Re: A Terible Problem with accessibility of Gnome

Matan Safriel via gnome-accessibility-list <[email protected]> Sat, 29 May 2021 13:18:15 +0300
Newsgroups gmane.comp.gnome.accessibility.general
Message-ID <CAAiVq_1j5AWzP6RV0xL7r=bEiFzo1s4qMVCdgdT9+T4xAkXL1Q@mail.gmail.com>
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Thanks, just to say I really appreciate this input!

On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 11:29 AM Rynhardt Kruger via
gnome-accessibility-list <[email protected]> wrote:

> I definitely think image recognition has improved a lot, both in speed
> and accuracy. However, even a difference like 50 milliseconds may be
> noticeable by an experienced screen reader user, especially if one
> uses speech at 400 words per minute or more. This is one of the
> reasons why many blind users (including myself) still prefer the
> text-mode console over a graphical terminal for command line work. The
> graphical terminal is certainly very usable and works well for some
> scenarios,, but there is quite a noticeable difference in performance
> when using the text-mode console.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rynhardt
>
> On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 9:48 AM Matan Safriel <[email protected]> wrote=
:
> >
> > Of course, the approach whereby the application developers interleave
> semantics about the content beyond the particular way it is laid out in 2=
D,
> as you mention, is very sensible and robust as long as GUI toolkits and
> development processes enable it as a default piece of development, and
> application developers and designers put that extra semantic information
> in, such as pointing out that a grid actually bears plain list semantics
> and no special significance to it being a grid in a particular case.
> >
> > Do bear in mind that the potential for robust text reading from images
> has significantly improved since the time that the current accessibility
> paradigm took over, so I am not sure I see a reason it would be "always
> slower" and things like that =E2=80=95 these affirmations are probably no=
t true
> today =E2=80=95 if one embarked on a machine learning project on this.
> >
> > On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 9:52 AM Rynhardt Kruger via
> gnome-accessibility-list <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>
> >> I agree with you, it would be a useful fallback. It would never be a
> primary solution though, it is essentially screen-scraping, and would hav=
e
> the same disadvantages as screen-scraping approaches that were used befor=
e
> accessibility API:
> >>
> >>
> >> * Accessibility APIs make it the app developer's responsibility to
> implement propper accessibility, this is by design. App developers know n=
ot
> just their app, but also the content associated with it, and therefore ca=
n
> implement an accessible experience that may be different from the visual
> layout and yet more efficient for AT users. An example is the list of
> recommendations on Youtube. Visually they are in a grid, but the screen
> reader sees it as a list of headings.
> >> * One of the most important requirements for a screen reader is
> responsiveness. The quicker a blind user knows about an update in the
> interface, the better. Even a slight delay before an announcement may
> result in an interface that feels sluggish. This is why blind users often
> use speech at a very fast speaking rate. A pattern-based approach will
> always be slower than just reading the state via the accessibility API.
> >> * It is dependent on the visual layout, which means accessibility may
> break just because an app got new icons, or a few components shifted
> position. These things are independent from the accessibility API.
> >>
> >>
> >> Still, it may be a useful approach to consider for special edge cases,
> and I am interested to see what happens in this space.
> >>
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >>
> >>
> >> Rynhardt
> >>
> >>
> >> On Fri, 28 May 2021, 20:10 Matan Safriel via gnome-accessibility-list,=
 <
> [email protected]> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hi Shadyar,
> >>>
> >>> Not an immediate solution at all, but I would say that AI (Machine
> Learning) which snapshots the screen or window and is able to extract the
> text from the snapshot image to then read it aloud, might be superior to
> legacy accessibility API paradigms which rely on the application develope=
rs
> to interleave "accessibility" (ARIA etc.) information in each and every
> field.
> >>>
> >>> Or at least as an augmentation that should be able to provide a reall=
y
> great fallback to any ARIA-like paradigm.
> >>>
> >>> It would be a project, sure, but it is really very accomplishable at
> this time and age.
> >>>
> >>> Hopefully one day our desktops will be more fluid than only providing
> voice services on top a graphical interaction interface, but a lot can be
> done till then by leveraging Computer Vision AI in this space. Sorry agai=
n
> that this is not any immediate solution.
> >>>
> >>> Matan
> >>>
> >>> On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 4:04 AM Shadyar Khodayari via
> gnome-accessibility-list <[email protected]> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hello
> >>>> I'm a blind computer engineer, a developer and familiar with OS
> >>>> Windows and Screen reader NVDA entirely.
> >>>> I recently installed Linux Ubuntu v20.4 using Orca.
> >>>> I read Accessibility section of Ubuntu documentation as well as Orca
> >>>> documentation.
> >>>> After logging in,
> >>>> 1. When I am at Desktop through either pressing Super key + D or
> >>>> holding Alt + CTRL and pressing Tab, next pressing arrow keys or Tab=
,
> >>>> Orca does not read desktop icons.
> >>>> 2. 3. When I open a windows Settings, I press Tab numerous times but
> >>>> Orca does not read the Setting categories like wireless, Bluetooth E=
TC
> >>>> in the window. It seems focus never moves on this part of the window=
.
> >>>> 3. When I open a windows like application files or file trash, I pre=
ss
> >>>> Tab numerous times but Orca does not read the main part of the windo=
w.
> >>>> It seems focus never moves on this part of the window.
> >>>> 4. Should I do a specific config on Gnome?
> >>>> 5. should I install another desktop environment?
> >>>> I will be appreciate if you would help me.
> >>>> Thanks and Regards
> >>>> Shadyar KHodayari
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> gnome-accessibility-list mailing list
> >>>> [email protected]
> >>>> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> gnome-accessibility-list mailing list
> >>> [email protected]
> >>> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> gnome-accessibility-list mailing list
> >> [email protected]
> >> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
> _______________________________________________
> gnome-accessibility-list mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list
>

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div dir=3D"ltr">Thanks, just to say I really appreciate t=
his input! </div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"g=
mail_attr">On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 11:29 AM Rynhardt Kruger via gnome-acces=
sibility-list &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">gno=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=
=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rg=
b(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">I definitely think image recognition has i=
mproved a lot, both in speed<br>
and accuracy. However, even a difference like 50 milliseconds may be<br>
noticeable by an experienced screen reader user, especially if one<br>
uses speech at 400 words per minute or more. This is one of the<br>
reasons why many blind users (including myself) still prefer the<br>
text-mode console over a graphical terminal for command line work. The<br>
graphical terminal is certainly very usable and works well for some<br>
scenarios,, but there is quite a noticeable difference in performance<br>
when using the text-mode console.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
Rynhardt<br>
<br>
On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 9:48 AM Matan Safriel &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:dev.mat=
[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
&gt;<br>
&gt; Of course, the approach whereby the application developers interleave =
semantics about the content beyond the particular way it is laid out in 2D,=
 as you mention, is very sensible and robust as long as GUI toolkits and de=
velopment processes enable it as a default piece of development, and applic=
ation developers and designers put that extra semantic information in, such=
 as pointing out that a grid actually bears plain list semantics and no spe=
cial significance to it being a grid in a particular case.<br>
&gt;<br>
&gt; Do bear in mind that the potential for robust text reading from images=
 has significantly improved since the time that the current accessibility p=
aradigm took over, so I am not sure I see a reason it would be &quot;always=
 slower&quot; and things like that =E2=80=95 these affirmations are probabl=
y not true today =E2=80=95 if one embarked on a machine learning project on=
 this.<br>
&gt;<br>
&gt; On Sat, May 29, 2021 at 9:52 AM Rynhardt Kruger via gnome-accessibilit=
y-list &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"=
_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; I agree with you, it would be a useful fallback. It would never be=
 a primary solution though, it is essentially screen-scraping, and would ha=
ve the same disadvantages as screen-scraping approaches that were used befo=
re accessibility API:<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; * Accessibility APIs make it the app developer&#39;s responsibilit=
y to implement propper accessibility, this is by design. App developers kno=
w not just their app, but also the content associated with it, and therefor=
e can implement an accessible experience that may be different from the vis=
ual layout and yet more efficient for AT users. An example is the list of r=
ecommendations on Youtube. Visually they are in a grid, but the screen read=
er sees it as a list of headings.<br>
&gt;&gt; * One of the most important requirements for a screen reader is re=
sponsiveness. The quicker a blind user knows about an update in the interfa=
ce, the better. Even a slight delay before an announcement may result in an=
 interface that feels sluggish. This is why blind users often use speech at=
 a very fast speaking rate. A pattern-based approach will always be slower =
than just reading the state via the accessibility API.<br>
&gt;&gt; * It is dependent on the visual layout, which means accessibility =
may break just because an app got new icons, or a few components shifted po=
sition. These things are independent from the accessibility API.<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; Still, it may be a useful approach to consider for special edge ca=
ses, and I am interested to see what happens in this space.<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; Regards,<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; Rynhardt<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; On Fri, 28 May 2021, 20:10 Matan Safriel via gnome-accessibility-l=
ist, &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_b=
lank">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; Hi Shadyar,<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; Not an immediate solution at all, but I would say that AI (Mac=
hine Learning) which snapshots the screen or window and is able to extract =
the text from the snapshot image to then read it aloud, might be superior t=
o legacy accessibility API paradigms which rely on the application develope=
rs to interleave &quot;accessibility&quot; (ARIA etc.) information in each =
and every field.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; Or at least as an augmentation that should be able to provide =
a really great fallback to any ARIA-like paradigm.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; It would be a project, sure, but it is really very accomplisha=
ble at this time and age.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; Hopefully one day our desktops will be more fluid than only pr=
oviding voice services on top a graphical interaction interface, but a lot =
can be done till then by leveraging Computer Vision AI in this space. Sorry=
 again that this is not any immediate solution.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; Matan<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; On Fri, May 28, 2021 at 4:04 AM Shadyar Khodayari via gnome-ac=
cessibility-list &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" =
target=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Hello<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; I&#39;m a blind computer engineer, a developer and familia=
r with OS<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Windows and Screen reader NVDA entirely.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; I recently installed Linux Ubuntu v20.4 using Orca.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; I read Accessibility section of Ubuntu documentation as we=
ll as Orca<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; documentation.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; After logging in,<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 1. When I am at Desktop through either pressing Super key =
+ D or<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; holding Alt + CTRL and pressing Tab, next pressing arrow k=
eys or Tab,<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Orca does not read desktop icons.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 2. 3. When I open a windows Settings, I press Tab numerous=
 times but<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Orca does not read the Setting categories like wireless, B=
luetooth ETC<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; in the window. It seems focus never moves on this part of =
the window.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 3. When I open a windows like application files or file tr=
ash, I press<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Tab numerous times but Orca does not read the main part of=
 the window.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; It seems focus never moves on this part of the window.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 4. Should I do a specific config on Gnome?<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; 5. should I install another desktop environment?<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; I will be appreciate if you would help me.<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Thanks and Regards<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; Shadyar KHodayari<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; _______________________________________________<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; gnome-accessibility-list mailing list<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" targ=
et=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a><br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-a=
ccessibility-list" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://mail.gnome.=
org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list</a><br>
&gt;&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; _______________________________________________<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; gnome-accessibility-list mailing list<br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=
=3D"_blank">[email protected]</a><br>
&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-acces=
sibility-list" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://mail.gnome.org/=
mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list</a><br>
&gt;&gt;<br>
&gt;&gt; _______________________________________________<br>
&gt;&gt; gnome-accessibility-list mailing list<br>
&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_b=
lank">[email protected]</a><br>
&gt;&gt; <a href=3D"https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibi=
lity-list" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://mail.gnome.org/mail=
man/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
gnome-accessibility-list mailing list<br>
<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">gno=
[email protected]</a><br>
<a href=3D"https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list=
" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listi=
nfo/gnome-accessibility-list</a><br>
</blockquote></div></div>

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