While at Web Camps London, Jon talks to Saqib Shaikh about how he’s able to develop with limited sight and what developers can do to make our applications more accessible.
- Saqib talks about his role on the Bing Team, data mining and deep links.
- Jon and Saqib talk about solving problems with a little help from Twitter.
- Saqib explains the function of a screen reader and how some people can listen to computers really fast.
- Jon asks about common frustrations around accessibly when web browsing. Jon considers the tie-in between SEO and accessibility. The guys dive a little deeper into structuring information, images vs text and learning the few basics.
- Jon asks if there’s a way to do accessibility analysis? Saqib points to the “Check Accessibility.” option which is available when right-clicking on the web project in VS 2010. (It’s there. I checked.)
- Jon and Saqib talk about coding with limited sight. Saqib shares his general techniques.
- The conversation continues with talk about Microsoft product development and the importance placed on accessibility.
- The show wraps with Saqib introducing the term “Universal Design” of all things. As a developer, you want to make your applications for the largest number of people to use. Just keep in mind that “there’s a lot of people in this world, and they’re all a little bit different.” “It’s about making cool stuff for a lot of people.”
Show Links:
- Saqib Shaikh
- Bing
- JAWS (an acronym for Job Access With Speech) Screen Reader
- SEO Toolkit
- ARIA
- HTML5
- Clint Nelson from Startup Weekend
Show notes compiled by Ben Griswold. Thanks!
Download / Listen:
Herding Code 86: Saqib Shaikh on Accessibility and Developing with Limited Sight
[audio://herdingcode.com/wp-content/uploads/HerdingCode-0086-Saqib-Shaikh-on-Accessibility-and-Developing-With-Limited-Sight.mp3]