Media: New Media Age warns of Accessibility Deadlines

New Media Age writes that the Government is preparing to launch the UK's first legal crackdown on companies that fail to make their websites accessible to blind or partially sighted users.

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) will begin a formal investigation into online service providers next month, which could produce the country's first test case of disability law applied to the Web. The commission's legal team is formulating its strategy and weighing up whether its investigation should focus on individual companies or particular sectors, says the magazine.

If the investigation concludes that certain sites breach the 1999 Disability Discrimination Act, the Commission's statutory powers allow it to serve notices ordering them to cease operation. Failure to comply with such an order would result in a court case. This would see guidelines on accessible websites established in case law in the UK.

Catriona Campbell of the Usability Company is quoted in the NMA article saying that: 'There's no excuse, especially for blue chips'.

Associated Link: NMA: Government gets tough over Web accessibility

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.