I see the subject line but do not comprehend. When was the first
nfb review
done? has anyone followed up on this, after all, it's kind of old.
I think the biggest issue here is plain lack of knowledge. I love
the
statement about complexity. what could be simpler than vo-command-h?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cara Quinn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac
OS X by
theblind" <discuss@macvisionaries.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 5:24 AM
Subject: Another NFB review of Mac with VO
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
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View my Online Portfolio at:
http://www.onemodelplace.com/CaraQuinn
