Software allows for easier use of Net
By K. Oanh Ha
Knight Ridder News Service
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Judy Malk, 76, has such poor vision that she needed to lean in and view Web pages with her magnifying glass.
Pete Merrifield, coordinator of SeniorNet in Hawai'i, said he would be looking into the IBM Web Adaptation Technology software to see if it can be used in the SeniorNet lab at Honolulu Community College. SeniorNet runs an open computer lab for seniors, including beginners, at HCC in Building 2, Room 408, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For information, call 845-9296.
"You didn't want to stay at the computer very long because it's not very comfortable," said Malk, who lives in Campbell, Calif.
For seniors
Now she's surfing the Internet night and day, doing online banking and buying books for her daughter-in-law in Hawai'i — using IBM software designed for seniors like her.
The company's Web Adaptation Technology software allows Malk and others with vision impairments and disabilities to manipulate Web pages to suit their needs. The software can read aloud what's on the page, magnify text, block distracting screen backgrounds or animation and make the keyboard easier to use.
"It reduces the fear factor that inherently comes with the new paradigm of the Internet," said Kristin Fabos, executive director of SeniorNet, a Santa Clara, Calif., nonprofit that trains seniors to use computers and technology.
SeniorNet worked with IBM to develop and roll out the software at its centers nationally. "If you add to the fear a disability like low vision or an arthritic condition, it makes using computers and the Internet that much more daunting."
The Web Adaptation Technology addresses common problems experienced by seniors.
Sufferers of arthritis or tremors, for example, may hold down a key too long and get repeats of the same letter. The software eliminates key repeats. If someone drags his or her fingers across the keyboard because of poor coordination, it filters out the jumble of letters that would normally appear on the screen.
"Typing problems change not just day-to-day but even in the same session as they get tired," said Vicki Hanson, manager of IBM's Accessibility Research Group. "The software is monitoring how you're typing and automatically adjusts to your typing pattern. It's looking for characteristic errors and eliminates them."
The text of Web pages also can be reformatted into a single column of magnified text, eliminating the need to scroll to the right when text is enlarged.
In 2002, IBM installed Web Adaptation Technology at SeniorNet centers across the country, and now makes the software available for download.
IBM gives free access to the technology through its not-for-profit partners and is distributing the software through 40 partners in 13 countries, said Jocelyn Zona, community relations manager for the western United States.
One downside of the software is that Web pages don't retain their look and feel.
"It never looks as good when you change it," Hanson said. "But if you can't read it the way it was designed, it's no good to you."
