‘iPods and iTunes’ Archives

In this episode of the Mac-cessibility Round Table Podcast, our knights discuss their thoughts on Apple’s recent announcements, including iOS 5, iCloud, and the announced new features coming in VoiceOver for OS X Lion.

At 10:00 AM PDT, Apple wil be holding its World Wide Developers Conference Keynote address. Hosted by Steve Jobs, Apple will be pulling the wraps off of iOS 5, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and its new iCloud service. You can listen to the Mac-cessibility Round Table Knights as the news unfolds at this link. [...]

In "Crossroads: Rekindling the Accessible Ebook Discussion", we offer some thoughts on the choices visually impaired users will need to make regarding the ways in which they obtain printed materials in accessible formats over the coming years. While things cannot, and should not, change over night, changes will come, and with them, perhaps, a shift [...]

It has been widely reported today that Microsoft is acquiring Skype, the popular audio, video, and text chat service for an estimated $8.5 billion. This is, and should be, troubling to many Mac and iOS users. Microsoft has shown a distinct disinterest in adhering to accessibility standards on Apple’s platforms. The Microsoft Office suite, for [...]

Ananse Productions has just released a new accessible puzzle game for IOS called Stem Stumper. The basic premise of the game is that you are Mimea, a vine who needs fertilizer to grow. You navigate around a garden, avoiding or destroying obstacles and finding and eating the fertilizer. It sounds like a simple enough premise, [...]

In this episode of the Mac-cessibility ROund Table Podcast, our knights discuss the newly unveiled iPad II, the new publicly available details on Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X 10.7 Lion release, the new MacBook Pros, and more. Notes: Darcy’s pick – TextExpander M.J.’s picks – BopIt and PlainText Josh’s pick – Magic Trackpad Cara’s pick [...]

The last significant hold out from Apple’s iBooks store, Random House, has decided to shift to the agency model now used by Apple and others and make their titles available. This is a fantastic development for visually impaired book lovers, providing unparalleled access to published works to them at the same time as said works [...]

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) has released an iOS application. The RFB&D Audio app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It provides access to RFB&D’s downloadable DAISY formatted books. RFB&D members can explore RFB&D’s library of more than 64,000 audio books that are designed for people with print and learning disabilities. [...]

Previously, we reported on a collection of chess and checkers games that had recently become accessible with VoiceOver. Now, Shredder, a chess app for iOS devices, has been updated, and among the application’s new features is accessibility support for VoiceOver. The developer notes: Accessibility / Voice Over support for almost everything. Please provide feedback if [...]

iOS developer Marcel Nijman has recently updated his assortment of chess and checkers games for iOS to include VoiceOver support. Besides traditional versions, several variations, such as Chinese Chess, are available as well. With increasing frequency, we are seeing developers implement accessibility in their iOS applications, and the result is a rich platform that blind [...]

In a new editorial, we take a look at the width and breadth of Apple’s commitment to accessibility over the last ten years, and try to dispel some of the myths, rumors, and misconceptions which persist in the visually impaired community about Apple and its products.

Audible.com recently updated its mobile web site. Part of this new design is the ability to sample Audible titles on iOS accessibly. Simply tap the "Excerpt" graphic beside any title and the sample begins playing. The mobile version of the site also works quite well under Mac OS X. Instead of fighting with the inaccessible [...]