RE: A question of definition

[David Bolnick <davebo@MICROSOFT.com>]

508 requires nothing of the manufacturer. 508 states that if a government
agency is creating or buying the technology, it must be accessible to people
with disabilities unless there is an undue burden (or other exclusion). It
would be counter productive to weight labeling on the same level as product
accessibility so we should focus on the latter.

David.
	________________________
	David A. Bolnick
	Accessibility Program Manager: Multimedia, Telecommunications
	Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA  98052
	Tel: 425-936-8342    Page: 888-899-0841   Fax: 425-936-7329
	E-mail:  <mailto:davebo@microsoft.com> davebo@microsoft.com     Web:
<http://microsoft.com/enable> http://microsoft.com/enable


		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Randy Dipner [mailto:dipner@mtc-inc.com]
		Sent:	Thursday, October 22, 1998 10:55 AM
		To:	Multiple recipients of list
		Subject:	Re: A question of definition



		Gus Estrella wrote:

		>
		> l might not know the answer to this questioin, but l think
l have another
		> level to consider. The level is, the disk drive and the
diskets themselves,
		> since they carry the information regarding technology!  A
person with a
		> disability has to have access to both in order to either
do their job, or to
		> transfer the information so others can do their jobs. This
is just a thought
		> that l thought should be bought up.
		>

		I agree that this is another aspect to consider. It brings
up an interesting
		question -- It is tough to make a 3 1/2 inch diskette any
bigger than 3 1/2
		inches and that may make insertion into and extraction from
the computer
		difficult for some people. There are however a number of AT
products that can be
		attached to the diskettes to make them easier to use for
some people. The
		question I have is how do we deal with this sort of issue
where AT can make
		something accessible. Does this meet the spirit of 508 which
I take to be more
		alligned with universal design and access rather than using
AT to make an
		inaccessible thing accessible? I might extend this question
a bit by asking
		about distributed software on a diskette or on a CD. I can
look at that diskette
		or CD and tell what is on it by the label. Does 508 require
that the information
		on the diskette or CD label be presented in Braille as well?
If so must the
		Braille be on all copies of the diskette or CD or only on
some of them?

		--
		Randy Dipner
		President
		Meeting the Challenge, Inc.
		3630 Sinton Road, Suite 103
		Colorado Springs, CO 80907-5072
		719-578-8448 (voice/TTY) 719-444-0269 (fax)
		email: dipner@mtc-inc.com