On April 29, 2005, Apple Inc. introduced Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Included in Mac OS X Tiger's list of features was the VoiceOver screen reader. VoiceOver was not Apple's first foray into assistive technology: Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar introduced Universal Access which provided customizations to the operating system for those with visual, hearing, and physical disabilities. In fact, Mac OS X Universal Access was influenced by similar technologies which were bundled with the classic Mac OS (Mac OS 9 and earlier).
macOS
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How Will Apple Finish Out 2015?
With Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference now just days away, a lot of people are wondering what new shinies we'll see. Will there be a new Apple TV? Yet another update to some Mac or other? A better iPad Mini? What will iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 bring to the table? Will Apple continue its headlong rush into dazzling new features at the expense of quality, or will it slow down and start refining what it has already done?
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As many of you will know from personal experience, there is a longstanding issue with VoiceOver on Mac where Safari may become unresponsive with VoiceOver repeatedly announcing the message āSafari not responding.ā When this issue occurs, the user's Mac may become unusable for up to several minutes at a time. Sometimes it can be resolved by switching away from Safari. Sometimes restarting VoiceOver can resolve the issue.
Weāre Making it Easier For You To Keep Up-To-Date With The Status Of Accessibility On iOS And OS X
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We are pleased and excited to be opening the doors today on a completely new area on AppleVis, one that we hope will help to keep you up-to-date on the current status of accessibility on iOS and OS X.
As AppleVis has grown and evolved over the past 5 years, weāre aware that itās become increasingly more difficult to keep track of what accessibility-related problems have been reported and discussed on here.
So, to make this easier, we are pleased to announce the launch of The AppleVis Accessibility Bug Database.
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You say potato and I say potato, and yes, I know VoiceOver read both of those the same way, so you will have to imagine the commonly used expression. Being a VoiceOver user on the iPhone and Mac since 2009, I have become very familiar with the word accessibility and the hash tag #A11Y.
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Today, Apple released OS X 10.11 El Capitan, a free update that will run on any Mac which supports Yosemite. Apple addressed some bugs in this release, as well as including a lot of new features in VoiceOver, and we think you'll really enjoy these updates and improvements. If you find any we missed, especially regarding braille or Zoom--which none of us have the capability to test--please leave a comment and let us know.
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In 2008, despite my failing eyesight, my Windows laptop with ZoomText empowered me to operate my own software development business. I had partnered with Bob, a Mac user. We both had prior Unix experience. With Windows, Mac, and Unix covered, we were a cross-platform development powerhouse.
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Since it's launch was announced last month, I had been keen to spend some hands-on time with Apple's latest MacBook Pro.
I was curious to find out just how much thinner, lighter and faster it would be compared to my current MacBook Pro; and to test the āimprovedā keyboard and larger trackpad. But, what I most wanted to try was the Touch Bar; the multi-touch enabled display which has replaced the physical function keys on all but one model in the 2016 MacBook Pro range.
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Below is a list of the major highlights from today's WWDC keynote, compiled from the twitter feed of AppleVis Editorial Team member Michael Hansen. Other sources include the live blogs from Macworld, 9 to 5 Mac, and Mac Rumors.
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WWDC 2020: New Software and Fresh Chips
As usual in June, Apple has recently concluded the opening presentation of WWDC. This year brought us version 14 of iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, as well as watchOS 7 and macOS 11. Yes, macOS 11, not 10.16. The final announcement wasn't just about software, though, but hardware: Apple is moving its entire Mac lineup to custom chips it will be designing itself, and it's starting the process this year. Maybe that's why macOS got a whole new number?
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Intro
Today, Apple told us what to expect in the next round of software updates, coming this fall. While the focus was, unsurprisingly, AI, there is more than just that to be excited about. Let's dive into what you can look forward to on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV later this year. Or next year, in some cases; as has become common in the last few years, Apple announced features it won't be rolling out until well after the software's initial release.
WWDC 23 Keynote: Apple Unveils Platform Updates and Introduces Apple Vision Pro Headset and New Macs
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Apple's highly anticipated annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off today with the customary keynote presentation. During the event, Apple unveiled the next major updates to all its software platforms and introduced the much-awaited mixed-reality headset and some new Mac models.
Our editorial team member Alex (āmehgcapā), who typically provides detailed event summaries, regrets being unable to do so this time due to work commitments.
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Now that sounds a bit geographical, doesn't it? As Apple's World Wide developers Conference (WWDC) is on the horizon, Apple's App Store is down. It's to be held later today in San Francisco and many analysts believe iOS 6 will be unveiled there along with some hardware-related pieces of news and, perhaps, a couple of surprises. No one knows the very exact features of iOS 6 other than what some tend to call Google-free 3D maps and better photo-sharing. So, as you see, guessing its accessibility features is even more laborious.
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Voice in the Machine: A dialogue with my Mac, based on actual events from 2012-2013, circa Mavericks.
The blobby, glowing, white-on-black magnified letters are smudging together again. I blink several times, only now realizing I am squinting. I lean back from my MacBook Pro, a dull thudding beginning behind my eyes. It seems like it's getting to that point, my ability to read and write is rapidly disappearing. Gently rubbing my eyes, I decide to take a break.
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Brought to you by the letter "Control-Option-A".
Before my VoiceOver adventures began, I would tutor my clients on the use of standard shortcut keys and how to discover new keys by looking at the menus. The key-combinations are listed to the right of each menu item. Most of the often-used keys involved the use of the Command key on Mac, or the Control key on Windows. On the Mac, hold down Command with your thumb and press "s" and the current document will be saved. Look at the File menu, next to the "Save" menu item is "Command-s." Simple, right?
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Yo, human! - Proofreading Mac, a VoiceOver Activity: Accessing Life with Adaptive Technology
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There is something about SIRI, I don't know what it is, but we seem to share a relationship now. Actually we share many relationships. SIRI even knows about all my other relationships. In fact, she helped me in their creation.
Me, right after startup: SIRI?
SIRI, a bit sluggish at first: Yes Nicholas?
Me: What time is it?
SIRI: It's 5:30 AM. You woke me up.
Me: Well get up, it's time to get busy.
SIRI: What?
Me: Open 'your' settings.
SIRI: (Yawn.) Okay.
VO says: System Preferences, Siri window, toolbar.
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A Verbal Prehistory
In an earlier stage of my eyesight I did a lot of zooming in on the screen. My set up was such that the magnified portion of the screen followed the mouse cursor most of the time. I would use Control-2-finger scroll on the trackpad to zoom in and out. While this worked fine, it forced me to use both hands to accomplish the maneuver. Ugh! I felt like a caveman, having to set down my coffee just to navigate with two hands. :-)
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Speaking Up with AppleScript
Once You gaze into the System, the System also gazes into You! :-)
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Previously.
In my previous post, "Mac Scripting, Hello World", we looked at 'tell blocks' where indented commands could be sent to specific applications. The commands were indented one tab spot, while the blocks were finished off with an 'end tell' command. There are several types of blocks, tell blocks, if blocks and repeat blocks to name a few.