This is a call for interviewees for a research project being conducted by Microsoft Research investigating the nature and extent of participation of people with disabilities in microtask/crowdsourcing labor marketplaces (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk,...

The following blog post was written by David Dzumba - Senior Program Manager, Accessibility at Microsoft. He has worked in this area of the technology sector for more than 16 years. ---- In November, we told you about a Nokia contest that rewards...

The following blog post was written by Paul Nyhan, a staff writer with the Microsoft Accessibility Blog. Paul is a 20-year journalism veteran who has written extensively about disability issues. ---- Fourteen years ago, Jon Rosenberg was struggling...

Today, Microsoft and GW MIcro have announced a new offer for Office customers which provides the opportunity to download the screen reader Window-Eyes for free. Starting today, customers who have purchased and installed any version of Microsoft Office...

Four Ukrainian students are developing new gloves that translate sign language into audible words and potentially make it easier for people who are deaf and hard of hearing to interact with the hearing world. In July, the four-student team gained international...

For the developers out there, Rob Caplan just posted a great article about some common accessibility errors found in apps published to the Windows Store that cause tools like Narrator to return nothing more than gibberish as spoken text. Rob walks through...

What is assistive technology? This month, The Atlantic explores the question in a fascinating conversation with Sara Hendren, who writes and lectures extensively about technology and accessibility. Hendren believes “ all technology is assistive...

The following blog post was written by Ellen Kampel, Public Relations Manager for Accessibility at Microsoft. Ellen holds a Masters in Social Work (MSW) and works on technology issues related to aging and people with disabilities. ----- For nearly...

Technology can open new doors, and in the case of 97-year-old artist Hal Lasko it opened an important old one. Lasko spent his career as graphic artist, but he thought his painting days were over because a degenerative condition was taking much of...

Last month, I joined the founding members of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) in a meeting where we discussed the next steps to create an association and transform accessibility into a globally recognized and respected profession. In March, we will take one of our biggest steps by formally launching the Association. So far, accessibility has developed at a grassroots level, hindered by an inconsistent approach to training as well as the absence of certifications and an established career path for engineers to follow from higher education into the workplace.

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