Ubiquitous Accessibility, Common Technology Core, and Micro Assistive Technology: Commentary on “Computers and People with Disabilities”

Much has changed since 1992 when the original CACM article by Ephraim Glinert and Bryant York was published. In the early 1990's, accessibility was mostly an add-on, with only Apple computers having built-in access. Computers were playing an increasingly important role in education and employment, but had not yet completely integrated themselves into all aspects of life as completely as they have today. The World Wide Web as we know it had not yet been born. Today there are accessibility features built directly into every major operating system, and one OS even includes a built-in screen reader. Assistive technologies are more numerous and capable. And awareness of the importance of access is much higher. However, some things have not changed. Assistive technologies lag behind mainstream technologies in both compatibility and functionality. Effective assistive technologies are often beyond the financial reach of those who need them. Effective assistive technologies are not available in many countries and many languages, even though technology is reaching into education, employment, and daily living of more countries and more people in each country every year. In moving forward we need to build on what we have achieved and explore new concepts, such as a common technical core, ubiquitous accessibility, micro assistive technology, and free public accessibility. Cooperative and collaborative approaches also need to be explored if we are to have any hope of catching up and keeping up with the ever-accelerating mainstream information and communication technologies.