url URL date NUMBER NUMBER NUMBERtNUMBER NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER _jeffrey zeldman_ party like it s NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER microsoft has redesigned its new layout uses font tags and other deprecated junk straight out of the mid NUMBERs when a wNUMBERc 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 NUMBER the new design also fails even the most basic accessibility tests NUMBER the home page contains NUMBER 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 NUMBER NUMBER here is what URL looks like in a text only browser NUMBER 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 NUMBER NUMBERpttrans dot gif NUMBERpttrans dot gif search for NUMBERpttrans dot gif NUMBERpttrans dot gif form edit box NUMBERpttrans dot gif submit button go NUMBERpttrans dot gif link advanced search NUMBERpttrans dot gif NUMBER and i hope you weren t looking for microsoft s accessibility home page NUMBER it s the NUMBERth link on the page out of NUMBER NUMBER URL NUMBER URL NUMBER URL NUMBER URL NUMBER URL 