the User Agent Accesibility
Guidelines. The Guidelines will be an important tool for those of us
promoting Web accesibility in Europe. ONCE is a major purchaser of Web access
software and hardware, and the UAAG will be an important factor in deciding
our procurement policy.
-- Enrique Varela Couceiro, Manager, New Technologies,
Accessibility Department, Fundación ONCE
At Opera Software we
believe that the more accessible browser is the better browser. The User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines have already been a help to us in achieving
this goal. The framework is highly useful, both by motivating and inspiring
to make the right design decisions, and by making it possible to test and
measure the product afterwards. The guidelines can make it easier to make the
Web itself easier, not just for some, but for all. Opera Software will use
the guidelines not only as a part of our planning and testing process, but
they are also a time-saver for documenting our accessibility features.
-- Håkon Wium Lie, Chief Technical Officer, Opera
Software
Accessibility and usability
are critical to ensuring the full potential of the Web for consumers. Toward
this aim, RealNetworks continues to create support within the RealOne Player
and our Web services for users with disabilities, and RealNetworks supports
the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines as a major step forward to enabling
all individuals to experience the richness of the Web as an information
source. With these standards, the W3C is building on its record of supporting
accessibility standards to increase the value and usefulness of the Web for
everyone.
-- Brad Hefta-Gaub, Vice President, RealNetworks
The User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines (UAAG) 1.0 is a foundational document that should be read by all
developers of user interfaces. There are substantial weaknesses in many of
the end-user products that come to market today, and it will be exciting to
see products gain broader acceptance in the user community as a result of the
implementation of these guidelines. In the area of ePublishing technology, we
will be encouraging publishers, who select reading systems for the
distribution of their content, to pay attention to UAAG as they select
reading systems as avenues for their content. I expect this will encourage
the developers of those reading systems to sit up and take notice.
-- James Pritchett, Project Manager, Digital Audio,
Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic
Sun Microsystems applauds the
W3C on the development of the WAI User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, in
which we participated as reviewers. The Guidelines will help to speed the
development of accessible Web-based products. Sun is implementing the
Guidelines in our contribution to the Mozilla open source project, and will
deliver an accessible browser for our desktops running on the Solaris
Operating Environment (TM) and Linux.
-- Curtis Sasaki, Vice President, Desktop Solutions, Sun
Microsystems, Inc.
Vision Australia
Foundation fully endorses the release of the User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0 as a significant step in providing access to the World Wide
Web for people with disabilities. The user agent developers can now work to a
standard which will improve access for people with disabilities and enable
future assistive technologies to better interact with them, providing an
improved online experience for the blind, vision impaired and people with
other disabilities. Vision Australia strongly supports the accessibility work
of the W3C.
-- Dr. Andrew Arch, Manager, Online Accessibility
Consulting, Vision Australia Foundation
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability.
It is an international industry consortium jointly run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT
LCS) in the USA, the National Institute
for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided
by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide
Web for developers and users, reference code implementations to embody and
promote standards, and various prototype and sample applications to
demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 450 organizations are Members of the
Consortium.
For more information about the World Wide Web Consortium, see http://www.w3.org/
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UAAG 1.0 
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