IMPROVING ACCESS TO WEB CONTENT AT GOOGLE

TV Raman
Google, Inc.

Loretta Guarino Reid
Google, Inc.

In this first part of our two-part coverage of accessibility at
Google, we will review our work over the last year in enhancing the
accessibility of Web content at Google, with particular attention to
good HTML interfaces to the content. The second part of Google's
presentations at CSUN will cover the accessibility of Web interaction,
specifically in the context of AJAX-based Web applications.

During this talk, we will cover progress on the following topics:

1.1 Making GMail more universally available.

GMail can now be accessed via a multiplicity of user interfaces
ranging from plain old HTML and highly interactive AJAX to
light-weight mobile XHTML. The now enhanced and fully functional HTML
interface is of particular interest to screenreader users.

The HTML interface has been made functional by:

   1. Fully implementing the various options available under  
      Settings.  This includes the ability to create and use labels, 
      create mail filters, manage multiple accounts,
      forward mail to other accounts, and access mail via POP.
      Previously, these options were only available through the 
      AJAX interfaces. 
   2. Adding access keys to commonly used actions and headers for
      different sections of the application.

GMail filters, a feature that allows automatic labeling and
pre-processing of incoming mail, is of particular interest to
screenreader users, since it makes for a clean inbox by eliminating
unnecessary clutter.

1.2 Google Books

Google Books provides full-text access to public-domain books. The
site offers a light-weight HTML interface that is screenreader
friendly alongside the original AJAX interface.

Once a book has been located, users can search within a book, as well
as navigate by pages. Searching within a book populates the page
navigation field with the page number where the match was found; this
makes it particularly easy for users to jump to a specific spot in a
book and read the pages in the neighborhood of the match to obtain
additional context.

1.3 Mobile Google Calendar

Google Calendar offers a light-weight XHTML interface primarily
designed for mobile users on the go. But it provides an effective
means of calendar access for screenreader users as well.

The mobile calendar allows one to quickly create new events, as well
as to preview one or more calendars using a light-weight XHTML
interface.

1.4 Summary:

This talk has focused primarily on the accessibility of traditional
HTML content. The sequel to this talk will focus on the challenges of
making AJAX applications usable by access-enabling them via ARIA.

Creating usable, accessible HTML content is crucial when later
access-enabling rich interaction created through AJAX. Thus, while
basic HTML might sound old-fashioned and boring in a world dominated
by dynamic Web applications, creating good HTML content is about
returning to basics and is a pre-prerequisite for creating rich
interaction that degrades gracefully.