Press Release: Universal Usability Conference Volunteers Build Web Resource to Empower Every Citizen in Cyberspace

November 9, 2000

There's a trite saying in Western culture that "it ain't over till the fat lady sings." But in the case of a unique international meeting, the fat lady may never be finished singing -- and computer users everywhere will benefit.

That's because student volunteers at the Conference on Universal Usability (CUU) have constructed a special web site (universalusability.org). This site is dedicated to understanding how to design computer technology so that it is usable by everyone: users of all levels of expertise, cognitive ability, and physical ability, and users with economic and social constraints.

The site will be a primary resource for computer usability information, discussion and research long after the CUU conference is over. CUU is being held Nov. 16 and 17 in Arlington, Virginia.

The universal usability site includes a discussion forum and an information storehouse about user communities, tasks and activities, computer hardware and software, and social and organizational systems.

The student volunteers who built the site began their effort months before the conference itself, undertaking a daunting task for a group working asynchronously across time, language and cultural barriers. CUU funded their travel expenses, accommodations, meals and registration.

• Go to universalusability.org