ATMac

For users whose main method of computer interaction is via a switch interface, using single or multiple switches.

The TandemMaster Morse-2-USB interface is a fantastic device which converts morse code entered by two switches into keyboard presses and mouse movements. It gives the user complete control of a computer, as much as any regular keyboard/mouse user would have and can be used on any computer, with no drivers or software needed to be installed on the computer itself.

It’s the last day of 2009, and I have some gifts for my wonderful ATMac readers. A LayoutKitchen resources page for KeyStrokes, Proloquo, and SwitchXS users, and five free postcards (real physical postcards!) to you can spread the new year cheer with your friends.

What would you do if you lost all your files because your computer’s hard drive failed? For less than $100 and with no technical knowledge you can have a backup of all the files on your computer, and you’ll never need to worry about hard drives failing and losing all your files.

Marie-France Bru has written an excellent set of tutorials aimed at switch users who are new to Mac OS X, even new to computers, but who are willing to learn to use a computer so they can communicate. These excellent tutorials introduce the user to OS X and the Mac computer, as well as to the SwitchXS switch access program.

Upgrading to Snow Leopard might not make your computer look enormously different, but the hidden guts of the operating system have been extensively worked on. This has implications for assistive technology users - you’ll need to check that your assistive technology will work with Snow Leopard.

Allison Greene is quadriplegic due to multiple sclerosis (MS) and must spend much of her day in bed. Bill Greene has ingeniously adapted his wife’s Mac-based computer system to allow her to use it either from her wheelchair or while in bed.

There’s a new iPod Shuffle, and like the newest iPod Nano it can read out things like song titles and playlist names. Unlike the iPod Nano, the VoiceOver feature is enabled by default and is part of their standard advertising.

Martin Pilkington of M Cubed Software has made a blog post entitled The Accessible Mac. In the post he discusses the challenges and difficulties involved in making OS X software accessible. Martin pledges that all M Cubed’s software will be fully accessible by the end of 2009, challenging fellow developers to do the same.

Power’s what assistive technology gives us, really. The power to communicate, to read, to type, to plan, to play, to control things. The power to achieve things that we couldn’t otherwise achieve. Here are some ideas for gifts to empower assistive technology users.

Keyboard shortcuts are a quick way of getting many things done without needing to access the menus or the mouse. If you know to press command-s to save your work, you’ve used a keyboard shortcut. For people who primarily use a keyboard or a switch interface, using keyboard shortcuts can save a lot of time and effort.