Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse buttons is unsupported

Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by jdietrich on Thursday January 03, 2019 @08:24AM (#18814853)

The absence of a desired feature is not a bug. The author's situation is clearly very frustrating, but Chrome OS is intentionally minimalistic. Just one feature isn't going to result in bloat, but there are thousands of users who want just one feature. If he had bought an iPad Pro instead of a Chromebook, he would have been disappointed to learn that iOS doesn't support mice at all. A version of Chrome OS that supports every possible use-case and customisation is just linux. We already have linux.

The issue tracker discussion seems reasonable to me. The UI team don't want to add and support the code necessary to facilitate the multitude of requests for remapping and shortcuts, so would prefer a suitable API for extensions. The kernel team have serious security concerns about such an API, because it would effectively permit keyloggers on the Chrome OS platform.

On a practical level, I'd advise OP to install Crouton.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by ethbro on Thursday January 03, 2019 @08:53AM (#18815071)

> The issue tracker discussion seems reasonable to me. The UI team don't want to add and support the code necessary to facilitate the multitude of requests for remapping and shortcuts, so would prefer a suitable API for extensions. The kernel team have serious security concerns about such an API, because it would effectively permit keyloggers on the Chrome OS platform.

... And so nothing gets done.

After encountering a few issues like this, it's why I no longer use Chrome on any device. I understand the Chrome team is incredibly busy. But especially on Chrome UX matters, user_request > UX_rejection > API_request > /dev/null seems an annoyingly common outcome.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by eganist on Thursday January 03, 2019 @09:36AM (#18815342)

> The absence of a desired feature is not a bug

Considering the adoption of Chromebooks in government and public education spaces, Section 508 might disagree.

I'm not a 508 expert, though. I pulled up the spec and though there isn't anything specific about remapping buttons on mice, I did find this:

> 502.3.13 Modification of Focus Cursor. Focus, text insertion point, and selection attributes that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through the use of assistive technology.

It would seem, then, that the actual buttons mapped for accomplishing the above MUST be modifiable or remappable for 508 compliance.

But I'm probably wrong. Someone check me on it:

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/commun...

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Edit: commented directly on the feature thread. https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=221914...

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by dalbasal on Thursday January 03, 2019 @08:53AM (#18815063)

I agree

Broadly speaking, you can go with a minimalist system or a powerful one. It's easier easier to make minimalist simple & intuitive with great defaults. The other option is powerful, where the system can do lots of things. Linux is powerful. Lots of exceptions, but the rule is trade-off.

Accessibility is, almost by definition, suitability for rare-ish use cases. Rarity varies. Some people need a thumb mouse. Some need color schemes. Some need to operate a machine using only their eyes. Accessibility is, also almost by definition, achieved by adding optional features... A choice further along the "powerful & complex" end of the spectrum will tend to work better for a diverse accessibility goalset.

"Simple yet powerful" is a design goal specifically because it is paradoxical.... like "light yet strong" or "affordable luxury." It means you made your trade-offs and have come out ahead.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by DanBC on Thursday January 03, 2019 @09:15AM (#18815194)

> The absence of a desired feature is not a bug.

It is a bug if it excludes disabled people.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by bscphil on Thursday January 03, 2019 @09:38AM (#18815359)

While it would be nice if every change that could help a disabled person could be considered a problem with the product until implemented, that's simply not possible. It's not possible for small teams, who don't have time to implement every feature, and it's not possible for large teams, who have to deal with problems like feature bloat in what is a very simple product from a UI point of view.

Fortunately not everyone is forced to use Chrome.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by tarboreus on Thursday January 03, 2019 @11:04AM (#18816099)

Many people are forced to use it, especially in educational settings. In fact, this kind of accomodation is the law, at least in the United States. A long series of ADA lawsuits have forced platforms like Scribd and Kindle to make their platforms accessible. Unfortunately bringing these lawsuits is expensive and difficult and the battles have to be picked. Google doesn't have a great culture of accessibility, and yet more of their products are becoming required for educational and job settings.

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Re:Chromebook accessibility: Changing the order of mouse but... by sigzero on Thursday January 03, 2019 @09:31AM (#18815306)

No, it's a feature request. However, if a change is what he wants then he needs to make it more visible and painfully so.

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