Domino train is a version of mexican train for the iPhone, and it is lots of fun to play  It was demoed on the most recent Screenless Switchers podcast.  It costs $0.99 on the app store, and we encourage everyone who enjoys fun and addictive games to check it out.

Apple has released iBooks version 2.0, which includes support for interactive textbooks. In an effort to improve the learning experience, Apple is providing textbooks through its iBooks platform. To start with, there will be a focus on high school level texts. Apple touts the portability, durability, and instant updating nature of electronic textbooks, and has already gotten the top three textbook publishers in the United States onboard with the program.

Interactive textbooks for iBooks can include images, videos, links, and other media and learning tools for the student to interact with. However, the obvious advantage for students using VoiceOver is that iBooks are accessible in the vast majority of cases, and we see no reason why textbooks would be an exception. Given the difficulties for visually impaired students to obtain current textbooks in an accessible format and in a timely manner, this has the potential to dramatically improve the learning experience for them. Additionally, images can be enlarged on the screen, making it easier for low-vision students to see illustrations, diagrams, etc, without having to resort to CCTV monitors, scanners, or photo-copiers.

Next, Apple took the wraps off of iBooks Author, a content-creation and publishing tool for Mac OS X, which radically simplifies the creation of books suitable for the iBooks platform, including allowing authors to create interactive components for their books. The application is available from the Mac AppStore today, is free, and our initial examination of the product indicates that is in fact accessible with VoiceOver as well. With the book, you can export to PDF or iBooks formats, or publish directly to the iBooks store, if you are registered with the iTunes Connect program for publishing books.

Finally, Apple announced a new iTunesU application for iOS. The app provides online courses from a variety of universities, complete with course materials, quizzes, assignments, and more. The courses are available for free. Our first-look at the iTunesU app also indicates that it is fully accessible with Voiceover. iTunesU is available now from the iOS AppStore.

All in all, these were impressive announcements, and have the potential to have a significant impact on blind and visually impaired users of Apple’s products. By providing textbooks and other education tools to students in an accessible format, we might be at the beginning of a new renaissance for visually impaired students and their technology.

The update leverages new VoiceOver features that were added in iOS 5.0 last month. Most notably VoiceOver‘s DirectTouch feature, which allows users to interact with specific UI elements as if VoiceOver is inactive. This is used to great effect with the on-screen music keyboards in GarageBand.

GarageBand for iOS is available from the iOS AppStore.

We’d like to thank everyone who sent in questions. If you have a question you’d like to have answered on a future show, or if you would like to let us know your thoughts on the Q&A format, feel free to drop us a note here.

We will answer as many questions as we can in the time we have. Not all questions are guaranteed to be answered, but we will keep unanswered questions on hand for future Q&A shows, and will produce more Q&A shows if our listeners find them useful.

Also, on 29/October/2011, the knights will be recording a special Q&A episode of the podcast. You can send your questions into ask at maccessibility.net, or interact with us live at 1:00 PM ET, 10:00 AM PT on Twitter using the hashtag #VOLive. Further details are forthcoming.

In general, Apple has taken an approach to Xcode which mirrors that which they employed in making GarageBand accessible. Due to the complex nature of the user interface, the app has been divided into major sections which VoiceOver calls "groups". This makes understanding and navigating the myriad of controls, settings, and features with VoiceOver a vastly improved experience.

While more workable now than in the past, the Interface Builder portion of Xcode still provides some challenges. However, thanks to recent improvements, it is now possible to construct a UI with VoiceOver, though it is still not an ideal workflow. It should be noted, though, that with the increased popularity of both Mac OS X and the iOS operating systems, more information is readily available for building UI’s via code, which may prove to be the more efficient method for some visually impaired developers.

We extend our deepest condolences to Steve’s family, friends, and colleagues.

On behalf of all of us here at Mac-cessibility, thank you, Steve Jobs, for all that you gave the world…and us.

If you’d like to interact with us during the stream, the best way to do it is by using the #VOLive hash tag on twitter.

If you can’t join us live, then look for a Maccessibility Round Table podcast later on in the week summing up today’s announcements.

While version 1.0 was ground-breaking in itself in its brilliance in accuracy and ease of use, version 2 takes this app to a whole new level.

Several new currencies are now supported, including the Euro, Canadian and Australian dollars, as well as the British Pound. This allows Money Reader to bring its stellar performance to so many more people than before to assist in making people’s lives easier and more enjoyable.

You can learn more at: http://www.looktel.com

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Steve Jobs has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Tim Cook has already been elected CEO of Apple Inc.

On behalf of all of us here at Mac-cessibility, I’d like to offer Mr. Jobs our heartfelt thanks for his years of service to Apple and its customers, and wish him the very best.

While the vast majority of iTunes releases have worked well with VoiceOver, there have occasionally been issues. In these cases, Apple has always responded very quickly to issue a patch which includes fixes for these bugs. There continues to be a small minority of users who jump to wild conclusions, declaring that Apple is abandoning VoiceOver and the customers who rely on it. ONce again, reports of VoiceOver‘s death are greatly exaggerated.

• RoaringApps.com – A site to check the Lion compatibility of your applications
• Tunesify Lite – A Mac app for converting FLAC files to a more useful format
• Hanging with Friends Free – A Hangman game that is mostly accessible with VoiceOver

• Group pick:
  • The Macalope
• Darcy’s picks:
  • YoruFukurou
  • WorthWhile
  • Sudoku Tablet
• Holly’s picks:
  • SlingPlayer Mobile
  • 7 Little Words
  • Cards Alone
• Josh’s picks:
  • Tagalicious
  • Sound Studio
  • Podcaster for iPhone
• M.J.’s picks:
  • NewsRack for Mac
  • MacJournal
  • StoryMill
• Eric’s picks:
  • Ariadne GPS
  • NewsRack for iPhone/iPad
  • Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide
• Cara’s picks:
  • VizWiz
  • Looktell Money Reader
  • MarsEdit