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Cynthia Says™
“Cynthia Says™” Provides Cost-Free
Educational Resource for Web Site Accessibility Testing
International Center for Disability Resources
on the Internet (ICDRI), the Internet Society - Disability and Special Needs
Chapter, and HiSoftware Company collaborate to provide cost-free educational
resource for Web Site accessibility testing
Concord, NH – March 14, 2003 – HiSoftware, Inc., today in cooperation with
the International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, and the
Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter, announced the launch of a
new service, Cynthia Says™, that will provide testing of Web sites for
compliance with Section 508 and W3C web accessibility standards. Cynthia Says™
will test Web Sites and report Accessibility issues immediately through simple
and easy-to-understand Web browser based reports. HiSoftware Company’s
AccMonitor Server powers Cynthia Says™.
"From the beginning of the accessible web design effort, validators for
educating policy makers, management and web developers about accessible design
have played an important role in the promotion of accessibility. "Cynthia
Says" meets the global need for a free, well-supported, accessibility
validation tester. Not only does it enable anyone to test a web page, it also
educates the tester about the underlying technology behind accessibility and
promotes accessible web design. The reports generated by this tool are easy to
read and can be readily utilized by the user whether the test is run under the
technical design rules of W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 or the US
Section 508 web requirements,” said Cynthia D. Waddell, JD, Executive Director
and Law, Policy and Technology Consultant, International Center for Disability
Resources on the Internet (ICDRI). “ Back in 1996 I wrote the first accessible
web design standard for local government in response to an ADA complaint and I
am proud to note that today "Cynthia Says" will continue to assist in
accessible web design compliance efforts worldwide."
Cynthia Says™ will help users to ensure that their Web sites have the
functionality needed for a diverse population of user needs and preferences,
including people with disabilities. Due to the recently enacted Section 508
legislation, interactive accessible technology and Web accessibility for people
with disabilities is on the minds of CIO’s at many corporations,
organizations, and government agencies.
“Cynthia Says™ is an excellent tool because it is easy to use and provides
clear and easily understood reports,” said Michael Burks, Chairman of the
Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter. “We believe that the
Cynthia Says™ online testing service will help fill a gap with a much-needed
tool.”
The Cynthia Says™ portal testing
service allows users to quickly receive an immediate ”pass/fail” of their
Web site accessibility along with direct links to the technical rule violated.
Accessibility issues are detected within web sites from Web-based applications,
dynamic pages, or static HTML pages. Cynthia Says™ utilizes HiSoftware’s
AccMonitor Server technology and deploys USER Agents (crawlers/scanners) to
collect individual page or dynamic page accessibility data. This information is
then sent to the central server where actual accessibility verification is
performed. The output of the Accessibility verification results in easy to read
reports that can then be viewed securely over the Internet through the users own
Web browser.
‘This Web based testing service puts checking for accessibility in reach of
nearly anyone with an Internet connection, “ said David Poehlman, who has also
acted as an advisor and collaborator on the Cynthia Says™ project. “ Cynthia
Says™ is accessible, thorough and extremely fast. I am excited to see this new
addition to the HiSoftware family of products as it makes checking for
accessibility easier than ever”
"Cynthia Says™ provides an ideal solution for organizations to educate
themselves regarding accessibility issues on their Web sites," said Robert
B. Yonaitis, Founder and CEO of HiSoftware. "“We are extremely
pleased to be providing this solution based on our software to assist in a
project with the underlying goal of education and advocacy. HiSoftware solutions
empower users to develop, implement and maintain a strategy for delivering
pervasive accessibility within their organizations. Cynthia Says™ will assist
users in recognizing the importance of complying with accessibility standards on
their Web sites so that the information they provide is available to everyone
regardless of physical ability.”
More information about the Cynthia Says™ project is available on the Web at: http://www.contentquality.com/...
Founded in 1998, The International Center for Disability Resources on the
Internet (ICDRI) is a non-profit center based in the United States and
designated as a 501 (c)(3) entity. As an internationally recognized public
policy center organized by and for people with disabilities, ICDRI’s
overarching vision is the equalization of opportunities for persons with
disabilities. Cynthia D. Waddell, Executive Director, leads ICDRI’s
Accessibility Oversight Professional Consulting Services for government,
university and private sector clients. This fee for services effort supports the
mission of ICDRI to increase opportunities for people with disabilities by
identifying barriers to participation and promoting best practices and universal
design for the global community.
ICDRI’s mission also includes an online collection of a knowledge base of
quality disability resources and best practices and to provide education,
outreach and training based on these core resources. ICDRI makes this
information available in an accessible format through our web site at http://www.icdri.org/...
This is the first chapter in the Internet Society
that is not a geographically based chapter. It is dedicated to addressing the
needs of people with special needs that are related to the Internet and its
attendant technologies. The chapter brings together the experts and leaders of
the sector presenting the most up-to-date knowledge and technologies to
eliminate barriers and increase the number of users and clients of a "Web
Site". As a web content accessibility interest group, the conveners of this
chapter aim to make the Internet and its attendant technologies accessible to
the largest possible audience regardless of disability, age or the limitations
of computer equipment.. More information about the chapter is available at: http://www.isocdisab.org/about.htm...
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ABOUT HISOFTWARE
HiSoftware Company, the leader in enterprise
content quality management solutions, provides innovative products that empower
quality assurance teams, content developers, Web site architects, and company
executives to work collaboratively on their efforts to create and manage
corporate Web standards for Accessibility, Privacy, Searchability, Usability and
custom guidelines and policies. HiSoftware’s integrated, full lifecycle
solutions dramatically reduce the time required to test, manage and deploy
e-business Web sites.
HiSoftware works closely with industry leaders and visionaries to provide
solutions for today's information accessibility, content quality, search and
retrieval needs. HiSoftware’s customers represent Fortune 500 companies, and
many of the largest e-commerce, government, and educational sites in North
America and around the world and include ChevronTexaco, Commerce One, Mercury
Interactive, and Microsoft Government.
Founded in 1998, HiSoftware Company maintains North American corporate
headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire. Further information about HiSoftware can
be found online at www.hisoftware.com
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