By Graham K. Rogers

Users of OS X may be aware of the section in System Preferences called Universal Access which provides access to certain features for those who may have not have the same physical abilities that most of us take for granted. There is assistance for those with seeing and hearing difficulties, as well as some useful ways to control keyboard, mouse and trackpad.

I have written in the past in more detail about these features and I have online PDF files available for all System Preferences available for download.

One of the features of particular value to those with seeing difficulties is VoiceOver: as the cursor hovers above a command or important (strategic) text, so the system reads this out to the user. There are similar features now available for iOS devices.

A page on the Apple site explains some of the ways that Voicever may be used and there is a complete manual (11 Chapters plus 2 Appendices) available as for browser access.

Apple has announced that the manual is now available in Braille format (.BRF: a file-type that creates output in Braille. The downloaded file contains three BRF files and a short text description of the contents.

Apple has also announced that an embossed copy of VoiceOver Getting Started may be ordered from Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco, California. The telephone number for ordering is given as (415) 694-7301.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.