While this is disappointing, it is not wholly unexpected, given that the MagicMouse device is still, at its core, a mouse, and does not appear to support the more complex multi-touch capabilities of Apple’s glass trackpads or iPhone family of products.

Apple has also expanded the Mac Mini line to include a new Mac Mini server sans an optical drive. Priced at $999 USD, the Mac Mini server includes two internal 500GB hard disks, a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and 4GB of RAM. Mac OS X server comes preinstalled, and the model is compatible with Apple’s external SuperDrive, (the external optical drive previously intended solely for the MacBookAir).

All three models of Mac Mini are available now.

The 21.5-inch iMac model is priced at $1199 USD, as was its 20-inch predecessor. It comes standard with a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard disk. The graphics chip also received a boost to the Nvidia GeForce 9400M.

There is a $1499 configuration of the 21.5-inch model with the same specs but with a 1TB hard disk and the Radeon HD 4670 video card.

The 27-inch iMac is identical in specs to the $1499 21-inch model, save for the larger display.

Apple plans on offering a set of adapters soon which will allow the iMacs to double as HDTV’s, capable of being attached to DVD players, game consoles, etc.

All of the newly redesigned iMacs are available today.

It remains at the 13.3-inch size and boasts a 2.26GHz processor, 2GB of 1066MHz RAM, and a 250GB hard disk. The graphics chip has also been upgraded to the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.

The new MacBook offers more bang for your buck at the same $999 USD price point, and is available now.

• Triple-click Home

  Now you can quickly toggle Universal Access features by triple-clicking the home button. Choices are to turn VoiceOver on or off, turn Zoom on or off, turn White on Black on or off, or to ask which setting you prefer.

  To set the Triple-click Home function: In Settings, choose General->Accessibility->Triple-click Home and choose the function you want.

• Gesture Practice

  You can now learn and practice VoiceOver gestures. In Settings, choose General->Accessibility->VoiceOver->Practice Gestures.

• Select / Cut / Copy text

  You can use VO to copy, cut and paste text. Use the rotor to choose Edit. Flick up or down to choose between the Select and Select All functions, then double tap. If you chose Select, the word closest to the insertion point is selected when you double-tap. If you chose Select All, the entire text is selected. When text is selected, Cut, Copy, and Paste options appear on the screen. (Paste appears only if you’ve previously copied text.)

  Use open and close pinch gestures to fine-tune the selection.

  To Cut, Copy, or Paste: With text selected, flick up or down to choose Cut, Copy, or Paste, then double-tap. Double-tap again to dismiss the editing options and place the insertion point at the end of the text area.

  To Undo: Shake iPhone, flick left or right to choose the action to undo, then double-tap.

• Additional rotor settings

  On web pages, you can now select and hear static text as well as zoom in or out.

• Pasting a phone number into the keypad

  You can paste phone numbers into the keypad instead of dialing them manually. If the phone number you copied contains letters, iPhone automatically converts them into the appropriate digits to dial.

• Setting Insertion Point in edit text fields

  To begin editing, you double tap to display the insertion point and bring up the onscreen keyboard. If the field already contains text, the insertion point is placed at the beginning or at the end of the
  text automatically.

• Navigating a List Index

  Some lists have an alphabetical index along the right side. The index cannot be selected by flicking between elements; you must touch the
  list index directly to select it. With the index selected, flick up or down to move through the index. Or, select the list index, then double-tap and slide your finger up or down to move through the index quickly.

• Opening Links in Mail Messages

  In mail, double-tap and hold down on a link. The address is displayed and you can choose to open the link in Safari or copy the link address to the clipboard.

• Editing Videos and Voice Memos

  You can use VoiceOver gestures to trim videos and Voice Memo recordings.

  To trim a video: While viewing a video, double-tap the screen to display the video controls. Select the beginning or end of the trim tool. Then flick up to drag to the right, flick down to drag to the left. VoiceOver announces the amount of time that will be trimmed from the recording. Select the Trim button and double tap to execute the trim.

  To trim a voice memo: In Voice Memos, select the button to the right of a recorded memo you want to trim, then double-tap. Select the Trim Memo button and double- tap. Select the beginning or end of the trim tool. Flick up to drag to
  the right and flick down to drag to the left. VoiceOver announces the amount of time that will be trimmed from the recording. Select the Trim Voice Memo button and double-tap to execute the trim.

• PDF file support

  VO can read PDF files attached to Mail messages.

• Voice Control using a Bluetooth headset

  You can enter spoken Voice Control commands through a bluetooth headset in addition to the earbuds and built-in microphone.

• Using Maps

  With VoiceOver, you can select pins that mark locations, and get information about locations.

  To select a pin: Touch a pin, or flick left and right to select a pin. To get information about a location, select a pin, then double-tap to display the information flag. Flick left or right to select the flag, then double-tap to display the information page.

• Saving a photo or video attachment to a Camera Roll album

  Touch and hold the image or video, then tap Save Image or Video.

• Creating a Genius Playlist

  To browse Genius Mixes: Tap Genius. The number of dots above the Dock shows the number of mixes you have synced from iTunes, and indicates which mix you’re viewing. Flick left or right to view additional mixes. You can sync up to twelve Genius Mixes from your iTunes library on your computer.

• Compass

  VoiceOver automatically announces the compass heading when there is a change in direction of 5-degrees or more.

• Rearranging the Home screen

  VoiceOver speaks the row and column position as you drag the icon. Release the icon when it’s in the location you want. You can drag additional icons. Drag an item to the left or right edge of the screen to move it to another page of the Home screen. When you’re finished rearranging the icons, press the Home button.

  When iPhone is connected to your computer, you can also rearrange the Home screen icons using iTunes 9. Select iPhone in the sidebar, then click the Applications tab.

Visually impaired users who have difficulty with glare from the glossy screens should consider this option when purchasing a MacBook Pro.

Once again, we’d like to thank Mr. Breen and MacWorld for their mainstream coverage of Apple’s accessibility advancements.

Though many said it could never be done, Apple has yet again shown a tremendous commitment to accessibility today with the announcement of the iPhone 3GS, the latest version of its popular iPhone handset, which ships with a version of VoiceOver optimized for it. Using this incredible new technology, the blind and visually impaired will have access to the iPHone in much the same way they enjoy Mac support today.

Using a combination of touch screen technology and specialized gestures, the VoiceOver user can use all the apps that ship with the iPhone, and Apple is already working with third-party developers to make sure their applications are accessible as well.

You can read the full details of how the new VoiceOver screen reader for iPhone 3GS works on the iPhone accessibility page. The iPHone 3GS will be released in the US, Canada, UK, and some other European countries on 19/June, with other countries to follow through the summer.

Apple has also announced that similar technology will be available to control Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with VoiceOver and your Mac’s trackpad. More information is available on this Apple Accessibility page.

All of us here at Mac-cessibility are overjoyed and astounded at this tremendous leap forward. No words can describe our excitement.

Today, Apple refreshed their $999 entry level white MacBook. Changes include a modest processor jump from 2.0 GHz to 2.13 GHz, a boost in RAM speed from 667 MHz to 800 MHz, and an increase to the hard drive capacity from 120 GB to 160 GB. Battery life is now advertized as 5 hours, up from 4.5 hours of the previous model, and now meets Energy Star V5.0 standards like its shiny, pricier siblings. The entry level MacBook is rated EPAT Gold, up from the silver rating it previously boasted.

There are some build-to-order options as well, which is where some stranger of items of note come into play. The $999 white MacBook’s build-to-order options include hard drive capacities up to 500 GB. Notably, the aluminum MacBooks still list 320 GB as their maximum drive capacity under BTO. This would sugest a possible refresh to the aluminum MacBooks soon as well.

It’s time for this month’s edition of the Mac-cessibility Round Table Podcast. This month’s episode is #2, entitled "Sedated". Josh de Lioncourt’s sound quality is not quite on par this time, for which we apologize. He was travelling and away from his usual equipment.

Topics covered:

• Introduce this month’s panelists, including Holly Anderson, Darcy Burnard, Cara Quinn, Eric Troup, and Josh de Lioncourt.
• Accessibility of third-party products, and the response from developers to Apple’s approach to access.
• Front Row and what it offers the visually impaired in comparison to other home entertainment products.
• DRM-free music and variable pricing has come to iTunes.
• The new "Get a Mac" ads.

Other resources and show notes:

• Holly’s pick – Apple Airport Express
• Darcy’s pick – Understudy for Front Row
• Josh’s pick – Zoom for Mac
• Cara’s pick – Audacity
• Eric’s pick – VMWare Fusion

The Mac-cessibility Podcast has been reborn as a round table discussion show, dealing with all things related to accessibility of Apple products. The show is planned to have a new episode once a month, starting with this week’s episode entitled "Reboot".

Topics covered:

• Introduce this month’s panelists, including Holly Anderson, Darcy Burnard, Cara Quinn, Steve Sawczyn, and Josh de Lioncourt.
• iPod Shuffle 3G, its multi-lingual support, and the possibility of more TTS languages coming in VoiceOver.
• iTunes 8.1 accessibility changes.
• iPhone software 3.0. Is accessibility coming? Are we getting closer?
• The Author’s GUild’s objection to text-to-speech in Amazon’s Kindle 2. What does that mean for TTS in other portable devices like iPods or a possible future accessible iPhone?
• Safari 4.0 public beta accessibility changes.
• General discussion of the state of accessibility on the Mac platform. How is the Mac perceived by non-Mac users of the visually impaired community? Is the perception improving? What myths are still persisting? Has Apple’s participation at CSUN helped?

Other resources and show notes:

• You can contact the Author’s Guild regarding their stance on text-to-speech on Amazon’s Kindle 2 from this page.
• Holly’s pick – Checkbook Pro from Splasm.com
• Darcy’s pick – Carbon Copy Cloner from Bombich.com
• Josh’s pick – www.GoodReads.com
• Cara’s pick – SyncMate from Eltima.com
• Steve’s pick – The Unarchiver

Today, Apple updated its entirely line of desktop Macs with significant changes, including the long anticipated overhaul of the company’s popular Mac Mini, its consumer iMac offerings, and its pro-level Mac Pro desktops.

The Mac Mini has seen some of the most radical changes, given that that model had not been updated in nearly two years. Both the $599 and $799 configurations include 2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, 8X SuperDrive with dual-layer support for DVD+/-R and DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW, both Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI for video output, AirPort wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, five USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire 800 port, and optical digital/analog audio line-in and line-out ports. The $599 model ships with a 120 GB hard drive and 1 GB of RAM, while the $799 model includes a 320 GB hard drive and 2 GB of RAM. Both are expandable to 4 GB of RAM.

New iMac offerings see both a drop in price and a boost in power, with the 20-inch model now available at $1199, while 24-inch models start at $1499, the previous cost of the 20-inch model. The iMacs see a boost in processing power and RAM, and are a more minor revision than the Mac Mini release.

The new Mac Pro models have begun using Intel’s Nehalem Xeon processors and include an updated system architecture that Apple claims has twice the performance of the previous models. The Mac Pros, too, see a drop in price, starting at $2499.

Along with these changes, APple has introduced a third desktop keyboard model that is more compact than the previous version. The new wired keyboard eliminates the numeric keypad on the right end, mirroring the company’s Bluetooth Apple keyboard. It retails for $49 and comes with all iMacs by default. Interestingly, users can swap the compact keyboard for the full-size keyboard for no additional cost. Both the compact and standard versions of the wired APple Keyboard are priced at $49.

Among its sweeping hardware releases today, Apple took the wraps off of a significant upgrade to its Airport Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule networking solutions.

Both devices now offer dual-band support for 2.4 GHZ and 5 GHZ bands, allowing Macs, phones, and other wifi devices to use the band best suited for each without impacting performance of the network overall. Previous versions would down grade to support the highest standard available on all connected devices.

They also now offer a new guest network feature, allowing you to set up a second wifi network to give guests access to the Internet without opening up access to your network drives, printers, and computers. This guest network can be password protected as well, if you choose.

The pricing for the new Airport Extreme and Time Capsule models has not changed. The Airport Extreme lists at $179. The Time Capsule is available in 500 GB and 1 TB configurations for $299 and $499 rspectively.

Amidst a flurry of new product releases this morning, Apple quietly updated their MacBook line with some refinements.

The 15-inch unibody MacBook Pro, first released last October, has had a speed boost. The base model jumps from 2.53 GHZ to 2.66 GHZ, while the build-to-order option for the processor speeds jumps from 2.8 to 2.93 GHZ. These new speeds mirror those offered with the 17-inch unibody MacBook released in January.

Apple is also offering a new solid-state drive (SSD) option for all its unibody MacBook models, including the 13-inch variety, at 256 GB. The upgrade to this SSD ranges from $900 to $750, depending on the MacBook model in question.

While not strictly Mac related, we feel that this situation is a serious problem, and could potentially effect access to printed materials and mobile devices for the blind and visually impaired at large.

The Author’s Guild has taken issue with the new text-to-speech capabilities of the Kindle device from Amazon.com<. We first learned of this from this MacWorld.com story.

Essentially, the guild is equating text-to-speech output by devices like the Kindle 2 to audio book recordings. Anyone who has tried to read a book using TTS will know that they are not comparable experiences. They claim Amazon.com is violating copyright by providing text-to-speech with their product.

By taking this stance, the guild is effectively excluding visually impaired persons from enjoying the same printed materials as their sighted counterparts.  Most books are not available in audio.  Most books are not available in Braille.  E-Texts and the technologies, like text-to-speech, which give the blind access to them, has been making it possible for the first time in history, for them to have access to books, newspapers, magazines, and more, at the same time and of the same quality as the sighted world.

Some publishers have already taken steps that exclude the blind from many versions of electronic publications by using forms of DRM, (Digital Rights Management), that prevent assistive technology from reading them.  Now, the Author’s Guild is working toward eliminating our technology from mainstream devices entirely, further setting the visually impaired back.

It is unreasonable to equate text-to-speech technology with the performances of audio book narrators, something many blind and visually impaired individuals enjoy and purchase when available.

If you feel strongly about this issue, we encourage you to contact the Author’s Guild at the information provided here. Telephone, post, and email contact information is available.

The Washington University’s Accessibility Interaction and MObility Group (AIM Group) has demonstrated a technique for how the Apple iPhone could be made accessible to users who are blind or visually impaired. You can see a remarkable video demonstrating this technique by clicking the YouTube.com link.

This is a very exciting advancement that shows the possibilities. We’re hopeful that Apple will take note and eventually introduce a mobile version of VoiceOver in their iPhone and iPod Touch products.

Apple announced the awaited update to it’s 17-inch MacBook Pro notebook computer. The new model includes the same unibody aluminum design as the rest of the MacBook line, the same glass trackpad, up to 8GB of memory, both hard drive and SSD drive options, and extended battery life. The new model is the thinnest, lightest notebook of its size on the market, and is available for $2799 USD.

Today in Cupertino, Apple announced significant changes to its line of notebook computers, a new Apple Cinema display model, and new pricing for these products.

The new MacBook and MacBook Pros employ a new manufacturing process which results in smaller, lighter, and more durable machines. These new MacBooks are made from a block of aluminum which is carved into the needed shape. This eliminates over half the parts needed in the previous generation of Apple notebooks.

Many of the new models include more powerful graphics processors from Nvidia. The MacBook Pro’s 15-inch incarnation includes both the GForce 9400M and 9600M GT graphics cards. The user can choose which to use at any given time.

The newer aluminum MacBooks and MacBook Pros sport a glass trackpad which doubles as a mouse. It supports multi-touch and more gestures.

The new specifications and pricing are as follows:

• MacBook — The previous generation’s white plastic MacBook model will remain at a reduced price of $999.
• MacBook — 13.3-inch display, 2GHz Core 2 Duo / 3MB L2 cache, 2GB 1066MHz DDR 3 memory, GeForce 9400M, 160GB hard drive, slot-loading SuperDrive. $1299
• MacBook — Same as above except: 2.4GHz processor, 250GB hard drive, and a backlit keyboard. $1599
• MacBook Pro — 15.4-inch LED-backlit display. 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo / 3MB L2. 2GB 1066 MGhz DDR 3 memory. Nvidia GForce 9400M and 9600M GT cards. 250GB hard drive. Slot-loading SuperDrive. $1999
• MacBook Pro — Same as above except: 2.53GHz processor, 6MB L2, 4GB of memory, 512MB on the 9600M Gt, 320GB hard drive. $2499
• MacBook Air — Mostly unchanged. 120GB hard drive and now includes the Nvidia GForce 9400M video card.
• Options — Several configuration options are available, most notably a 128GB solid-state drive is available for most models.

Additionally, there has been some changes made to the ports. The MacBooks no longer include Firewire support. The DVI video ports have been dropped in favor of the new Mini Display port.

Check back for more details as they become available.