I love it when organizations share their strategy. In this case, it’s the UK government’s GDS sharing how they plan to approach accessibility, going forward.
Dispatches From The Internets
A new accessibility strategy for the GOV.UK Design System
Accessible web color combinations
Love this tool for creating accessible color combinations.
Inclusion is Innovation
Having worked in the D&I space within Microsoft for a few years now, it’s great to see the things we’ve been discussing internally making it out into the world.
It all goes hand-in-hand:
- Screen in for diverse perspectives during the interview process.
- Foster inclusive teams that value and promote people for not only their productive capacity, but also their unique experiences & perspectives.
- Empower everyone to influence product/service design.
- Release products that serve everyone because those products were created by people who share lived experiences with everyone.
OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour
We talk a lot about needing to improve the ethics of our supply chains when it comes to mineral extraction and factory conditions, but we need protections for knowledge workers too!
Inclusive Tech Lab at Microsoft: Minding the Gap Between People with Disabilities and Those Without
Given the pandemic, I have not had a chance to visit the Inclusive Tech Lab at Microsoft yet, but I love that it exists and how it is shaping the future of technology.
Científicos del CSIC desarrollan un perro robótico capaz de
I have mixed emotions about this move to repurpose the utterly terrifying Boston Dynamics robots as service robots, but there are some upsides too.
- Pro: No waste to clean up & dispose of
- Pro: Can be used by people with allergies
- Pro: Has no mouth, will never bite
- Pro: People are less likely to try to pet/distract your service robot
- Pro: Can likely be trained (or sensor-enabled) to recognize more objects and scenarios than a dog can (or at least the specific breeds we employ as service animals)
- Pro: Would be of service for someone’s lifetime (and beyond) if maintained properly
- Pro: Knowledge & personality (if there is one) can be migrated to a new robot if the current one breaks
- Questionable: Potentially less costly to own, assuming power & maintenance is less than the US$1000-2000/yr it costs to own the average dog
- Con: Far more expensive upfront
- Con: Unlikely to be a companion in nearly the same way (though robots with personality is something folks are working on)
- Con: Not warm or furry
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis is Incredibly Problematic
Before I get into this, let me start with this preface: I am not a legal expert by any means. I never even watched Law & Order. That said, I am keenly interested in the law and how it relates to bias and discrimination, particularly if that intersects with technology, especially the web.
Which brings me to the subject at hand: 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. I tweeted about this case, which is currently before the Supreme Court of the United States, the other day, but felt like I owed it a lengthier—and perhaps more enduring—discussion. So here goes…
There can be only one: Options for building “choose one” fields
My latest article is a part of the HTMHell Advent Calendar and takes you through all the ins and outs of form controls used to enable people to choose one option from many: select, input[type=radio], and input[list].
Taming Blend Modes: difference and exclusion
Amazingly deep article on CSS blend modes. Incredible work from Ana Tudor.
Style a parent element based on its number of children using CSS :has()
If you were a fan of quantity queries, you’re going to love being able to style a parent element based on how many children it has. Awesome post from Bramus!