FAQ

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What is The AIR Foundation?

The AIR Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to advocate, teach, and deliver tools that promote accessibility as a fundamental human right.

Its first corporate partnership is with Serotek Corporation. The AIR Foundation has an exclusive license in perpetuity to distribute Pneuma Solutions upcoming accessible web browser free of charge. It is available to any and every person who wishes to use it.

Its second corporate partnership is with Lenovo.
The AIR Foundation also solicits grants and donations to support its mission which includes worldwide awareness of accessibility as a right. It also will solicit funds to underwrite development of versions of its product offering in languages other than English and consistent with other cultures.

Is the AIR Foundation controlled by Pneuma Solutions?

The AIR Foundation is completely separate from Pneuma Solutions, with its own board of directors and Executive Director. Pneuma Solutions is a contributing member of the foundation and other assistive technology companies are invited to be contributing members as well, as are other mainstream technology companies and interested organizations and individuals. The AIR Foundation is open to all.

Are contributions to The AIR Foundation tax deductible?

The AIR Foundation has received 501 – (c)3 status through the Internal Revenue Service. As such, all donations are fully tax deductible.

What is the Sero Browser and how can I get it?

The Sero Browser is a chromium-based web browser designed by the blind, for the blind. It is due for release later this year.

Why an Accessible Browser? Aren’t browsers workable already?

Most of them are, to a point. Depending on the platform, a great many users are able to successfully use Chrome, Firefox, or the like after some familiarization with each respective browser. That doesn’t necessarily mean full accessibility, however.

• “Visual refresh” is the one phrase in a changelog that a visually impaired person dreads the most. While “bugfixes and stability improvements” is vague and uninformative, nine times out of ten “visual refresh” typically means brand new user interface whose accessibility is in question.
• Standard browsers do not allow a user to easily improve a site’s accessibility in the absence of accessible web content. Because such changes usually scripting ability that can only ever be accomplished via a plugin, the changes are of no help in a supervised/managed browser setting.
• Extensions do not allow us to change the UI of the browser itself. The tab-through controls of most browsers are quite cumbersome, making tab and window management a struggle for some. By building our own platform, we will be able to make a UI that is ideal rather than tolerable.
• Interacting with notifications and popups is an experience met with mixed results across sites and platforms.

But can’t you address all that in a Chrome extension?

The short answer is no due to limited reach and other technical restrictions. The long explanation is that extensions are not permitted to have the level of control over the user interface that would be needed. This would leave problems such as extension dialogues coming up as notifications unsolved. Many Chrome users using ad blockers are further aware of the additional restrictions brought about by Manifest V3. Furthermore, an extension would partially defeat the purpose of this project as it would not be an easy setup process for all users.
Among other things, our browser is to include built-in functionality to block intrusive and inaccessible ads as well as accessibility overlays. By creating our own interface, we maintain full control over every aspect we desire to improve.

What browser engine is this based on? Will it work with most websites?

We are using the open source Chromium engine, so any website that works with Chrome is very likely to work on our browser as well. We are not making any changes to the underlying browser engine.

Will the browser offer syncing ability?

Yes. The browser will use a homegrown sync service similar but no identical to Chrome sync. In other words, syncing will occur between instances of the Sero browser on Windows and Mac that are logged into the same account. On premises syncing options may be available for intranet-only configurations.

There’s a version of Chrome that can run off a flash drive. Is this possible for the Sero Browser as well?

This should be technically possible, however it would need to be implemented in this specific browser as that is not a feature built into the Chromium codebase. If there is enough of a need for it this is something we can consider.

What is Sero and can I access it with the Sero browser?

Serois a renowned Internet community which delivers a wide variety of content. Sero includes email, news and entertainment updates, a weather information service, hundreds of described video programs, streaming internet radio, blogs, community forums, podcasts, rss, your own personal blog and website, and much, much more. With Sero, users can manage their media library, create custom playlists, burn audio CD’s, and even transfer content to portable devices such as the Victor Reader Stream (first and second generation) or Creative ZenStone.
Use of the Sero Network requires a paid subscription. It is not included with the free Sero Browser license. However, if you are a Sero subscriber, you may log in while using the Sero browser and access all the features of Sero. Additionally, if you have the Sero desktop application installed, the browser will automatically launch it once you are logged into your account.

Do I have to register with Sero in order to use the Sero Browser?

No. You are offered an opportunity to create an account when you first access the browser, unless you have already established an account. It is not necessary to create an account in order to use the browser, however having an account provides significant convenience. Once your account is created, you can save personal user preferences and browsing data. This includes favorites, autocompleted websites, and preferences such as speech rate, pitch, key echo, and various other customizations of the browser’s built-in screen-reader. The information you provide during registration is not used for any other purpose, although you have the option to “opt in” and receive regular notifications of Pneuma Solutions product updates and new product announcements.

Does The AIR Foundation offer other free accessibility tools?

The AIR Foundation is in the process of reviewing certain open source tools for inclusion in the free accessibility tool kit. The Foundation will accept and make available tools provided by other adaptive technology companies provided they are offered without restriction and at no charge to the user.

How do I become a member of The AIR Foundation?

Please click on the Membership page for all the details.