[gui-talk] Fwd: More on the new Ipod Touch
Steve Pattison
srp at internode.on.net
Wed Sep 9 21:54:43 UTC 2009
From: Dane trethowan dane.trethowan at me.com
To: VIP L vip-l at softspeak.com.au
Hi!
Here's a summary of the accessibility features and functions found on
the new Ipod Touch as taken from the Apple Web Site.
Vision
iPod touch includes a screen reader and other innovative accessibility
features that make it easier to use for those with impaired vision.
VoiceOver
The same VoiceOver screen reader made popular on the Mac and the
iPhone is now a standard feature on iPod touch (3rd generation). It’s
the world’s first gesture-based screen reader, enabling you to enjoy
the fun and simplicity of iPod touch even if you can’t see the screen.
What makes VoiceOver on iPod touch remarkable is that you control it
using simple gestures that let you physically interact with items on
the screen. It’s easy to learn and fun to use. Instead of memorizing
hundreds of keyboard commands or endlessly pressing tiny arrow keys to
find what you’re looking for, with VoiceOver you simply touch the
screen to hear a description of the item under your finger, then
gesture with a double-tap, drag, or flick.
VoiceOver delivers an experience unlike any screen reader you’ve used
before. Traditional screen readers describe individual elements on the
screen, but struggle to communicate where each element is located or
provide information about adjoining objects. This contextual
information is very important but typically filtered out by other
screen readers. For example, “off-screen” models used by traditional
screen readers to represent applications and web pages intentionally
strip away contextual information and describe web pages as a list or
menu of items. But with VoiceOver on iPod touch, you’ll experience
something entirely new.
Because VoiceOver works with the touchscreen, you interact directly
with objects on the screen and can understand their location and
context. So, when you touch the upper-left corner of the screen,
you’ll hear what’s in the upper-left corner of a web page, and as you
drag your finger around the screen, you’ll learn what’s nearby,
providing an amazing new sense of context and relationships between
the items you hear. For many, VoiceOver on iPod touch will provide,
perhaps for the first time, a true sense of not only how things appear
on the screen, but also descriptions of what they are. You’ll hear
descriptions of every item, including status information such as
battery level, Wi-Fi signal levels, and time of day. iPod touch even
lets you know when the display changes to landscape or portrait, and
when the screen is locked or unlocked.
The speaking rate is adjustable so you can set it to a speed that best
suits your listening ability. VoiceOver uses distinctive sound effects
to alert you when an application opens, when the screen is updated,
when a message dialog appears, and more. And when VoiceOver is
talking, the volume of background sounds and music is automatically
lowered, “ducking” under the voice, so you can clearly hear what
VoiceOver is telling you.
It Speaks Your Language
VoiceOver includes built-in voices that speak over 21 languages
including Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (China),
Chinese (Taiwan), Dutch, English (U.S.), English (UK), English
(Australian), Finnish, French (Canada), French (France), German,
Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese
(Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish
(Mexico), Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.
Getting Started
VoiceOver is built into iPod touch (3rd generation). There’s nothing
extra to purchase or install. All you need is iPod touch, iTunes 9 or
later, and a Mac or PC. You can activate your iPod touch and enable
VoiceOver without sighted assistance using iTunes with a compatible
screen reader like VoiceOver (included in Mac OS X) or GW-Micro Window-
Eyes for Windows XP and Windows Vista (sold separately). When you
activate iPod touch using iTunes, you can enable VoiceOver to start
using it right away. Or a sighted user can enable VoiceOver for you
directly on iPod touch using the Accessibility menu in the Settings
application.
How It Works
With VoiceOver enabled, you’ll use a different but simple set of
gestures to control iPod touch. For example, instead of tapping to
activate a button, tap the button to hear a description of it, double-
tap to activate it, and swipe up or down to adjust a slider.
When an item on the screen is selected, a black rectangle called the
VoiceOver cursor appears around it. The VoiceOver cursor is displayed
for the benefit of sighted users with whom you may be sharing your
iPod touch. When you prefer privacy, VoiceOver includes a screen
curtain that turns off the display so no one can read it without your
knowledge.
In addition to touching and dragging around the screen, you can also
flick left and right to move the VoiceOver cursor precisely to the
next or previous item on the screen — no matter how big or small it
is. By flicking, you have precise control of what you hear even when
it might otherwise be difficult to place your finger on it.
Practice Gestures
With the Practice Gestures setting on iPod touch, you can hone your
technique and learn new gestures. Or use Practice Gestures just to
find out what each gesture does. You can access Practice Gestures from
the VoiceOver preferences in Settings.
Entering Text
When you’re typing text, such as an email message or a note, VoiceOver
echoes each character on the keyboard as you touch it, and again to
confirm when you enter it. You can also have VoiceOver speak each
completed word instead of or in addition to individual characters as
you type them. A flick up or down while typing moves the insertion
point cursor left and right within the text, so you can edit a word
just as easily and precisely as typing a new word.
To help you type more quickly and accurately, iPod touch features word
prediction and suggests the correct spelling when you type a word
incorrectly. With Speak Auto-text enabled, you’ll hear a sound effect
and the suggested word spoken automatically. You can just keep typing
to ignore it, or press the Space key to have iPod touch type it for you.
The Rotor
VoiceOver features an innovative new virtual control called a “rotor.”
Turning the rotor — by rotating two fingers on the screen as if you
were turning an actual dial — changes the way VoiceOver moves through
a document based on a setting you choose. For example, a flick up or
down might move through text word by word. But when you choose the
“character” setting, each time you flick up or down VoiceOver will
move through the text character by character — perfect when you’re
proofreading or editing text.
You can also use the rotor to navigate web pages. When you’re on a web
page, the rotor contains the names of common items, such as headers,
links, form elements, images, and more. You select a setting, then
flick up and down to move to the previous or next occurrence of that
item on the page, skipping over items in between.
Cut, Copy & Paste
Cut, copy, and paste comes to iPod touch. To bring up cut, copy, and
paste options, use the rotor and choose Edit. Flick up or down to
choose between the Select and Select All functions, then double tap.
If you choose Select, the word closest to the insertion point is
selected when you double tap. Pinch to increase or decrease the
selection. If you choose Select All, the entire text is selected. When
text is selected, cut, copy, and paste options appear on the screen.
If you want to undo something, just give iPod touch a shake. You can
also flick left or right to choose the undo action, then double tap.
Applications
VoiceOver works with all of the built-in applications that come with
iPod touch, such as iPod, iTunes, Mail, Safari, and Maps. So you can
surf the web, text and email your friends, check your stocks and the
weather, and much, much more. Learn more
Voice Control
In addition to gestures, you can use your voice to play music. Just
press and hold the Home button, listen for the audio prompt, and speak
the name of the artist, album, or playlist you want to hear. You can
pause, play, change tracks, and even shuffle your music. Learn more
Zoom
While many iPod touch applications let you zoom in and out on specific
elements such as images in Mail, or web page columns in Safari, Zoom
lets you magnify the entire screen of any application you’re using to
help you see what’s on the display. Zoom can be enabled on iPod touch
using iTunes when you’re setting up iPod touch, for yourself or
someone else, or later, using the Accessibility menu in the Settings
application on iPod touch.
Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight
screens — even with applications you purchase from the App Store.
A simple double-tap with three fingers instantly zooms in and out
200%, and you can double-tap and drag three fingers to adjust the
magnification between 100% and 500%. Even when the screen is zoomed,
you can continue using all of the familiar flick, pinch, tap, and
other iPod touch gestures to run your favorite applications. Zoom can
also be used with White on Black (reverse video) and Speak Auto-text.
White on Black
For those who need or prefer higher contrast, iPod touch provides an
option to change the display to White on Black. This reverse video
effect works in all applications, including the Home, Unlock, and
Spotlight screens, and can be used with Zoom and VoiceOver.
Triple-Click Home
Listeners can use the triple-click home key and set it to toggle
VoiceOver or White on Black, or ask you which one.
Speak Auto-text
When you’re typing, iPod touch suggests a word before you finish
typing it or a correction when a word is misspelled. Speak Auto-text
speaks these suggestions so you can hear them when they’re presented.
When the screen is zoomed, for example, the suggestion might not be
visible, but you can hear and accept it without seeing it. If you’re
using VoiceOver, you won’t have to interrupt your typing and touch the
suggestion to hear it. Speak Auto-text can be enabled even when you’re
not using VoiceOver or Zoom.
Tactile Buttons
iPod touch includes a few, easily discernible physical buttons used to
control it: the Sleep/Wake button, located on the top edge; the volume
control buttons, located on the upper-left edge; and the Home button,
centered below the display.
Giant Fonts for Mail Messages
For improved email readability, you can increase the font size of
email text from Medium (the default) to Large, Extra Large, or Giant.
iPod touch Earphones
The new 32GB and 64GB iPod touch models come with a stereo headset
with a high-performance microphone built into the cable. Plug it into
the standard 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack and the headset lets you
control music playback by clicking the remote button.
Accessibility Add-ons for iPod touch
Several add-on products are also available for iPod touch that can
help those with hearing disabilities, including a hearing aid-
compatible induction ear loop from TecEar, wireless remote headset
from Oticon, and others.
******************************
Dane Trethowan
From Melton Victoria Australia
mailto:"dane.trethowan at me.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/grtdane
blog: http://www.grtdane.wordpress.com
Phone United Kingdom
02032874641
Phone Australia
0390058589
Phone United States
8159261869
Fax:
+61 3 9743 7954x
MSN grtdane at dane-trethowan.net
skype:grtdane12
******************************
Regards Steve
Email: srp at internode.on.net
MSN Messenger: internetuser383 at hotmail.com
Skype: steve1963
Twitter: steve9782
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