Re: Newbie question: Section 508 and "full keyboard access" on Mac OS X
Re: Newbie question: Section 508 and "full keyboard access" on Mac OS X
- Subject: Re: Newbie question: Section 508 and "full keyboard access" on Mac OS X
- From: Smith Kennedy <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 08:51:39 -0600
Hi,
It seems like what really should happen is that anything that has the
"keyboard focus" should have its label string spoken in a similar way
that label strings are read aloud when the "Text under the mouse"
checkbox is checked in "System Preferences->Speech->Spoken User
Interface". I will write up a Radar issue requesting this.
Would this limitation we have been discussing compromise the ability to
have a Macintosh for browsing the Web that meets Section 508
requirements?
Smith
On Wednesday, September 3, 2003, at 08:32 AM, Marshall F. Scott wrote:
One thing that is not spoken is (in Jagaur, at least) is the menu bar
and
menu items. I also think that items in the docck are not spoken
either. As
far as screen readers go, I think there will be more information
available
once Panther is released.
Marshall
--
Marshall F. Scott
University of Utah
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----------
From: Andrew Kirkpatrick <email@hidden>
To: Accessibility-Dev Mail <email@hidden>
Subject: Re: Newbie question: Section 508 and "full keyboard access"
on Mac OS
X
Date: Wed, Sep 3, 2003, 7:00 AM
Apple offers some great features for a variety of disabilities, but a
person
who is blind will not currently be able to to use OSX. The ability
to speak
the text under the mouse is not useful for people who are not using a
mouse.
This support is beneficial for people with some degree of visual
impairment,
many of whom many opt to use it in concert with the zoom features of
the OS.
As expected, the amount of spoken text in different applications
varies
widely. AOL instant messenger, for example, voices the window title
and not
much else until you go into dialogs where some standard controls are
used.
Mail.app does a far better job, but isn't perfect. The text that is
part of
the OS is better still, and examples of unspoken text are fewer in
number
(e.g. Apple system profiler/logs).
Since there is no screen reader that is currently available for OSX,
the
"spoken text under the mouse" feature can get away with certain
requirements
for a blind user such as speaking the state of controls as well as
the text.
(e.g. Mouse over the mail.app toolbar and notice that grayed icons are
spoken the same as active ones).
Apple has done a great deal of work laying the groundwork so that it
is
prepared for a day when a screen reader is developed, but until such
time,
OSX will not be the choice of people who are blind.
AWK
The speech support in Mac OS X is very good. There are some settings
you
have to turn on in the Speech preference pane (Spoken User Interface
tab,
especially the "Text Under the Mouse" checkbox) and the Universal
Access
preference pane in System Preferences. If you set it up right, your
Mac will
speak every item under the mouse, and the text of alerts as they
appear.
I believe the location of these settings will be rationalized a bit
better
in Panther.
I should say that I haven't tested this exhaustively to see what, if
anything, does not get spoken. But the head of Apple's speech group,
Kim
Silverman, makes a point of telling developers every year at WWDC to
test
their choice of text for user interface items with speech turned on,
to make
sure the words are easily understood. This is something that every
Mac OS X
application, even old ones, get "for free" as Apple likes to say.
--
Andrew Kirkpatrick
CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media
125 Western Ave.
Boston, MA 02134
E-mail: email@hidden
Web site: ncam.wgbh.org
617-300-4420 (direct voice/FAX)
617-300-3400 (main NCAM)
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WGBH enriches people's lives through programs and services that
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learning, and the power of diverse perspectives.
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