It’s been covered in pretty much all magazines, but hey, some things just can’t be mentioned enough! John Lesieur, computer programmer, descided to help his autistic grandson, Zackary. Using a normal browser (such as IE, Firefox) can be overwhelming for any kid (autistic or not), so he wanted to create a more “dummy-proof” version of it.
No excess options or buttons, just browsing – combined with a thrustworthy spam-filter to block all violent or erotic content.
For example, the Zac Browser disables extraneous keyboard buttons like “Print Screen” and turns off the right button on the mouse. That eliminates commands most children don’t need anyway, and it reduces the chance an autistic child will lose confidence after making a counterproductive click.
Children using the Zac Browser select activities by clicking on bigger-than-normal icons, like a soccer ball for games and a stack of books for “stories.” The Zac Browser also configures the view so no advertisements or other flashing distractions appear.
“We’re trying to avoid aggressive or very dark or complicated Web sites, because it’s all about self-esteem,” LeSieur said from Las Vegas, where he lives. “If they’re not under control, they will get easily frustrated.”
More info on this development can be found on the Yahoo News pages. The browser is still in beta, and has a pretty bad frame-rate (at least here), but it ‘s a project worthy of looking in to.
The mouse-icon is changed to a submarine, and the browser starts full-screen, showing yourself under water (like a picture of the ocean). There are fish swimming around, and large and clear icons at the bottom for watching movies, playing games, listening to music or reading stories.
I couldn’t get any screenshots taken (if you can, tell me how :-) ), but you can try the Zac Browser (named after the grandson, Zackary) at the following website: http://www.zacbrowser.com/ . There’s also a version that doesn’t require an install, and can be started by just double-clicking the icon.