• RT @ppatel Webaim is conducting a screen reader user survey o gather more definitive data on screen reader users: http://tinyurl.com/3rmwte # 2008/12/18
• News: Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.5.6 http://www.lioncourt.com/?p=250 # 2008/12/15
• Retweet: @cookiecrook BusinessWeek: Apple is greener than Greenpeace says. http://tinyurl.com/57v4fp # 2008/12/08
• Retweet: @vmwarefusion : Fusion 50% off today, one day only. Details: http://is.gd/9Gqi Coupon code "CyberMondayDeal" # 2008/12/01
• It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States. We're thankful for Apple's commitment to accessibility in their products. # 2008/11/27

Greg Kearny of the Wyoming Medical Center released a new utility for VoiceOver users today. The application, called Xls2HTML, can convert Microsoft Excel documents to HTML files which can be viewed in Safari with VoiceOver, or translated into Braille for embossing or review on a Braille display with Louis for Mac Braille translation and embossing software.

Xls2HTML is free and can be downloaded from here.

On Tuesday, Apple released the latest versions of their IWork and ILife application suites.

IWork sports many new improvements to both Pages and Keynote, (the word processing and presentation apps respectively), and now also includes a new and impressive spreadsheet offering named Numbers. Initial reaction from the VoiceOver community of users has been somewhat mixed.

Pages, while far from perfect, seems to be substantially more accessible than its previous incarnation. Indeed, by hiding the various toolbars and rulers from the application’s View menu, the program becomes even more usable, and it appears to be a powerful word processing tool now available to VoiceOver users, despite its few accessibility shortfalls. More testing will be necessary to determine the full bredth of this programs potential for visually impaired users.

Numbers has more problems in terms of accessibility with VoiceOver. While it appears that many tables and other areas can be accessed, a great many of the application’s controls are not recognized. Still, it is better than expected, and it appears that only minor adjustments would need to be made to improve the way it cooperates with VoiceOver. As with Pages, further testing is required.

ILife ‘08 sports many new changes to its suite of multimedia and related software, including improvements to Garage Band. The previous version of Garage Band was usable by at large with VoiceOver, particularly when coupled with the optional physical control board IControl. Whether accessibility improvements have been made in ILife ’08’s apps, we are unsure at this time. When we have more information, we will publish it. In the meantime, a general review of the new and impressive features in Garage Band is available in this MacWorld.com article.

If you are interested in seeing improved accessibility for these apps with VoiceOver, we strongly encourage you to contact Apple Accessibility and voice your thoughts.

Recently, MacWorld reported that Microsoft was delaying the release of Office 2008 for Mac until January. One of the reasons given was Microsoft’s decision to move from developing the software in FreeScale’s CodeWarrior to Apple’s native XCode Tools. Potentially, this means a possibility of better accessibility with Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac and VoiceOver, though we have been unable to obtain any information one way or the other on this intriguing possibility. You can read the full story about the Office 2008 delay by clicking here.

Introducing Lioncourt.com, a resource for accessibility of the Macintosh platform and other Apple products by the blind and visually impaired.

This site is dedicated to offering information and links related to the use of Apple products by the blind and visually impaired. It’s content is free and may be shared with others. We ask, however, that you give credit and a link back to this web site if you choose to pass on the information provided herein.

The inspiration for this site came with the increasing need for a collective resource of information and resources to educate and assist blind and visually impaired Mac users. Much information regarding these topics is scattered and fragmented, and a tremendous amount of misinformation has perpetuated around the Internet and VI communities about Apple and the accessibility of its products.

We hope to provide a concise, useful, and accurate resource to remedy these misconceptions and encourage others to use the Mac OS X platform for work, school, or pleasure.

Our hope is to continually add and update the information found here with the latest news on developments at Apple, especially where concerns accessibility. This site is still in the earliest days of its creation, and we hope you will check back often for exciting new sections to be added.

If you have suggestions, comments, or information you’d like to contribute for inclusion on this site, please contact us via the "Contact Us" link in the navigation bar.