Apple and Lenovo are dropping the ball for visually impaired users
(2023/10/16)
- Reference: 1697453111
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/10/16/apple_lenovo_blind_fail/
- Source link:
Companies big and small are dropping the ball when it comes to UI design and the support of customers with visual disabilities. Here is why you should care, even if your eyes are fine.
Blind people use computers a lot. They are an amazingly helpful tool, able to read letters and signs to you, find places, and give directions. FOSS OSes lag badly in this, but even so, FOSS tools are becoming a big part of the story.
Today, almost all computers can speak thanks to tools called screen readers. Windows has a built-in tool called Narrator, but it's [1]not much use , and the other packages mentioned in that article get [2]expensive very [3]fast . These days, though, FOSS comes to the rescue thanks to an excellent free screen reader called [4]NVDA .
[5]
For many years, Apple has had a big lead here as both Macs and iDevices come with built-in screenreader called [6]Voiceover . That's why Stevie Wonder [7]paid tribute to the mortally ill Steve Jobs in 2011.
[8]
[9]
[10]Youtube Video
Because it's an integral part of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, users can turn it on as soon as the machine comes out of the box, without needing the assistance of a sighted person. That kind of independence is a big deal for anyone with a serious disability.
[11]
Sadly, though, that commendable attitude to accessibility seems to be disappearing, to judge from David Goodwin's [12]recent polemic on AppleVis. Since macOS 11.1, Voiceover users may find their Mac [13]freezes up for arbitrary periods , when they are using Safari or any other app powered by Apple's WebKit rendering engine. The problem is intermittent, which the blog post acknowledges is the hardest kind of problem to troubleshoot, but it has now persisted across three major releases of macOS.
This would be annoying even if you could see an on-screen busy indicator. It's worse for those who can't, and compounding the problem, you can't switch away to another app. The Reg FOSS desk has worked with a number of visually-impaired computer users, and can affirm that they're generally even more sensitive to responsiveness and performance than are sighted users.
The post's title sums it up: We Deserve Better from Apple: Why I Can No Longer Recommend a Mac to Fellow Blind Computer Users.
Fun with Fonus
Apple is not alone in this. Customer service people can be a particular problem, as Simon Jaeger [14]reported on Mastodon , trying to tell Canadian mobile telco Fonus that its website is inaccessible:
Jaeger: Still doesn't work. I'm an accessibility analyst, I know what I'm talking about here. I'm looking at the code for the webpage and you're using images to indicate whether each country supports data or calls. Those images don't have labels, so my screen reader skips them, and since I rely on it, I then can't get that information.
Rachel from Fonus: The website works just fine.
Jaeger: Yes… for you… as a person who doesn't use a screen reader… of course it works fine.
Rachel: Don't use screen reader.
Jaeger: OK, this may be a good time for you to Google "What is a screen reader" and save us some back and forth.
Lenovo found lacking
Blind Reg reader Ednun P. also reports this fun email from Lenovo customer care as he queried the sudden price drop on a new X1 Carbon he had just bought from the company. He told Lenovo:
Each time I send emails I get told to take screenshots, which is really silly because I have explained so many times that I am blind and I cannot take screen shots.
The world's largest laptop vendor replied:
Thank You for Contacting Lenovo Customer Care.
We have received your request of the price match for the order number # 123456789. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused to you due to the delay.
We want to let you know that we have not received the screenshots for the price match.
Please provide a screenshot of the new price and it should contain the part number and all the specifications of the product.
Please take note that the URL, same part number, and same product specifications should all be visible in the screenshot
Kindly let us know if you need any further help.
Kind regards, Lenovo eCommerce Customer Care
He told us at some length of problems with Lenovo's customer support being unable to grasp the simple concept of a computer user who can't see.
A spokesperson at Lenovo sent us a statement:
[15]
"Lenovo takes customer satisfaction very seriously, and we recognize the inconvenience caused with Mr. Pourtahmasbi’s case and are taking immediate steps to ensure that such errors are not repeated in the future. In line with our terms and conditions, the 14 day price match period had already passed before Mr. Pourtahmasbi first contacted us. However, we will refund the price difference for this particular purchase as a gesture of goodwill."
[16]Red Hat retires mailing list, leaving Linux loyalists to read between the lines
[17]Microsoft gives unexpected tutorial on how to install Linux
[18]Incus 0.1 is Canonical's LXD 'containervisor' with Ubuntu integration stripped out
[19]Apple antique aficionados can boot to the future with OpenCore Legacy Patcher
It's the law
Making websites accessible to people with disabilities isn't just a nice thing to have. It's a [20]legal requirement under UK, US, and EU law – for instance, in the UK under the [21]Equality Act 2010 . There are [22]guidelines on how too.
This stuff might not matter to some of you personally yet , but [23]2.2 billion people have problems with their eyesight , of which [24]about a third of a billion have moderate to severe vision loss. A couple of common categories are [25]age-related macular degeneration and [26]diabetic retinopathy — both especially prevalent in the over-50s and in the overweight.
Sedentary computer users, especially heavy users, and desk jockeys such as professional techies are at risk: yes, this means you.
Maybe you just aren't blind yet .
This doesn't just matter for people with disabilities. For instance, while computers are an amazingly useful tool for people whose vision is poor enough to cause them difficulties with reading, accessibility benefits everyone.
Blind man sues Dell over inaccessible website [27]READ MORE
If you can't see a mouse pointer, you can't use a pointing device. You have to use the keyboard. But ubiquitous, consistent, memorable keyboard shortcuts are a huge help for sighted people too. It's much faster to press a hotkey than aim a pointer at an on-screen button.
This is the other reason that accessibility matters for everyone: measuring accessibility is one of the best ways to look for excellence in UI design. A well-designed, considered, and thoughtful UI degrades gracefully, and can be accessed by people who can't see a screen, or who can see fine but can't use a mouse or trackpad, or who have other sensory or motor impairments.
But it's also better for those who have keen eyes and good coordination. Those who are able-bodied… so far .
The Register asked Apple and Fonus to comment. ®
Get our [28]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.boia.org/blog/why-do-screen-reader-users-avoid-microsoft-narrator
[2] https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/
[3] https://www.visionaid.co.uk/dolphin-screenreader
[4] https://www.nvaccess.org/download/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.apple.com/accessibility/vision/
[7] https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/technology-blog/story/2011-09-16/apples-steve-jobs-gets-shout-out-from-stevie-wonder
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://youtu.be/O2Tkj8SIHMU?si=FEfvQeiPdQ3qf6SJ&t=270
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.applevis.com/blog/we-deserve-better-apple-why-i-can-no-longer-recommend-mac-fellow-blind-computer-users
[13] https://www.applevis.com/bugs/mac/safari-webkit-applications-can-become-unresponsive-when-using-voiceover
[14] https://social.vivaldi.net/@simon@dragonscave.space/111154531122758469
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/red_hat_closed_rhsa_announce/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/microsoft_documents_installing_linux/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/incus_01_lxd_fork/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/09/opencore_legacy_patcher/
[20] https://info.webusability.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-law-on-accessibility
[21] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
[22] https://www.siteimprove.com/glossary/uk-accessibility-laws/
[23] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment
[24] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/magnitude-and-projections/global/
[25] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/age-related-macular-degeneration-amd/
[26] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetic-retinopathy/
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/05/giannaros_v_dell/
[28] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Blind people use computers a lot. They are an amazingly helpful tool, able to read letters and signs to you, find places, and give directions. FOSS OSes lag badly in this, but even so, FOSS tools are becoming a big part of the story.
Today, almost all computers can speak thanks to tools called screen readers. Windows has a built-in tool called Narrator, but it's [1]not much use , and the other packages mentioned in that article get [2]expensive very [3]fast . These days, though, FOSS comes to the rescue thanks to an excellent free screen reader called [4]NVDA .
[5]
For many years, Apple has had a big lead here as both Macs and iDevices come with built-in screenreader called [6]Voiceover . That's why Stevie Wonder [7]paid tribute to the mortally ill Steve Jobs in 2011.
[8]
[9]
[10]Youtube Video
Because it's an integral part of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, users can turn it on as soon as the machine comes out of the box, without needing the assistance of a sighted person. That kind of independence is a big deal for anyone with a serious disability.
[11]
Sadly, though, that commendable attitude to accessibility seems to be disappearing, to judge from David Goodwin's [12]recent polemic on AppleVis. Since macOS 11.1, Voiceover users may find their Mac [13]freezes up for arbitrary periods , when they are using Safari or any other app powered by Apple's WebKit rendering engine. The problem is intermittent, which the blog post acknowledges is the hardest kind of problem to troubleshoot, but it has now persisted across three major releases of macOS.
This would be annoying even if you could see an on-screen busy indicator. It's worse for those who can't, and compounding the problem, you can't switch away to another app. The Reg FOSS desk has worked with a number of visually-impaired computer users, and can affirm that they're generally even more sensitive to responsiveness and performance than are sighted users.
The post's title sums it up: We Deserve Better from Apple: Why I Can No Longer Recommend a Mac to Fellow Blind Computer Users.
Fun with Fonus
Apple is not alone in this. Customer service people can be a particular problem, as Simon Jaeger [14]reported on Mastodon , trying to tell Canadian mobile telco Fonus that its website is inaccessible:
Jaeger: Still doesn't work. I'm an accessibility analyst, I know what I'm talking about here. I'm looking at the code for the webpage and you're using images to indicate whether each country supports data or calls. Those images don't have labels, so my screen reader skips them, and since I rely on it, I then can't get that information.
Rachel from Fonus: The website works just fine.
Jaeger: Yes… for you… as a person who doesn't use a screen reader… of course it works fine.
Rachel: Don't use screen reader.
Jaeger: OK, this may be a good time for you to Google "What is a screen reader" and save us some back and forth.
Lenovo found lacking
Blind Reg reader Ednun P. also reports this fun email from Lenovo customer care as he queried the sudden price drop on a new X1 Carbon he had just bought from the company. He told Lenovo:
Each time I send emails I get told to take screenshots, which is really silly because I have explained so many times that I am blind and I cannot take screen shots.
The world's largest laptop vendor replied:
Thank You for Contacting Lenovo Customer Care.
We have received your request of the price match for the order number # 123456789. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused to you due to the delay.
We want to let you know that we have not received the screenshots for the price match.
Please provide a screenshot of the new price and it should contain the part number and all the specifications of the product.
Please take note that the URL, same part number, and same product specifications should all be visible in the screenshot
Kindly let us know if you need any further help.
Kind regards, Lenovo eCommerce Customer Care
He told us at some length of problems with Lenovo's customer support being unable to grasp the simple concept of a computer user who can't see.
A spokesperson at Lenovo sent us a statement:
[15]
"Lenovo takes customer satisfaction very seriously, and we recognize the inconvenience caused with Mr. Pourtahmasbi’s case and are taking immediate steps to ensure that such errors are not repeated in the future. In line with our terms and conditions, the 14 day price match period had already passed before Mr. Pourtahmasbi first contacted us. However, we will refund the price difference for this particular purchase as a gesture of goodwill."
[16]Red Hat retires mailing list, leaving Linux loyalists to read between the lines
[17]Microsoft gives unexpected tutorial on how to install Linux
[18]Incus 0.1 is Canonical's LXD 'containervisor' with Ubuntu integration stripped out
[19]Apple antique aficionados can boot to the future with OpenCore Legacy Patcher
It's the law
Making websites accessible to people with disabilities isn't just a nice thing to have. It's a [20]legal requirement under UK, US, and EU law – for instance, in the UK under the [21]Equality Act 2010 . There are [22]guidelines on how too.
This stuff might not matter to some of you personally yet , but [23]2.2 billion people have problems with their eyesight , of which [24]about a third of a billion have moderate to severe vision loss. A couple of common categories are [25]age-related macular degeneration and [26]diabetic retinopathy — both especially prevalent in the over-50s and in the overweight.
Sedentary computer users, especially heavy users, and desk jockeys such as professional techies are at risk: yes, this means you.
Maybe you just aren't blind yet .
This doesn't just matter for people with disabilities. For instance, while computers are an amazingly useful tool for people whose vision is poor enough to cause them difficulties with reading, accessibility benefits everyone.
Blind man sues Dell over inaccessible website [27]READ MORE
If you can't see a mouse pointer, you can't use a pointing device. You have to use the keyboard. But ubiquitous, consistent, memorable keyboard shortcuts are a huge help for sighted people too. It's much faster to press a hotkey than aim a pointer at an on-screen button.
This is the other reason that accessibility matters for everyone: measuring accessibility is one of the best ways to look for excellence in UI design. A well-designed, considered, and thoughtful UI degrades gracefully, and can be accessed by people who can't see a screen, or who can see fine but can't use a mouse or trackpad, or who have other sensory or motor impairments.
But it's also better for those who have keen eyes and good coordination. Those who are able-bodied… so far .
The Register asked Apple and Fonus to comment. ®
Get our [28]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.boia.org/blog/why-do-screen-reader-users-avoid-microsoft-narrator
[2] https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/
[3] https://www.visionaid.co.uk/dolphin-screenreader
[4] https://www.nvaccess.org/download/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.apple.com/accessibility/vision/
[7] https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/technology-blog/story/2011-09-16/apples-steve-jobs-gets-shout-out-from-stevie-wonder
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://youtu.be/O2Tkj8SIHMU?si=FEfvQeiPdQ3qf6SJ&t=270
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.applevis.com/blog/we-deserve-better-apple-why-i-can-no-longer-recommend-mac-fellow-blind-computer-users
[13] https://www.applevis.com/bugs/mac/safari-webkit-applications-can-become-unresponsive-when-using-voiceover
[14] https://social.vivaldi.net/@simon@dragonscave.space/111154531122758469
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZS1eLL8yYb4b2ftM-K9c0AAAAkU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/red_hat_closed_rhsa_announce/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/11/microsoft_documents_installing_linux/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/incus_01_lxd_fork/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/09/opencore_legacy_patcher/
[20] https://info.webusability.co.uk/blog/what-is-the-law-on-accessibility
[21] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
[22] https://www.siteimprove.com/glossary/uk-accessibility-laws/
[23] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment
[24] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/magnitude-and-projections/global/
[25] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/age-related-macular-degeneration-amd/
[26] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/diabetic-retinopathy/
[27] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/05/giannaros_v_dell/
[28] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Whateve
John Robson
"So what disabilities did they consider?"
Telling a disabled person that you're offering a disability friendly service, when they have already tried (and often failed) to use it is.... well, I'll not go there.
“Lenovo takes customer satisfaction very seriously…”
Rich 2
Any and all tech companies should be fined and their entire management imprisoned for a week every time they issue any statement along the lines of “We take
Re: “Lenovo takes customer satisfaction very seriously…”
43300
It usually appears in a fob-off response and can be translated as "we don't give a fuck but here are some empty words to pretend that we do"...
Anonymous Coward
Posting under anonymity,
I live in the Middle East (the powder keg that went BANG! last Saturday), and here, the situation is somewhat interesting.
As in, if you fail to make your website accessible, you can get hit with a few things:
1. A criminal fine of around $37575 (150,000 local)
2. A civil fine of $12525 (50,000 local)
3. An administrative fine of $1878 (individual), or $3757 (organization) per day until the violation is sorted. (local is 7500 or 15000 respectively)
4. A class-action lawsuit
Therefore, if Lenovo were to do this here, someone would've gotten fired for this.
fined?
G.Y.
Has anybody actually been fined over this?
swing and a miss
J__M__M
What Levono will do is refund the price difference for this particular purchase because it's our own goddamn fault, not the customer's.
What Levono should have done was write off the guy's laptop, but we are either too stupid to recognize the opportunity to turn a negative into a positive or we are not empowered enough to take advantage of it. Either way total fail.
Whateve
Making websites accessible to people with disabilities isn't just a nice thing to have. It's a legal requirement under UK, US, and EU law – for instance,
All sounds very well. Until you research and find number of UK websites prosecuted under this act = 0. (Admittedly on a par with average compensation to individuals for a data breach.)
My wife is visually impaired. And would happily work to test websites. However the last website operator she contacted told her she must be wrong about their site being unusable as they had hired a team (presumably all fully sighted) who had cleared the design as being "disability friendly".