[ddots-l] VoiceOver from Apple
- From: "William R. McCann" <BillList1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 08:14:20 -0400
The following is from E-Access Bulletin: May 2005 which is published by the
RNIB in the UK. Now that VoiceOver's been released, I invite subscribers
who have used it to comment especially those who have served as beta testers
presuming that you would not be violating the terms of any NDA. I think the
article title below was written by the editors of the E-Access Bulletin.
It's significant that the text of the piece (presumably largely composed by
Apple PR people) does not use the term "screen reader" but rather "text to
speech". As we all know, there's a *big* difference. We are told a great
deal about how the output can be customized but not much about interaction
between user and Operating System. Also sounds like there's not much
support for trying to use applications other than standard word processing,
E-mail and web browsing.
If any of you have written any articles which you've posted anywhere, please
send URL's. If not, I encourage you to write reviews that can be posted.
+02: New Apple Operating System Has Built-In Screen-Reader.
Apple computer users can access email, web sites, and word processing using
a built-in text-to-speech translator as part of the new version of Apple's
OS X operating system codenamed 'Tiger'
launched last month.
The 'VoiceOver' translator (http://fastlink.headstar.com/tiger1) is
compatible with the email application 'Tiger Mail 2'; 'Safari', a desktop
tool for setting up live feeds of news and information; and 'Preview', a
suite for reading and producing documents in Adobe Portable Document Format
(PDF).
As well as reading file contents, VoiceOver also provides spoken
descriptions of keyboard commands, enabling users to navigate and interact
with application and system controls. According to Apple, the system
provides easy access to buttons, sliders, and check boxes, for example.
The technology is designed to start up right away, giving new users the
ability to begin using the products without help from a sighted person.
VoiceOver is activated by a 'Command-F5' instruction, triggering an audible
prompt which tells users how to get started, and the names and location of
keys on the Apple keyboard.
VoiceOver also offers new levels of customisation, providing users with the
ability to tweak the audio output according to what works best for them. For
example, a single voice can be assigned for every spoken description or
unique voices to different types of information, helping users distinguish
by whether they are listening to content or commands; the status, type, or
attributes of a file; or the VoiceOver menu.
There are a number of ways that the visual display can be adjusted too.
For example, VoiceOver provides screen magnification options, and also
includes an on-screen menu and caption panel so sighted users can see what
users hear. Sighted users can also practice using VoiceOver with a feature
that temporarily darkens the screen.
Note: For new accessibility features planned for Microsoft Windows, see
Interview, Section Four, this issue.
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