In the past, huge mainframe computers with character-cell terminals used to be the only cost effective solution for institutions requiring operating systems that supported multiple users, number crunching power, and large databases. Personal computers and workstations were either too expensive or lacked the capabilities provided by mainframes. This resulted in the proliferation of mainframes in work settings that needed to share data and resources: colleges, universities, design engineering and research companies, hospitals, banking, and accounting firms. Due to better technology and decreased costs, however, desktop workstations began to perform the same functions as a mainframe at a fraction of the cost. This provided an attractive alternative for institutions wishing to replace or upgrade their out-of-date mainframes, and created a large workstation market supplied by several companies that designed and developed their own workstation products. Although each vendor supplied their own variation of an operating system for their workstations (many are varieties of the UNIX operating system), almost all vendors supplied a graphical user interface (GUI) known as the X Window System. In fact, the X Window System has become the de facto standard on computer workstations. Because of this, the X Window System provides an ideal place upon which to build accessibility solutions: any solutions for X Windows will apply across many makers and models of workstations. Since the early 1980s, the Trace Center has worked closely with companies that develop personal computers and their operating systems to develop strategies which make them more accessible to individuals with disabilities. For people with mobility impairments, strategies have been developed to provide basic access in a number of operating systems. Among these strategies are AccessDOS for IBM computers running DOS, Easy Access for the Apple Macintosh, Access Pack for Microsoft Windows, and those being built into IBM OS/2. Likewise, the Trace Center has worked closely with companies such as Apple and Berkeley Systems Inc. to develop strategies to assist in their development of products for people with visual impairments.
Building upon and expanding the model used to provide access in the personal computer market, the Trace Center brought together a group of researchers, consumers and companies interested in developing access solutions for workstations. This group, known as the Disability Action Committee for X (DACX), had an initial meeting in conjunction with the Closing-The-Gap Conference in Minneapolis, in October 1992. Discussion at the kick-off meeting centered around what should be done to provide basic disability access to computer workstations.
To best utilize the limited resources within DACX, the group formed subcommittees to concentrate initial efforts in three specific areas:
At the present time, DACX includes members from organizations like Bell Atlantic, Berkeley Systems Inc., Digital Equipment Corp., Georgia Tech, IBM, MIT, SUN Microsystems, and the Trace Center. The Trace Center is acting as the coordinator and secretariat for DACX, as well as assisting in implementation of access strategies in software development and testing. The Trace Center maintains an electronic mail account at the University to allow DACX members to communicate issues quickly.