Thanks for the article.
Best regards
Søren Jensen
Mail & MSN:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website:
http://www.coolfortheblind.dk/
On 21/02/2008, at 11.24, Cara Quinn wrote:
Hey All, I found this while searching on something totally
unrelated, so had a read and thought you all might like to see it.
I think it's less than fair, however, it's definitely not as
offensive as I was expecting! lol! Not to mention the fact that
the authors also mention Mac in a non-negative light as well, in
their last blog posting.
The below is from:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Access_Technology_Blog.asp?SnID=2
Enjoy and have a lovely evening!…
Smiles,
Cara :)
VoiceOver in Leopard
12/6/2007
With the recent release of Mac OS Leopard we decided to take a look
at the Universal Access features that come built into the OS and see
how they compare to the screen access solutions offered for Windows.
VoiceOver, the screen access software offered by Apple, can be
launched at any time by pressing COMMAND+F5. The first time
VoiceOver is run the user is presented with a tutorial designed to
orient them to the Mac and the features and functionality of
VoiceOver. Unfortunately it took extensive searching to locate a
similar tutorial that could be run on demand. The ability to locate
training material is critical to a new user's ability to learn and
become accustomed to a new software package, especially considering
the learning curve most Windows users are likely to encounter when
using VoiceOver. We were eventually able to locate the tutorial by
going to the VoiceOver menu (CTRL+OPTION+F7), navigating to Help,
and then activating the VoiceOver Quick Start option.
Screen navigation in VoiceOver is much more complex than navigating
with most screen access software on the Windows platform. Apple's
approach to screen content organization involves grouping the screen
into "Content Areas". A Content Area can be any control such as a
list view, a group of icons, or a text box. To orient oneself to the
screen the user moves around the different Content Areas with the
VoiceOver navigation commands (CTRL+OPTION+ARROW KEYS). Once you
find a Content Area you wish to work with you have to "Interact"
with it by giving that area focus. This is accomplished by using the
command CTRL+OPTION++SHIFT+DOWN ARROW. To return focus to the
previous content area the CTRL+OPTION+SHIFT+UP ARROW command is used.
Menu navigation is similarly complex. To access the menu bar you use
the command CTRL+OPTION+M. Repeated use of this command cycles the
user between the menu bar, the status area, and the Spotlight (the
built in search function). There is no way to access a commonly used
menu, such as the View menu, without navigating through the names of
all menus displayed before it.
Unfortunately, the command structure for VoiceOver is neither
intuitive nor simple to learn. With commands requiring 3 to 4
keystrokes to accomplish it will take even the experienced computer
user some time to become comfortable with the interface. The command
to access the Mac's desktop, for example, is CTRL+OPTION+COMMAND+D.
Similarly the process for selecting a menu item, as described in
Apple's documentation, is to navigate to that item with the same
navigation commands used to select a Content area and press CTRL
+OPTION+SPACE.
Apple has made progress toward accessibility for the blind. They
should be commended on their efforts in making the installation and
set up of Braille displays as easy as possible. Many displays can be
plugged into the Mac and are immediately recognized without the need
to install drivers or reinstall the screen access software.
Unfortunately, without a redesign of the command structure and a
more logical method of screen navigation, using a Mac straight out
of the box will not be as painless for the blind as it is for
sighted users.
Tony Olivero
12/6/2007
---
View my Online Portfolio at:
http://www.onemodelplace.com/CaraQuinn
