| What is the most unlikely visitor on your site? Users | | | | download of it, the DevKit and most of the Agents |
| (potential customers as anyone) withimpaired vision. | | | | is free. |
| But how true is this statement today? Well - to say | | | | Scripts make sure that the user can download |
| the least - it is about to change. | | | | needed or missing parts automatically, and from then |
| While the hearing impaired utilized the web right from | | | | on - he is fully prepared... |
| start and made it to their tool of choice. | | | | The integration into a site is no harder, than working |
| For a user, whose vision is impaired - or is even | | | | with any given Java Script. |
| completely blind, the odds not very long ago were | | | | There are even tools available, to support you writing |
| very dim, to take part in the biggest improvement | | | | the "action" script. |
| since the invention of TV - the World Wide Web. | | | | So why would you do that? |
| Test to Speech Engines, Voice Recognition and | | | | To begin with - it improves the quality of life for |
| Multimedia - all these tools have improved the | | | | people, you have enough problems anyway. |
| situation dramatically - and they far from being in the | | | | But if you want to have a more practical use - |
| experimental state. | | | | Offering these service now - where almost no one is |
| Every once in while you have these encounters, | | | | doing that will make your site stand out - and visitors |
| where a customer tells you about his blind family | | | | with impaired vision value that and remember. The |
| member and how neglected they feel in respect to | | | | rate of endorsement you may be able to achieve is |
| so many things. | | | | much higher than with the |
| And sometimes - they ask you, what they can do to | | | | "ordinary" visitor. |
| address this group on their site. | | | | In my example - in almost 20% of all new gigs, we |
| When I started to take on this issue, I was first a | | | | are being asked to implement Agent Technology - |
| little helpless, for this was a whole new areaof | | | | from Zero % 18 months ago. I would say, that this is |
| expertise in Marketing and Web development. But | | | | a significant increase. |
| soon it became clear that the tools and the means | | | | The community of people with impaired vision is tight |
| to implement something, allowing visitors with | | | | nit - and if you're site is a good source for |
| impaired vision to take advantage of a site. | | | | information, products etc., you can be sure, that |
| The first step were voiceovers - presented as real | | | | once the word is out - it won't hurt yourtraffic. |
| media. A real bummer. But - the production costs, | | | | Bottom Line is, the odds are, that, if you're doing it |
| considerations like bandwidth make them a tool, | | | | right, promote this Site ability andupdate your |
| which cannot be applied all the time. | | | | content once in a while, you will attract a new |
| And then I re-discovered the Agents. Remember | | | | clientele, and even if the worstthing happens, and |
| those little animated guys, Microsoft(R) introduced | | | | you don't make any improvement in your visitor |
| with Office 97? These guys - the Microsoft(R) | | | | frequency - you still have the benefit of being able to |
| Agents - cannot only communicate with Balloons and | | | | lean back and say - I did something good, today. |
| interact with the user - no. They can speak! | | | | Here are some links - to get you into the developing |
| Utilizing a text to speech engine, the MS(R) Agent | | | | mood: |
| Technology, and an Agent of your choice, you can | | | | Microsoft(R) Agent home page |
| make this cartoon character speak, whatever text | | | | Agent Resources |
| you provide. And it is fast and what is more - they | | | | The Script Helper Mash |
| can even listen to voice commands and interact - | | | | So be good, do something for the life quality of |
| which I will talk of in one of my next articles. | | | | citizens with impaired vision and your business and |
| On all new Microsoft OS(R) Versions the Agent | | | | have fun doing it. |
| technology is included anyway, and if not installed,the | | | | |