VoiceOver and the Mac

6/22/2009

The Access Technology team has, as you might imagine, been watching the discussion surrounding Wes Majerus’s article about VoiceOver on the Mac with considerable interest. It was always going to be a controversial topic; but we certainly hope that it is also one which will open up opportunities for dialogue, and this post aims to be a part of that dialogue.

In general, it should be said about the article that it does approach VoiceOver from a “Windows” point of view. While this should perhaps have been stated more clearly, it is an unsurprising starting point in a field where, according to one recent survey of screen access software users, only 6% use VoiceOver and fewer than that use Linux-based screen access software. As a consequence, even factoring in new users, the majority of users trying out VoiceOver will already be familiar with Windows-based screen access software, and will use that as a reference point.

The NFB Jernigan Institute operates the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind to be an objective voice in the evaluation of technologies.  In our evaluations, we try to take into account the full range of blind individuals who may use a product.  In the VoiceOver debate, we have attempted to keep in mind that many families of newly blind individuals learn about VoiceOver and look on it as an integrated, cost-effective solution on a par, in term of ease of use, with a sighted user using a Mac with iPod and iTunes, when this is not always the case.  Accessibility, in order to be effective, should not be constructed in such a way that only very skilled technology users can quickly learn and manage the technology; and in some cases accessibility on the Mac is less than intuitive.

Perhaps the most important criticism we have seen of the article is that it fails to highlight certain options available to the users, and that it claims certain actions are not possible when in fact they are. This is a very important point, and one to which there is only one response – in testing VoiceOver, Wes thoroughly used the materials which Apple makes available to its users, that is to say, the manual, the built-in tutorial, and Apple’s support at any level he could get to. Since VoiceOver is part of Apple’s suite of software products, it seemed obvious to look to them for documentation, in the same manner as one would expect GE to document their overlay for a washer and dryer, and just as we expect Microsoft to document their accessibility features.

Finally, we continue to evaluate the Apple products, and welcome any input from the user group on this subject, especially given the limitations of the “official” documentation.

Anne Taylor
Director of Access Technology

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