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diff --git a/2019/talks/08.md b/2019/talks/08.md index a6166964..2f2525b9 100644 --- a/2019/talks/08.md +++ b/2019/talks/08.md @@ -13,91 +13,227 @@ type="video/webm"]] ### Transcript ```org -Before I tell you why Emacs is an amazing piece of software and how it helps me save a tremendous amount of time, I should tell you more about the reality of being blind and using a computer. +Before I tell you why Emacs is an amazing piece of software and how it +helps me save a tremendous amount of time, I should tell you more +about the reality of being blind and using a computer. * How do the blind use a computer? -The blind use the computer using what's called a screen reader. A screen reader does what its name says, it reads the screen. It does that by calling operating system and application APIs that give it information. For example, when I press tab, I land on a control, and the screen reader asks the application the type of that control, its label, and its state. So for example, if I land on a checkbox, what I'd hear would be, "I agree with all the stuff I didn't even read checkbox not checked". +The blind use the computer using what's called a screen reader. A +screen reader does what its name says, it reads the screen. It does +that by calling operating system and application APIs that give it +information. For example, when I press tab, I land on a control, and +the screen reader asks the application the type of that control, its +label, and its state. So for example, if I land on a checkbox, what +I'd hear would be, "I agree with all the stuff I didn't even read +checkbox not checked". * What are the problems that screen reader users run into? -As you can imagine, the biggest problem for a blind person is using an application written by a developer that didn't implement the right APIs. These applications can be inaccessible on many levels. Maybe the controls have no labels, so you just hear that you're on a checkbox and it's not checked, and you don't know what will happen if you check it. It could make your computer explode, or could move all the money in your bank account to Uganda – you just don't know. - -The next level is when you don't even know that you are on a checkbox, because the control doesn't implement a way of retrieving its type, or its label, or its state. This is even more scary, you don't know what will happen if you press enter. it could just tick a checkbox, or click a submit button to send all your details to the authorities! - -It gets even worse! The highest level of inaccessible application (which exists much more than you would imagine) is an application that doesn't let you do anything with the keyboard! So, when you press tab, nothing happens at all! +As you can imagine, the biggest problem for a blind person is using an +application written by a developer that didn't implement the right +APIs. These applications can be inaccessible on many levels. Maybe +the controls have no labels, so you just hear that you're on a +checkbox and it's not checked, and you don't know what will happen if +you check it. It could make your computer explode, or could move all +the money in your bank account to Uganda – you just don't know. + +The next level is when you don't even know that you are on a checkbox, +because the control doesn't implement a way of retrieving its type, or +its label, or its state. This is even more scary, you don't know what +will happen if you press enter. It could just tick a checkbox, or +click a submit button to send all your details to the authorities! + +It gets even worse! The highest level of inaccessible application +(which exists much more than you would imagine) is an application that +doesn't let you do anything with the keyboard! So, when you press +tab, nothing happens at all! * Can a blind person who knows how to code fix these problems? -Now, most of the time on the Mac or Windows you don't have access to this application's code to go fix it. If you're lucky enough to be on Linux, you will probably have much bigger accessibility problems that you'll have to fix first, and you'll need to know C++, understand all the system-level concepts, and have a coding environment that actually works, first. - -So, if you're really dedicated, you can totally go and fix the code so that it provides the right information. Most of the time though, the application will be using a library like QT or Electron, which doesn't even support all the accessibility APIs. So, you as an application developer, have no easy way of making your application accessible, other than switching to a completely different library, which is, understandably, too much work. +Now, most of the time on the Mac or Windows you don't have access to +this application's code to go fix it. If you're lucky enough to be on +GNU/Linux, you will probably have much bigger accessibility problems +that you'll have to fix first, and you'll need to know C++, understand +all the system-level concepts, and have a coding environment that +actually works, first. + +So, if you're really dedicated, you can totally go and fix the code so +that it provides the right information. Most of the time though, the +application will be using a library like QT or Electron, which doesn't +even support all the accessibility APIs. So, you as an application +developer, have no easy way of making your application accessible, +other than switching to a completely different library, which is, +understandably, too much work. * How does this situation affect a blind person's productivity? -The thing is, when you're hired as a developer or anything really, you are always, directly or indirectly, competing with a sighted person. At the end of the day, your employer wants to know if it's worth paying the same amount of money as a person who is sighted. So it becomes very important for a blind person to protect their productivity. - -When you have to use applications with varying amounts of accessibility, your productivity suffers. Imagine if every single thing you have to do in an application takes ten seconds more than it does for a sighted person. At the end of the day, you have lost at least an hour or two, and you always feel like you're lagging behind. - -But this is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that you don't have control over any of these pieces of software. If you are dealing with a company that listens to its users and adequately prioritizes accessibility issues, which is the best case scenario, you will have to wait for weeks for them to fix that issue. In the mean time, you are falling further and further behind. - -If you're dealing with a company that doesn't care as much, you have only two options: export your data completely and move somewhere else, or deal with the inaccessible interface and lose even more time. Most of the time, you have to go with option number two. - -The scary thing is that this category of software, software that makes you slow but you have to use because there is no other option, makes up the majority of my day. To give you some idea, stuff like JIRA, Google Docs or Sheets or Slides, Trello, Gitlab, Facebook's Workplace, and many others fall into this category. IntelliJ IDEs are completely inaccessible, and other IDEs like Eclipse go through periods of being really accessible, then inaccessible, and so on, depending on what the priority for the company happens to be. - -Now, you might think, why don't we create software specially for the blind? The thing is that this way of thinking is not scalable. Making a document editor and spreadsheet and issue tracker and IDE and everything exclusively for the blind would mean that the software blind people can access would be way behind the mainstream. - -So, what should we do? Well, most people are trying to make implementing accessibility easier and easier, so that it only takes a few minutes to add accessibility to any feature. Some people are educating developers on how easy it is nowadays to make any software accessible. Some companies are spearheading accessibility in their products. However, there is still a long way to go. And, as a blind user, I'd have to suffer in the mean time. +The thing is, when you're hired as a developer or anything really, you +are always, directly or indirectly, competing with a sighted person. +At the end of the day, your employer wants to know if it's worth +paying the same amount of money as a person who is sighted. So it +becomes very important for a blind person to protect their +productivity. + +When you have to use applications with varying amounts of +accessibility, your productivity suffers. Imagine if every single +thing you have to do in an application takes ten seconds more than it +does for a sighted person. At the end of the day, you have lost at +least an hour or two, and you always feel like you're lagging behind. + +But this is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that you don't +have control over any of these pieces of software. If you are dealing +with a company that listens to its users and adequately prioritizes +accessibility issues, which is the best case scenario, you will have +to wait for weeks for them to fix that issue. In the mean time, you +are falling further and further behind. + +If you're dealing with a company that doesn't care as much, you have +only two options: export your data completely and move somewhere else, +or deal with the inaccessible interface and lose even more time. Most +of the time, you have to go with option number two. + +The scary thing is that this category of software, software that makes +you slow but you have to use because there is no other option, makes +up the majority of my day. To give you some idea, stuff like JIRA, +Google Docs or Sheets or Slides, Trello, Gitlab, Facebook's Workplace, +and many others fall into this category. IntelliJ IDEs are completely +inaccessible, and other IDEs like Eclipse go through periods of being +really accessible, then inaccessible, and so on, depending on what the +priority for the company happens to be. + +Now, you might think, why don't we create software specially for the +blind? The thing is that this way of thinking is not scalable. +Making a document editor and spreadsheet and issue tracker and IDE and +everything exclusively for the blind would mean that the software +blind people can access would be way behind the mainstream. + +So, what should we do? Well, most people are trying to make +implementing accessibility easier and easier, so that it only takes a +few minutes to add accessibility to any feature. Some people are +educating developers on how easy it is nowadays to make any software +accessible. Some companies are spearheading accessibility in their +products. However, there is still a long way to go. And, as a blind +user, I'd have to suffer in the mean time. * What about Emacs? -Now, Emacs itself is just a piece of software that hasn't done anything for accessibility. However, Emacs' power lies in the fact that it is customizable. It provides all the building blocks for anyone to make it accessible, and in 1994, Dr. T. V. Raman started doing just that. +Now, Emacs itself is just a piece of software that hasn't done +anything for accessibility. However, Emacs' power lies in the fact +that it is customizable. It provides all the building blocks for +anyone to make it accessible, and in 1994, Dr. T. V. Raman started +doing just that. -Remember when I said that most software needs to implement the API to tell a screen reader about controls and their labels and states? Well, imagine if you could write a script that runs inside the software itself, pulls that data out and speaks it. This would be basically a screen reader that is running inside that software and making it accessible from the inside. +Remember when I said that most software needs to implement the API to +tell a screen reader about controls and their labels and states? +Well, imagine if you could write a script that runs inside the +software itself, pulls that data out and speaks it. This would be +basically a screen reader that is running inside that software and +making it accessible from the inside. -That's what Raman created, and it's called Emacspeak +That's what Raman created, and it's called Emacspeak. * How does Emacspeak help me? -Emacspeak is an Emacs package which uses Emacs' own functions to retrieve information and speak it, and it runs by advising most of Emacs' functions. That means, for example, when I press C-n, instead of asking an application's APIs to provide the selected line in a text box as a screen reader would, it runs after `next-line' and uses `buffer-substring' to get the current line and speaks it. - -It sounds very simple, but the implications are huge. For example, because Emacspeak is inside Emacs, it can take display options into account and not speak invisible portions. In org-mode, it can tell you that the current line is collapsed and you can expand it by pressing tab. In programming modes, it can tell you the indentation level, which a very few screen readers can do. It can play tones or speak in different voices depending on if the current line contains something that is bold. All of these stuff it can do because it's running inside Emacs, which makes it very easy to retrieve information about what's being shown on the screen. - -This means that almost everything in Emacs is spoken with a very high degree of accessibility by default. +Emacspeak is an Emacs package which uses Emacs' own functions to +retrieve information and speak it, and it runs by advising most of +Emacs' functions. That means, for example, when I press C-n, instead +of asking an application's APIs to provide the selected line in a text +box as a screen reader would, it runs after `next-line' and uses +`buffer-substring' to get the current line and speaks it. + +It sounds very simple, but the implications are huge. For example, +because Emacspeak is inside Emacs, it can take display options into +account and not speak invisible portions. In org-mode, it can tell +you that the current line is collapsed and you can expand it by +pressing tab. In programming modes, it can tell you the indentation +level, which a very few screen readers can do. It can play tones or +speak in different voices depending on if the current line contains +something that is bold. All of these stuff it can do because it's +running inside Emacs, which makes it very easy to retrieve information +about what's being shown on the screen. + +This means that almost everything in Emacs is spoken with a very high +degree of accessibility by default. But that's not all. * What if something in Emacs isn't accessible? -You all probably know that the code inside Emacs is readable. If you know Emacs Lisp, you can read and understand most of what's happening. That also means that if something doesn't work for me, if it is not accessible, I can either make my own accessible replacement that calls that functionality, or I can do what Emacspeak does and advise that function. +You all probably know that the code inside Emacs is readable. If you +know Emacs Lisp, you can read and understand most of what's happening. +That also means that if something doesn't work for me, if it is not +accessible, I can either make my own accessible replacement that calls +that functionality, or I can do what Emacspeak does and advise that +function. -For example, `org-capture' is not accessible because it asks me to press a key to indicate what I'm capturing. The reason is that it's waiting for a key press, so when I press any key to read the buffer, it stops. +For example, `org-capture' is not accessible because it asks me to +press a key to indicate what I'm capturing. The reason is that it's +waiting for a key press, so when I press any key to read the buffer, +it stops. -So, all I needed to do was to make my own function, `capture-todo' that would call `org-capture' with the `t' flag for TODO, and bind that to a key. +So, all I needed to do was to make my own function, `capture-todo' +that would call `org-capture' with the `t' flag for TODO, and bind +that to a key. -If it was any other application, I would have to ask someone to tell me what the screen says, write down what I need to do in a file or memorize it, and refer to it every time I forgot. +If it was any other application, I would have to ask someone to tell +me what the screen says, write down what I need to do in a file or +memorize it, and refer to it every time I forgot. * How else does Emacs make me more productive? But still, Emacs helps me in a lot of other ways. -One thing is navigating quickly to where I want to go. For example, YAML is a mark-up language that depends a lot on indentation. Even though Emacspeak tells me how many spaces a line is indented by, if I wanted to find something in a YAML file that is indented one level less than the line I am at, i would have to press down arrow, listen to the indentations in the line, press down arrow again, listen to the indentation again, and so on. It would take me a long time to get to the line with less indentation, whereas for a sighted person, it would probably be as easy as scrolling down until they find a line that is indented less. - -However, because of Emacs' nature, I can write a function that does the skimming for me faster than any human could, and drop me at the line with less indentation. - -Another thing that Emacs helps me a lot with is that it's fast. The fact that I can do anything with a keystroke means that I don't have to use my screen reader to look for controls in an application. - -An example of this is Omnifocus versus org-mode. Omnifocus is a wonderful application for GTD practitioners: it lets you create TODO lists, assign them to projects, review your day or your week, and so much more. - -Org-mode allows you to do the same things, but it takes a long time to set up. You have to figure out how you will mark projects, where you will store them, how you will assign a TODO item to a project, how you will pull in your calendar data, and so on. It's easy once you've gone through the pain, but it's way faster to start with Omnifocus as opposed to org-mode. - -However, once I set up org-mode, I was way more productive in it than Omnifocus. It only took me a few keystrokes to move an item from my inbox to a project, from project to project, from projects to archives, and so on, because everything has a keystroke. It's very easy for me to see what my team is working on, and follow up with people when deadlines are approaching. It helps me take notes in real-time when someone in my team does something great, so that I can thank them and mention it in their performance review. - -And if something doesn't exist and doesn't have a keystroke, it's very easy to use the existing functionality as building blocks and write something which makes me extraordinarily faster. +One thing is navigating quickly to where I want to go. For example, +YAML is a mark-up language that depends a lot on indentation. Even +though Emacspeak tells me how many spaces a line is indented by, if I +wanted to find something in a YAML file that is indented one level +less than the line I am at, i would have to press down arrow, listen +to the indentations in the line, press down arrow again, listen to the +indentation again, and so on. It would take me a long time to get to +the line with less indentation, whereas for a sighted person, it would +probably be as easy as scrolling down until they find a line that is +indented less. + +However, because of Emacs' nature, I can write a function that does +the skimming for me faster than any human could, and drop me at the +line with less indentation. + +Another thing that Emacs helps me a lot with is that it's fast. The +fact that I can do anything with a keystroke means that I don't have +to use my screen reader to look for controls in an application. + +An example of this is Omnifocus versus org-mode. Omnifocus is a +wonderful application for GTD practitioners: it lets you create TODO +lists, assign them to projects, review your day or your week, and so +much more. + +Org-mode allows you to do the same things, but it takes a long time to +set up. You have to figure out how you will mark projects, where you +will store them, how you will assign a TODO item to a project, how you +will pull in your calendar data, and so on. It's easy once you've +gone through the pain, but it's way faster to start with Omnifocus as +opposed to org-mode. + +However, once I set up org-mode, I was way more productive in it than +Omnifocus. It only took me a few keystrokes to move an item from my +inbox to a project, from project to project, from projects to +archives, and so on, because everything has a keystroke. It's very +easy for me to see what my team is working on, and follow up with +people when deadlines are approaching. It helps me take notes in +real-time when someone in my team does something great, so that I can +thank them and mention it in their performance review. + +And if something doesn't exist and doesn't have a keystroke, it's very +easy to use the existing functionality as building blocks and write +something which makes me extraordinarily faster. * Conclusion -As I said in the beginning of this talk, my aim here is to tell you all how Emacs is helping me be way more productive and get a lot more done, and to applaud all of you for making Emacs better and better every day. +As I said in the beginning of this talk, my aim here is to tell you +all how Emacs is helping me be way more productive and get a lot more +done, and to applaud all of you for making Emacs better and better +every day. Thank you. |