November 11–14, 2008

Accessing Higher Ground: Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference for Education, Businesses, Web and Media Designers, University of Colorado-Boulder

Boulder, CO

Contact: Disability Services: phone: 303-492-8671; e-mail: dsinfo@colorado.edu; web site: www.colorado.edu/ATconference.

January 28–31, 2009

Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2009 Conference

Orlando, FL

Contact: ATIA, 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611; phone: 877-687-2842 or 312-321-5172; e-mail: info@atia.org; web site: www.atia.org.

March 2–6, 2009

20th International Conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education

Charleston, SC

Contact: Conference Services, Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education, P.O. Box 3728, Norfolk, VA 23514; phone: 757-623-7588; e-mail: conf@aace.org; web site: http://site.aace.org/conf.

March 16–21, 2009

California State University at Northridge (CSUN) Center on Disabilities' 24th Annual International Conference: Technology and Persons with Disabilities

Los Angeles, CA

Contact: Center on Disabilities, CSUN, 18111 Nordhoff Street, BH 110, Northridge, CA 91330-8340; phone: 818-677-2578; e-mail: conference@csun.edu; web site: www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.html.

October 28–31, 2009

Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) 2009 Chicago Conference Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center

Schaumburg, IL

Contact: ATIA, 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611; phone: 877-687-2842 or 312-321-5172; e-mail: info@atia.org; web site: www.atia.org.

On February 17, 2009, all television stations must switch to digital broadcasting by order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In this issue, Darren Burton discusses the switch, and evaluates four of the converter boxes that will be necessary for any television not hooked up to cable or satellite to receive signals. Tune in to find out whether these boxes are accessible.

Jim Denham, director of the technology program at the Perkins School for the Blind, evaluates VoiceOver, Apple's screen reader for the Macintosh computer. He describes the Macintosh environment and discusses VoiceOver's documentation. He also covers VoiceOver's performance when browsing the web, word processing, working with iTunes, and more. Find out how VoiceOver has improved since its introduction in 2005.

Deborah Kendrick reviews the knfbReader Mobile, an optical character recognition system installed on the Nokia N82 cell phone. This Reader is the next generation following the KnfbReader Classic, a PDA (personal digital assistant) attached to a digital camera, introduced in 2005. The phone's camera takes a picture of the print that you want recognized. When the image is processed, the synthetic voice begins reading the text. Learn how well this product performed.

Some cities now require restaurants to post the nutrition content of the food they serve. Since these signs are not accessible, Janet Ingber, author and music therapist, visited the web sites of several fast food restaurants to determine whether nutrition information was available and accessible. Restaurant chains reviewed include Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Subway, Papa John's, Domino's, Baskin-Robbins and TCBY.

Jay Leventhal
Editor in Chief

Perkins Introduces the Next-Generation Brailler

For 57 years, there has been one standard Perkins Brailler, the braille-writing machine used by children and adults around the world. Perkins, in collaboration with the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), has just announced its Next-Generation Brailler, boasting a lighter, quieter, more contemporary look and feel.

The Next-Generation Brailler has a polycarbonate (high-impact plastic) shell with metal parts inside. It weighs 25% less than the classic model and requires a gentler touch, and both the keys and end-of-line bell have been made quieter. The Next-Generation Brailler has an easy-erase button, to delete one character, and margins can be set from the front. It comes in three colors—raspberry, midnight blue, and light blue.

Because the unit was designed in collaboration with APH, APH will be the exclusive distributor in the United States and its territories for the first six months. In spring 2009, other resellers who currently sell the Perkins Brailler will have the Next-Generation Brailler available. The price is $650.

For more information, visit the web site www.PerkinsBrailler.Org. To order, phone APH at 800-223-1839 or Perkins Products at 617-972-7308.

Apple Makes iTunes Accessible

An agreement orchestrated by the National Federation of the Blind and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with Apple has resulted in more accessible products and a promise of more to come. iTunes 8, released in September, has a number of accessibility features built in for users who are blind or have low vision. iTunes U (content specifically provided by colleges and universities) is pledged to be fully accessible by the end of 2008, and the iTunes product and iTunes store are supposed to be fully accessible via both Mac and Windows operating systems by June 30, 2009.

Apple has also contributed $250,000 to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. For more information about the agreement and ensuing plans, visit www.nfb.org.

GW Micro Releases Window-Eyes 7.0 and Scripting

GW Micro says that its latest upgrade, Window-Eyes 7.0, represents "unprecedented maturity." The version contains several exciting features—support for Firefox 3, Internet Explorer 8, iTunes 8, and more.

The most notable—and talked-about—improvement, however, is the addition of scripting capabilities, enabling users to render third-party applications more usable and accessible. According to a recent company news release, Window-Eyes 7.0 has a scripting interface that uses tools that already exist in the Windows operating system, allowing "users new to scripting, seasoned programmers, and everyone in between to take full advantage of this powerful new feature without getting bogged down in a complex and rigid programming environment." The company also established a repository through which script users and developers can collaborate and share efforts throughout the community of Window-Eyes users who are visually impaired.

Window-Eyes 7.0 is a free upgrade to customers with a paid software maintenance agreement (SMA) and costs $175 for those who currently own Window-Eyes 6.1 without an SMA. For more information about the upgrade, visit www.gwmicro.com/sc.

Serotek Summer Sizzle Winners Announced

In early June, Serotek Corp. announced its Summer Sizzle contest, a contest that anyone could enter by completing a brief online survey. A total of 2,000 people from more than 30 countries participated. The winner was announced, as promised, on ACB Radio's "Marlaina Show" on September 7. Amy Ruell, national programs manager at the National Braille Press in Boston and president of the Visually Impaired Blind Users Group there, was the winner of what Serotek dubbed a "digital lifestyle makeover." The makeover included a two-pound Asus Netbook PC, A Victor Reader Stream, a complete System Access package (including installation of the software on two computers and a USB drive for portability), a four-year subscription to the System Access Mobile Network, a Zen Stone MP3 player, and a copy of Mobile Speak.

As an added surprise, Mike Calvo, the CEO of Serotek, drew 10 names as runners-up, each of whom will receive a one-year subscription to the System Access Mobile Network. The 10 runners-up are Shawn Bever, Brandon Bracey, Roger Fordham, Pat Lenahan, John Manchester, Jessica Miller, Mike Nicol, Jay Pellis, David Taylor, and Marjolijn Terlingen.

Calvo said that the survey was informative, the contest was fun, and the company is likely to hold similar events in the future. For more information on Serotek products, visit www.serotek.com.

Talking Software for Managing Music

MarvelSoft Enterprises has announced the release of Digital Jukebox, a talking music-management package that was designed with users who are blind or have low vision in mind. The program enables users who are visually impaired to transfer tracks to and from the hard drive, convert to desired formats on the fly, and manage tracks on a variety of handheld players. Navigation functions include the ability to move forward or back a few seconds or for other designated time increments.

The self-voicing software makes it easy for users to move, copy, rename, and delete files; create playlists; create folders and subfolders; and more. It sells for $49.95. To order or for more information, visit www.braillebookstore.com/view.php?T=Digital+Jukebox or phone 800-987-1231.

New Portable Viewer from Freedom Scientific

Freedom Scientific introduced the Sapphire, a portable addition to its line of magnification products. Weighing less than two pounds, the portable video magnifier consists of a small camera and seven-inch screen and can enlarge print from 3.4X to 16X original size with an easy slide control. Features include up to 22 configurable settings, offering either full color or a variety of contrast and magnification options. The Sapphire has a built-in writing stand that enables a user with low vision to position the unit at a convenient angle over a check, notepad, or document for hands-free operation.

When attached to a television for reading at home or while traveling, the Sapphire can magnify an image up to 48 times on a 21-inch screen. The price is $1,895. For more information, visit www.freedomscientific.com or phone 800-444-4443.

Did you ever wonder how many calories and how much fat are in a fast-food burger or latte? Some cities now have regulations that require restaurants to post the nutritional information for the food they serve. However, if you are blind or have low vision, you may not have access to this information. Before you drink that latte or eat that burger, you may want to check out the nutritional information for these and other items.

This article reviews a variety of fast-food web sites to determine whether nutrition information for their products is accessible. Fast-food web sites were chosen because of their many restaurant locations. Some items that appear on the surface to be low in fat and calories are not necessarily so, and other items can be "lightened up." An accessible web site can help consumers with visual impairments make informed decisions about what food they choose to eat. The restaurant web sites that I reviewed are Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Subway, Papa John's, Domino's, Baskin-Robbins, and TCBY.

Starbucks

www.starbucks.com

The home page on the Starbucks web site is clearly labeled, with the second link saying, "Nutrition." After you select the Nutrition link, on the next page, either activate the Nutritional Info link or use the search form at the bottom of the page to get a description of what you want.

Using the search form, I typed in "Mocha Frappuccino." I received several results and chose the link that would bring me to the nutritional information on the light version of a Mocha Frappuccino. By using the tables hot key in Window-Eyes, I was immediately brought to the information. The results are presented clearly in a table, with the column heading being just above the nutritional information. For example, one column is "calories," and the next line says the number of calories, in this case 140. All the nutritional information is displayed this way. Several lines past the end of the table are radio buttons to choose the size of the beverage. By default, the Grande button, which is Starbucks' equivalent of large, is checked. If you chose a different button, the nutritional information will be recalculated for that size.

If you are not quite sure what you want, you can use the Nutritional Info link, rather than the search form. This link brings you to a page with information on how you can customize your drinks. Activating the improperly labeled link that reads "retail/nutrition_beverages.asp" brings you to a form where you can search all items within a certain classification, such as all brewed coffees or iced espressos. Each section gives you the option of choosing one item via a combo box or displaying all the items in a category. If you choose one item in a category, the results are displayed in the same easy-to-read manner of my Mocha Frappuccino. If you choose to compare all the items, the table headings are not read along with the information. For example, the table says "Serving Size," then "Calories," and so forth. After all the headings are read, the nutritional information starts. You can count down the headings to find the information heading that you want and then count down the respective number of rows on the part of the table where the numbers are listed. For example, if you want to find the calories in this table, the Calories heading is the third heading on the vertical list, after Product and Serving Size. On the numbers list, go to the third line to find your answer. If you do not want to compare everything, you can do each one separately.

Starbucks does not give nutritional information for foods, such as cakes and muffins, because these items are purchased locally by each store.

Here's a coffee toast to Starbucks for making its web site easy to use.

Dunkin' Donuts

www.dunkindonuts.com

The only problem I had with the Dunkin' Donuts web site was when the home page loaded. A video of Rachael Ray, praising the new egg white breakfast sandwich, started playing. After the video played, the page tried to reload, but took a long time (more than one minute) to do so. A quick work around is to use your screen reader to find the Nutrition link while the video is playing and quickly select it before the video ends.

The Nutrition page is clearly labeled. There are headings with different kinds of offerings, such as coffees; bagels; and, of course, donuts. There are links for a few items in each category and a link to see more.

For this article, I chose the chocolate frosted cake donut. Using Window-Eyes' table hotkey, I was brought right to the nutritional information. The information was clearly labeled, with the column heading and then the information. For example, the table read "calories" and then "330" right underneath it. For some of the information, there was also the percentage of daily value. For instance, the sodium information contained the milligrams (mg) of sodium and then the daily percentage for a 2,000 calorie diet.

I then chose the link that said "See More Items" in the bakery list. This link brought me to a list of all bakery items. I chose the honey bran raisin muffin. The results were presented in the same easy-to-navigate table as were the results for the donut.

Once you get past the initial home page, the web site is clearly labeled, and nutritional information is easily accessed. Here's a donut toast to Dunkin Donuts for making the information available for people with visual impairments.

McDonald's

www.mcdonalds.com

The first thing that you find on the McDonald's home page is some unlabeled buttons. There is a link that says "Facts About McDonald's." Selecting that link presents you with a variety of choices about McDonald's, including stock prices, sales, and a link that says "Nutrition Information." This link opens a PDF document that describes McDonald's efforts to serve foods that are high in nutritional value. However, this document does not give the nutritional information for specific foods.

Farther down the page is a link to Search. The Search form consists of a combo box that offers two selections: All or Food/Nutrition. I chose the latter and put "fries" in the edit box. I was presented with a bunch of different links related to fries and some other products. I selected the link for McDonald's medium fries.

Although nutritional information was presented, it was not accessible to users of screen readers. When I read the table, I just heard a series of numbers, so I had no idea what the numbers were referring to. With the help of a sighted person, I discovered that the column headings were graphics, with the column titles written sideways.

Unfortunately, when I searched for nutritional information for a Big Mac, I was presented with the same type of inaccessible table. However, this table also presented check boxes to recalculate the nutritional information in the Big Mac if I did not want all the ingredients. This feature would have been helpful if I knew what the column headings said.

McDonald's web site—I'm not lovin' it.

Burger King

www.burgerking.com

When Burger King's web site loads, you are presented with a Flash presentation and information about the company. There are no links, tables, or forms. No nutritional information is presented. With the help of a sighted person, it is possible to reach a PDF document with nutritional information. However, the PDF document is not accessible.

On this web site, the king should be dethroned.

Wendy's

www.wendys.com

The Wendy's home page has clearly labeled links, including one that says "Nutrition Facts." Choosing this link brings you to a search form with combo boxes to choose an item. Unfortunately, this is where the accessibility ends. As with the McDonald's web site, there are numbers for the different nutritional categories, such as calories and fat, but the category labels are not accessible. There is a link for a PDF file about nutritional information on the search page, but the PDF document does not give the column headings and then the numbers like the Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts web sites do.

By using Adobe Reader 9, which can be obtained from www.adobe.com, it is possible to read the document and figure out the headings, but it takes a bit of work. At the beginning of the document is a vertical list of column headings, the first four being Calories, Total Fat, Saturated Fat, and Trans Fat. The Total Fat column sounds like it is on the same vertical line as Calories in the initial list of column headings, but it is actually the second number presented. After each item is a vertical list of numbers. To use the PDF document, you need to create a column list or know how many lines you need to count to find the nutritional information that you want.

Since I'm a fan of Wendy's Chocolate Frosty, I looked up the nutritional information for the junior size. The first number under the name of the item was 160, which corresponds to the Calories heading. The next number was 4, which corresponds to the Total Fat heading. I checked out how much fiber the Chocolate Frosty has by counting the number of headings in the Column list, and fiber was the eighth one. I then went back to the numbers list for the Chocolate Frosty, counted down eight lines, and found the number zero, which meant that the Chocolate Frosty does not have any fiber.

If you like Wendy's, the nutritional information is available; you just have to burn some calories to get it.

Taco Bell

www.tacobell.com

The only information that appears on Taco Bell's web site is a Flash presentation and the phrase "Tacobell.com is ready to go." There are buttons on the page, including one for nutritional information. However, you cannot get to these buttons using the keyboard.

You may want to make a run for the border, but don't even walk to this web site.

Subway

www.subway.com

There are many unlabeled links on the Subway web site, so your screen reader may sound like it is speaking gibberish. There are some labeled links as well, and selecting the link that says Nutrition brings you to a page with many food categories, including sandwiches and salads. I chose to view the information in the Sandwich category.

Nutritional information is displayed in tables, with the list of column headings in a vertical line and then the numbers in a vertical line after all the column headings are presented. The table lists several sandwiches, including black forest ham and oven roasted chicken breast. The first four column labels are Serving Size, Calories, Calories from Fat, and Total Fat. After the item's name, there is another number for the serving size. Since my screen reader did not read the unit of measure, I can only assume that the serving size is measured in grams. To use the table, you need to count columns and know how many lines to count for a specific piece of information or come up with some other method that works for you. I decided to read the information for the black forest ham sandwich. I knew that the Calories column was the second heading on the table, so I counted rows and found that my sandwich has 290 calories. I knew that the next column heading was Calories from Fat, so I checked and found that 45 of the sandwich's calories are from fat.

Although tables are not presented in a convenient manner for screen readers, it is possible to use this web site and "eat fresh."

Papa John's

www.papajohns.com

On Papa John's web site, the links are clearly labeled. There is a Nutrition link on the home page that leads to a page where one can choose a product to view its nutritional information.

For this article, I checked the nutritional information for a cheese pizza. When the Nutrition Information page loaded, I was presented with several tables. The first table is "pizza size," where all four sizes, 10 inch, 12 inch, 14 inch, and 16 inch are compared. The first part of the table vertically lists the sizes. This is the format for the entire table. After "pizza size" is "serving size," which is presented in grams. The next is "order size," which is presented as a fraction, such as one-sixth of an order, followed by calories and then the rest of the nutritional information. Using the table can be a bit awkward. For a 12-inch pizza, I checked the nutrition information on the second line of each table heading. If you know which size pizza you want, just go to each table heading and count lines.

This is where the confusion starts. Under the first table are several more tables, each for a specific size of pizza. At first glance, it appeared that the nutritional information was directly under each column heading. Unfortunately, the information did not match the first table. On the table for a 12-inch cheese pizza, the table said "calories" and just under it was the number 410. I went back and checked the first table's information about the same item, and that table indicated that my serving had only 210 calories. There was nothing visible that indicated a difference about the two pizza servings. When I checked the 14-inch pizza, there was a 30-calorie discrepancy between the comparison table and the one only for that size pizza. Farther down the page was another table for the same size pizza, but this one indicated that the same slice had 80 calories more than the comparison table and 50 calories more than on the first table for the 14-inch pizza. Not all pizza sizes were presented as an individual table. In fact, there were two 14-inch tables and one 12-inch table. What happened to the 10-inch and 16-inch pizzas?

With help from a sighted person, I discovered that there was a difference in the pizzas: each table had a different kind of pizza crust, and that is why there was a discrepancy in my results. Unfortunately, the different kinds of crusts are presented as a graphic, so my screen reader could not read them.

A search for nutritional information about bread sticks displayed one table, which was set up the same way as the comparison table for cheese pizza. When I checked for cinnamon sticks, a table came up listing all the desserts, again in a comparison table. There were not any discrepancies here because no decisions had to be made about the items.

Although this web site can be used, Papa John needs to answer some questions about his nutritional information for pizzas.

Domino's

www.dominos.com

The Domino's home page has clearly labeled links, but none says anything about nutrition. Activating the Menu link loads another page, which has a Nutritional Information link. This page has a table where the headings are presented vertically, and then there are links for which size pizza you want.

Get ready to do some work if you want to use the nutrition table. Even before the table begins, there is a description of how to use it. Each component of the pizza is listed separately. You add up the components, such as thin crust and cheese, to get the final values. The table then has a description key, telling what each abbreviation means. For example, DF means dietary fiber. The entire table is presented vertically. First comes the nutrition category; next comes a list of units of measure, such as mg and IU; and then come the numbers. You not only have to find the information for your pizza, you need to add the components and navigate a long list of information.

Domino's also offers a nutrition guide in PDF format. Adobe Reader is needed to view the document. The software can be obtained from www.adobe.com. The PDF document is easier to use. You still have to add up all the components of your pizza, but there are no abbreviations, and the column headings have the full name and unit of measure. This format is significantly better than having to use abbreviations and wading through units of measure as a separate list.

For Domino's, use the PDF document. With a lot of luck, the document will answer your questions in less than 30 minutes.

Baskin-Robbins

www.baskinrobbins.com

The Baskin-Robbins home page has clearly labeled links. By activating the Nutrition link, you are brought to a new page, where the products are broken up into categories, such as ice cream and soft serve. Underneath each product category are the words "for nutritional information." The next line is the link that says, "Click Here."

Activating the link for nutritional information for ice cream brings you to a form that actually has several combo boxes, each of which also has a search link. The form combo boxes contain the various categories of ice cream, including classic flavors, soft serve, and lighter side. You can search only one category at a time. I chose the classic flavor combo box and chose Rocky Road from its list. The search brought up a table that is clearly written, with the table heading and then the nutritional information next to it, for example, "calories 290." Directly above the table is a description of the ice cream.

Here's a double scoop thank-you to Baskin Robbins for making this web site easy to use.

TCBY

www.tcby.com

The home page has links that are clearly labeled. The second link says "Nutrition." Activating this link brings up a list of product categories, including soft serve yogurt and sorbet and hand-scooped yogurt. There is also a link that says, "Benefits of Yogurt." Underneath that is a link to diabetic information, and the next link says "Soft Serve Yogurt Nutrition."

Activating this link brings up a more detailed description of the ingredients in the yogurt. Under the description is another link that says, "Soft Serve Nutritional Facts."

Activating this link opens a PDF table where the column headings are written vertically at the beginning of the table. Nutritional information for each flavor is listed in one vertical column. The table headings are difficult to read because words are broken up. For example, the word "calories" is broken into two lines. Some of the other table headings are almost impossible to read. This format makes it harder to count lines to find the information for the specific soft serve yogurt you want.

An easier alternative is to select the link that says "Soft Serve Yogurt and Sorbet." This link presents general information about soft serve yogurts and sorbets and then presents just a list of yogurts. After the list are four unlabeled buttons and then a link that says "Soft Serve Nutritional Information." Selecting that link brings up a PDF table that is somewhat easier to read. Each table heading is written on one line; after the heading is a vertical list of flavors, sizes, and numbers. For each flavor, the numbers are presented, but not the table headings. Only a few basic flavors are presented in the table. The PDF table has some sorbet flavors and some yogurt flavors not in this table. Although the previous table is harder to read, you may find useful information in it.

When you choose the Hand-Scooped Yogurt link, the next page gives a brief description of the product and its nutritional benefits. Underneath that description is a list of flavors. There are no separate links to get nutritional information for each flavor. In fact, there are no links to get nutritional information for the hand-scooped yogurt. The same is true for other product categories, including yogurt specialties and Beriyo Yogurt Smoothies. The only product category that has a link to nutritional information is soft serve yogurt.

Here's half a scoop for this web site. Information is not easily accessed, and whatever information is present describes only some of TCBY's offerings.

Another Option

There are some general nutrition sites that give information about fast-food nutrition, for example, www.fastfoodnutrition.org. This web site has nutritional links to many fast-food chains, but not Starbucks and TCBY. To find nutritional information, activate a restaurant's link. The tables for nutrition are presented with a vertical column of headings and then the numbers for the specific product. Within each table, there are links to the product, and activating a link presents the nutritional information with the column heading and the information directly under it. The product listings and descriptions are not always as complete as on the restaurants' own web sites.

Another web site to check is www.thedailyplate.com. This site uses a search box for finding results. When I entered "Taco Bell Bean Burrito" I got two hits: one for a grilled stuffed chicken burrito with no beans and the other for fresco bean burrito. Both had the nutritional information in one horizontal line with the heading and numbers right next to it. However, the nutritional information is not detailed. Only the serving size, calories, total fat, carbohydrates, and protein are displayed. If just a restaurant's name is put into the search box, then a list of all items available on the site is displayed. For each item, the nutritional information just described is presented. There is a combo box that then allows you to filter the results even further.

The Bottom Line

It is clear that not all fast-food chains considered the needs of people who are visually impaired when they designed their companies' web sites. Some web sites, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Baskin-Robbins, are totally accessible. Others, such as Wendy's and Subway, take some extra work. For McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King, skip the web site and just go directly to the alternatives just discussed.

Happy munching.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail us at accessworld@afb.net.

Whether you are blind, or have low vision and work with assistive technology products daily, or sighted and have only a vague concept of what assistive technology can accomplish, the knfbReader Mobile consistently elicits a "Wow" response when it is first encountered. The phone itself (the Nokia N82 is currently the only phone capable of running the knfbReader software) is immediately pleasing to behold. A sleek, "candybar"-style phone, the Nokia N82 rests comfortably in the hand with relatively few controls. On the face of the phone, all the controls are contained, roughly, on the bottom one-third of the surface, with the upper two-thirds devoted to the screen for easier viewing. At the bottom are the 12 buttons representing the traditional telephone-style keypad. These 12 buttons are arranged in perfectly straight columns with ample space surrounding each key. All 12 are easily discernible by touch, and there is a double nib on the number 5 key. Above the phone keypad, from left to right, are three squares, each with distinctly unique tactile features. The first on the left is the Left soft key, offering different functions when either the top or bottom edge is pressed. On the right is the Right soft key, distinguished from the left by a raised horizontal line across its center. This key, too, offers different functions when either the top or bottom edge is pressed. Between these two keys is a distinctly raised square scroll key. Its top, bottom, left, and right edges act as arrow keys in a variety of functions when using the phone or knfbReader, and its center acts as an Enter or Select key. To the extreme right and left of these three squares are the Send (left edge) and End (right edge) keys, each a small vertical bar. (These two keys are the only ones on the phone that may pose a bit of difficulty in locating initially; the phone is otherwise so tactilely friendly that most users will become quickly acclimated.) At the top edge of the phone are the headset jack and a small recessed Power button. Users who have difficulty determining visually whether a device is powered on or off will respond favorably to the power feature of this phone. When powered on, the phone vibrates and then plays a welcoming tune. When powered off, it speaks the word "power."

While the focus of this review is the knfbReader software, the vehicle chosen to carry that software, the Nokia N82 phone, is worthy of some attention itself. An extremely sophisticated phone, the Nokia N82 can send and receive text messages; send and receive e-mail; surf the web; take, store, and send pictures; store and play music and videos; serve as a GPS (Global Positioning System) wayfinding device; store contacts, personal notes, and calendar entries; and even double as an FM radio. With the additional purchase of TALKS or Mobile Speak screen-reading software, all the foregoing features can be accessible to users who are visually impaired. (For this review, the TALKS software was used.)

When you purchase the knfbReader Mobile from KNFB Reading Technology or one of the company's authorized dealers, you receive the Nokia N82 phone with the knfbReader software installed. While some customers purchase the phone to use solely as a reading device, most will want to take advantage of the phone's myriad features as well. Toward that end, you can, as an option, also purchase TALKS or Mobile Speak software, rendering the phone's many features accessible to users who are visually impaired, and must, of course, purchase phone service from a company that supports this particular phone. The phone's operating system is the Symbian S60, currently supported by AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States.

Caption: The knfbReader Mobile opening screen.

Reading print with this phone could not be easier. To launch the reader software, simply press the upper edge of the Left soft key. The Reader announces that it is ready. You then position the phone's camera to take a picture of the print that you want to have recognized, press a button, and listen. The camera lens is near the top on the back of the phone. The bottom edge of the square Scroll key activates the camera. Users of the first handheld reader (the KnfbReader introduced in the summer of 2005 and now called the KnfbReader Classic) will recognize the progress announcements and clicks, verifying that the picture has been taken and the image is being processed. In most cases, the text is read aloud in a matter of seconds and is simultaneously displayed on the screen.

Reader Features

There are a number of user-adjustable settings, all of which are fairly intuitive. The Reader can be set, for instance, to scan and read an item in "books, articles, and labels" or "bills and memos" formats, depending on the type of document being recognized. If the first attempt is less than satisfactory, reprocessing in another format often nets positive results. For identifying currency, however, the process is streamlined even further. You simply hold the phone above a flattened bill, press the 0 key, and the image is almost instantly scanned and announced.

Other adjustable settings include the size of text on the screen (it can also be turned off entirely), the orientation of text (portrait or landscape), speed, volume, navigation options while reading, whether documents should be saved automatically, and other adjustments.

Once an item has been scanned and recognized, you can review it as an entire document or examine it in increments of sentences, lines, words, or characters. Settings are easily adjustable on the fly, so that if you are examining a business card, for instance, you could listen to the card in its entirety and then listen to one character at a time to confirm the telephone number or e-mail address. Documents can be saved at the press of a key. Each time a document is saved, the knfbReader Mobile creates a folder named for the date on which the file is saved. Within that folder, files are numbered sequentially, beginning with 01.xmt and on to 02.xmt, 03.xmt, and so on.

Reliability

Although James Gashel, KNFB Reading Technology's vice president of business development, stated that the knfbReader Mobile is not "as forgiving" as the Classic (a PDA joined to a digital camera, which was portable but considerably larger than this phone), I actually found the reliability of identifying print to be extremely satisfactory. Gashel recommended placing a black cloth beneath documents before scanning to provide a consistently dark background, but I found this to be necessary only about 10% of the time. One type of print that consistently required the dark background, however, was newspaper print. Without the dark background, the Reader produced nothing intelligible when taking a picture of a newspaper article; once the background was supplied, it performed well.

What else did I read? Some obvious trials were book pages, magazine articles, and business cards. The Reader is so amazingly small and portable—weighing only 4 ounces and sliding easily into any pocket—that it was readily available to shoot any mystery print that any of us routinely encounter. Menus (in restaurants, hotel rooms, and on airplanes) were usually recognized sufficiently to be useful. Other items that the Reader successfully read were food packages; cosmetics; mail of all sorts, from credit card statements to advertisements and coupons to newsletters; and all manner of receipts. In a Sheraton Hotel room in North Carolina one morning, I shot pictures of various pieces of print lying about and saved them for this review. Revisiting the folder with that date, then, I now revisit those pieces of print with you.

Looking at file 01.xmt, I recall that I shot a picture of a card lying beside the coffee maker and heard: "Perhaps you could use a little pick-me-up..." Following were perfectly clear step-by-step instructions for making coffee or tea, ending with the line: "Caution: Contents will be hot." Ah, the entertainment that people who are visually impaired miss by not reading every inch of ubiquitous print in such environments!

Of course, of even greater interest in the same situation was the easy ability, with the assistance of the knfbReader Mobile, to identify which packet contained "real" coffee and which decaf. (Previously, this information was simply not available to those of us who are unable to read print.) Another saved file, 02.xmt, from the same stay, was a welcome letter from the general manager of the hotel. Then, there is file 03.xmt, which warned me not to keep valuables in the room unless they were stored in the generously provided safe, not to leave patio or balcony doors open, and not to discuss my travel plans in front of strangers. Another piece of paper, when shot with the camera, revealed itself to be transportation information—names and telephone numbers of local companies that might transport a person to the airport. I snapped a picture of the plastic placard affixed to the base of the lamp and learned that it was a warning that if a guest smoked in the room, there would be a $200 fine. Finally, when my bill was slid under the door, I used the knfbReader to take its picture and was able to check out of the hotel without assistance or guesswork.

The Reader software will be familiar to those who have used the KnfbReader Classic, since it offers many of the same settings. Also similar is the option of a "field report," which gives a precise indication of how accurate your aim is—telling you, for instance, that the right edge or bottom edge of the text is cut off. After a few weeks' use, I found that I rarely availed myself of this option, using it only as a means of troubleshooting when the Reader failed to recognize a printed item.

As I mentioned earlier, I used the TALKS screen-reading software for this review and found it particularly gratifying to have a single device that could serve so many purposes. Switching between applications is practically seamless. If you are reading a magazine article or a business card and a call comes in, the phone rings with whatever ringtone you have selected. You answer the call, complete the call, and can then return to the reading where you left it. (The same is true for incoming text or e-mail messages.)

Getting Help

The Reader software comes with a CD of audio tutorials that introduce all the basic functions of the Reader. On the phone itself, when the Reader application is loaded, there is a Key Describer mode that announces the function of each key. Also, while in TALKS, the on-device Help files provided by Nokia are available, but these often fall short, giving only the most basic information on how to use a particular feature. In the case of the Reader software itself, little else beyond that provided on the phone and in the audio tutorials is necessary. It is just easy to use. With regard to features of the phone itself, however, the best source of information is the TALKS manual—downloadable from www.blindsea.com—and I found technical support from Sendero Group to be helpful.

Sticking Points

While the knfbReader Mobile software and the Nokia N82 phone running TALKS are, for the most part, a pleasure to use, there were a few interruptions that happened too frequently not to mention in this review. One such annoyance was within the Reader software itself. Because I use the software primarily for on-the-fly reading, I do not have it set to save documents automatically, choosing instead to save manually any item that I may want to review a second or third time. When recognizing a number of pages quickly—say, to identify today's mail—the Reader software would sometimes get stuck. Pressing the Star key prompts the "Ready" response, indicating that the Reader is ready for another picture to be snapped. With some annoying frequency, however, it sometimes took multiple "Ready" announcements before the camera would actually activate again for a subsequent page.

Similarly, the phone itself sometimes freezes, so that powering down is not possible. All too frequently while working on this review, I found myself popping out the battery to force the phone to shut down.

The Bottom Line

Assistive technology has a long-standing tradition of being expensive. At $2,100, the knfbReader Mobile is certainly expensive. Yet, its predecessor, the KnfbReader Classic, sold for $3,500 and flew off dealers' shelves at a respectable rate. By adding a screen-reading package—approximately $300—to this product, you have a multipurpose tool—a reading device, currency identifier, cell phone, camera, music player, web surfer, and more—at a thousand dollars less. The product is new and will undoubtedly get even better with time and user input. In other words, even with its minor glitches, it is an amazingly attractive advancement in assistive technology for people who are visually impaired. As the company slogan promotes, the knfbReader Mobile offers people who are visually impaired the chance to "Go mobile!"

Manufacturer's Comments

KNFB Reading Technology

"As developers of the knfbReader Mobile, it is very gratifying to note that this review confirms what our customers continue to tell us. The two words we most often hear in response to this technology are "life changing." Our commitment, therefore, is to continue our development so the knfbReader Mobile of today will grow in capability and improve in performance on behalf of those who need it.

"The findings relating to saving documents and freezing up of the phone should be explained further.

"Regarding saving, our software has been designed to minimize potential data loss. However, users of any computer system, including the knfbReader Mobile, are always advised to be proactive about saving and backing up their work. This is especially important with the knfbReader Mobile when taking pictures of a multiple page document so the text will not be lost in the event of an unforeseen system failure. This is why we have included both automatic and manual saving features for convenient protection against data loss.

"Regarding freezing of the phone, the review should clarify that this can happen unexpectedly with virtually any cell phone. Also, in the case of the Nokia N82 with a screen reader (TALKS or Mobile Speak) running, all too frequent lockups can occur. While these occurances are certainly annoying, there is no evidence or indication that the knfbReader Mobile is the cause. In fact, cell phones with screen readers that do not have the knfbReader Mobile will still lock up with the same frequency. This can best be avoided by being sure to exit out of all running applications except the one in use so there is maximum memory available. Switching off and restarting the phone at least once, or perhaps several times a day, will often help to free up memory. Being sure to have the latest version of the screen reader and phone software available is always recommended, since developments being made continue to improve the reliability of both the phones and the screen reader software.

Concerning things to come, text-to-speech reading in multiple languages (perhaps as many as 15 different languages initially) will be available shortly, along with a growing selection of voices, both male and female. Rapid translation from one language to another is also just around the corner. More rapid image processing, so reading begins even faster, can be expected. For persons with visual impairments, visual as well as audible menus are coming soon! Aside from this we are keeping up with cell phone developments so users of our Mobile Reader software can have a growing number of phone choices in the future."

Product Information

Product: knfbReader Mobile.

Manufacturer: K-NFB Reading Technology, P.O. Box 620128, Newton Lower Falls, MA 02462-0128; phone: 877-547-1500; web site: www.knfbreader.com.

Price: $2,100.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail us at accessworld@afb.net.

In early 2005, Apple introduced VoiceOver, a screen reader that is built into the Macintosh operating system. The latest release of this accessibility tool, included with Apple's Mac OS X 10.5, nicknamed Leopard, features refreshable braille support, vastly improved navigation commands, and an extensive help system.

This evaluation of VoiceOver was conducted on a Mac Mini. The Mini is an Intel-based computer that measures approximately 6.5 inches square and is approximately 2 inches tall. It does not include a monitor, mouse, or keyboard, but sells for less than $700. VoiceOver is built into every version of Mac OS X 10.5, so you have a lot of truly innovative hardware options from which to choose. One of these options, the MacBook Air, is one of the thinnest notebooks on the market. The fact that VoiceOver is included in every version of Leopard also means that you can visit your local Apple store and bring up a fully functioning screen reader on any machine in the showroom with one simple keystroke. Finally, integrating a screen reader with the operating system means that VoiceOver can be automatically updated every time a Macintosh update is released.

A New Screen Reader and a New Operating System

It would be nearly impossible to conduct a review of the VoiceOver screen reader without including some information and comments on the Macintosh operating system. For individuals who have never used a Mac, this information will help you to gain a clearer understanding of what it is like to use this combination. Being a longtime Windows user myself, I can safely say that learning the Mac with VoiceOver required a bit of practice. However, after a short time, I found the combination simple to use and was navigating the Mac with ease.

Help and Documentation

Since VoiceOver is included with the Mac, no specific hardcopy documentation on VoiceOver is provided. Once Leopard is up and running, VoiceOver offers you a variety of ways to get help. One of these resources, the Quick Start application, can be easily launched the first time a Mac running OS X 10.5 is started. If the Mac has been previously booted, however, you will have to know two keystrokes to launch VoiceOver and open the Quick Start application. Pressing Command-f5 activates VoiceOver. This command can be issued at any time while using the Mac. Control-Option-Command-f8 begins the Quick Start Application. Again, this command can be issued at any time.

The Quick Start application walks you through several useful VoiceOver concepts and commands. First, the layout of the keyboard is explained, and you are shown how to activate keyboard help. Next, using the VoiceOver cursor to move around the screen and activate buttons is demonstrated. The Quick Start application uses a clear male voice to explain everything. Various examples and exercises are also used throughout the process to help you become familiar with VoiceOver. Within about 20 minutes of launching the Quick Start application, most users will know enough to use the screen reader to start exploring the Mac. It is important to note that this Quick Start application covers only the use of VoiceOver and working with basic controls. It does not cover any Macintosh terminology, such as the Doc or Finder windows. For individuals who are new to the Mac, it would be helpful if this application could be expanded to describe some basic concepts that every user will encounter.

Apple offers several other forms of onboard help. As I previously mentioned, a keyboard help utility can be used to learn the location of the keys. When a VoiceOver command is pressed, the screen reader announces the function of that key. Control-Option-L, for example, is used to read the current line. VoiceOver does not, however, announce the function of commonly used Macintosh keystrokes, such as command-Q, which is used to quit the current application. Since many new VoiceOver users are also new Mac users, this ability would be a helpful addition.

Another help feature is the VoiceOver Help menu. Accessed with Control-Option-F7, this menu allows users to choose many common VoiceOver commands from a menu structure. The keyboard equivalent of each command is listed in the menu. Reviewing this menu is a great way for individuals who are new to VoiceOver to familiarize themselves with commonly used keystrokes.

The Apple Accessibility web site contains a page devoted to VoiceOver. This page includes a downloadable Quick Start guide (in PDF, formatted braille, and MP3 audio), printable keyboard layouts, and a detailed description of the key features of VoiceOver. The Quick Start guide is an extremely useful document. It introduces the reader to basic concepts of both VoiceOver and the Mac operating system. In-depth descriptions of navigating and of using some of the applications are provided. Many of the chapters include exercises that allow you to practice what you have learned. At the end of the guide, an index of commands for VoiceOver is provided. The MP3 version of this document is read by Alex, the default speech synthesizer for VoiceOver. The PDF version of this document is fully tagged and accessible. For individuals who have never used a Mac and VoiceOver, this document is a must read.

Unlike the manufacturers of Windows-based screen readers, Apple does not offer telephone technical support for VoiceOver. All the resources for learning the Macintosh and the screen reader are contained on the Apple Accessibility site. Aside from these resources, there are a number of e-mail lists and web resources for users of VoiceOver who are visually impaired. One of these mailing lists, MacVoiceOver, is active and can be found on the FreeLists site. It would be helpful if Apple would provide links to external resources, such as this list, on its web site.

How It Works

VoiceOver makes extensive use of what Apple calls the VoiceOver cursor. The VoiceOver cursor allows you to move around the screen and change the state of controls, such as buttons, check boxes, and pop-up menus. If you find a particular content area that you want to interact with, such as a table or sidebar, the VoiceOver cursor can be restricted to that particular portion of the window. While in this restricted area, you can interact with or change any controls encountered. The VoiceOver cursor will not leave a restricted area until VoiceOver is told to stop interacting. When you are not interacting with any screen objects, you can get a high-level description of how the screen is laid out simply by using the VoiceOver cursor to explore the window. Visually, the VoiceOver cursor can be represented onscreen with a rectangular box. Since all text that is currently under the VoiceOver cursor is shown within this box, it is easy for sighted users to follow what their blind colleagues are reading.

By default, VoiceOver uses a number of sound effects to convey information to you. When you move the VoiceOver cursor horizontally across a window, for example, a sound is played when the edge is reached. Depending on the sound that is played, you will know that the cursor has either wrapped to the next row or has hit the top or bottom edge of the window. Other sound effects indicate such things as when VoiceOver has encountered a link or when a command is not supported. The VoiceOver help menu, Control-Option-F7, contains a submenu that allows you to review and learn the purpose of each of the 32 sound effects. Some of these sounds, such as when the text style has changed, are difficult to hear, and others, such as the changing of status text, are extremely useful. Recently, while working with the Mac, I needed to download a large file from the web. During the download process, I did not want to hear the status constantly spoken. I did want to know that my download was progressing, however, so I simply placed the VoiceOver cursor over the download progress indicator. Each time this indicator was updated, VoiceOver clicked, which allowed me to hear that the download was going smoothly without having to listen to the constant chatter of speech. If sound effects are not your thing, it is possible to disable them in the VoiceOver Utility.

VoiceOver includes a number of features that are particularly useful for sighted trainers and developers. The caption panel displays whatever VoiceOver says, and the braille panel displays any text that is shown on a braille display. Both panels can be resized and repositioned on the screen for easy viewing. Another feature, called the screen curtain, causes the entire screen to go blank when it is activated. Since some Macs do not have the ability to switch off the monitor, this feature is a great way for sighted users to get a true feel of what it is like to use VoiceOver.

Controlling and Configuring VoiceOver

The VoiceOver Utility (or control panel) allows you to customize a wide variety of options. While VoiceOver is running, the window for making these changes can be accessed by pressing Control-Option-F8. When opened, the VoiceOver Utility presents a list of nine categories, including verbosity, navigation, and braille. The VoiceOver cursor or the arrow keys can be used to select one of these categories. Once selected, all the options can be reached using either the VoiceOver cursor or the Tab key.

When the category Speech is chosen, controls for changing a variety of voice characteristics are available. VoiceOver comes with 13 standard voices. Since they range in frequency and pitch, these voices are helpful for individuals who have problems hearing a specific tone. VoiceOver also comes with a number of humorous voices, ranging from Bad News to hysterical, and are fun to check out. The main control in this dialogue adjusts the default voice. However, using additional controls, these voices can be assigned to specific situations, such as when status or content is being read. In addition to voices, this dialogue allows you to adjust the rate of speech and the volume and pitch of the default voice. Finally, the Speech category contains a pronunciation dictionary. The default dictionary contains a number of commonly used acronyms and letter combinations. It is possible to add, modify, or delete entries from this dictionary, although doing so may take a bit of practice with VoiceOver commands.

Caption: Adjusting Speech options in VoiceOver.

One of the most innovative features in the latest version of VoiceOver is support for refreshable braille. Apple has included drivers for 30 of the most popular displays with the Macintosh operating system. Support for an additional 10 displays is available via a free download from the Apple Accessibility web site. When a supported display is connected to a Mac running VoiceOver, braille is immediately shown. If the display is connected before the Mac is switched on, braille is available at the login screen. Since VoiceOver is available during the process, it is even possible to get braille output while installing the operating system using the bootable DVD. When the Mac is booted with this DVD, a miniversion of Leopard is loaded that includes VoiceOver. Having the ability to install or repair the operating system independently is impressive.

The braille options in VoiceOver are similar to those found in Windows-based screen readers. You can choose between contracted and uncontracted braille in the VoiceOver Utility. The option to set up status cells and to use dots 7 and 8 for displaying the cursor are also available within this dialogue. During testing, it was necessary to switch this final option off numerous times because dots 7 and 8 would randomly appear while using the software. VoiceOver also uses these dots to show the location of the VoiceOver cursor. It is not possible for a user to control what information is displayed in the status cells. VoiceOver does, however, contain a feature for revealing the meaning of these cells. Pressing a cursor routing key above any of the status cells causes the display to show a brief description informing you what each dot in the cell is used for.

Each category of the VoiceOver Utility provides a Help button. When the button is activated, context-sensitive help for the currently selected category is provided. This is a terrific way to learn about some of VoiceOver's features. It is, however, necessary to know how to move to and interact with HTML content to use this help function.

When all the options in the VoiceOver Utility are set, they can be saved on a thumb drive or other removable media. When connected to another Mac running Leopard, VoiceOver can be set to use these settings automatically, which is extremely helpful for individuals who use a number of Macs and who have spent a lot of time customizing their VoiceOver settings.

Editing Text

Mac OS X Leopard includes a text editor called TextEdit. This application is the best option for performing word processing functions with VoiceOver. When using TextEdit, VoiceOver allows you to read the current character, word, line, and sentence using simple commands. Selecting, cutting, copying and pasting text are also easily accomplished. TextEdit allows you to save a document in a variety of formats, including RTF, HTML, and Microsoft Word 2007.

TextEdit includes a spellchecker. Although it is possible to spellcheck a document using this tool, doing so requires a number of keystrokes. For example, to bring up a list of suggestions when a misspelled word is encountered, you must press Control-Option-Shift-M, which brings up a menu in which you can choose a corrected word, choose to look up the word in a dictionary, or perform a Google search using the word. If you choose a corrected word, you must issue another command to move the cursor to the next word that TextEdit thinks is misspelled. This is an area in which VoiceOver encountered some problems. After correcting the first word of a document, issuing the command to move to the next misspelled word often caused VoiceOver simply to state that the first corrected word was now not highlighted. To read the word that was currently under the focus, it was necessary to issue the Read Current Word command. This process made it tedious to spellcheck a long document.

Individuals who are accustomed to Windows may be thrown a bit of a curve the first time they use the arrow keys to move through text on a Macintosh. The Macintosh has a different approach to cursor placement and inserting text. For example, if you want to change the word dog to dogs, and it is the first word on a line, place the cursor at the beginning of the word and then press the right arrow three times to place the cursor on the space just after the word. On a Windows machine, this is where you would type the "s" needed to pluralize the word. If you were to type the "s" on a Mac, however, the "s" would actually be placed after the space. Pressing the left arrow on a Mac will cause VoiceOver to say space again. The cursor is now in the proper location to insert the "s." The cursor on a Macintosh can be either before or after a letter. When you press the arrows to move in one direction and then change directions, the first press of the opposite arrow key will cause VoiceOver to repeat the last character heard when moving in the original direction. When you work with a Mac for the first time, this situation can be a bit confusing.

Browsing the Web

VoiceOver has several features for reading and interacting with web content. The VoiceOver cursor can be used to move through a page. When you navigate in this fashion, the VoiceOver cursor moves from item to item. An item can be a link, a control, or a chunk of text. When you read a paragraph, each chunk of text is approximately one sentence, so it is necessary continually to press the keys for moving the VoiceOver cursor. One feature that makes this task a bit simpler is the ability to lock the VoiceOver keys, Control and Option. With this feature enabled, you simply use the arrow keys to move from item to item. If you are searching for a particular string of text, VoiceOver offers a Find feature that can focus on a particular phrase or word on a web page. This feature works well if you know the layout of the page you are browsing and want to jump to a specific key word. Pressing Control-Option-U while browsing the web brings up a list of links on the current page. VoiceOver calls this feature the Link Chooser. Although this is a great way to move quickly through web sites, Link Chooser does not offer all the features that are found in the link lists of Windows screen readers. For example, it does not permit you to sort links in alphabetical order or show only visited links.

Another feature that Apple has developed for web-surfing VoiceOver users is the Item Chooser. When activated, VoiceOver gathers a list of every item on the current page. You can then start typing, and VoiceOver will narrow down the list to items that contain the letters that have been entered. If, for example, you were to type the word head, you would immediately receive a list of all the headings on the page, as well as textual items that contain the word head. The Item Chooser can be a great way to move quickly to the information that you want on a large, complex web page. It is rather annoying , however, to have to type the word head every time you want a list of headings. For this reason, VoiceOver offers the ability to jump to the next or previous heading by pressing Control-Option-Command-H or Control-Option-Command-Shift-H. As this key combination requires a number of fingers, skimming through sites that make extensive use of headings was a bit tedious. VoiceOver also offers the ability to jump to the next or previous form control, graphic or frame. It does not, however, offer the ability to move to the next list. Since many accessible sites, such as CNN, make extensive use of lists, having the ability to navigate to the next or previous list with a single keystroke would be a welcome improvement to the VoiceOver browsing experience.

The VoiceOver Utility has a category specifically for web settings. One of the most useful settings in this dialogue is an option to bring the VoiceOver cursor automatically to a newly loaded web page. This feature is not on by default. When it is checked, browsing is much more efficient because the VoiceOver cursor is immediately moved to the first item of the currently visible page. This setting also eliminates the need for users constantly to tell VoiceOver to start interacting with web content. Another feature is the ability to show pages by group or document object model. Showing pages by document object model displays the pages to the VoiceOver user much as a sighted user would view them on screen. This is the default behavior for the screen reader and works in most situations. Showing pages by groups tells VoiceOver to lump similar items together when you move the VoiceOver cursor. So, instead of just moving a sentence at a time, the VoiceOver cursor reads an entire paragraph. When I was working with the Mac, this feature did not always perform as expected and sometimes made browsing a bit confusing.

Although it does not contain all the features that users of Windows screen readers have come to expect, VoiceOver certainly makes it possible to navigate the web with relative efficiency. Once I mastered the commands, I was able to use VoiceOver to fill out forms, read the news and even download files.

iTunes

Probably one of the most popular Mac applications is the iTunes music service. This service allows you to browse, purchase, and download songs, albums, and even movies from the iTunes store. The iTunes application is also a great way to listen to your favorite podcast or streaming Internet radio station. Finally, iTunes can be used to digitize your CD collection. Once the music is stored, it is possible to create play lists in a variety of ways.

iTunes 8 was released in early September. This version of the software adds a number of accessibility enhancements on both the Mac and Windows platforms. On the Mac, iTunes 8 works extremely well with VoiceOver. Using just a few commands, I was able to create an account at the iTunes store. Since this store is now HTML-based, performing this task simply involved using VoiceOver's web-browsing commands. Once the account was created, I was able to browse, purchase, and download music. Several shortcut keys have been included that make this process even simpler. Control-Option-J, for example, jumps the focus between the sources table (which tells iTunes where you want to look for content) and the songs table. When you find a song that you like, you can use one simple keystroke to purchase and begin downloading that track. If you would like to purchase an entire album, simply navigate to the HTML-based store and select the link for the album that you like. Purchasing an entire album was not possible in earlier versions of the software, but it is quite accessible with iTunes 8.

Other Applications

Although VoiceOver works extremely well with many applications created by Apple, its support for applications created by other companies varies. Apple has stated that it is actively working with other manufacturers to help them make their products compatible with VoiceOver and other Macintosh accessibility features. During testing, I installed VueScan, a scanning application from Himrick Software that performed extremely well with VoiceOver. I also tested Microsoft Excel. Admittedly, I was not using the latest version of Microsoft Office for the Mac, but I received little speech feedback from VoiceOver when I attempted to use this application. For those of us who use screen-reading technology in an employment setting, having an accessible spreadsheet application is essential.

GarageBand is an audio recording and editing application that is included with every copy of Mac OS X 10.5. Although it was not tested extensively, the basic functions appeared to work with VoiceOver.

The Bottom Line

VoiceOver is a full-functioned screen reader for the Mac that contains many useful features. Apple has obviously invested a great many resources in this accessibility tool. The result of this investment is that persons who are visually impaired can now access many Macintosh applications easily and efficiently. Although it is not perfect, this relatively new kid to the screen reading neighborhood has some powerful features and options for customization that make VoiceOver a viable screen-reading option.

Manufacturer's Comments

Apple

"Apple provides a variety of technical support options for its products, including VoiceOver. This includes searchable knowledge base articles on the web, online discussion forums, an e-mail feedback address (accessibility@apple.com), and telephone support. Up-and-running support is typically provided at no charge, and there are fee-based options for additional telephone support.

"There seems to be some confusion about how best to spellcheck on the Mac. The method described in the article uses a contextual menu, which is indeed the most tedious way, but it isn't recommended, or even the most commonly used method by most VoiceOver users. While typing, VoiceOver can speak when a word is misspelled, so you can fix it. In fact, in many Mac applications, you can press the Escape key while you're typing to display a word completion list, so you never mispell the word to begin with. If you prefer to wait until later to correct a misspelling, Apple provides a simple, comprehensive, universal spelling and grammar checking system as part of Mac OS that's used by most Mac developers. It's typically located in the Edit menu, and the shortcut is Command-Semicolon. This jumps the VoiceOver cursor to each misspelled word in a document, so you can edit it in place or retype it correctly. If you prefer to use the spellcheck window to view a list of correct spellings, press Command-Shift-Colon instead. In the Spelling and Grammar window, the misspelled word appears and is already highlighted. You type to replace the misspelled word, or tab once to the table of correct spellings and arrow down the list to choose one. Pressing Enter enters the correct spelling and moves to the next misspelled word in the document where you repeat the process.

"The review was only able to mention a few of the applications that work with VoiceOver. There is some great news to report beginning with the availability of OpenOffice 3, which provides full-featured word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, Microsoft Office document compatibility and compatibility with VoiceOver. It is available for download at no cost. In addition to the recent introduction of iTunes 8, there are now over 100 applications that work with VoiceOver, including Skype, WorldBook Encyclopedia, Fission for audio editing, Nisus Writer, Firefox (FireVox), and many more. The list is available on Apple's web page www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover/applications.html.

"Readers with additional questions and comments are invited to write Apple at accessibility@apple.com."

Product Information

Product: VoiceOver.

Manufacturer: Apple Computer, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014; web site: www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover.

Price: Included in Mac OS X, which costs $129.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail us at accessworld@afb.net.