Accessibility

The Future of System Access

Matt Campbell • June 17, 2022

In the wake of our farewell to Internet Explorer, where we announced the coming end of System Access to Go (or SAToGo), there has been some unfortunate confusion about the future of System Access in general. So in this post, as chief technology officer of Pneuma Solutions, I want to personally set the record straight. This will be a long post, but I think it’s important to be completely candid about where we’re coming from and where we’re going, so please bear with us.

The short version is that System Access isn’t going away. Its scope will be changing, to better reflect the current assistive technology landscape and make the most of our limited resources as a small company.

… Read the rest

The End of an Era

Pneuma Solutions Team • June 15, 2022

June 15, 2022, marked the end of support for Internet Explorer. It’ll go on being supported on some legacy servers for another seven years, but for all intents and purposes, the browser that led us through the explosion of Web 2.0 will take its place in the technology archives.

The sunset of Internet Explorer means that the end is also near for System Access to Go (or SAToGo), the first screen reader that could be launched directly from a web browser with no additional assistance. The web is a different place now than it was in 2007 when we launched SAToGo. Today’s web browsers are much more focused on both security and keeping the user in control, as they should be, and it is no longer practical for a website to talk the user through the process of downloading and running a program like SAToGo.

… Read the rest

Continuing Dialogue on Accessibility Overlays

Matt Campbell • August 23, 2021

Earlier this year the blindness community finally had enough with companies claiming to provide accessible overlays to make sites more user friendly. We took note of the increasing protests and did our part to mitigate these barriers that, in some cases, would not give users the ability to bypass their intrusion.

To date, none of the services we blocked through our extension have changed their methodology.

Last week we received a message from a representative from Max Access. We offer that exchange here, not as an attempt to shame any one company, but rather as an explanation to clarify our position to any other service curious about why we have blocked them.

… Read the rest

An Open Letter to Cloudflare

Matt Campbell • August 3, 2021

We never relish using public forums to call out companies guilty of leaving customers behind. In this case, our attempts at communication have gone unanswered. It’s not lack of awareness on their part; we alerted them eighteen months ago the service they were designing would not be accessible. The CEO reaffirmed his company’s mission, but as of today, the service they released is as inaccessible as we predicted.

Having exhausted other alternatives, I published an open letter to Cloudflare. Below is a copy of that letter for your awareness. If anyone cares to follow or contribute to a discussion thread on the subject, you can participate here.

… Read the rest

The Line Between Ignorance and Stupidity: My Experience with the Pit Boss 1150 PRO

Mike Calvo • June 19, 2021

This past March I purchased a Pit Boss Pro Series II 1150 grill at Lowes. Like others tired of being cooped up for a year of Covid restrictions, I was getting ready for the summer heat and many days spent in the pool, grilling in the Florida sun, in the company of friends and family.

I chose this brand and model because it was said to be a solidly built product, had great reviews, and best of all a great value for the price. The smart technology features were important to me because most pellet grills have inaccessible digital LED control panels. I have previously owned a Green Mountain Grills smart pellet grill that did the trick at the time, but for the combination of reasons above I moved to the Pit Boss.

… Read the rest