VariousArtist
When I was developing software over a decade ago there was a heavy emphasis on this, but sadly these days it seems like standards have been dropped.
Yes. I have touched that topic recently. Blind musicians really have hard times now:
* They still use 8.5, but accessibility additions (even 8.5 is not really accessible by itself) are bound to Windows Classic theme. So no go with win 8+, stuck with win 7.
* Sonar X2, while declared as "accessibility friendly", in reality is worse. Both additions are not supporting modern Sonar. X3 with accessibility mode turned on prone to crash
* modern VSTs are build using cross-platform GUIs, there are completely inaccessible.
* almost all audio interfaces software mixers are not accessible
* "standard" screen reader (JAWS) producer not only charge $1000 from users, which taking the number of customers into account is acceptable, instead of giving not speaking version to conventional software developers for free, explicitly forbid (!) in license to use demo version for testing (???), forcing normal developers pay the full price to check that product play nicely with corresponding software (you can guess how many do that...). The company has the name "Freedom Scientific". That sounds like a bad joke for me.
I was shocked that there is almost silence about all that problems. I wish some known people create at least some noise, I do not think it is so huge investment for GUI frameworks developers expose a bit of text behind the interface so all VST produced with these frameworks are automatically have at least some accessibility.
I try to find some solutions and even have some success:
* speaking control surfaces, making any Sonar almost accessible. Unfortunately only with operations available for surfaces, so f.e. no audition for context editing. But recording and mixing is complete (writing automations is definitively simpler then in the video)
* fancy hybrid method to make absolutely inaccessible VST GUI at least partially audible. Rather complicated task at early development stage. Just presets selection in several NI plug-ins at the moment.
* RME TotalMix, while not accessible except menus, support OSC. Thank to RME, they have exposed all parameter once we have asked (within 2 days!). And so all RME interfaces are accessible now (using screen reader friendly OSC controller, since I have not found any I have written one myself).
But as lonely free time programmer I clearly can not move mountains...