AOL Launches Real-Time Instant Messaging Targeted to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Users

**Chris Leckness** · 01-15-08, 06:26 PM

New AIM Feature Enables AIM Users to Watch Text Conversations Unfold One Letter a Time

AOL today announced it is now testing the first real-time instant messaging (IM) feature targeted to deaf and hard of hearing users that also offers a natural flowing IM experience for everyone. Built with guidance from Gallaudet University and the Trace Research and Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this feature is in the latest beta version 6.8 of the popular AIM software that is available as a free download at http://beta.aol.com.

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 32 million American adults have some degree of hearing loss. For this population, email and instant messaging are critical tools for everyday communications. The new real-time IM feature within AIM enhances instant message conversations by enabling users to see each letter that a buddy types rather than waiting for a friend to press the send button to view and read a message. This enables deaf users to respond and react to words as they are typed just as hearing people would do as words are spoken in a voice conversation.

To access this new feature, users simply click on "Actions" and then "Real-Time IM" from within an instant message window. A user may also highlight a buddy on his or her Buddy List and press Ctrl+R on the keyboard to initiate real-time IM. Both the IM sender and receiver must have the version of AIM that includes the real-time IM functionality to use the feature.

In August 2007, AOL released Websuite Basic â€“ Accessible Version, a new webmail product that was lauded by the National Federation of the Blind and other leading consumer organizations. This new webmail interface allows users who are blind or have low vision to engage in a robust email experience that is highly compatible with screen reader software without the need for a computer mouse. Users can access this version by visiting http://mail.aol.com and clicking "Accessible Version" on the footer.

Source:AOL press release

Pocketbrain · 01-15-08, 08:55 PM

Interesting. I remember PowWow doing this a looooooong time ago. It really was the most feature-rich chat client I have ever used. I guess there really is nothing new under the sun.

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