They forge ahead with a product, then leave it up to third parties to figure out how to tweak APIs to develop a screen reader for the blind or an input device for those with impaired mobility. They'll provide an extra port or two for plug-in devices. Retrofitting invariably costs more than design-ins. Java gave disability advocates a golden opportunity to devise APIs that offer alternatives from the get-go. Today, Sun continues to sift through feedback from users and customers to make it better.
Work is under way to improve presentation of documents, tables, and graphics.
That, Johnson considers an easy enough task. The trick is getting developers to take the extra step to make sure that application actually is accessible. Sun has made it simpler for third parties to, for example, run applications without a mouse, but it can't force them to comply. So the accessibility team has assumed the burden of promoting accessibility both internally and externally. He said he considers the three-year process of incorporating accessibility into Java pretty good considering that the first Windows package emerged in the late '80s, and didn't offer accessibility features until six or seven years later.