ATMac

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.

Firefox generally doesn’t let you use a lot of OS X’s accessibility features, including the services menu and some of OS X’s regular keyboard shortcuts. Setting your Mac up to speak highlighted text when you press a key also doesn’t work in Firefox. The Firefox extension SpeakingFox fills this gap with some nifty context menu options to fill this gap.

How would you organise an iPod so an child with autism could listen to his favourite music during car journeys but not accidentally press the buttons and turn off the music? I thought of a couple of methods, and would love to hear about others you’ve come up with yourself!

It’s been announced that the MacSpeech company has been purchased by Nuance. Nuance are the company behind the Windows product “Dragon NaturallySpeaking“ and other recent Dragon products for iPod Touch and iPhone. So what does this mean for MacSpeech Dictate and the other MacSpeech products? What would you like to happen?

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.

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.

Reading seems like a simple activity. One that is so simple that it’s probably taken for granted by most people. But if you’re somebody with severe physical limitations reading can become a chore. I’ve unexpectedly stumbled onto a device that I think is the best solution. Would you believe it’s the iPod touch?

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.