ATMac

For users of Apple’s VoiceOver screen reader. VoiceOver is primarily used by blind users but some users with severe dyslexia use it, and some users who can’t use a traditional pointing device use it for navigation on the screen.

VoiceOver is a screen reader primarily used by blind Mac OS X users, but sighted people also use it for a variety of reasons, either for themselves or to better support a blind user. So, where would one start with learning to use it?

Yesterday marked the first public release of Olearia - a free and open source DAISY digital talking book player for Mac OS X. Olearia is still in beta release, but is fully compatible with VoiceOver and plays DAISY 2.02 and DAISY/NISO 2005 audio or text+audio talking books. Future versions will also play text-only DAISY books and many other features are planned.

The Laboratory for Understanding Collaborative Technology at Northwestern University is working on a project to build and evaluate new original technologies for users with disabilities. They are currently recruiting subjects with a variety of impairments (cognitive, sensory or motor) from the Chicago area.

David Niemeijer of AssistiveWare has put together some videos demonstrating the “Spoken Menus” facility in the new iPod Nano 4G in both French and British English.

A round-up of bits and pieces we haven’t had time for, including Apple’s own accessibility website being updated, new guides for VoiceOver users mastering GarageBand, and some old Apple advertisements featuring American sign language.

Apple put on a September Special Event yesterday, announcing iTunes 8, the iPod Nano 4G and other smaller upgrades to software and to the iPod Touch. These announcements, especially that of iTunes version 8 now with full accessibility for Windows and OS X Mac, are fantastastic for users with a disability and reaffirm Apple’s commitment to accessibility.

The Firefox web browser offers an interesting alternative to Safari, but at the moment it’s not compatible with Apple’s accessibility API. VoiceOver users can’t use it, programs like the Dictionary and the services menu programs don’t work within it, and third party enhancements like Quicksilver can’t access it. Aaron Leventhal from the accessibility team at Mozilla explains some of the reasons the incompatibility hasn’t been fixed yet, and may take a long time to be fixed at all.

MacWorld has released a great new article which has a bunch of productivity tips for those using Leopard. If your disability impacts your computer use then it will take longer for you to get things done, so making sure you’re saving as much time as possible can make a big difference in how much you can do.

All Mac users have been beginner Mac users at some point. Because the use of OS X is expanding so fast, there are a lot of new and inexperienced Mac users around at the moment. This is a wonderful thing for the Mac in general - it means there’s more users! Here’s some of the best resources I have to recommend to new Mac users.

Fins-Up has announced the availability of the FIN for Macbook and Macbook Pro customers. The FIN is an aluminium stand which screws into existing holes in the bottom of your Macbook and acts as a laptop stand to bring the keyboard to a more ergonomic angle. It also acts as a handle when you’re carrying your Macbook, and the aluminium stand helps dissipate heat so your laptop runs without overheating.