ATMac

Simple

• Series: Simple accessibility hints
• Simple: Enlarging Text
• Simple: Bigger Mouse Pointer
• Simple: Alert Sounds You Can See
• Simple: Trackpad mouse clicks without using the buttons
• Simple: The Computer Tells You The Time
• Simple: Show Icons in open/save dialag box
• Simple: Announce when application displays an alert
• Simple: Zoom in to see screen details more easily
• Simple: Zoom without smoothing
• Simple: Announce when application needs your attention
• Simple: Speak selected text
• Simple: Automatic Word Completion
• Make iTunes Easier To See and Use

It’s easy for anybody to loose track of time when they’re using a computer, and if you have a neurological or attention problem then you may get even more lost than most. Here’s how to get your computer to regularly announce the time:

Open System Preferences - it’s the fourth item in the Apple menu (the  shape) in the very top left corner of the screen as shown here:

In the “System” section, usually about the fourth line of icons in System Preferences, there is an icon labeled “Date & Time” which looks like a clock face with a small calendar in front of it. Click on this Date & Time icon.

The Date & Time pane has sections labeled “Date & Time”, “Time Zone”, and “Clock”. Click on the “Clock” section and you’ll see the options for the date and time display in the menu bar, and the other one “Announce the time” as this image shows:

You need to select the checkbox for “Announce the time” as in the image, then select the frequency of announcements in the selection box. If you like, select the “Customize voice…” button to select which voice the time announcement uses, and the speed and volume of the announcements.

- Ricky Buchanan, ATMac