Adobe Announces Flash and Flex Accessibility for Mac
— ♣Today, Adobe Systems announced their intention to support accessibility with their Flash and Flex tools on multiple OS platforms, including Mac OS X. The full statement reads:
Adobe understands how important it is for computer users with disabilities to be able to access the entire Internet. In recognition of the needs of computer users with disabilities, as well as the demands on developers who need to easily create applications and content which comply with global accessibility standards, Adobe is planning major upgrades to the accessibility support in Adobe Flash Player.
The upgrades expand on Flash Player’s existing support for accessibility via the Microsoft Active Accessibility interface (MSAA) and will enable accessibility across all three major operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). The Flash Player will employ IAccessible2 from the Linux Foundation and the WAI-ARIA specification from the W3C to address user and developer needs and to ease interoperability with assistive technology vendors.
Additionally, enhancement are planned to the free and open-source Flex software developer’s kit (SDK) including improvements to complex components such as Flex datagrids and adding support for WAI-ARIA to simplify development of custom user interface components. These improvements are expected to start with the next major release of Adobe Flash Player (following Flash Player 10.1), and the first successive release of the Flex SDK.
We are cautiously optimistic that Adobe will hold to this commitment, despite the lack of accessibility in native iPhone applications built using the Flash platform, which we strongly encourage Adobe to rectify.
The real question, ultimately, will be whether or not the accessibility of Flash and Flex will be adequate, as well as whether Adobe will be as successful in encouraging developers to support accessibility as Apple has been.
We applaud this announcement. This is the first step in the right direction, but Adobe has a long road ahead of them to convince Mac and iPhone users with disabilities of their commitment to accessibility. Here’s hoping that Adobe has turned a new page in accessibility of their products.