Accessibility whine: Google Chrome browser

I'm frigging frustrated and intend venting a bit of spleen here.

I've just bought a PC netbook (a rather nice Samsung NC10), which is pretty good given its obvious limitations. The battery life is phenomenal and the keyboard, even given my fat fingers, is usable, just. I'm pretty pleased with it, but I'm forced to use Zoomtext on its higher powers due to the lappy's tiny 10.2 inch screen. Zoomtext is a bit of screen magnification software, and because I've the level 2 version, includes a degree of speech feedback, which can be used to read whatever the mouse is hovering over, or just to read a text file from start to finish, should that be your wish. I mainly use its AppReader tool, which allows you point a mouse at a thing, such as a paragraph within a web page, and have it read from that point onwards.

Now I'm hardly a coding genius, but I know that Zoomtext is pretty intelligent these days at working out the design of a web page, and reading the bits you actually need. In effect, if there's an advert at the side of a page, and you want to read the middle body text, Zoomtext will not shoot over to the ad. This wasn't always the case. Some of this I know, is down to the design of the page itself, some the browser and I know a lot of work has gone into Zoomtext itself (this is product I like one heck of a lot and can recommend it to just about any partially sighted computer user who can afford it, or who can get it on Access to Work is DSA if you're a student).

I wanted to try out the Google Chrome browser as it is safer to use than Explorer, allegedly, though nothing is as safe as my beloved, ageing Mac, it has to be said. So, on it went. And off it went.

I downloaded a quite simple page, www.mobile-review.com and selcted the English translation, and a piece of news. Whereas Zoomtext would be happy to speak the whole website without issue using MS Explorer, it failed to get beyond the first paragraph, before getting lost and drifting off to the bottom left hand side of the page. Completely useless. I could probably use the Chrome browser at work, since I use a giant 30 inch monitor there, but on the netbook, the issue is somewhat forced. So it Chrome was sullenly de-installed.

I wrote to Google summarising the issue, but I do wonder (time and time again) why access tech users are nearly always regarded as an inconvenience or afterthought by mainstream software developers? One of the glorious things about Apple's Mac, is that the technology needed by a blind or partially sighted people to make it speak or mag up the screen is built into the operating system. its not perfect - I'm using the Zoom feature right now, and it will never as smart or easy to use as Zoomtext - but hey, it means I can use my computer for the same initial cost as a non-partially sighted user. A rarity though, and Apple really can't be congratulated for their iPods which are generally an accessibility disaster area. My suggestion: install Rockbox on your pod, but only if you are have 4.5 gen or older as it won't work at all on the Classic version (as I write). And be very careful, read the instructions and follow them to the letter unless you want a dead iPod.

Another rant, while I'm on the subject of access tech. When I type in "Android" and "partially sighted" on Google, looking for information on any third party apps which may have been written in the area of screen mags or speech for the HTC G1 'Google Phone", why are all the phones which appear simple, stupid, big button affairs designed for the extremely old, or non-technical users. HELLOOOOO developers. Wakey wakey manufacturers. I am not a thickie. i am not an ooohh-aaaaahh phenomenon. I have a very specific problem with my eyeballs, and its a relatively simple technical problem to solve with tried and technology on existing products, not a phone for technophobes.

Just because I'm partially sighted doesn't mean my brain is dripping out of my arse (feel free to send it back to me if it should fall out). Most of the recent pictures on this blog were taken on a Nokia N82 phone, which is a great mobile indeed, and hardly a low tech jobby by 2008 standards. It is, indeed, a phone I like one heck of a lot due to its massive feature set. I would rather eat my own hairy turds than voluntarily give it up for a basic crappy phone designed for me, sorry, errrm, partially sighted people. But I would like my N82 a lot MORE if I didn't have to use a £10 hand held magnifier in order to see it. The alternative to credit crunch solution is mag software, going for the easy going sum of £150. As they say in German, warum? Nokia phones running Symbian actually are accessible with speech and screen mag - at a price - but they are a rarity amongst mobile phones (Samsungs, come to think of it, used to be able to, and still might manage to have their screen fonts scaled, to quite large sizes).

Wacky flavoured crisps

Last year, Walkers crisps held a competition in which the public were invited to submit flavour ideas for a forthcoming range of crisps. The competition was called "Do Us A Flavour'. I was buying lunch and coffee from our sandwich van on Monday, and spotted the Do Us A Flavour range, all available from said van. Needless to say I had to try them all, and my guess is that you greedy lot will want to try at least a few of these flavours.

Here's your choice of crisp, with my opinion on each flavour below:

Fish and chips: I reckoned this would be a the tamest flavour, but the flavour is quite fishy and chippy. There is vinegar with a hint of fish essence, plus some lemon. Just like a day out in Margate. Works pretty dang well for me. 7 out of 10.

Crispy duck and hoi-sin sauce: quick a strong flavour of duck. My boss thought it was too ducky, though I considered this an advantage. At least it says what it is going to do on the packet. 7 out of 10 again.

Chocolate and chilli: You can taste the cocoa for the first five seconds, then the chilli kicks in. The flavours on their own work well, but the the flavour overall is chilli. 4 out of 10.

Onion Bhaji: The smell is pretty good, I bought my Indian colleague Amir a pack and he thought the smell was Ok, and the taste, he rated as "nice". However, the main flavour for me seemed to be monosodium glutamate. Very salty taste with a hint of onion only. Only 3 out of 10.

Builders Breakfast: This again is quite a good replication of the flavours, which, according to the packet, are sausage, bacon, egg, buttered toast and tomato ketchup. Quite a challenge for the flavour chemists then, and one which they've made work. For its sheer accuracy, I'm giving these 9 out of 10.

And the weirdest flavour, I've saved till last: Cajun Squirrel. Since I'm not Ray Mears, I've no idea what a squirrel, cajun spiced or otherwise, is meant to taste like. If this was described as cajun chicken, then I'd give it a very high mark indeed as that's just what it tastes like. I'm going to give it 7 out of ten as the cajun spice is just hot enough to give your tongue a small whack without blowing your face off. A good novelty flavour.

I think Walkers have done a pretty good job overall, and i envy the person whose job it was to replicate these flavours.

Happy crunching for the credit crunch.

Adam

Pimp my watch

I am a great fan of TokyoFlash watches. LED watches which are totally pointless in they do no more than any analogue and much less than even a cheap Casio. But that's the not the point of TokyoFlash. They are in this world for gadget freaks and people who just love to show off in a particular way and for whom gold and jewels probably don't impress. If you have ever purchased a hi-fi for its display over its music out, or been to a nightclub to admire the light show over this music, you're a prime candidate as purchaser.

Here's how you tell the time on my Pimp P1 Pusher, below. On the left hand side, follow the column of red LEDs. 5. Now read the number of multi-coloured dots. The red lines indicate quarters: 15, 30 and 45 and 00. So the time here is 5.22 and I'm about to leave work. Easy. This is not the hardest to read TokyoFlash watch, the Barcode range really taxes the brain.

The watch does a little flash every two minutes between 1800 and 0100 - what the accompanying blurb calls 'Pimp time'. Lovely. Isn't 6pm a bit early for pimps?

It is actually quite a comfortable watch to wear, despite its gigantic size, courtesy of the wide leather strap, though wearing it under a shirt cuff is not possible. At £130 (Amazon.co.uk), its not the cheapest of watches either, but it has been a rather pleasant timepiece to use so far, and anyway, my wife bought it for me as a Christmas prezzie, so I paid nowt!