When Apple introduced Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger , it let in a new ingredient to Universal Access , the entourage of utilities for users with forcible impairments . That new element , VoiceOver , would declaim the name of any onscreen items you hovered your black eye over using one of Apple ’s robotic text - to - speech communication voices .
The rendering of the VoiceOver utility that will transport with OS cristal 10.5 seems to be quite similar to the original Tiger version , but with some important improvement — support for Braille displays and note takers , control over the amount of information VoiceOver recites , easier navigation , and a novel computer voice that talk in a more instinctive way .
How it works
VoiceOver uses creature built into the Mac OS to communicate to substance abuser what their Mac is doing . Specifically , it use OS X ’s build in Accessibility Hierarchy datum structure that represent the user port . When you switch VoiceOver on , it looks for the name of object users interact with — button , William Claude Dukenfield , and menus , for example — and speaks the name of the selected token ( and its surroundings — the name of its server app and enclosing windowpane , for example — when it ’s first called ) .
What’s changed
Apple has provided wanted few details on Universal Access ’ new capabilities , so our noesis is sketchy . Here ’s what we ’ve been able to harvest from this workweek ’s WWDC tonic , plus other info gleaned from Apple .
The original iteration of VoiceOver lean to propose more data than most people need — reciting the name of an app , its window , the name of a tab within that windowpane , and where that check stands in the window ’s order of tabs ( Tab 3 of 4 , for example).Apple ’s Leopard Sneak Peek pagedevoted to Accessibility hints that VoiceOver can be configure to add more or less audio feedback — reciting the name of a push , for exemplar , but not its status .
That same stoolpigeon Peek Thomas Nelson Page also suggests that the Mac OS will be promiscuous to navigate thanks to VoiceOver ’s ability to navigate either consecutive — from the topmost button to a study to its rightfulness — or by objective — quickly dashing from one button to the next , skipping other objects in between .
What’s new
Leopard ’s VoiceOver will support Grade 2 contract Braille devices . Such devices include display that communicate through a silicone polymer ribbon or pad that exchange shape to mimic traditional braille grapheme as well as note - taker , equipment that let in limited braille keyboards . punch one of these Grade 2 machine into the USB port wine of a Mac running Leopard , and it should exploit out of the boxful , permit both Louis Braille input and outturn .
The “ Wow ” feature of speech for most users will be the inclusion of Apple ’s novel Alex representative , a synthesized English voice that sounds far more natural than what Apple has offered previously . There ’s a sample of the voice on the Sneak Peek varlet linked above . The brief sample testify that not only can Alex use punctuation mark in a natural - sounding manner , he introduce new thoughts with a short breath , which contribute a decent reality to his speech . During the keynote presentation , Steve Jobs demonstrated that the Alex voice remain clearly understandable even when travel rapidly up to move more quickly through schoolbook . ( An audio excerpt from Steve Jobs ’ keynote address can be find at fourth dimension index 8 minutes and 59 second in Macworld Podcast # 48 . )
This vocalisation will be available not only in VoiceOver but in any lotion that users Apple ’s text - to - speech capability — TextEdit and iChat , for example . Leopard is also slate to substantiate foreign oral communication speech synthesizer , including support for two - byte languages such as Nipponese and Chinese . And you ’ll be able to sync your VoiceOver penchant with other Macs through your .Mac account .
Who’s it for
Query the typical Mac user , and they ’ll likely tell you that they were n’t aware of VoiceOver ’s existence . There ’s very footling about the new interpretation of VoiceOver that ’s going to shift that . Those with physical impairments will laud its improvements . Those who do n’t require VoiceOver ’s services may still be tempted to have their Mac read to them now that it incorporate a representative that ’s deserving heed to .
What’s missing
We ’ve seen nothing of the VoiceOver interface so there ’s no recounting just how configurable its audio feedback will be . Apple ’s revealed enough about the Alex vocalisation to ensure us that it will be just another alternative in the list of synthesized vocalisation , which you ’ll be able to take from the schoolbook to Speech tab within the Speech system preference .
What it means
For those with physical impairment VoiceOver has been a great , and inexpensive , help ; third - party minimal brain damage - ons that provide VoiceOver ’s services cost several thousand clam . But the original VoiceOver lean to be a trivial verbose . allow users to evidence VoiceOver to cut to the pursuit will make using the program less irksome .
Physically impaired or not , users driven to misdirection by Apple ’s robotic voice often grow to the more instinctive synthesized voices offer byCepstral . The macrocosm of Alex is move to make these voice unneeded for a number of people . It ’s also likely to nudge those who would n’t have daydream of using a talking Mac to see what a Mac running Leopard has to say .
