ence. “It provides a more comfortable way for seniors to use the Internet,” Saito explains.

EWB, which has captured several industry awards, offers a number of advantages. It is easy to install, requiring the user to do nothing more than click a link. It’s easy to use, reading text aloud automatically when users point the mouse to an area of the Web page they want to read. It also presents controls in a convenient and consistent location on the screen for easy access, and provides a full screen mode that prevents the browsing screen from becoming hidden. Finally, it offers a high level of customization, including text magnification and the ability to read text aloud at different speeds and volumes.

Meanwhile, both Microsoft and Apple have built magnification tools, text-to-speech conversion, alternative keyboards, and specialized display options into their operating systems. Although these features are generally intended for those with disabilities, they’re also useful to many older individuals. In fact, for some, accessibility is what makes computer use possible in the first place. A study conducted by Microsoft found that one in four adults in the U.S. suffers from vision difficulties, one in four faces challenges with dexterity, and one in five has hearing problems.

Overall, Microsoft has developed more than 300 specialty assistive technology products for Windows computers. Not surprisingly, some of these tools provide sophisticated functionality. For example, reading tools now include software and hardware that,

among other things, can automatically reformat text so that it’s more easily viewed. Keyboard filters offer word prediction utilities to reduce typing and interaction. And light signaler alerts monitor sounds along with other events and alert users with a light signal. This makes it possible for a person with hearing problems to know when an email message has arrived or a computing task is completed.

The World Wide Web Consortium has also entered the picture. Its WAI-AGE project is currently studying Web accessibility barriers for older people. “Ultimately,” Gregor says, “operating a Web browser should be as straightforward as turning up the volume on a radio.”

Others are exploring ways to make input easier. IBM has developed keyboard software that monitors how a person is typing. Based on accuracy, speed, and other overall input patterns, it can adjust settings in a computer’s control panel. “If you are hitting keys over and over again, it learns to filter out the repeated keys for you,” Hanson explains. In addition, R&D continues on speech recognition, which could solve many of the interface problems plaguing the elderly. Saito at IBM is taking the concept a step further by studying speech symbolization, which creates icons or representations that serve as a bridge between human and machine interaction.

Not surprisingly, mobile phone manufacturers are also introducing devices that offer bigger and more prominent keys as well as larger text. Some, like the Samsung Jitterbug, also provides a simple “Yes” and

“No” menu system that reduces the complexity of the device—along with the cognitive demands placed on an older person. And a few organizations have worked to make their Web sites easier to navigate. For example, the National Institutes for Health’s NIH SeniorHealth site offers built-in tools for adjusting text size and contrast. It also provides a text-to-speech tool that reads pages aloud.

Hanson says the widespread belief that the problem will simply “go away” as the current generation of younger adults ages is entirely misguided. “Today’s older adults were proficient with the technology of their generation,” she says. “Technology is changing more rapidly now than it has at any time in the past. There is no reason to expect that future generations of older adults will be any better equipped to deal with new technology than today’s older adults are with today’s new technology.”

One thing is certain: addressing the needs and requirements of older individuals is paramount as employers, retailers, government, and others head online. Ultimately, it’s vital to recognize that gray matters and age counts. Concludes Czaja: “Older adults must be connected to society and we must ensure that they have access to information and opportunities. Researchers, designers, and engineers must find ways to make online information and services available to older adults.”

 

Samuel Greengard is an author and freelance writer based in West Linn, oR.

© 2009 ACM 0001-0782/09/0900 $10.00

Networking
CCC’s Research Agenda for a Better Internet

the Computing Community Consortium’s network science and Engineering (netsE) Council, led by Ellen w. Zegura, chair of computer science at georgia institute of technology, has released Network Science and Engineering (NetSE) Research Agenda, a comprehensive report about the development of better networks, in particular the internet, with the goal of

increased security, accessibility, predictability, and reliability.

“Literally hundreds of researchers contributed to the agenda by participating in workshops, authoring sections, and reviewing the overall document,” Zegura said via email. “while probably no one endorses every word, this deep engagement speaks to the entire research community’s appreciation of

the importance of ratcheting up networking research, and better supporting experimental efforts, long-term foundational efforts, and interdisciplinary efforts.”

the 116-page report is a living document, and the netsE Council welcomes feedback and comments at http://www.cra.org/ ccc/ netse.php.

Zegura sees two primary research challenges. “First,

experimental research, and the
tools and facilities required for
that research, are not traditionally
very well supported in our field,”
Zegura said. “second, in all
fields—and ours is no exception—
interdisciplinary research is
hard to carry out. there are
many areas of networking
where only an interdisciplinary
approach can make a significant
dent in the problem.”