• 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

The web site Marco’s Accessibility Blog has published a brief entry entitled "Mac OS X: A Success Story". In this commentary, they compare and contrast the accessibility of the big three operating system flavors, Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. It’s encouraging to see that the word and truth is spreading about the accessibility of Mac OS X and the merits of VoiceOver. We highly recommend the article to newcomers to the Mac platform, skeptics, those contemplating making the switch, and even long-time Mac users.

Tonight, Apple released iTunes version 8.02. The list of changes in Apple’s release notes includes improved accessibility with VoiceOver, as well as other stability improvements and bug fixes.

What the accessibility improvements include is not yet apparent. If you spot any, let us know. You can download the update from the Apple menu’s "Software Update" option.

Today, Apple released Safari version 3.2 for both Mac and Windows OS’s. The new version focuses on security enhancements and fixes, as well as better protection against fraudulent phishing web sites. Many of Safari 3.2’s enhancements focus specifically on the Windows OS.

For more details, you can read Apple’s security information.

At this time, we’ve not found any enhancements specifically related to VoiceOver or accessibility, but we will report if anything comes to our attention.

A couple of years ago, AccessWorld, a publication of the American Foundation for the Blind, published a review of VoiceOver full of inaccuracies, misleading statements, and inexplicable falsehoods, for which they’ve been widely criticized by the growing community of visually impaired Macintosh users.

In the most recent issue, Mr. Jim Denham takes a fresh look at VoiceOver. This time, it’s clear the reviewer has taken the time to learn both the operating system and the tools provided by VoiceOver. While not all the information is perfect, this is an honest attempt to look at VoiceOver objectively, and it is a fair analysis.

Aside from some errors, such as in describing the complexity of spell checking, which Apple makes note of in a response at the review’s end, this article shows a dramatic improvement in providing factual information about VoiceOver and the Mac OS X operating system from the previous review. Obvious to most daily users, there are a huge number of accessible applications for the Mac, and TextEdit is by no means the best or only word processing option.

In a forthcoming editorial, we’l take a closer look at spell checking on the Mac with VoiceOver.

Still, this article amy begin to help repair the damage to AccessWorld’s credibility among VoiceOver users. It’s certainly a huge step in the right direction, and we applaud Mr. Denham for an unbiased review.