People who are blind use special screen access software and Braille or speech devices to read. With this approach, the text, is converted into Braille or speech. To be accessible, however, information must be stored correctly. Documents stored in complex proprietary formats or documents requiring expensive, hardware or software present insurmountable barriers to access. For example, files stored as graphic images can not be accessed using standard Braille and speech devices.
Some software requires high power systems with lots of memory.
Many users, including federal employees, are still using old, slow, DOS systems. With these systems, thousands of employees in the federal government, and thousands more in the general public who want government produced documents will not have access. Provide electronic information in a format which can be accessed using standard hardware including Braille and speech devices. This will meet the established performance requirements for Federal electronic information that is accessible and useful to all users. Ideally, information should be stored and distributed in a standard form that is independent of the presentation device.