Cloud computing and equal access for all

Web-2.0 applications use the Web as a platform for delivering end-user applications. This transformation has a profound impact on how applications are authored, deployed and consumed. Software applications in this environment are no longer monolithic --- instead, they are naturally separated into distributed components that implement application and interaction logic. The application logic along with user data resides in the network cloud; the user interface made up of presentation and interaction logic is delivered in a form best suited to the user's needs, e.g., via a universal client such as a Web browser. The advantages of this usage/delivery model for mainstream users has been widely explored in the last 18 months. This keynote focuses on the impact of this transformation on users with special needs. Today, the potential for universal access presented by applications delivered via the Web remains largely unrealized. This is partly due to the impedance mismatch that results from trying to treat interactive Web applications as static Web documents. Eliminating this impedance mismatch requires innovation at all levels of the technology stack with respect to: • How Web applications are authored and deployed, • How Web applications are consumed, • How Web interaction is augmented by adaptive technologies. This keynote will describe some of these challenges and the accompanying opportunities.