Created By: Rohan Agashe Ming Han Teh Eric Faust

 Providing flexibility to accommodate each user’s needs and preferences  Making computer technology and Internet resources useful to more people than would otherwise be the case  Allowing for the participation of people with disabilities  Consideration for people whose communication infrastructures or capabilities are not advanced or not in place.

 Larger participating audience  It’s the law  Accessible designs often benefit not only people with disabilities but also those in the mainstream  Helps achieve societal goals of full participation and of equality

 Internet provides many opportunities for disabled peoples: ◦ Do not have to rely on others for information ◦ Through special programs, they can gain information that they never could have before  Problem is, only a small portion of websites are compatible for disabled ◦ Most websites require mouse usage: many have impaired motor skills

 World Wide Web pages that use frames or that are filled with non-descriptive graphics  Internet connectivity is not available, or the connection is slow in some countries  Video clips can be undecipherable for the hearing impaired if there is no captioning, and to the visually impaired if there is no audio description

 Major prerequisite for many people with disabilities to use computer technology  Programs that read or describe the information on the screen, enlarge or change the color of screen information, and special pointing or input devices

 People use the Internet prudently: they will turn off graphics when surfing and they will read and create off-line  Senders to practice proper etiquette  s should be kept short and to the point

 New fancy websites, catered to mainstream surfer, alienate persons with visual limitations  Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - Page Authoring Guidelines

 Research in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is helping software engineers and web designers to make websites more accessible through innovative solutions.  E.g. Modern Web Browsers such as Mozilla Firefox 3.5 and Internet Explorer 8 support on-screen zooming.

 Mice and keyboards now come in more ergonometric shapes that minimize wrist injuries.  Computer screens are getting bigger (higher resolution) which makes for larger workspace and bigger font-sizes.

We believe that internet accessibility should be mandated for all websites. It is in the best interest of everyone, not only the disabled. By making all information accessible, we are ensuring egalitarian rights for all. The right to view all websites, is not a privilege that should be held by those without any disabilities.