Accessibility for People with Disabilities
Accessibility for People with Disabilities |
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Microsoft and other developers of software and hardware features are continuously working to improve options for people with disabilities. Because of this effort, some accessibility features might still be in development or testing when new versions of software are released. Sometimes, new features are completed after a release and are included with the next version. Also, some technologies have not yet been created that are compatible with, or that can be built into, Windows 2000. For these reasons, information technology professionals need to carefully review the needs of the users they support before deploying to enterprises that have accessibility requirements. As part of your deployment planning and testing, make sure that you test all required assistive devices for compatibility with Windows 2000.
You might consider upgrading selected existing features and programs on your computers, rather than making a complete Windows 2000 installation. The upgrade process can be automated, and with Active Directory™ directory service, you can manage Group Policy object applications within an organizational unit, a domain, or a site. Although a complete installation, sometimes called a clean installation, allows a partitioned combination, it does not migrate settings from the previous operating system, which means that users lose personalized settings and applications.
Note
Whether you do a complete installation or an upgrade, it is important to do so with an updated Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) that is compatible with Windows 2000.
With assigned applications in Group Policy, administrators can advertise objects so that when a user selects them on the Start menu, the objects are automatically installed. Administrators might delete applications assigned in this way. When administrators publish applications instead of assigning them, the user has the option of installing them using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.
Active Accessibility is a core component in the Windows operating system that is built on Component Object Model (COM) and that defines how applications can exchange information about user interface (UI) elements. This technology reduces incompatibility with some accessibility aids but does not yet offer complete compatibility.
For more information about current technologies, see the Microsoft Accessibility link on the Web Resources page at http://windows.microsoft.com/windows2000/reskit/webresources.
For more information about installing software, see "Software Installation and Maintenance" in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server Resource Kit Distributed Systems Guide.