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A History of Accessibility at IBM

By Cooke, Annemarie; Access World, Vol. 5, No. 2
Publication Date: March 2004

Article discusses the accessibility pioneering efforts of IBM, and examines the company’s plans for the future. The company developed one of the first screen readers for DOS, called IBM Screen Reader, which led to the development of IBM Screen Reader/2 – the first screen reader for a graphical user interface on the personal computer. The IBM Screen Reader did not become a trademarked product at that time, as the company was focusing on accessibility for the benefit of its staff members who were blind or had low vision. The company later developed the IBM Home Page Reader, which is a talking web browser, and helped to formulate the guidelines for the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative. Most recently, IBM can boast that they host the world’s largest information technology research organization, called the IBM Accessibility Center.

Assistive Products Discussed: HOME PAGE READER FOR WINDOWS
IBM SCREEN READER/2
IBM SCREEN READER/DOS
Published by: AFB Press   (Website:http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=46)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)    (Web Site: http://www.afb.org )
Link to text: http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw050207
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