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Buzz Archives for January 2003

Opera Released… Within Limits

Opera Software on Tuesday shipped version 7.0 for Windows of their Web browser, with a caveat that carries significant implications for CSS standards support. c|net published a story on Monday which quotes Opera's CEO as saying: “ ‘ We have contacted Apple and asked them if they want a third-party browser, and we'll see ...

By Ben Henick | Filed in Browsers

Minor Administrative Post

We have upgraded our blog software to Moveable Type version 2.5.1. The upgrade should be seamless, but if not, please cut us some slack. :)

By Steven Champeon | Filed in WaSP Announcement

DOM Support Resource

The tireless Peter-Paul Koch has updated his useful DOM Compatibility Tables. Look here to find browser support for DOM Levels 1 and 2, both Core and HTML. Includes information on the new Safari 1.0 and Opera 7 beta versions. (Hat tip: the mighty Glish.)

By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in DOM

SVG 1.1 now a Recommendation

The W3C's Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1 Specification made it to full Recommendation status this week. This version incorporates the errata from SVG 1.0 and breaks the Spec up into modules that can be used as building blocks for creating focused language profiles. Along with SVG 1.1, two such profiles for mobile ...

By Porter Glendinning | Filed in W3C/Standards Documentation, Web Standards (general)

Safari in the news… Again

Today Dave Hyatt announced that Safari is going to "support XML". It's not 100% clear what this means... except to echo others in saying that the browser ecosystem is becoming an interesting place again.

By Tim Bray | Filed in Browsers

DOM Level 2 HTML Spec Official

The W3C released the Document Object Model Level 2 HTML Specification today as an official Recommendation. Of particular interest is this note: This specification renders the DOM Level 1 HTML Recommendation obsolete given that some changes from DOM Level 1 HTML are incompatible with that specification but represent more accurately ...

By Porter Glendinning | Filed in DOM, W3C/Standards Documentation

Check, please!

For you Mozilla users out there: The current Project of the Week over at mozdev.org is Checky, a great little add-on that makes validating your pages so easy you'll have no excuse not to. Checky adds a submenu to Mozilla's context menu that allows you to run whatever page you're ...

By Porter Glendinning | Filed in Validation

Safari: Fast, Incomplete

We held our breath for a day as Web citizens took Apple's new Safari browser for a test drive. Safari is obviously built for speed, with a number of optimizations made to its Konqueror-based rendering engine to boost its performance well beyond that of Mac IE5 and Mozilla variants. However, we ...

By Scott Andrew LePera | Filed in Browsers

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Recent Buzz

WCAG 2.0 is a W3C Recommendation

By Matt May | December 11th, 2008

After 9.5 years of work, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 have reached W3C Recommendation status. On behalf of the WaSP Accessibility Task Force, I’d like to welcome WCAG 2 officially into the pantheon of Web standards.

I think this tweet by caledoniaman sums up the level of anticipation:

WCAG 2.0 and a new Guns ‘n’ Roses album in the same year. What’s the world coming to.

Interesting comparison. They’ve each had about as many pre-releases. In any case, I can say, having spent over 8 years with it, that WCAG 2 is not as entertaining as Chinese Democracy. But I do think that it’s better equipped to stand the test of time.

If I had to pick one thing I’m most happy about, I’d say it’s that the HTML- and text-centrism in WCAG 1 is largely gone. In its place is a much more flexible (dare I say robust?) concept of accessibility-supported technology. So when newer technologies can show themselves to be directly accessible, they too can be used in WCAG 2-conformant content.

Over the years, many people have conflated “WCAG-conformant” with “accessible,” and that’s led to people making statements like: “Don’t use JavaScript–it’s inaccessible.” That’s bad for everyone, from users with disabilities who actually can work with JavaScript (which is to say, the vast majority), to Web designers and developers, to policymakers, to those developing new technologies.

With WCAG 2, “Don’t use x” is no longer valid. (Was it ever?) It is now up to you, the developer, to work on the direct accessibility of your content, no matter what technology you choose. I believe we’re about to experience a new wave of accessible design techniques, as a result.

But first, we need to flush “Don’t use x” out of our system. Some are accustomed to saying it about anything they’re not comfortable with. That’s only holding accessible design back. It’s time to learn what’s out there, today, and use it in everyday Web design. It’s time to make everyone’s Web more accessible. Have a look at the WCAG 2.0 Recommendation, and its supporting material. Then, start thinking about what a more accessible Web could be. We still have a lot of work to do.

Filed in Accessibility, Accessibility TF, W3C/Standards Documentation, Web Standards (general) | Comments (8)

More Buzz articles

Title Author
Introduction to WAI ARIA - available in Spanish and French Henny Swan
“Just ask: Integrating accessibility throughout design” available in English, Japanese and Spanish Henny Swan
BSI British Standards invites comments on new draft standard on accessible web content Patrick Lauke
Want to set up a Web Standards Café? Henny Swan

All of the entries posted in WaSP Buzz express the opinions of their individual authors. They do not necessarily reflect the plans or positions of the Web Standards Project as a group.

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