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=TEST= The importance of Internet is increasing day by day. So making it available to a diverse and wide audience is the need of the hour. Web developers who ignore or refuse to comply with the growing demand for accessibility will become unable to reach out to a sizable number of users. What alternatives do we have to make our websites universally accessible?

Accessibility means freedom of entrance or the facility to access a particular product, environment, or device for every single individual of a community regardless of any cultural, physical or other difference. The term accessibility has gradually come to mean the rights of people with disabilities. More and more individuals and organizations have started responding to the growing demand for accessibility for their products or devices. Many features are added and modifications are made and many by-products are manufactured to ensure that almost all the popular products/devices are more user-friendly or accessible.

When we discuss accessibility, quite naturally, our attention turns towards the IT sector. The reason is the growing importance of the internet as a source of knowledge or a medium of communication. This article tries to analyze the need for alternative formats and solutions to make computers, “our obedient, submissive companions,” more accessible and user-friendly.

First, we will try to study how a website can be more accessible. The transformation from an ordinary website to a universal website is not costly. Just providing some alternative solutions or modifications is sufficient. If you design your website so that it conforms to the accessibility rules and regulations, not only people with disabilities but all who are concerned about the content you offer will be satisfied. Calculations show that the majority of people who are over 40 years of age are in under the category of those who use some kind of assistive technology, like magnifiers, screen readers and so on. So, conformity with WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) means more online business and more traffic to your website.

The following is a suggested list of alternatives from which you can select keeping in mind your targeted audience.

1. Flash header: Give a background to the div which holds your image. Even if the users fail to see your animated images, they will be able to see a static image.

2. Flash menu: Include aan HTML version of your menu. It won’t be displayed if it stays between the tags and it can help SEO also.

3. Images: To solve the problem of images, you just have to fill out the "Alt attributes" field. This will give a visually impaired person who surfs your website an idea of what the image represents.

4. Provide alternative HTML script where JAVA is used: By doing this you will be able to make sure that your website can be explored with the help of any screen reader.

Websites like Solona, Webvisum, and so on are great attempts in this direction. These give disabled users independence to fill out online applications or create an account on their own on a particular website.

When we talk about accessibility of computers or any other digital devices, we can say that software like screen readers or the features like magnifiers have done a lot to make these media accessible. In addition to this, there are formats like DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System), which puts books or web content into text and audio formats.

Many large corporations like IBM, Microsoft, and Mac have their own official "Accessibility policies". They have included many features, like on-screen keyboards, filter keys, magnifiers, in-built screen readers, and so on in their devices. They have also included many accessibility features, like display options for the hearing impaired and all other disabled users.

In terms of hardware solutions, devices like talking thermometers, color identifiers, talking calculators, and so on are great steps forward in the attempts to include the sizable population of persons with disabilities in the mainstream community.

Even though we have come a long way in our attempts to make products/environments more accessible and user-friendly, we have to go a long way further. It is important to understand that with minor modification of keys with Braille/tactile labels we can make hardware much more efficient and accessible to the visually impaired. The design of hardware for comfortable use with one hand or in such a way that it can be used by a motor disability person, will make it accessible to a large number of users.