• 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
• We've added social bookmarking and "Send this to a Friend" to the Mac-cessibility Site as a trial. Let us know what you think. # 2008/11/27
• Apple released Safari 3.2.1 today. No known accessibility changes, but a good update to have nonetheless. Stability is the focus. # 2008/11/25
• News: Comparing Accessibility of the Big Three Operating System http://www.lioncourt.com/?p=247 # 2008/11/21

Today, Forbes is reporting that Apple is to acquire microprocessor maker PA Semi. The deal is thought to be worth $278 million, and could see the Cupertino-based company providing its own microprocessors in some of its products. Speculation is rife that these products may include the iPhone and iPod lines. If so, it could potentially mean more powerful portable devices, better capable of supporting text-to-speech and other access technologies.

Apple does purchase smaller technology-based companies from time to time, and never comments on their plans for such acquisitions. Where this eventually leads is anyone’s guess, but more powerful devices can only benefit all users.

Today, Apple released details on many new products. Here’s a brief rundown on what we know so far, and what it may or may not mean to blind or visually impaired users.

• iTunes Movie Rentals — Apple released a new version of iTunes today with support for movie rentals. Movies will begin showing up in DVD quality, complete with 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. No word yet on whether this update provides any accessibility improvements, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.
• New AppleTV — AppleTV got a major overhaul. It no longer requires a computer to stream content, and you can buy or rent media from the iTunes store directly from the set-top box. No word on whether the AppleTV is accessible, though we are still optimistic that it may be in a future version, given that it is running a version of Mac OS X, and certainly has the horse power for speech output.
• iPhone Update — The iPhone got a huge number of improvements, and we heard once again that the SDK for developers should be available at the end of February. Once the SDK is available, third-party developers may be able to work on access solutions for blind or visually impaired users, and we are still hopeful that Apple may be working on this as well.
• MacBook Air — The MacBook Air is a new addition to the APple line of notebook computers. It provides far more power than notetakers and other portable assistive devices at a substantially cheaper price tag. The device is 0.76 inches at it’s thickest point, and an astonishing 0.16 inches at it’s thinnest. It includes WiFi, BlueTooth, USB, and much more. Since it is running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, it includes VoiceOver, and thereby is in a great position to compete with other ultra-portable products from companies like Freedom Scientific.

As more information is available on accessibility features or issues with these products, we’ll keep you up to date.

Wired.com published an interesting story today by Fred Vogelstein. It gives a "behind the scenes" look at the history of the iPhone’s development. This lengthy article focuses heavily on how the iPhone has and will continue to change the wireless communications industry, as well as describing the massive challenges, particularly technical, that APple faced as it worked to develop the iPhone.

It seems quite clear that Apple was working to an almost impossible deadline, and how the device only just made it to market a the time that it needed to. This seems to offer some reasonable explanation, which had been suspected by many for some time, that Apple simply did not have the ability to get the product to market when it needed to, and incorporate extensive accessibility features.

Given Apple’s track record of a strong commitment to accessibility, it seems logical to deduce that it is only a matter of time before this and similar devices from the company have more access features. We encourage you to continue to contact Apple Accessibility if you want to see access to this and other products.

Today, Apple announced its plans to release a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone and iPod Touch in February. Such an SDK will give the power to software developers to create native applications to run on Apple’s mobile platform, which is based on its Mac OS X operating system. Potentially, this may provide the tools to create access solutions such as screen readers and magnification utilities for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Steve Jobs made the announcement in an open letter posted to Apple’s web site. The delay until February, says Jobs, is to give Apple the chance to deliver a robust development solution and also varify security and stability for users of the devices, particularly the iPhone.