ATMac

Switching to the Dvorak keyboard layout doesn’t cost anything and can help you type more easily once you learn to use the layout. Here’s how to go about it using Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Yes, it’s true, I now have an iPad of my very own, courtesy of internet marketer Jeff Walker. If you want the whole story, and even the pictures, you’ll just have to keep reading… I think the good fairies have been sitting on my shoulder on this one!

So the WWDC for 2010 is a bit behind us now, there’s time to take a breath and think of the accessibility implications of the things that were announced at the conference and since then. The iPhone 4, iOS 4, Safari 5, and new Mac Minis are just some of the announcements and releases.

Web designer Jamie Knight explains how he uses his iPhone and MacBook to help manage the difficulties that his autism causes. He talks about communication, organisation, and managing problem areas in his life.

One of the numerous obstacles those of us with physical limitations face is how do we perform a right-click with a one-button mouse? Those that are able to use a physical keyboard can simply hold down the control key while clicking and that will emulate a right-click. But what about those of us who can’t use a physical keyboard or have trouble using one?

MacSpeech Dictate is a great program but learning so many commands at once can be intimidating. Here’s a quick document to help you learn and remember the important commands for controlling Mail.app with MacSpeech Dictate version 1.2.1.

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.

Virtually all computer keyboards in English speaking countries are arranged so that the letter keys, if you read from the top-left, start of with QWERTY. What are the alternatives and why would you want to change anyway?