Mr. Olivero seems not to understand the nature of the MacOS. If he did
he would find that many of his issues are already dealt with in the OS
itself. See my points below:
Greg Kearney
535 S. Jackson St.
Casper, Wyoming 82601
307-224-4022
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Feb 21, 2008, at 3:24 AM, Cara Quinn wrote:
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.
I would also point out that the tutorial can be run at any time with
SHIFT+CTRL+OPTION+F7. Also the VoiceOVer getting started guide a full
book on VoiceOver as well as an extensive list of keyboard commands
for the MacOS can be found for free in, print, audio, braille and
DAISY format at http://www.cucat.org/books/vogs/ hardcopy braille
manuals can be ordered from Apple at 1-800-692-7753
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.
This avoids having to read every control item on every screen to reach
what you want to deal with. In the end this is much faster for the user.
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.
This is not the case. Once you have reached the menu bar with CTRL
+OPTION+M you can jump to any menu by typing the first letter of that
menu's name. dropping the menu with a down arrow or CTRL+OPTION+SPACE
and you can jump to any item in that menu in the same way. For many
common commands you can avoid the menus entirely by using the command
keys. Again this is a function of the OS not the screen reader.
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.
Once again an example of not knowing the OS and just assuming that the
only way the blind user can do this is by the VoiceOver commands There
are any number of ways to reach the desktop in the Mac from the
keyboard.
Also the author seem completely unaware of using VoiceOver from the
keypad which would have solved a number of this issues. Keypad
navigation eliminates the use of the CTRL+OPTION key entirely.
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
Does the author seriously believe that the blind are somehow born
knowing how to use a windows screen reader and the complete set of
windows keyboard commands. He asserts "using a Mac straight out of the
box will not be as painless for the blind as it is for sighted users"
Why is Apple being held to a standard of usablility far greater than
that of Microsoft? Does Windows include a screen reader? Can you
install windows without sighted help? The authors of thise "reviews"
would do well to learn the MacOS first before he asserts that there is
but one way to use the Mac by a blind or print disabled person.
The author also fails to point out the considerable price difference
between the Macintosh and the various Windows options. Windows screen
readers routinely cost more than the computers on which they run. with
yearly "maintenance fees" running into the hundreds of dollars cast
not found with Macintosh. When Apple updates the MacOS the screen
reader is updated as well unlike Windows where each Windows update
requires the use to pay not only for the upgrade from Microsoft but
also for an upgrade for the screen reader as well. For the retail
price of JAWS you could buy two brand new Macintosh computers.
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