MacForTheBlind

This seems to be the question being asked on all of the various email list for blind users of the Mac. It’s presented in different ways, but when you get right down to it, most folks want to know if it is worth their time and effort, and, of course, $29 to make the jump from Snow Leopard or earlier versions of OS X to 10.7 Lion.

I am going to preface this by saying that I have, of course, done the upgrade myself and have always taken the plunge right away when Apple has released each new operating system since OS X 10.4 Tiger. Some have accused me of being a “Mac Apologist” or a “Mac Fan boy” over the years for my steadfast defending of Apple, and, perhaps, it is rightfully so. I have my share of opinions I have openly expressed in my two articles I have written about my experiences switching from Windows to the Mac. As far as I am concerned, as a blind person and computer user, I have plenty of solid reasons for my support of Apple and my satisfaction in being a very happy Mac user.

With that all said and out of the way, however, let me try to approach the question of upgrading to Lion from a both a logical and technical point of view. I realize that I might risk offending the sensibilities of the overly defensive folks who have been, in some cases, practically ranting and raving on some of the lists about their issues with Lion and how Apple has done the blind a relative disservice or how Lion has supposedly taken steps backwards in accessibility. No, these terms have not been literally used in any case, but if you read the words of some people and sit back to consider their complaints, this is tantamount to what they come down to when you get right down to their essence. Hopefully, I will put some things into perspective and demonstrate that one cannot make snap judgements or declare a new OS a “failure” in less than 72 hours after its release.

I am not at all seeking to offend or insult anyone, so I really hope no one finds themselves believing that I am doing so in this post. I am going through the same learning process as everyone else, and I will openly confess that I have, n the past, been guilty of some of the things I will mention later on in regard to my previous computer experiences and reactions to updates and upgrades. We are all human, and we often don’t even realize how our behavior or words are being interpreted by others. So, again, there is no criticism or the like intended in this post in the least. Continue reading →

I have just put up a brief audio demonstration that talks about how Activities work in Lion. This is really an overview of the Activities feature, but, hopefully, it will give the listener a good idea of how Activities work and the potential power of them. You can check out the demo by going

here.

As posted by Esther on the Mac Visionaries list, Vision Australia has some very useful podcasts about VoiceOver in Lion demonstrating new features and the new voices. You can go
here
to get them in iTunes.

or you can go to the PodBean web site, which is
here.

I will be adding some “how to” and “tips and tricks” material on VoiceOver in Lion over the next few weeks as time permits or I can glean from the various Mac email lists. Please stay tuned.