Slashdot Mirror

Ian Davis writes "This Geoworks Press Release announces that they have U.S. and Japanese patents dating from 1994 covering some the essentials of the WAP and WML specs. They're demanding a license fee of $20,000 per year from all WAP phone manufacturers as well as WAP site owners. The WAP Forum have acknowledged the patent and their policy is to allow it provided the owners provide fair access to the technology covered. What do people think? Is this a fatal blow to U.S.-based WAP startups? Will it give the Europeans an even bigger lead in the WAP market?" The $20,000/year fee for WAP Web site operators is only for companies with $1 million or more in annual revenue. This _may_ not be as bad as it sounds.

krshultz writes "IBM has posted a great technical article on Java performance on its DeveloperWorks site. I learned a lot about Java and Linux in general." This is a nice big well-indexed article. Go.

krshultz writes "IBM has posted a great technical article on Java performance on its DeveloperWorks site. I learned a lot about Java and Linux in general." This is a nice big well-indexed article. Go.

morzel asks a doosy: "XML is one of these words everybody's talking about yet no-one really knows how to use it in specific applications or server technologies. At the Apache XML Project, some work is being done on integrating XML/XSL in the server itself, but personally I like IBM's idea of a transcoder in between a range of (XML) servers and a range of clients. But... how can it be done?" (More)

"Suppose you have to develop an on-line application, and you'd want to go with XML on the server side, and everyday browsers on the client side. Portable platforms like Palm and WAP-enabled phones will probably be a client platform that is being used frequently.
What tools -open source or commercial- are available to accomplish this?

The elements of the system are:

• XML Enabled Database system: Data is retrieved by the transcoder using HTTP or your favorite protocol
• Transcoding gateway: should translate the XML data using XSL (or another way) to a form readable by the client. The exact translation or the XSL to use can be set by the server (included in the XML source), or be detected by the gateway.
• Browsers of all colours and kinds.

A typical usage of this system would be the publishing of an on-line application without having to bother with client troubles except for writing the XSLs. I do web development, and the amount of work that goes into making sure every platform works as it's supposed to be is way too much in comparison to the functionality of the system. Specially when exotic clients like PDAs and WAP mobile phones are requested client platforms (e.g.: a sales follow-up app), the burden of getting everything working and having a UI that does the job is a real nightmare...

XML is the wave of the future, that's for sure... But what tools are available to actually incorporate XML in a system that can do all things we poor webdesigners dream of?

All suggestions welcome! "

LL writes "We might soon be seeing commercial delivery of autoimmune security systems. Rather than the surface bit pattern detections of antivirus checkers, these system attempt to provoke virii in a secure area (IBM) or match network packets against signature tags (Forrest). The interesting plug is that the author suggests that large programs such as operating systems should be made in such a way that no two copies are exactly alike. Now guess what favourite beast has this trait?"

ghoti writes "IBM has developed a 200 ppi LCD. This is an interesting development, since you can put much more information into the same space - and keep it readable as well. And fonts would look a lot better, too ... So finally, those 32 MB graphics cards will become mainstream ..." Is 200 ppi worth it? It definitely would make anti-aliasing fonts under X less of a priority ;)

This week, we questioned Curtis Chung, Director of Technology for the National Federation of the Blind, the group that is suing AOL over access for blind users. Today Curtis explains the reason for the AOL lawsuit, tells us how to make Web pages more accessible for blind users, and generally talks about life as a blind programmer. Excellent reading! (more below)

1) University computer labs and the blind
by sinnergy
I am the system administrator for a rather prestigious and middle sized university in the MidWest. I am responsible for a number of computer labs in my department. As usual, our budget is extraordinarily tight and it is difficult to replace new machines on a timely basis, let alone make them more accessible to those with disabilites. To the best of my knowledge, I have to have a blind or visually challenged student or faculty member use my labs or ask for interfaces that will let them use my labs.

What are some easy things that I can do, or what products should I purchase to allow visually challenged students use computer technology here? We have invested money in purchasing large monitors for all the computers, for students with bad sight, but I fear that eventually we'll run into a situation where we will need to accomodate a blind person at our workstations. I want to make sure that we at least know what we should do when (not if) we need to do this.

CURTIS:
I assume here that the workstations are Windows 95/98 based. If this is incorrect, then what I am about to say is not going to be valid. Windows and/or DOS are the two operating systems where the blind have achieved the greatest access.

At a minimum, you should have available in your software inventory a screen access program for the blind. This does not need to be installed on any of your lab's machines unless or until the need arises. With a screen access program for the blind, a student at your institution should be able to use standard word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect), e-mail client software such as Eudora or Outlook Express, data base programs such as Microsoft Access, and a variety of other Windows applications.

There are a number of screen access programs for Windows currently available, ranging in price from $500 to $800. Someone on your staff should familiarize him/herself with the operation of at least one of these programs. I recommend using JAWS for Windows from Henter-Joyce, Inc. This is by far the most popular and ubiquitous of the screen access programs for the blind. Other programs include Window-Eyes (from GW Micro) and Slimware Window Bridge (from Syntha-Voice Computers in Canada. Contact information for these three companies follows:

Henter-Joyce, Inc.
11800 31st Court N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33716-1805
(727) 803-8000 or (800) 336-5658
Fax: (727) 803-8001
World Wide Web: http://www.hj.com

GW Micro
725 Airport North Office Park
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
(219) 489-3671
Fax: (219) 489-2608
World Wide Web: http://www.gwmicro.com

Syntha-Voice Computers, Inc.
800 Queenston Road, Suite 304
Stoney Creek, Ontario L8G 1A7, CANADA
(905) 662-0565
Fax: (905) 662-0568
World Wide Web:http://www.synthavoice.on.ca

2) What can I do, what are my responsibilities?
by handorf
It is difficult for me to understand, as a programmer, the limitations and efforts I need to make in UI design in my projects. What approaches do you recommend and which should be avoided? Do you have any examples of a mainstream project that was done well from this perspective?

CURTIS:
I am assuming Windows as the core operating system. Programmers should start with the assumption that the blind user will be running a screen access program. This means that by and large, any application developed under Windows does not need to be self-voicing. Self-voicing applications may be developed if one wants to write a special purpose application for the blind, but in the main, it is best to assume that the blind person will be using the computer with the help of a screen access program.

Given this assumption, therefore, the question then becomes one of how data from an application is to be presented on the screen and how application functions are to be invoked if the application is to be fully usable to a person who is blind. Tomes have been written on the subject by the fine folks at Microsoft. Visit their web site at http://www.microsoft.com/enable. In the long run, the ideal is to have applications written to use the Microsoft Active Accessibility API, described on the above web site. However, in the short run, here are a few helpful suggestions:

• 1. All prompts for edit boxes should be followed with a colon, since most screen access programs will detect this and improve responses.
• 2. All user functions must be available using the keyboard, either through menus, controls, or shortcut keys. If shortcut keys are used, they should be well documented.
• 3. Standard Windows colour pallets must be used so that anyone choosing to alter their colour scheme for improved visibility will not be hampered. This includes *not* hard coding colours, but setting them such that changes to the environment colour scheme will not render information invisible.
• 4. Do not impart meaning through colour alone. This is not only problematic for people using screen access programs, requiring extra configuration to derive such information, but it is pretty useless for people who are colour blind. A typical example of this bad practice is in Microsoft Word 97, where a red or green squiggly line denotes either a spelling or grammatical error. People who are red or green colour blind find this not to be very helpful.
• 5. Always include text captions for controls.
• 6. If any amount of text is to be presented to a user in a multi-line format, ensure that an insertion pointer is provided within that text when the user tabs to that information. It is not helpful to display a long set of instructions or copyright information in a label or other control that doesn't accept keyboard focus.
• 7. Try not to design screens that require scrolling to access information or controls. Obviously, there are going to be situations where this cannot be avoided. However, these situations should be the exception--not the norm.
• 8. Do not place too many controls on a single screen. Not only is this more manageable for everyone regardless of disability, but it also increases the chances of any accelerator keys being unique for each control on a given screen. For example, you probably would like to avoid having two controls, each of which uses the ALT+E key combination to be activated.
• 9. If information is to be displayed graphically (for example, a chart or image), ensure that there is at least some textual description of this available. If it is possible to make the information available in a tabular format as an alternative, this would be better. I fully appreciate that space and interpretation can place limits on this.
• 10. Making an application accessible nonvisually should not mean that you eliminate graphics altogether. Software is used by everyone--blind and sighted alike--and therefore requires features which are appealing to both groups.

An example of a project which resulted in an application with greater accessibility is Lotus Notes Release 5. Earlier versions of Lotus Notes were a problem for many blind people using Windows. More often than not, only a limited subset of the Notes application could be used and only after a considerable amount of customization was performed to the screen access technology. IBM and Lotus teamed up and made a concerted effort to ensure that Notes 5 was accessible. They made a conscious decision to implement Microsoft Active Accessibility.

3) ADA and AOL lawsuit
by ArtPepper
Would you briefly explain the type of access you are expecting AOL (and presumbably all other web businesses) to provide?

CURTIS:
To begin with, let me explain that the quarrel we have with America Online has to do with the accessibility of the software we *MUST* *RUN* in the Windows environment in order to use any AOL service. This is *NOT* releated directly to any question of accessibility to web pages. To put it simply, the AOL software, all versions, behaves in such a way as to make it difficult if not impossible for screen access programs for the blind to understand what is being displayed on the screen. What we are asking for is to have AOL software that works well with screen access software for the blind.

As for other "web businesses," we are asking that anyone who puts up a web page follow accessibility guidelines developed and promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium through its Web Access Initiative and that in addition, they consider some other features which will enhance nonvisual access:

• 1. Provide a hypertext link to any labeled graphic which it is important for the web page reader to know about. This will enable the blind user to hear the description of a graphic by landing on it using the Tab key.
• 2. Consider incorporating a link which allows the user to jump past all of the repetitive stuff which seems to be typical of most web pages. Look at http://www.ibm.com/sns to see an example of what I am talking about. On this page, there is a "skip to main content" link which is heard by the blind user but never seen by a sighted person.
• 3. Keep forms fairly simple.

4) Question
by Anonymous Coward
Why do you believe that a private company should be forced into providing a service? Why not let the market dictate?

CURTIS:
Throughout all of our history, private companies have been required to do certain things and perform certain actions which society deemed to be beneficial to its members. This is why we have such things as the minimum wage, civil rights laws which protect members of racial minorities, and anti-trust laws and regulations. Throughout all of our history, whenever we have proposed laws requiring private companies to do certain things, they have always been resisted. Checks and balances are the way of any democratic society.

When a private company becomes sufficiently large and ubiquitous, it has the very real potential of setting a de facto standard which often must be followed even by its competitors. If the standard is good -- that is, not damaging to a particular class of individuals -- then we don't have a problem. However, if the standard is bad -- excluding one or more groups of people -- then, it needs to be challenged. This is why I believe that there are times when a private company must be compelled to terminate a practice which market forces have not encouraged it to stop.

5) Fundamental problems in Web architechture?
by Matt Bridges
Sorry for the long-winded lead in to the question. Recently I tried to get a blind friend's computer to access the web in a blind-accessible fashion. I tried to do this with a screen-reader program, but a few major problems came up: when the text was in columns or frames, the reader software kept reading from left to right, mixing the two or more columns. Also, the screen reader could not decipher the graphical buttons that many pages use for even simple functions like "next" or "up one level." In addition, few web pages currently offer a text-only version of their pages. However, if someone on a PC goes to www.downloads.com, it takes them to the PC section, while a Mac automatically goes to the Mac section. This auto-redirection seems like it would be the perfect way to have two pages, one text-only and one graphical, and do it transparantly for both blind and sighted users. Do you think that such a standard for having two web pages will ever become commonplace?

CURTIS:
Your description of problems accessing a web page with a screen reader is all too common for those of us who are blind. Through better web design and more intelligence on the part of screen reading software, our web page access problems are waning. However, there are still many web sites which cause problems for someone who is blind--either because the format is too complex or because of the esclusive use of unlabeled graphics or image maps to get to various places on the web site.

Having a web site where a text-only page is automatically displayed for a blind user sounds like a great idea--except...

• How would the web page know that I was blind? More sighted people use PC's than blind people.
• What if I wanted to bring up the non-text version because I wanted to show the web site to a sighted friend who was looking over my shoulder?

What I am trying to say in a long-winded way is that I don't think this auto-redirection is a good idea. I am certainly not against text-only versions of web pages and while I sometimes wonder how well the text-only versions are updated as compared to the graphical version, I believe that the user should have the choice of whether or not to bring up the text-only page.

6) Open Source and blind users
by Noryungi
This is a question that comes from a very frustrated "user". I worked for almost a year for a special european technical agency for the blind, so I guess I probably have a little bit more of experience than the average computer user.

Anyway, I have been helping a blind friend for over a year, now, trying to get his Braille portable computer to work properly within Windows 95. Let me just put it this way: it's a nightmare. This machine costs more than US$ 10,000 and it just does not work. The company that made the machine refuses to support things as basic as a modem (required to connect to the ISP) or software, such as Lynx, that make it a lot more easier to connect to the information he needs.

My friend is just as frustrated as I am, especially since he bought the computer to be able to attend programming classes and basic Computer Science courses. The university requires all these classes to be based on Windows 95 only. Now, he can't attend these classes because his stupid machine does not work with the GUI we all love to hate .

In your opinion:

• A. Is there any good computer/supplier for blind user that *have* to use Windows?
• B. Is it possible that blind users (such as my friend) will be "locked-out" of CS classes because of Windows predominance?
• C. What can we (the "Open Source Community") do to make our solutions (Linux/BSD/whatever) the #1 computer solution for blind users?

CURTIS:
A. There is no "computer/supplier" for blind users who *HAVE* to use Windows. Generally speaking, those of us who need to use Windows purchase a standard Pentium machine and add on a screen access program (see Question 1 above). While this solution isn't perfect, it does allow us to run enough Windows applications so as to get some benefit from the operating system and related software. In fact, if we want to obtain competitive and gainful employment in the corporate workplace, it is *ESSENTIAL* that we use Windows. Whether we like it or not, today, Windows is the operating system of choice in most offices.

B. The predominance of Windows does indeed pose a significant problem for blind students in computer science classes. More often than not, the programming software used in these classes does not work with screen access technology for the blind. A blind student must therefore learn to work judiciously and creatively with sighted readers--the fully plug-compatible, biological interface that works with any computer. This is to say that a blind computer science student with sufficient determination and good basic blindness skills can matriculate through a computer science curriculum. I would be the first to say that we need full nonvisual access to the programming and other tools used in programming classes. To this end, we are working with Microsoft and other companies to see what can be done to improve the accessibility of development tools. However, I agree with Microsoft that the first priority for access needs to be focused on software that we use to perform our jobs. Matters have now progressed to the point where we can begin pressing Microsoft to focus more attention on the programming and development tools. (In case you are wondering, this is not only a concern with Microsoft programming tools. I feel the same way about software from Borland and other companies, too.)

C. In order for Linux to be the number one solution for the blind, it must be as widely accepted as Windows in the workplace. Unless or until that happens, Linux may be useful for some blind individuals at home, but we, the blind, must insist on having access to the applications used by our sighted peers at work.

7) XML
by RobotWisdom
Scientific American claimed recently that XML would make things better for blind users. Do you agree, or is this hype?

CURTIS:
I don't know enough about XML to answer the question. What I do know is that XML is very likely to become important for the digital talking books which we, the blind, will probably want to read in the years to come.

8) Intonations
by RobotWisdom
A blind user on comp.ai.nat-lang named Chaumont Devin suggested that the feature he'd most like to see in a text-to-speech application would involve changing the intonation as it approached a comma, period, or question mark. Is this a generally-agreed-on desirable feature, and has it been implemented yet?

CURTIS:
Screen access programs for the blind generally control the intonation of any speech coming out of the computer. Many of them change the tone of the speech based on punctuation. Some blind people like this feature while others prefer to hear the actual punctuation character (e.g., comma, period, etc.). The important point here is choice. Let the blind user decide how punctuation should be handled. Fortunately, this is now possible with today's crop of screen access technology.

9) Attitudes
by Slamtilt
When the lawsuit against AOL was discussed on /., there were a fair number of posts that essentially commented "Why the hell are blind people trying to access the web anyway? It's a visual medium!". Do you run into this attitude a lot, and what do you find to be good ways of overcoming it?

CURTIS:
I confess that I have not run into this attitude as often as I might have expected. Most people I talk with think it is wonderful that the blind can access the web at all. Some of them, unfortunately, also think it is wonderful that a blind person can carry on an intelligent conversation, let alone hold down a competitive job, raise a family, travel independently around the country, etc. Most times, the blind are thought of as people who, at best, require a lot of help from others. Rarely do people, at the subconscious level, have the image of a blind person as a competent, mobile individual, carrying a briefcase, walking down the street with confidence.

As to those people who say that the Web is primarily a visual medium, I say "nonsense!" Most of the informational content you see on the web today is text. Yes, there are pictures, animated presentations, graphics, and so on. But the really meaningful content is still text, and text is far from being an exclusively visual medium.

10) The Profession
by Vicegrip
It strikes me as a monumental task to be a software developer without the benefit of one's vision. In many ways, I fear the loss of my sight more than just about anything in this world. I was wondering what skills you have developped over the years that have allowed you to succeed in a profession that is inherently visual in nature? What changes to the way we do things, do you think, would have made your job much easier for you?

CURTIS:
I am sorry that you fear blindness as much as you do. You know, blindness is feared almost as much as cancer -- certainly more than AIDS. It is this fear that has made it difficult for many of us to secure meaningful employment. I understand the fear, however, and offer what limited help I can to alleviate it.

Software development is a visual exercise only because of the tools used to develop software. At the core (pardon the pun), thinking up a good program and ensuring that its logic is sound is far from visual. When I attended computer programming class some 22 years ago, my fellow classmates would have their code ready days before I did. They would execute ten or even fifteen compilation and test runs while I plodded on writing and then desk-checking my program. I usually got my program working after two compiles and maybe three test runs.

I also wrote programs which displayed information on CRT devices which I could not use without sighted assistance. This did not trouble me greatly. I wrote the code at my desk using a Braille Writer (a Braille typewriter) and a keypunch machine. When I wanted to test my program, I sat in front of the terminal with a sighted assistant who would describe what was happening on the screen while I pressed the keys.

The basic skills which I, as a blind programmer, brought to the programming tasks were these: proficiency in the reading and writing of Braille; a logical mind; skill in hiring, managing, and (if necessary) firing sighted readers; good note-taking skills; and the ability to articulate my needs to my employer and to come up with my own alternative technology.

My job would have been made much easier if I didn't have to constantly re-educate new co-workers about my competence and normality. For example, while I take the act of watching television for granted, and while I use the term "watch" as a part of my normal conversation, many people with whom I came into contact insisted that I "listened" to the boob tube. I had to remind them repeatedly that I preferred the term "watch" as a way of fitting in with everybody else rather than emphasizing the fact that I couldn't see by always saying "listen." When I went on my initial job interviews, many years ago, some interviewers were more interested in knowing how I would find my way to the bathroom rather than the programming languages I had learned in computer school. Needless to say, I found this rather frustrating.

For a blind person who wants to write software today, it is ideal to have a text-based language which can be edited using the editor of his/her choice. This allows the blind person to concentrate more on programming and less on dealing with cumbersome and inefficient development tools which use graphical interfaces to make them (for the sighted) easier to use. On the other side of the coin, it is important, I believe, for the blind software developer to understand how to write programs which produce graphics -- even though he/she may not be able to see the graphics. Exempting a blind computer programming student from any requirement to understand graphical programming does a tremendous disservice to the student and hampers advancement in the profession. For example, while I myself don't use the mouse to drag and drop or point and click, I understand how the mouse should be used. With this knowledge, I can assist sighted coworkers who may not understand the workings of the computer as well as I do.

11) Information Structure and navigability
by tangram
A lot of people have asked how to make web pages more readable. Could you also address how to make them more navigable?

You can know a lot about the content of a web page based on the formatting. Stuff in the left column is probably menus, stuff at the top can probably be ignored, etc. I can easily scan a page without having to actually read it, and find what's relevant quickly.

I try to imagine navigating a page serially with a braille keyboard or listening to it. I can't imagine keeping enough information in mind to achieve the same kind of scannability.

How can I better structure a page for ease of navigation?

CURTIS:
I agree with you that web pages which contain repetitive information at the top are time-consuming to navigate. From a blindness perspective, it would be far better if each page on a particular web site were unique and did not so closely resemble other pages on the site. For example, while shopping at amazon.com the other day, I found myself getting quite frustrated at the amount of time it was taking me to move past the stuff at the beginning of the page to read the results of my search query.

It seems to me that there are two ways to fix this problem. First, the repetitive stuff could be placed at the bottom, and all new information could be displayed at the top. Alternatively, you could include a hidden hypertext link on the page which might be alt-tagged as "Jump to Main Content." The link itself could be invisibly imbedded in a picture or logo. The alt-tag would be spoken by the screen reader but not shown on the screen. For an example of how this is done, see the URL: http://www.ibm.com/sns.

Next week: a surprise guest. Tune in Monday @ noon!

This week, we questioned Curtis Chung, Director of Technology for the National Federation of the Blind, the group that is suing AOL over access for blind users. Today Curtis explains the reason for the AOL lawsuit, tells us how to make Web pages more accessible for blind users, and generally talks about life as a blind programmer. Excellent reading! (more below)

1) University computer labs and the blind
by sinnergy
I am the system administrator for a rather prestigious and middle sized university in the MidWest. I am responsible for a number of computer labs in my department. As usual, our budget is extraordinarily tight and it is difficult to replace new machines on a timely basis, let alone make them more accessible to those with disabilites. To the best of my knowledge, I have to have a blind or visually challenged student or faculty member use my labs or ask for interfaces that will let them use my labs.

What are some easy things that I can do, or what products should I purchase to allow visually challenged students use computer technology here? We have invested money in purchasing large monitors for all the computers, for students with bad sight, but I fear that eventually we'll run into a situation where we will need to accomodate a blind person at our workstations. I want to make sure that we at least know what we should do when (not if) we need to do this.

CURTIS:
I assume here that the workstations are Windows 95/98 based. If this is incorrect, then what I am about to say is not going to be valid. Windows and/or DOS are the two operating systems where the blind have achieved the greatest access.

At a minimum, you should have available in your software inventory a screen access program for the blind. This does not need to be installed on any of your lab's machines unless or until the need arises. With a screen access program for the blind, a student at your institution should be able to use standard word processing software (e.g., Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect), e-mail client software such as Eudora or Outlook Express, data base programs such as Microsoft Access, and a variety of other Windows applications.

There are a number of screen access programs for Windows currently available, ranging in price from $500 to $800. Someone on your staff should familiarize him/herself with the operation of at least one of these programs. I recommend using JAWS for Windows from Henter-Joyce, Inc. This is by far the most popular and ubiquitous of the screen access programs for the blind. Other programs include Window-Eyes (from GW Micro) and Slimware Window Bridge (from Syntha-Voice Computers in Canada. Contact information for these three companies follows:

Henter-Joyce, Inc.
11800 31st Court N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33716-1805
(727) 803-8000 or (800) 336-5658
Fax: (727) 803-8001
World Wide Web: http://www.hj.com

GW Micro
725 Airport North Office Park
Fort Wayne, IN 46825
(219) 489-3671
Fax: (219) 489-2608
World Wide Web: http://www.gwmicro.com

Syntha-Voice Computers, Inc.
800 Queenston Road, Suite 304
Stoney Creek, Ontario L8G 1A7, CANADA
(905) 662-0565
Fax: (905) 662-0568
World Wide Web:http://www.synthavoice.on.ca

2) What can I do, what are my responsibilities?
by handorf
It is difficult for me to understand, as a programmer, the limitations and efforts I need to make in UI design in my projects. What approaches do you recommend and which should be avoided? Do you have any examples of a mainstream project that was done well from this perspective?

CURTIS:
I am assuming Windows as the core operating system. Programmers should start with the assumption that the blind user will be running a screen access program. This means that by and large, any application developed under Windows does not need to be self-voicing. Self-voicing applications may be developed if one wants to write a special purpose application for the blind, but in the main, it is best to assume that the blind person will be using the computer with the help of a screen access program.

Given this assumption, therefore, the question then becomes one of how data from an application is to be presented on the screen and how application functions are to be invoked if the application is to be fully usable to a person who is blind. Tomes have been written on the subject by the fine folks at Microsoft. Visit their web site at http://www.microsoft.com/enable. In the long run, the ideal is to have applications written to use the Microsoft Active Accessibility API, described on the above web site. However, in the short run, here are a few helpful suggestions:

• 1. All prompts for edit boxes should be followed with a colon, since most screen access programs will detect this and improve responses.
• 2. All user functions must be available using the keyboard, either through menus, controls, or shortcut keys. If shortcut keys are used, they should be well documented.
• 3. Standard Windows colour pallets must be used so that anyone choosing to alter their colour scheme for improved visibility will not be hampered. This includes *not* hard coding colours, but setting them such that changes to the environment colour scheme will not render information invisible.
• 4. Do not impart meaning through colour alone. This is not only problematic for people using screen access programs, requiring extra configuration to derive such information, but it is pretty useless for people who are colour blind. A typical example of this bad practice is in Microsoft Word 97, where a red or green squiggly line denotes either a spelling or grammatical error. People who are red or green colour blind find this not to be very helpful.
• 5. Always include text captions for controls.
• 6. If any amount of text is to be presented to a user in a multi-line format, ensure that an insertion pointer is provided within that text when the user tabs to that information. It is not helpful to display a long set of instructions or copyright information in a label or other control that doesn't accept keyboard focus.
• 7. Try not to design screens that require scrolling to access information or controls. Obviously, there are going to be situations where this cannot be avoided. However, these situations should be the exception--not the norm.
• 8. Do not place too many controls on a single screen. Not only is this more manageable for everyone regardless of disability, but it also increases the chances of any accelerator keys being unique for each control on a given screen. For example, you probably would like to avoid having two controls, each of which uses the ALT+E key combination to be activated.
• 9. If information is to be displayed graphically (for example, a chart or image), ensure that there is at least some textual description of this available. If it is possible to make the information available in a tabular format as an alternative, this would be better. I fully appreciate that space and interpretation can place limits on this.
• 10. Making an application accessible nonvisually should not mean that you eliminate graphics altogether. Software is used by everyone--blind and sighted alike--and therefore requires features which are appealing to both groups.

An example of a project which resulted in an application with greater accessibility is Lotus Notes Release 5. Earlier versions of Lotus Notes were a problem for many blind people using Windows. More often than not, only a limited subset of the Notes application could be used and only after a considerable amount of customization was performed to the screen access technology. IBM and Lotus teamed up and made a concerted effort to ensure that Notes 5 was accessible. They made a conscious decision to implement Microsoft Active Accessibility.

3) ADA and AOL lawsuit
by ArtPepper
Would you briefly explain the type of access you are expecting AOL (and presumbably all other web businesses) to provide?

CURTIS:
To begin with, let me explain that the quarrel we have with America Online has to do with the accessibility of the software we *MUST* *RUN* in the Windows environment in order to use any AOL service. This is *NOT* releated directly to any question of accessibility to web pages. To put it simply, the AOL software, all versions, behaves in such a way as to make it difficult if not impossible for screen access programs for the blind to understand what is being displayed on the screen. What we are asking for is to have AOL software that works well with screen access software for the blind.

As for other "web businesses," we are asking that anyone who puts up a web page follow accessibility guidelines developed and promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium through its Web Access Initiative and that in addition, they consider some other features which will enhance nonvisual access:

• 1. Provide a hypertext link to any labeled graphic which it is important for the web page reader to know about. This will enable the blind user to hear the description of a graphic by landing on it using the Tab key.
• 2. Consider incorporating a link which allows the user to jump past all of the repetitive stuff which seems to be typical of most web pages. Look at http://www.ibm.com/sns to see an example of what I am talking about. On this page, there is a "skip to main content" link which is heard by the blind user but never seen by a sighted person.
• 3. Keep forms fairly simple.

4) Question
by Anonymous Coward
Why do you believe that a private company should be forced into providing a service? Why not let the market dictate?

CURTIS:
Throughout all of our history, private companies have been required to do certain things and perform certain actions which society deemed to be beneficial to its members. This is why we have such things as the minimum wage, civil rights laws which protect members of racial minorities, and anti-trust laws and regulations. Throughout all of our history, whenever we have proposed laws requiring private companies to do certain things, they have always been resisted. Checks and balances are the way of any democratic society.

When a private company becomes sufficiently large and ubiquitous, it has the very real potential of setting a de facto standard which often must be followed even by its competitors. If the standard is good -- that is, not damaging to a particular class of individuals -- then we don't have a problem. However, if the standard is bad -- excluding one or more groups of people -- then, it needs to be challenged. This is why I believe that there are times when a private company must be compelled to terminate a practice which market forces have not encouraged it to stop.

5) Fundamental problems in Web architechture?
by Matt Bridges
Sorry for the long-winded lead in to the question. Recently I tried to get a blind friend's computer to access the web in a blind-accessible fashion. I tried to do this with a screen-reader program, but a few major problems came up: when the text was in columns or frames, the reader software kept reading from left to right, mixing the two or more columns. Also, the screen reader could not decipher the graphical buttons that many pages use for even simple functions like "next" or "up one level." In addition, few web pages currently offer a text-only version of their pages. However, if someone on a PC goes to www.downloads.com, it takes them to the PC section, while a Mac automatically goes to the Mac section. This auto-redirection seems like it would be the perfect way to have two pages, one text-only and one graphical, and do it transparantly for both blind and sighted users. Do you think that such a standard for having two web pages will ever become commonplace?

CURTIS:
Your description of problems accessing a web page with a screen reader is all too common for those of us who are blind. Through better web design and more intelligence on the part of screen reading software, our web page access problems are waning. However, there are still many web sites which cause problems for someone who is blind--either because the format is too complex or because of the esclusive use of unlabeled graphics or image maps to get to various places on the web site.

Having a web site where a text-only page is automatically displayed for a blind user sounds like a great idea--except...

• How would the web page know that I was blind? More sighted people use PC's than blind people.
• What if I wanted to bring up the non-text version because I wanted to show the web site to a sighted friend who was looking over my shoulder?

What I am trying to say in a long-winded way is that I don't think this auto-redirection is a good idea. I am certainly not against text-only versions of web pages and while I sometimes wonder how well the text-only versions are updated as compared to the graphical version, I believe that the user should have the choice of whether or not to bring up the text-only page.

6) Open Source and blind users
by Noryungi
This is a question that comes from a very frustrated "user". I worked for almost a year for a special european technical agency for the blind, so I guess I probably have a little bit more of experience than the average computer user.

Anyway, I have been helping a blind friend for over a year, now, trying to get his Braille portable computer to work properly within Windows 95. Let me just put it this way: it's a nightmare. This machine costs more than US$ 10,000 and it just does not work. The company that made the machine refuses to support things as basic as a modem (required to connect to the ISP) or software, such as Lynx, that make it a lot more easier to connect to the information he needs.

My friend is just as frustrated as I am, especially since he bought the computer to be able to attend programming classes and basic Computer Science courses. The university requires all these classes to be based on Windows 95 only. Now, he can't attend these classes because his stupid machine does not work with the GUI we all love to hate .

In your opinion:

• A. Is there any good computer/supplier for blind user that *have* to use Windows?
• B. Is it possible that blind users (such as my friend) will be "locked-out" of CS classes because of Windows predominance?
• C. What can we (the "Open Source Community") do to make our solutions (Linux/BSD/whatever) the #1 computer solution for blind users?

CURTIS:
A. There is no "computer/supplier" for blind users who *HAVE* to use Windows. Generally speaking, those of us who need to use Windows purchase a standard Pentium machine and add on a screen access program (see Question 1 above). While this solution isn't perfect, it does allow us to run enough Windows applications so as to get some benefit from the operating system and related software. In fact, if we want to obtain competitive and gainful employment in the corporate workplace, it is *ESSENTIAL* that we use Windows. Whether we like it or not, today, Windows is the operating system of choice in most offices.

B. The predominance of Windows does indeed pose a significant problem for blind students in computer science classes. More often than not, the programming software used in these classes does not work with screen access technology for the blind. A blind student must therefore learn to work judiciously and creatively with sighted readers--the fully plug-compatible, biological interface that works with any computer. This is to say that a blind computer science student with sufficient determination and good basic blindness skills can matriculate through a computer science curriculum. I would be the first to say that we need full nonvisual access to the programming and other tools used in programming classes. To this end, we are working with Microsoft and other companies to see what can be done to improve the accessibility of development tools. However, I agree with Microsoft that the first priority for access needs to be focused on software that we use to perform our jobs. Matters have now progressed to the point where we can begin pressing Microsoft to focus more attention on the programming and development tools. (In case you are wondering, this is not only a concern with Microsoft programming tools. I feel the same way about software from Borland and other companies, too.)

C. In order for Linux to be the number one solution for the blind, it must be as widely accepted as Windows in the workplace. Unless or until that happens, Linux may be useful for some blind individuals at home, but we, the blind, must insist on having access to the applications used by our sighted peers at work.

7) XML
by RobotWisdom
Scientific American claimed recently that XML would make things better for blind users. Do you agree, or is this hype?

CURTIS:
I don't know enough about XML to answer the question. What I do know is that XML is very likely to become important for the digital talking books which we, the blind, will probably want to read in the years to come.

8) Intonations
by RobotWisdom
A blind user on comp.ai.nat-lang named Chaumont Devin suggested that the feature he'd most like to see in a text-to-speech application would involve changing the intonation as it approached a comma, period, or question mark. Is this a generally-agreed-on desirable feature, and has it been implemented yet?

CURTIS:
Screen access programs for the blind generally control the intonation of any speech coming out of the computer. Many of them change the tone of the speech based on punctuation. Some blind people like this feature while others prefer to hear the actual punctuation character (e.g., comma, period, etc.). The important point here is choice. Let the blind user decide how punctuation should be handled. Fortunately, this is now possible with today's crop of screen access technology.

9) Attitudes
by Slamtilt
When the lawsuit against AOL was discussed on /., there were a fair number of posts that essentially commented "Why the hell are blind people trying to access the web anyway? It's a visual medium!". Do you run into this attitude a lot, and what do you find to be good ways of overcoming it?

CURTIS:
I confess that I have not run into this attitude as often as I might have expected. Most people I talk with think it is wonderful that the blind can access the web at all. Some of them, unfortunately, also think it is wonderful that a blind person can carry on an intelligent conversation, let alone hold down a competitive job, raise a family, travel independently around the country, etc. Most times, the blind are thought of as people who, at best, require a lot of help from others. Rarely do people, at the subconscious level, have the image of a blind person as a competent, mobile individual, carrying a briefcase, walking down the street with confidence.

As to those people who say that the Web is primarily a visual medium, I say "nonsense!" Most of the informational content you see on the web today is text. Yes, there are pictures, animated presentations, graphics, and so on. But the really meaningful content is still text, and text is far from being an exclusively visual medium.

10) The Profession
by Vicegrip
It strikes me as a monumental task to be a software developer without the benefit of one's vision. In many ways, I fear the loss of my sight more than just about anything in this world. I was wondering what skills you have developped over the years that have allowed you to succeed in a profession that is inherently visual in nature? What changes to the way we do things, do you think, would have made your job much easier for you?

CURTIS:
I am sorry that you fear blindness as much as you do. You know, blindness is feared almost as much as cancer -- certainly more than AIDS. It is this fear that has made it difficult for many of us to secure meaningful employment. I understand the fear, however, and offer what limited help I can to alleviate it.

Software development is a visual exercise only because of the tools used to develop software. At the core (pardon the pun), thinking up a good program and ensuring that its logic is sound is far from visual. When I attended computer programming class some 22 years ago, my fellow classmates would have their code ready days before I did. They would execute ten or even fifteen compilation and test runs while I plodded on writing and then desk-checking my program. I usually got my program working after two compiles and maybe three test runs.

I also wrote programs which displayed information on CRT devices which I could not use without sighted assistance. This did not trouble me greatly. I wrote the code at my desk using a Braille Writer (a Braille typewriter) and a keypunch machine. When I wanted to test my program, I sat in front of the terminal with a sighted assistant who would describe what was happening on the screen while I pressed the keys.

The basic skills which I, as a blind programmer, brought to the programming tasks were these: proficiency in the reading and writing of Braille; a logical mind; skill in hiring, managing, and (if necessary) firing sighted readers; good note-taking skills; and the ability to articulate my needs to my employer and to come up with my own alternative technology.

My job would have been made much easier if I didn't have to constantly re-educate new co-workers about my competence and normality. For example, while I take the act of watching television for granted, and while I use the term "watch" as a part of my normal conversation, many people with whom I came into contact insisted that I "listened" to the boob tube. I had to remind them repeatedly that I preferred the term "watch" as a way of fitting in with everybody else rather than emphasizing the fact that I couldn't see by always saying "listen." When I went on my initial job interviews, many years ago, some interviewers were more interested in knowing how I would find my way to the bathroom rather than the programming languages I had learned in computer school. Needless to say, I found this rather frustrating.

For a blind person who wants to write software today, it is ideal to have a text-based language which can be edited using the editor of his/her choice. This allows the blind person to concentrate more on programming and less on dealing with cumbersome and inefficient development tools which use graphical interfaces to make them (for the sighted) easier to use. On the other side of the coin, it is important, I believe, for the blind software developer to understand how to write programs which produce graphics -- even though he/she may not be able to see the graphics. Exempting a blind computer programming student from any requirement to understand graphical programming does a tremendous disservice to the student and hampers advancement in the profession. For example, while I myself don't use the mouse to drag and drop or point and click, I understand how the mouse should be used. With this knowledge, I can assist sighted coworkers who may not understand the workings of the computer as well as I do.

11) Information Structure and navigability
by tangram
A lot of people have asked how to make web pages more readable. Could you also address how to make them more navigable?

You can know a lot about the content of a web page based on the formatting. Stuff in the left column is probably menus, stuff at the top can probably be ignored, etc. I can easily scan a page without having to actually read it, and find what's relevant quickly.

I try to imagine navigating a page serially with a braille keyboard or listening to it. I can't imagine keeping enough information in mind to achieve the same kind of scannability.

How can I better structure a page for ease of navigation?

CURTIS:
I agree with you that web pages which contain repetitive information at the top are time-consuming to navigate. From a blindness perspective, it would be far better if each page on a particular web site were unique and did not so closely resemble other pages on the site. For example, while shopping at amazon.com the other day, I found myself getting quite frustrated at the amount of time it was taking me to move past the stuff at the beginning of the page to read the results of my search query.

It seems to me that there are two ways to fix this problem. First, the repetitive stuff could be placed at the bottom, and all new information could be displayed at the top. Alternatively, you could include a hidden hypertext link on the page which might be alt-tagged as "Jump to Main Content." The link itself could be invisibly imbedded in a picture or logo. The alt-tag would be spoken by the screen reader but not shown on the screen. For an example of how this is done, see the URL: http://www.ibm.com/sns.

Next week: a surprise guest. Tune in Monday @ noon!

Quite a number of you have written in with the word that IBM has released Visual Age for Linux v3.0. As well, a number of you noted that v3.0 came out for Linux before certain other OSes *grin*. As for obtaining it, you can't get it for free but you can come pretty darn close - get on VADD for $50 to get VAJ for Linux. Happy Coding.

Russ Steffen writes "TRG, Inc, a maker of PalmPilot accessories has announced an interesting Palm clone. The TRGpro is similar to a normal Palm IIIx (OS3.3, 8MB RAM) with one major exception: it has a compact flash (CF) port. This means that only can you have more than 96MB of non-volatile memory in this thing, you can also have a 340MB IBM microdirve. Other interesting add-ons that can interface through a CF slot include a bar-code reader, a super-small v.90 modem, ethernet and a high-speed serial port."

Anonymous Coward writes "IBM has set a new computer data storage world-record of 35.3 billion data bits per square inch on a magnetic hard disk -- a 75 percent increase over the 20-billion-bit milestone the company achieved less than five months ago. " The press release goes on to talk about that this is expected to lead to drives with three times the storage of today, quite soon. Just think - a MP3 server laptop!

Neville writes "IBM moved its developerworks out of beta and launched it with a new Open Source Zone. Current open source projects include jikes, a java compiler that works blazingly fast in Debian, BSD, and RH. Jikes is tres cool - as usual, IBM actually implements java better than Sun. Maybe this is what it takes to finally get java and linux to mesh, and maybe I can finally convert my last Solaris x86 box to linux. They also offer a Linux Zone with info on Python and GNOME. "

Neville writes "IBM moved its developerworks out of beta and launched it with a new Open Source Zone. Current open source projects include jikes, a java compiler that works blazingly fast in Debian, BSD, and RH. Jikes is tres cool - as usual, IBM actually implements java better than Sun. Maybe this is what it takes to finally get java and linux to mesh, and maybe I can finally convert my last Solaris x86 box to linux. They also offer a Linux Zone with info on Python and GNOME. "

BootHead sent us the article at ZD-Net that appears most designed to draw a link from Slashdot in quite some time. Its about Women and Linux. Course they call them "LinuxChix" (cough) but its just sorta the standard tirade on "Girls can be Geeks Too" (which no geek argues with in theory, we just never be able to find girl geeks of our own ;)Update: 09/16 09:29 by H :Check out the additional linkage about the debate of whether "Women need an OS of their own."

dkm wrote to say that IBM has declared their intention of making the Thinkpad 600E named as Red Hat Linux "compatible". Sounds great, right? Well, the fun part is that while IBM wants to get named compatible, the bloody modem still won't work with Linux. Marvelous-compatible, but not really. Apparently they'll be "taking steps" as time goes on to get the modem working. disclaimer:Hemos owns shares in red hat

dkm wrote to say that IBM has declared their intention of making the Thinkpad 600E named as Red Hat Linux "compatible". Sounds great, right? Well, the fun part is that while IBM wants to get named compatible, the bloody modem still won't work with Linux. Marvelous-compatible, but not really. Apparently they'll be "taking steps" as time goes on to get the modem working. disclaimer:Hemos owns shares in red hat

C|Net talked with Marc, but we got hold of Red Hat's Donnie Barnes yesterday, and interrogated, er, asked him questions. Click below to learn more about what to do with IPO money (Hint: Think missle-toting Lear jets), software patents, open source licensing, and trademark issues.

One of our first and most pressing questions for Donnie was, "What the heck are they going to do with all of this fresh money?" The answer, as one would expect, was some mumbo-jumbo, with some hints of future plans. Barnes said, "We will certainly grow development, marketing, sales, etc." And to whet the appetite of users, "You can certainly expect the 'grow development' part to include some neat new toys for Linux, though we don't preannounce new features. ;-)."

So the company itself will be growing, as we would expect, and the staff will be growing as well. However, what's interesting is the comments on where it will grow.

According to Barnes, "International expansion is a key area for us," which is "very expensive." It is partly due to the sheer expense that they have not really pursued this area before. Some of the shifting in this direction can be seen already, in actions like the severing of the relationship with their former Japanese distributor. In that case Red Hat "basically chose to enter the Japanese market in a bigger way and bring our products and services into that area directly." At the current time, they plan to focus on a European expansion first, to be followed by an Asian expansion soon after.

Waidaminute! Europe? Isn't there already a certain Germanic company established over there? Well, yes. We pressed Barnes about moving into what's considered to be S.u.S.E. Territory, and, on a broader scale, what's going to happen with the expansion of Linux-based companies and competition that will happen between them.

Barnes's response is one that Bob Young has been giving for quite some time; that rather then trying to play a zero-sum game, taking users away from each other, the aim of the Linux companies is to make the entire pie bigger so that /every/ company can grow. Well, every company but Microsoft, I guess, but the point is still there. Both CT and I find this to be a bit idealistic, but given the current atmosphere of change, maybe it will be how things fall out - we'll see how things shape up over the next six months to a year.

So with all this money: International Expansion, more developers, marketing and saleses staff. And, for the record, "...no, there are no big ticket surprises like Lear Jets..."

However, Marc might be purchasing a Porsche dealership. (Note: Joke! Don't sue me, Marc. Please).

The question that everyone had, whether they got the letter, didn't get the letter or just watched the fireworks was the E*Trade/Red Hat stock situation. In summary, the numbers broke down as following:
5000 open source developers were invited to participate
1300 responded, indicating interest
1150 of those were ultimately able to participate

Looks pretty good, right? It'd be interesting to know how many of those 1150 had to go back and try again, but c'est la vie. When asked about RH's feelings on the stock offering, Barnes said, "We feel that an over 88% participation rate was very good for the community at large." We talked about the people angry about the situation, whether or not a lot of the people originally banned were able to get in. His response: "Most of the angry people were [able to get in], but the bumps we had in the way caused them to be confused as to where they were and what level of participation they could expect. But at the end, most of the angry people were able to participate and I think came away happy."

What I thought was interesting was what precipitated the whole meltdown: Bad Information? Clash of Cultures? Red Hat's answer: "Mostly lack of information, and some bad information from E*TRADE's 'systems.'"

Additionally, "Sure, the open source community meeting big business and high finance was part of it too. Both sides needed education about the other, and I think lots of education happened. :)" I'm sure many of the companes looking at similar situations watched the RH IPO closely, trying to figure out what they did right, and what they can do differently. Barnes recommends examining what happened with them, and also shopping around. The latter part to that comment is the interesting part: Not dissing E*Trade, and Barnes does say they would at least shop them against other brokerage houses, but I think that the lesson learned here is to make sure of the house you use, especially after watching the Red Hat fiasco.

And given the recent hoopla over Unisys's perceived attempt to charge for GIFs that use the LZW patent, and Red Hat's closeness with major patent holders like IBM and Hewlett-Packard it seemed appropriate to talk about software patents. Red Hat's take on software patents: "Well, I think it should be fairly obvious that software patents are a bad idea in general and we are not in favor of them." Additionally, when it comes to big-boys like IBM, HP and others they "...will be working to try to lobby in the proper areas to help this issue. Yes, we do care about that stuff and have already begun talking to folks." (Note: I envisioned Bob Young with a flamethrower in the IBM Corporate Lobby)

Despite this, Barnes allowed for the fact that "Given current regulations you may see RH own patents one day. That may be unavoidable until the current way they are handled is changed." RMS would be displeased, but Barnes said that "What folks do with these patents, otoh, can be vasty different." That's an odd world, but I think it's just a further sign of how messed up the US Patent Office is, regarding software patents.

The issue of software patents led to talk about the other software licenses that have come out, like the APSL and Sun Community Source License. As you would expect, Red Hat would like to see fewer open source licenses, but "...at the end of the day, as long as they are truly open source and companies are *using* them, I don't really care." Barnes is pleased to see that Sun is taking steps to making good software more widely availible. I asked if Sun was viewed as being a competitor. Barnes says that perhaps, but that RH is trying to make fundamental changes to the way software is built. "Perhaps Sun will join. They have taken steps in that direction so far, so they could be an ally."

Oh, and again for the record, Hurricane Dennis got Barnes "personally quite wet."

The last question sparked a lot of back-and-forth, regarding the whole Red Hat trademark issue.

(Note: To get background on this, read the original article, and the subsequent follow-up with a letter from Bob Young.)

The following, according to Barnes, is what's going on: "We have to protect our trademark. People were selling hand-burned CDs and using our name, box image, and logo to do it. We had customers complain vehemently to us directly about that as they felt burned. We had to take action to keep that from happening." This was what sparked the original issue with Amazon, and how it appeared that Red Hat was banning anyone from using their name in any way unlicensed by them. The issue, then, is, how do people know what they're getting? For example, people want to know what they're getting when they buy Cheapbytes/LinuxMall/Bob's1$LinuxEmporium/LinuxCentral Linux. Are they getting Debian, Suse, Red Hat, Caldera etc.? Recognizing that Red Hat has a valid brand they must protect, where does that leave the manufacturers? RH's answer: "If they ship "Red Hat Linux" as their own "Cheapbytes Linux", then it must *be* Red Hat Linux. We can verify that with PGP signatures and the like. They can say it contains Red Hat Linux, but they can't explicitely *call* it that." For example, under this scheme, they could "call it `Foo Linux which contains Red Hat Linux 6.0' or something similar." What they can't do, however, would be to release a CD with a PGP signature that checks out, but call it Red Hat Linux. Only Red Hat can explicity title their distribution "Red Hat Linux". And if a company puts out a CD saying it "Contains Red Hat" and the PGP doesn't check out (e.g. modified from original or something, then "they can't say that and we'd have cause to have the product sales stopped."

Phew. So, how do you handle something like Mandrake-Linux? Can you call say "Derived from Red Hat Linux?" Barnes points out that he's not a trademark lawyer, so don't hold him to be a legal litmus test, but that, yes, that will be possible. (Note:More guidelines on this will be coming out soon. Keep an eye on Red Hat's site for details.)

But when it comes to recognition, of course Red Hat appreciates being recognized for having contributed, e.g. Mandrake putting "Derived from Red Hat" on the CD. As Barnes says, "Acknowledgment of one's hard work is always welcome. We just want it done properly... they can take Internet bits and build their own name. You don't see us claiming the name of every other distribution that contributed some code to RH, do you? But they can take our code and use it. That's what this is all about."

Wrap-up:: Interesting to talk with Donnie, and you can see that the quiet period has been hard on them - being unable to respond to comments would be, I suppose. It seems that the basic direction of Red Hat remains unchanged; that is, commitment to the GPL, working with the industry on software patent issues, and trying to get people to join the "movement." The greatest concern that CT and I is how all of this money will affect them as an organization, but I suppose that's an issue for the greater Linux universe as well. Only time will tell. And, on that platitudianal note..

disclaimer:Hemos owns shares in Red Hat

Pappy writes " It looks as if Amiga Inc's development wing has filed a patent involving a very unique Multiprocessing scheme, in which groups of processors are thrown into 'Clusters', as well as coming up with a interesting Bus-Arbitration scheme for Multiple Processor groups. Check out the patent online. " Given this, the political movements with Linux, and the recent silence, I'm inclined to think of the Tom Waits song: "What's he doing in there?"

steve_brody writes "IBM has published this new article in its Linux developerWorks Zone on how to turn your open source expertise into cash. Also includes a summary of different licenses, if you are considering copyrighting (or copylefting) your software. "

steve_brody writes "IBM has published this new article in its Linux developerWorks Zone on how to turn your open source expertise into cash. Also includes a summary of different licenses, if you are considering copyrighting (or copylefting) your software. "

SuperID asks: "I just attended a very long, mostly boring briefing smattered with zillions of animated color power point slides touting "messaging middleware" as the salvation of scalable architectures. While the buzzword density was extremely high ( "Data Mining" and "OLAP for the Information Warrior" *shudder* ) I can at least recognize a trend when it smacks me in the face. So, are there Opensource equivalents to products like IBM MQSeries or Microsoft Message Queing Server? Are there open standards that define how these types of servers operate? Maybe an Internet RFC?"

IBM will be joining the Trillian project to port Linux to Merced. The other members of Trillian are Intel, VA Linux Systems, SGI, Hewlett-Packard, and Cygnus Solutions. Linux will be shown running on a simulated Merced today at the Linuxworld conference.

Several people wrote with the news burst from IBM annoucing a "storage breakthrough". Details are still forthcoming, but the advance will says it will be possible for computers to "store data 1,000 faster then they can now", however the actual usage of the product is some years out.

deggy writes "Transmeta have a new patent as of the 20th of this month. It seems to basicly concern caching. "Apparatus and a method for storing data already stored at an often utilized memory address in registers local to a host processor and maintain the data in the registers and memory consistent so that the processor may respond more rapidly when a memory address is to be accessed." "

IBM's new developerWorks site has an article on IBM's relationship with the Apache Group, followed by an interview with Brian Behlendorf. The article gives some insight into working with commercial entities, and what the experience has been like for both Apache and IBM.

IBM's new developerWorks site has an article on IBM's relationship with the Apache Group, followed by an interview with Brian Behlendorf. The article gives some insight into working with commercial entities, and what the experience has been like for both Apache and IBM.

IBM's new developerWorks site has an article on IBM's relationship with the Apache Group, followed by an interview with Brian Behlendorf. The article gives some insight into working with commercial entities, and what the experience has been like for both Apache and IBM.

Marco Bertini was one of the many who's written to us about IBM opening up a Linux Zone in DeveloperWorks. It went live July 19, 10PM EST-and it looks like things have gone well for them. "

Ober was the first to write in with the news that IBM is merging with Sequent. IBM says it plans to begin selling Sequent products immediatley after the merger, and it looks like they even want to improve some of Sequents NUMA machines. IBM and Sequent are both involved in Project Monterey.

True_Seeker writes "IBM appears to be modifying its open source license (examples with OpenDX and Jikes) to make it more acceptable to the open source community, according to an article at PCWeek. They are even seeking OSI's blessing on it. "

True_Seeker writes "IBM appears to be modifying its open source license (examples with OpenDX and Jikes) to make it more acceptable to the open source community, according to an article at PCWeek. They are even seeking OSI's blessing on it. "

True_Seeker writes "IBM appears to be modifying its open source license (examples with OpenDX and Jikes) to make it more acceptable to the open source community, according to an article at PCWeek. They are even seeking OSI's blessing on it. "

the frogspotter writes "IBM has an article on their site talking about their new RS/6000 that can supposedly do 40,161 http ops./sec. as measured by SPECweb96. Jeez...that'd be 3469910400 http ops./day. " And it only took 12 (out of 24) processors (on an unreleased server) and a hacked kernel! It seems as if modifying the kernel for benchmarking is becoming quite a popular tactic these days...

Edward Schlunder asks: "After setting up Software RAID on a SCSI system at work, I want to do the same at home for fun. Call me crazy, but I'm just completely geeked up about this after seeing it working. The Software RAID documentation says that each hard disk should be on a separate IDE cable and that RAID5 requires at least 3 hard drives. I want to use my two existing IDE hard drives and get the large, fast, and cheap IBM IDE ATA/66 Deskstar 22GXP hard drive to make up the third..." There's one small problem though. Hit the link for more.

"My motherboard only has two IDE ports. So, my question is, what IDE controller card can I get that satisfies the following:

• Supports Linux (obviously!)
• High speed, preferrably ATA/66 and PCI
• Lets you use multiple controllers in one system (that is, it can co-exist with the onboard IDE controller on my SuperMicro P6DBE motherboard)

Please refrain from suggesting that I should just use SCSI -- the goal here isn't absolute greatest speed and reliability, but a cheap way to teach myself more about RAID5 and provide a test system to blow things up on without causing users unnecessary grief ;-)"

KilgourTrout writes "The original story was released earlier this month, but IBM has put a new spin on things - From an IBM newsletter: "Now, it's time to vote with your mouse finger. Download the code today and you'll do your part to convince us that there is a market for this product."" You can visit the web site and download it if you're interested in that whole Java thing.

Jeff N Roberts from IBM wrote in to announce that IBM is releasing a JDK for Linux which incorporates the same IBM Just-In-Time technology found in IBM's JVMs for OS/2 and Windows. Dave Whitinger has HTMLized the FAQ we were sent. (If the IBM link does not work, it should be active shortly)

Jeff N Roberts from IBM wrote in to announce that IBM is releasing a JDK for Linux which incorporates the same IBM Just-In-Time technology found in IBM's JVMs for OS/2 and Windows. Dave Whitinger has HTMLized the FAQ we were sent. (If the IBM link does not work, it should be active shortly)

Kelly McNeill writes "osOpinion has an excellent editorial piece which talks about IBM's recent refocusing efforts including supporting Linux as well as making alliances with major Linux players in an effort to knock Microsoft from its current standing in the Industry. " It's a good point-although it seems strange sometimes, thinking about the old, bad IBM, and comparing it to now. I hope that we don't forget, however, that ultimately IBM is a company, and they are looking out for themselves.

Arrgh sent us a link to a new Transmeta Patent filed for what they describe as "Method and apparatus for correcting errors in computer systems". That doesn't help much. Now back to trying to figure out why connecting my cable to my VCR makes my whole stereo humm. Why can't audio/video be as easy as Linu- oh, wait...

Blorgo wrote in with the news that Pacific HiTech has announced the bundling of IBM's DB2 Universal Database with TurboLinux. IBM is just rolling in the news today. It also appears that the companies have also agreed to work on future editions of both work together more smoothly.

Effugas writes " IBM has just released IBM Visualization Data Explorer under an Open Source license. Appears to be an impressively complex and powerful 3D data manipulation tool. If this is the same stuff I saw running back at LinuxWorld(realtime solid model deformation calculations of a crashing vehicle) I'm impressed. "

MikeDartt writes "Wired reports that Compaq has just joined IBM and SCO in Project Monterey, which is an attempt to get a single UNIX distro that will run on Merced. Perhaps I'm naive, but why get behind a new *NIX as well as Linux, esp. when the latter is both more open and more fashionable? "

Ray Dassen writes "Bruce Perens has written " Is Your Software In Danger of Termination? ", a letter about the problem of termination clauses such as those in the licenses of Jikes and Secure Mailer. "

Ray Dassen writes "Bruce Perens has written " Is Your Software In Danger of Termination? ", a letter about the problem of termination clauses such as those in the licenses of Jikes and Secure Mailer. "

Ilya Berdnikov writes "IBM has finally announced its full support for Linux! Here's the story. " Most interesting is the comments about IBM supporting Caldera and SuSE in addition to Red Hat, as well as a bit about DB2.

dca writes " It combines logic and DRAM on the same chip, allowing complete high-powered systems on a single chip. Expected to be used first for embedded applications like cell phones and palmtops. Based on their copper wiring and trench DRAM; 24M gates; 0.15 micron process. It's still in the lab today, so you'll be able to be the first-on-your-block by summer. Makes me wonder how long the "new" crop of Palms will last. "

Nothing I like better than post X-Files quickies. Oh wait. That came out wrong. (rimshot) I should post some links quick to cover up my terrible joke: Eduardo Silva sent us a link to the online version of At RMSs Essay from Open Sources. It's on the past, present and future of the FSF. Jaws sent us a link to a Katz article at Mercury Center called The End of the Microsoft Age. Dan Guisinger sent us a link to some new Rio Accessories including a remote control that plugs into the headphone jack. Andy King sent us a link to the Web Reference entry for the Slashdot Effect Elphin sent us a link to a nifty poster of the Netscape color palette. GtHS sent us a link to an article that the trillions of you who continue to submit the hamster dance will like: It's the Penguin Dance. Pete Rijks sent us a link to the Scary Squirrels for all you conspiracy nuts. GTM writes The Net Wars Trilogy, a strange net parody of a certain trilogy you might like. baegucb sent us a link to another site on the hot topic of furby mutiliation. This time with a microwave. jchildress@netspeak.com sent us a link to another scary patent. How does this stuff get in the system?

jpatters tells us that Micro Processor Report is reporting (via MacInTouch) that a russian company (Elbrus International) claims to have a CPU design that achieves 135 SPECint95 and 350 SPECfp95. This compairs to Merced's scores of 45 and 70 respectively. It is claimed to run in a 0.18 micron process at 1.2Ghz consuming only 35 watts and 126 square millimeters of silicon. It includes a 256 Kbyte of on-chip L2 cache. It should also be both x86 and IA-64 compatible. Elbrus 2000 seems to exist (look at what Shevtsov is working on now), and seems to have had some history. Here is Shevtsov's FPU patent. S : I've tried to verify this story, but can't find the copy of MPR -- anybody else have it? Anyone care to speculate how it was done? Assynchronous logic? 256Kb L2 seems rather low though unless they're using a special point-to-point bus. From an Anonymous Contributor

"I get MPR. I've got about 7 minutes before I have to catch a bus, but, from the MPR issue itself:

The processor uses EPIC. The Elbrus team has been together for 40 years, originally designing supercomputers for the Soviet defense establishments. "They've developed computers based on superscalar, shared-memory multiprocessing and EPIC techniques long before papers on those subjects appeared in the West". MPR claims that the lack of a good semiconductor Fab has been what was holding them back. MPR says that the claims would be unbelievable except for the credibility of the team.

The X86 and IA64 compatibility rely on binary compilation assisted by emulation hooks, similar to what Transmeta is apparantly doing. Supposedly Dave Ditzel spent several years while at Sun working with the Elbrus team.

The processor exists only as an executable Verilog database. However, the E2K design is based on the Elbrus-3 processor that was fabricated in 1991. The Elbrus-3 was built in an "ancient process", used 15 million transistors in about 3000 LSI and MSI chips, and delivered twice the performance of a Cray Y-MP."

Some more he sent later:

" It is actually quite a long article... 6 pages plus the cover, I'm about two thirds through it. The architecture is in fact pretty stunning, and very similar to the Merced and the SPARC in several ways. It has a 64K, 4-way instruction cache: one i-cache only. It has two identical, synchronously-loaded 8K L1 data caches, and a 256K, 2-way, 4-bank L2 data cache. In addition, it has a 4K array pre-fetch buffer for use in loop overlapping. There are two regions, each with an L1 data cache, a 256-entry register file, and three ALUs. The regions are symmetric except that only one region has a divide function.

A great deal in this processor is left to the compiler, a fact that is demonstrated by the single, 64K i-cache; this will only work if the compiler does its job. Much also depends on the compiler's ability to identify instructions that can be executed in parallel. With an optimal instruction load, the multi-ported caches can provide a potential operand bandwidth of 288 Gbytes/sec at a processor clock of 1.2GHz. Much effort is expended to avoid branching; extensive branch prediction support is provided, and in some cases it will actually just go ahead and execute both sides of a branch to avoid doing the branch at all; with so many parallel execution paths, the cost of doing so is much lower than what would be the cost of branching.

When loops are identified, an effort is made to overlap the loop execution, taking advantage the same mechanism as used for the sliding register windows. The 4K FIFO Array prefetch buffer helps to feed data to the overlapped loop. In loop mode, for perfectly optimal code, the processor can rates as high as 23 operations per cycle.

Much of the processor is designed in standard static CMOS gates, but some of the critical paths through the processor use self-reset gates, which do not have a clock but rather are triggered by the completion of cycles in previous gates. According to MPR, these are estimated by Elbrus to run 10-15% faster than static CMOS gates.

Just a couple more facts about Elbrus: The Elbrus-1 computer was a "...superscaler, RISC, processor with out-of-order execution, speculative execution, and register renaming..." This machine was designed and built... between 1973 and 1979!! They dumped superscaler designs becuase they were too complex for the payoff. The Elbrus-3, built between 1985 and 1991, used "an EPIC-based VILW CPU", implemented as a "16-processor shared memory system"

They started working on the E2K in 1994, and it is now at Verilog RTL stage, with compilers and binary-compilation software written. MPR expresses great doubt that a home will ever be found to build the processor, what with the Russian economy as bad as it is, and most capable semiconductor houses already in the midst of implementing their own designs or just not wanting to compete with Intel."

Ryan Amos wrote in to let us know that IBM has announced succesful research into plastic transistors. These transistors, if used, will require less power and be less fragile then current ones-but I'm sure they're still years out as the researcher interviewed declined to comment on how soon they will enter the market. In other IBM news, the company announced an initiative to build a talking web browser for the blind. Projects like that give me some modicum of hope for civilization.

Ryan Amos wrote in to let us know that IBM has announced succesful research into plastic transistors. These transistors, if used, will require less power and be less fragile then current ones-but I'm sure they're still years out as the researcher interviewed declined to comment on how soon they will enter the market. In other IBM news, the company announced an initiative to build a talking web browser for the blind. Projects like that give me some modicum of hope for civilization.