Hi, I to had tried to contact apple in the past and got no response. However, after hearing all of the recent discussion and having a question about the new operating system. I decided to give apple another try. I can only say they must have started answering e-mails which makes me happier about the mac. Had they not responded I don't think I would have given much more thought to the mac. Now when I can afford to I will upgrade. Below is their response to me. X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 071031-1, 10/31/2007), Outbound message X-Antivirus-Status: Clean
My message was as follows. > Hi, I am thinking about upgrading my mac, and wondered what the new > operating system you just released offers in the way of new > accessibility features where voice over is concerned. > Thanks Mike. Hi Mike: You can read about all of the new features in Mac OS X Leopard (over 300!) on Apple's web site http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html There's a special section for Universal Access, which describes accessibility feature improvements in Leopard which I'm copying below for your convenience. Alex A New Voice Give yourself a new voice. Meet Alex, an English male voice that uses advanced, patented Apple technologies to deliver natural breathing and intonation, even at fast speaking rates. Plug-and-Play Refreshable Braille Display Support Quickly set up popular, refreshable Braille displays. VoiceOver detects and configures as soon as you plug them in. No additional software or setup is required. Braille Output During OS Installation For the first time ever on a desktop computer, you can use a Braille display while installing or upgrading your operating system. The Braille Panel See a virtual Braille display a visual representation of VoiceOver Braille output onscreen along with an English text translation. Customizable Braille Display Input Keys Customize a Braille display more easily than ever before. Just choose a VoiceOver command, then press and hold the input keys. A tone sounds to let you know the command has been assigned successfully. Contracted and Non-Contracted Braille Output Braille in standard contracted format or non-contracted computer Braille. VoiceOver automatically converts contracted Braille under the cursor so its easier to edit, then contracts it again when the cursor moves. NumPad Commander Control VoiceOver using only the numeric keypad just like JAWS and Windows-Eyes. This makes it easier for screen reader users to switch from a PC to a Mac and provides easy access to your favorite VoiceOver commands. Portable VoiceOver Preferences Instantly reconfigure your VoiceOver preferences. Just plug in a flash drive containing your preferences and Leopard instantly reconfigures to work and act just like your Mac without leaving a trace when you leave. Faster Web and Page Navigation Quickly navigate long documents or web pages. Jump to key elements like headers, tables, and links and by text attributes like underlining, bold, italics, and color even text phrases. Hot Spots Monitor up to ten different areas onscreen and be alerted when theres a change. Then jump directly to any hot spot to investigate or take action. Drag-and-Drop Support Use drag-and-drop actions by keyboard only, in accessible applications. Integrated Interactive Tutorial Learn VoiceOver unassisted in a safe environment. A built-in tutorial lets you practice as you learn. Misspelled Word Detection Hear when a word is misspelled while reading text. Choose a tone or a spoken description. Positional Audio Effects Benefit from many new sound effects in VoiceOver. Audio cues provide an improved sense of location. Highlight by Word or Sentence Set the VoiceOver cursor to highlight each word or sentence being read as it is spoken. New VoiceOver Utility Customize VoiceOver more easily. A new VoiceOver Utility layout includes many new options and preferences for customizing VoiceOver. Improved Application Accessibility Do more with VoiceOver. Bundled Leopard applications and utilities have been enhanced for improved accessibility.
