Transcript: Microsoft Windows 8: accessibility a key focus

Roberta: Microsoft has released a preview of its Windows 8 operating system and early tests by Media Access Australia show that accessibility has been a major focus during its development. We have project manager, Dr Scott Hollier here to tell us all about it. Welcome Scott.

Scott: Thanks Roberta thanks for having me back.

Roberta: Now first of all, what is Windows operating system?

Scott: Windows is the operating system that runs on a computer. So if you went an bought a new computer the programme that starts up when you first run the computer that it has, where you can move the mouse arrow and click on things, that’s what we call an ‘operating system’. It’s basically the type of software that drives the computer you’re using and Windows is the most common operating system in the world. It’s still, even though there’s a few other things like Mac around, Windows still represents about 90% of what computers run. So there’s a good chance that if your listeners have a computer it’s probably running some version of Windows.

Roberta: Now we’re talking about 8 here today, but it doesn’t seem that long ago that 7 came out. So given that it’s been released, why are people talking about it already. Or it hasn’t been released.

Scott: Yeah, well it’s a good point. It does seem like just the other day when Windows 7 came out, but yeah, with all things with computers it keeps progressing. And Windows 8 hasn’t come out yet but it is in very early development, and what they often do, to get a bit of a feel as to how people feel the operating system’s going, how easy it is to use, and also for developers in particular, the people who are likely to build programmes for Windows, they like to give them a bit of a sneak peak. So yeah, they released this just a few weeks ago, and yeah, we were fortunate to be able to get hold of a copy.

Roberta: Well that’s what I was just going to say: Can you tell us how this new version is different?

Scott: Yeah, one of the big things is that Windows 8 is focused on touch devices. So up until now we’ve, as I was saying before we’ve mainly used computers like using a mouse, clicking using keyboard. But more and more devices like Apple’s iPad and things like that, they are focusing more on touch screen. And so Windows 8, they’ve sort of gone back to the drawing board a bit, Microsoft, and they’ve changed the interface so that it will still work with keyboards and mouse, but it’s also optimised so that if you have a computer where you can touch the screen, yeah, you can interact with it much easier than you can with other versions of Windows.

Roberta: Now Scott, I can remember us talking about Windows 7 having a problem using magnifier and high contrast together: have they fixed that in Windows 8?

Scott: They have, and as someone who is vision impaired, and I rely on the magnifier in Windows 7, it was great when I fired up Windows 8 and found that I could put the high contrast colour scheme on and start up magnifier, and the two worked really well together. So yeah, I think that’s a terrific step forward. Clearly Microsoft have listened to user feedback and that will make a big difference to people who are vision impaired.

Roberta: Now, what are the other new accessibility features in Windows 8, Scott?

Scott: Well what’s really exciting is that Microsoft have really taken accessibility seriously, and while with Windows 7 there were some significant steps forward, it seems like this time they really have gone back to the drawing board, not just listened to people, but also tried very hard to meet those needs. So there are three other major accessibility advancements so far, and I should explain this is very early days of this operating system, but Narrator, the built-in screen reader, it hadn’t been updated since Windows 2000, some 11 years ago, and they’ve doubled the number of commands.

So it looks like Narrator is starting to become a more developed screen reader, which is terrific. And also now you’ll be able to turn on the accessibility features as soon as the computer enters setup mode, so what that means is that a vision impaired person will be able to install Windows all the way through using Narrator and other assisted technologies which is a great step forward.

And the last one is that you now have these options to turn on any accessibility feature at either the login screen or the desk top. So what that means is that you don’t have to fire up your assisted technology: you can just set it once and then it will come up whenever you need it. So great steps forward, I think.

Roberta: Certainly is. Now the big question: How soon will it be released?

Scott: Well, that’s a very good question, and Microsoft, like all big companies, like to keep it under wraps. But the way the development process is going, it’s quite likely it will be somewhere around mid-2012. So it is still in early stages at the moment, and it will be some way off. But even at this very early stage, it’s just really exciting to see so many accessibility improvements, and given that it is still some ways away, hopefully we will see some more.

Roberta: Oh well, that’s very good news indeed. Now for more information on accessibility of other operating systems that you can use on your computer visit the Digital Technology section of the Media Access Australia website: mediaaccess.org.au or you can phone 02 9212 6242. I’ve been speaking with Dr Scott Hollier who is the Project Manager for Media Access Australia. Thank you for that Scott.

Scott: Thank you.

Roberta: And I might add here that Media Access Australia are supporters of this programme.