From rssfeeds@jmason.org Fri Oct 4 11:01:52 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: yyyy@localhost.example.com Received: from localhost (jalapeno [127.0.0.1]) by jmason.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 806D216F1B for ; Fri, 4 Oct 2002 11:01:26 +0100 (IST) Received: from jalapeno [127.0.0.1] by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0) for jm@localhost (single-drop); Fri, 04 Oct 2002 11:01:26 +0100 (IST) Received: from dogma.slashnull.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by dogma.slashnull.org (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g94806K08775 for ; Fri, 4 Oct 2002 09:00:06 +0100 Message-Id: <200210040800.g94806K08775@dogma.slashnull.org> To: yyyy@example.com From: diveintomark Subject: Microsoft redesign Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 08:00:05 -0000 Content-Type: text/plain; encoding=utf-8 X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-805.3 required=5.0 tests=AWL,T_NONSENSE_FROM_40_50 version=2.50-cvs X-Spam-Level: URL: http://diveintomark.org/archives/2002/10/03.html#microsoft_redesign Date: 2002-10-03T14:42:29-05:00 _Jeffrey Zeldman_: Party like it's 1997[1]. “Microsoft has redesigned. Its new layout uses font tags and other deprecated junk straight out of the mid-1990s. ... When a W3C member company that helped create XHTML and CSS ignores or misuses those web standards on its corporate site, you have to wonder who didn't get the memo.” The new design also fails even the most basic accessibility tests[2]; the home page contains 80 instances of images without ALT text. This is the same basic failing for which the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games was successfully sued in 2000[3]. Here is what microsoft.com looks like in a text-only browser[4]. (To better understand the experience, take a piece of paper and cover your entire monitor except for the top line, then scroll the window slowly so you can only read one line at a time.) While nothing is technically locked out (all the links are regular links, nothing requires Javascript to function properly), all the un-ALT-enhanced images (which are mostly spacer images and images-as-bullets) add so much clutter to the page that it's very difficult to navigate. Meanwhile, I don't want to imagine what it would sound like through a screen reader. Want to find the search box? That's “1pttrans dot gif 1pttrans dot gif search for 1pttrans dot gif 1pttrans dot gif form edit box 1pttrans dot gif submit button go 1pttrans dot gif link advanced search 1pttrans dot gif ...” And I hope you weren't looking for Microsoft's accessibility home page[5]; it's the 76th link on the page (out of 76). [1] http://www.zeldman.com/daily/0902b.html#prince [2] http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/bobbyServlet?advanced=true&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2F&gl=wcag1-a&Text=text&line=line&an_errs=an_errs&stealth=Bobby%2F3.3&output=Submit [3] http://www.contenu.nu/socog.html [4] http://diveintomark.org/public/microsoft_lynx_output.txt [5] http://www.microsoft.com/enable/