Skypecasts and the Blind Community

Published: Jun 24, 2007

The Skypecast beta desktop communication program allows up to 100 Skype users to meet at a time. The Skypecast is very useful for holding a voice chat meeting and is accessible for all Internet users.

The Mosen Blog reports that when a user joins or creates a Skypecast, a new browser window, with buttons and links pertaining to each participant, pops up. These buttons helps a Skypecast user to mute and un-mute participants and if necessary, the host can eject people from the Skypecast. Mosen also says that the browser page does not appear to refresh in a screen reader’s virtual buffer when a new participant joins.

According to the blog, sites like Audio-Tips and For-The-People have provided a meeting place through which people with visual disabilities can get together. With regards to I-Vocalize chat client, Mosen believes that there are services Skypecasts still cannot provide, such as the ability for moderators to take over the browser.

The Mosen blog predicts that the Skypecast works will be a huge hit among visually disabled Internet enthusiasts.

Source: Mosen Blog

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