Study Reveals Government Websites Are Unusable To A Growing Number Of Californians

May 24, 2004 - A new study, California's cash-strapped city does not succeed in their efforts to provide services through one of the most profitable available - the Internet. As a result, the city sites are largely unusable by a growing number of Californians, including the elderly, the disabled, and in many cases, the power of the overall evaluation users.A over 400 municipal websites reveals that 91% of cities in California do not meet basic standards of accessibility. The results show that the websites of the city are mostly useless for a wide range of people including people with visual impairment, hearing and mobility, as well as non-disabled users attempting to access government services with the latest technology such as Internet-enabled mobile phones. Poor performance is the result of city websites that use obsolete technology and design practices, in effect, shut out 20% of its voters, who are disabled.The study was conducted during the first quarter of 2004 Alt Tags (www.AltTags.org), a website specializing in Internet usability and accessibility issues. Using automated testing tools, Alt Tags analyzed 408 municipal Web sites in California, the verification of compliance with the rules of common usage: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Manual of additional tests were conducted at selected sites to validate the results. Only 35 sites were examined Section 508 testing tools to determine how compliant.While perform when accessing websites using assistive technology devices such as screen readers, many high-tech devices have restrictions similar screen respect and benefit accessibility standards. Alt Tag's Kirk said Billon, "Although our study focused on the accessibility of websites for disabled users, we found that in most cases, accessibility, design issues to create barriers for the disabled as well." Alt tag results' were similar to those recently reported by the Committee on Disability Rights in the British trial of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been that non-disabled users face greater difficulties in using the websites accessible problems meeting accessibility standards.Common noticed while testing: - the inability to use a website when images are not visible .- The inability to easily adjust the text to a wider dimension .- The failure to move from a website without a mouse .- The poor performance when accessing through a slow Internet connection .- inconsistent or not there are many cases navigation.In site, apparently simple problems present obstacles for a wide variety of users. Billon, says, "something as simple as the text size with the same ease of adaptation is one of the main factors of usability, especially for older users. Billon suggestions to improve government websites are: - education on accessibility and the specific problems that are created for users to find the sites inaccessible. - Agencies must commit to accessibility by developing an accessibility policy on its website of the agency. Only 4% of sites surveyed had accessibility policies Published online best education for webmasters .- Government .- The use of Web development tools that facilitate compliance. Many of the problems encountered in this study were the result of poor coding practices encouraged by the popular web development tools.Biglione warns: "There is no quick solution to the problems identified in this study, but education and awareness can go a long way toward solving these problems. Once the cities are concerned with basic issues of accessibility and usability, providing a better user experience for all users. The result is a more efficient use of dollars increasingly Technology Limited, components and happier. "alt tag Full Report" can be downloaded from the website at Alt Tag: BiglionePhone Kirk http://www.alttags.org/archives/2004/05/22/35/Contact Information: (626) 791-5852 Email: alttags@pandemic.com

Nokia N96 And Nokia N97 : Truly Astonishing Gadgets That Would Satisfy All Your Needs

Nokia is one of the brands most surprising was the decision of the Arena in the communication. This premium brand has produced a variety of gadget high, in order, to the delight of its users. The Nokia N96 and Nokia N97 are the latest phones, which are just making people mad. These two devices are in high demand by users due to its ease of use and functionality designs.Let fabulous' s first interview for the Nokia N96. This is a very sophisticated widget that was designed with the latest features and innovative in order to outshine their peers. This dual slider designed the model has been enriched with 2.8 inch TFT color display offering 16 million colors with a resolution of efficient data transfer of 240 x 320 pixels.For, this fantastic mobile phone is reinforced by recent advanced applications such as GPRS Class 32, EDGE Class 32, HSCSD, 3G and Wi-Fi WLAN, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP and microUSB v2.0 technology. These advanced technologies that allow transmission of data access to a very high speed. Messaging services, as distinguished SMS, MMS, email and IM this fantastic device has been widely commended and appreciated by consumers around the latest world.Its WAP 2.0/xHTML browser makes it easy for users to access and Even in a very good speed. The camera option was always the preferred option for users. The gadget also has joined with the 5 mega pixel camera that captures and stores stunning high quality images. Fiery The battery of this device is very rugged and reliable. Furthermore, fed with a standard Li-ion battery that offers 220 hours standby and 3 hours and 40 minutes in a go.On Moreover, this label has also released its latest version is, the Nokia N97. This electrical discharge device is described with advanced technologies and improvements that make this device easy magnificently attractive and admirable. This phone is bold with a 3.5-inch TFT resistive touch screen comes with the support of 16 million colors and has a screen resolution of 360 x 640 pixels. For this reason, its larger display is desired by everyone around the world.In ensure the satisfaction of high-end Modern Lovers, widget is the beam reinforced with a full QWERTY keyboard with the ability to recognize the script. It is also the blessing of 32 gigabytes of internal memory that allows users to store more data on your mobile phone. With the help of a microSD card you can enjoy the memory expansion of up to 16 giga byte.This another wonderful gadget comes preloaded with a 5 megapixel camera, which was appreciated worldwide by users. You can also talk to your friends and family continuously without any tension. This is a standard Li-ion battery that gives it a huge backup of 430 hours of standby and 6 hours and 40 minutes of conversation into a single output. In fact, both the Nokia N96 and Nokia N97 are high end devices, which have been completely designed to meet all the expectations and aspirations of modern people smart.

Nokia N97: Stay connected with 3G technology

The high technology of mobile phones have become an important place in the lifestyle of people in the modern age. The usefulness of these gadgets is hard to judge. These phones allow users to make useful all the basic functions of calls, messaging, Internet, camera and play with ease. The Nokia N97 is a very capable and durable device. The telephone user friendly rooms equipped with smart features different music. The device has a built in music player that plays music in various formats, including MP3 eAAC, AAC, eAAC + and WMA. The FM radio allows users to navigate through different frequencies, and allows them to tune in your favorite channel. The added advantage of RDS helps the users to the information provided by the stations of music, music that is displayed on the screen. The phone supports MP3 and polyphonic ringtones.The impressive phone comes in class and wealthy blacks in white casings. Moreover, the gadget is compatible with a large TFT touch screen 3.5 inches wide, which is capable of displaying up to 16 million colors. Besides this, the full QWERTY keyboard allows users to enter text with ease. The device comes with the useful bright full GPS navigation with a GPS receiver. Directs users to the idea of the best possible way, the desired location step. The Nokia N97 is flooded with games and the inclusion of built-in Java technology allows users to download many more interesting games. The utility function document viewer allows users the opportunity to review all Word and Excel, PowerPoint and PDF files.The compatible mobile phone with an amazing internal memory of 32 GB. The device's storage capacity can be expanded to 16 GB, with the support of microSD cards. The powerful battery of the gadget is designed to deliver 6.6 hours of GSM talk time, 5.3 hours talk time 3G, 7.1 hours of GSM standby time and 6.6 hours on 3G in white. The Nokia N97 weighs 150 grams with dimensions of 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm. The device is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera that can efficiently capture good quality pictures and clips on the fly. The built in video recorder records video while the player plays video clips in MPEG4, H264 and QCIF formats. The advantage of the secondary camera lets you participate in a face to face 3G video calls. Wi-Fi with UPnP automatically connect with the local wireless network or access point near the access to the Internet. The device supports quad band network which switches between GSM 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 bands WCDMA network with 900, 1900 and 2100 bands. The smart phone is very capable and is rich make it difficult for users to take their eyes off her.

BlackBerry Bold9000- A gadget with business orientation

The BlackBerry Pearl 9000 comes with a very soft shell. This cool gadget has a large color screen and a QWERTY keyboard fine. Comes with a set of user-friendly features and modern technologies that make it different from other laptops. This large display provides good viewing experience. The phone comes in a stylish black box, which adds even more beauty. This phone has a BlackBerry Enterprise operating system. This fantastic device has 128 megabytes of memory, also has a microSD memory card that comes with the option to extend the phone's memory more. Owners can save your favorite pictures and video recordings on your portable memory that can be sent to anyone and can be viewed at any time. Coming to the magnitude of this laptop is capable of depth 14 mm, 66 mm wide and 114 mm high. The weight of the device is approximately 133 grams. The game lists Bold 9000 is integrated with a music player that not only home to an individual, but also provides commercial functions of good quality. A person can create playlists that are easy to store and manage. The music player is available with a variety of formats. The phone is fantastic, "embedded" with a 2 megapixel camera. Allows users to take photos and video clips. The camera has a flash that allows an individual to take pictures even in the darkest and most boring situations. The new phone supports video recording service that can be viewed and shared. The gadget is wonderful with the web browser so that a person can enjoy the service of sending and receiving email. This smart phone also offers many services such as instant messaging, multi-service messages and text messaging service. As a result, an individual can control and change the text messages and picture messages as desired. The phone comes with the business of 3G HSDPA technology. This provides owners to enjoy a provision to transfer data at high speed, high speed connectivity and multitasking abilities. The device is also loaded with GPRS and EDGE, which helps in fast data transfer. The BlackBerry Pearl 9000 comes with Bluetooth, enabling users to enjoy wireless connectivity. The gadget is blessed with impressive USB connection that helps a person to connect your mobile phone to any USB compatible device. These phones are equipped with quad band technology that delights users with easy roaming across the world. This technology helps users stay connected with their families, while roaming too. So it is clear that the BlackBerry Bold is a high capacity device available with a variety of functions that are easy to use. This laptop is very reliable and competent to satisfy the users.