All About Access

To Whom It May Concern:

What gives?!? Microsoft AntiSpyware is reminiscent of the early days of software development, back when users with disabilities were forever falling behind because new products—new Microsoft products—were not accessible. Products would come out and people with disabilities would wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And it seemed that as soon as the makers of assistive technology products released a solution, out would come a new version of the mainstream product, and the waiting game would begin again. Happily, we’ve come so far from those dark days. Or so I thought….

Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh. [The word on the street](http://www.aspstreet.com/archive/d.taf/what,show/id,26803 “Read Microsoft Acquires Anti-Spyware Leader GIANT Company at ASPstreet.com”)—ASPstreet.com—is that you acquired GIANT Company Software, and that the beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware is based on their product, rather than something created from scratch by Microsoft. That would explain why a product with the Microsoft name cannot be used by people who are blind. And I do realize that the issue of spyware is on the minds of more and more end users, so the pressure for you to release a solution is undoubtedly great. Nevertheless, I must say that I am extremely disappointed that Microsoft would release this product to the public in its current, inaccessible form.

Granted, there are countless inaccessible software products out there. That’s nothing new. It doesn’t occur to most people—including most software developers—that people with disabilities have unique needs when it comes to using a computer. And unless you happen to know someone with a disability, why would it? But you know better, Microsoft.

Many companies lack the resources to ensure that their products are accessible, even if they know that access issues do exist. But not you, Microsoft.

[The Microsoft Accessibility web site](http://www.microsoft.com/enable/ “Visit the home page of the Microsoft Accessibility team”) links to a number of pages and press releases that promote the idea that your company cares about product accessibility. Your [Committment to Accessibility](http://www.microsoft.com/enable/microsoft/default.aspx “Read Microsoft’s Committment to Accessibility: Overview”) begins with the declaration that “Delivering on our corporate mission—To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential—means we strive to build technology for everyone, including those who experience physical difficulties or disabilities.” You even bolded parts of your statement to be sure the reader notices how much Microsoft cares.

Oops.

You know what would have been impressive—really, really impressive? Releasing a statement to the effect that you had acquired GIANT and would soon be releasing a beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware—BUT not until you made the modifications necessary to ensure that it would be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Such a statement would show how much Microsoft truly believes in building technology for everyone. It would highlight the fact that access issues do exist, that access issues are not acceptable, and that access issues can be eliminated. It would put your money where your mouth is.

But if you couldn’t do that, couldn’t you have at least tried to make the beta release just a little bit accessible? Maybe give us some accelerator keys for the menu bar and make the various options tab-able? As it stands right now, if you can’t use a mouse, you can’t use Microsoft AntiSpyware.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

If you are concerned about the accessibility of Microsoft AntiSpyware, you can [give feedback to the Microsoft Accessibility group](http://www.microsoft.com/enable/feedback.aspx “Microsoft Accessibility’s Feedback and Contacting Us page”).
—jd

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 24th, 2005 at 1:34 pm and is filed under Barriers to Access, Other Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.