AT&T WebPhone Gets Its Moment

Amberly Dressler — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:30:00 GMT

Integrating communications services with Web browsers to allow consumers to easily shift between devices and locations is why Ericsson, Mozilla and AT&T teamed up to showcase a Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) proof of concept, called AT&T Web Phone, at Mobile World Congress 2013.

The joint demonstration builds on Ericsson's Web Communication Gateway, the Mozilla Social API and WebRTC support in Firefox and the AT&T API Platform to enable the Mozilla Firefox browser to sync with a user's existing phone number and provide calling services without any plugins to download.

"We are excited to enable Web to mobile voice calls, video calls and file sharing without the need for a plugin,” said Todd Simpson, Mozilla Chief of Innovation. “This gives developers and operators a lot of opportunity to offer compelling services while maintaining direct customer relationships, so users can have an awesome, consistent communications experience."

The technology builds on WebRTC, an open Web framework that the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is standardizing. This demonstration is meant to show how the Web browser can perform many functions usually confined to a mobile device, such as voice and video calls and SMS and MMS texting.

"AT&T opens our network to developers through our API platform, allowing them to create applications with AT&T services like SMS, MMS and call management seamlessly and easily integrated,” said Carlton Hill, Vice President Developers Services, AT&T. “Together with Mozilla and Ericsson, we've developed a concept that illuminates for developers and consumers the technologies made possible by our APIs."

Additionally, in a joint press release, the companies state that the proposition will allow fast innovation to new and different applications and services - whether on a mobile device or desktop computer, through the global network of developers who work on the open Firefox platform.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Part 1

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:15:00 GMT

The W3C announced the formalization of its Accessibility standards this week. The project has been ongoing for several years and the aim is to help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of users with disabilities and older users. Drawing on extensive experience and community feedback, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 improve upon W3C's initial standard for accessible Web content, apply to more advanced technologies, and are more precisely testable.

The official guidelines themselves read much like a cross between a legal document and a technical manual for an extraterrestrial spaceship, so let's look at some of the basic principles and guidelines and what you as a designer and developer can, or perhaps should, consider if accessibility is top of mind for you and the site or applications you are developing. Keep in mind that this is only part one of a two part series on accessibility, and that portions of this article may be used in our upcoming feature article in the February edition of Website Magazine. While you may already be using many of these accessibility tips, others may be new to you, so weigh the benefits and pitfalls of each accordingly based on your objectives.

Text Alternatives: The W3C recommends that information and user interface components must be presented to users in ways they can perceive. Guidelines include providing text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, Braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.

Some compliance techniques for text alternatives include:

Providing different sizes for non-text content when it cannot have an equivalent accessible alternative
Using server-side scripts to resize images of text
Linking to textual information that provides comparable information
Providing more than two modalities of CAPTCHAs
Providing redundant text links for client-side image maps
Using CSS margin and padding rules instead of spacer images for layout design

Time-Based Media: Provide alternatives for time-based and synchronized media, which includes media that is audio or video only, captions and audio descriptions or prerecorded media alternatives.

Some compliance techniques for time-based media:

Providing a transcript of a live audio only presentation after the fact
Linking to textual information that provides comparable information
Providing a note saying "No sound is used in this clip" for video-only clips
Using SMIL 1.0 or 2.0 to provide captions for all languages for which there are audio tracks
Providing audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 1.0 or 2.0

Adaptable: The W3C recommends creating content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.

Some compliance techniques for adaptability include:

Using CSS to control visual presentation of text
Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships
Using Accessible RIA described by property to provide a descriptive, programmatically determined label and to identify form fields as required.
Organizing a page using headings
Using left-justified text for languages that are written left to right and right-justified text for languages that are written right-to-left
Providing a style switcher between style sheets that affect presentation order
Using an image with a text alternative for graphical symbols instead of a Unicode font glyph with the desired graphical appearance but different meaning

Distinguishable: Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background.

Some compliance techniques for distinguish-ability include:

Using readable fonts and making sure any text in images of text is at least 14 points and has good contrast
Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus
Using CSS to change the presentation of a user interface component when it receives focus
Providing a site-wide preference to turn off audio in addition to providing a control near the top of the Web page that turns off sounds that play automatically
Using a 3:1 contrast ratio or higher as the default presentation
Using colors that are composed predominantly of mid spectral components for the light and spectral extremes
Using server-side scripts to resize images of text

Keyboard Accessible: The W3C recommends that all functionally of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes.

Some compliance techniques for keyword accessibility include:

Adding keyboard-accessible actions to static HTML elements
Avoiding use of common user-agent keyboard commands for other purposes
Using unique letter combinations to begin each item of a list

In part two of W3C Accessibility Compliance available in early January, Website Magazine will address providing users with enough time to read and use content, not designing content in ways that create seizures, providing ways to help users navigate, and making content readable and understandable.

'Net Features : w3c

AT&T WebPhone Gets Its Moment

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Part 1