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Modern
multimedia technology plays an important role in providing the
low vision community with opportunities to increase their
enjoyment in the use of computer. Such technology allows
visually impaired individuals the opportunity to access the vast
array of computer application functionalities. This is really
exciting for a population that traditionally was restricted in
computer usage.
However, it also creates challenges. The design and format of a
computer application, can determine whether computing resource
can be conveniently accessed without much frustration. In
particular, due to the multimedia nature of modern computer
technology, many visually impaired users cannot access some
materials. Concerns typically include the inability to see
pictures, graphics and animations due to visual impairments; and
the difficulty in navigating user interface that is poorly
organized.
This book aims at providing insight into the development of
multimedia applications for persons who are visually impaired.
As an application developer, you must be made aware that your
users may have very special needs. For the visually impaired
users, improper use of graphics, images and effects and the lack
of verbal clues often produce barriers that will very likely
prevent them from gaining easy usage of your application (busy
layouts with numerous graphics, effects, and text scattered
around the interface often lead to confusion and frustration on
the part of the visually impaired users).
Development of
multimedia application for visually impaired users would require
a great deal of flexibility in the design process (
this is due to the fact that needs of people with low vision
problems tend to vary greatly depending on how the eye condition
affects their vision), therefore
MMF2 is recommended as the tool of choice. MMF2 is graphical (no
coding required), reasonably powerful and highly flexible. There
are also many third party resources available so support is
never lacking.
This book is
not a basic A-B-C type of MMF2 beginner tutorial. We present the
most relevant concepts, techniques and resources in an
easy-to-follow Q & A format.
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