Hello,
I would add that drag-and-drop functionality is also needed to make
the Mac better accepted within the blind community, although, if a
prior posting to this list is correct, that limitation to VO will be
addressed with the release of Leopard. As for the need for a
spreadsheet ap, Mariner software has been promising to make the next
release of Mariner calc accessible, and there is a rumor going around
that Apple's next release of IWorks will include a spreadsheet
application, although it's unclear (to me, anyway) whether or not it
will be accessible.
Rafael Bejarano
On Jul 23, 2007, at 6:33 AM, Greg Kearney wrote:
Here is a short list of some of the important software that needs
to be done for Mac to get better acceptance with in the blind
community, Feel free to add your own:
1. Support for braille display: In progress
2. Braille translation: Finished
3. DAISY playback: In early progress
4. DIASY production: Finished
5. Spreadsheet program: Unknown
6. OCR program: Work needed I would like to port Google's open
source OCR to Mac at some point and build a true reading
application from it.
I feel we will have a good chance at picking up about 10% of the
blind market and a much greater percentage of the dyslexic market,
which have traditionally been Mac users anyway, if we can provide
free open source solutions to DAISY, braille and OCR.
In some ways the dyslexics are a key here they more than double the
number of potential users and their needs, outside of braille, are
closely alined with those of the blind on most issues. Further
dyslexics are traditional users of Macs. The problem with dyslexics
are that they are far less organized than are the blind and
therefor are much harder to reach even if they exist in larger
numbers. Also, with rare exceptions, they are not reachable in
schools (K-12) which are by and large focused on trying to teach as
much print reading skills to them as is possible. Unlike the blind
the dyslexics have no rehabilitation centers that teach them how to
use talking books and such and are as a rule not in the traditional
rehabilitation system.
Greg Kearney
