mobile & special needs users (Score 1)

I'm being funded to help make an office package useable by blind and visually impaired (V.I.) users, and I haven't chosen which office environment to work with yet. Making software useable by V.I. users is a very similar problem to adapting software for mobile computer use, where you have limited screen real estate (handheld devices), and possibly no screen at all (as in a car - or as in StarTrek). In the past, people have tried to help V.I. computer users by writing special software that lays on top of Windows programs to try to re-interpret the visual interface into speech output. This is not an easy task - and results in a less than perfect solution. GPL gives the disabled community an opportunity to alter software for a variety of environments from the inside out. The added flexibility only enhances the desktop users experience - for example, a better keyboard and speech interface. Personally, I don't like having to move my hands from the keyboard to the mouse and back. As a sighted user, I would still to do some basic computing while on a roadtrip - such as reading, writing and browsing. It's not as complex as it sounds - the experience of blind computer users could be helpful to get us there. From a philosphical point of view, it shouldn't matter what input and output device a user wants to use (speech? sign language?) - software should support these alternatives from the core. What I would like to know is - what is KDE's philosophy on disabled and mobile users? Have you had any interaction with users with special needs who want to access the KDE interface? I think this would be an area KDE could attract some really good press - MSWin and StarOffice do little in this area. (StarOffice does nothing, and MS thinly supports disabled users - only enough to keep from being sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act). I think an open source project like KDE could attract some very talented disabled developers who need useable software! Aaron Leventhal