rachaelandrews
July 3rd, 2008, 07:22 AM
Please please please could we have VoiceOver support.
VoiceOver is Apple's built in screen reader for the visually impaired. I use it (I have little residual vision) and my fiance depends on it (he is totally blind). It reads and speaks back everything on the screen as it is selected by mouse, keyboard or remote so one knows how to navigate without seeing the screen.
Both of us still watch tv, movies, and listen to music from our macs despite being what most people would refer to as "blind" - my mac mini is connected to a 50" plasma tv and is my HTPC. Most "blind" people do still watch tv and movies, which seems to be something that not everybody realises. However deaf bods get subtitling support as standard in media programs much of the time. So why not support the other main sensory impairment too ?
Not only would this be a total "i'm so happy I could kiss you !" feature for us and other visually impaired users, it would also benefit fully sighted users as well. How ?
Well, when you're sitting across the room from your tv or mac and can't quite make out the text on boxee, wouldn't it be useful and neat if you could have the text read to you ? You could navigate boxee without having to be close enough to see read the info you needed to navigate, choose media, and so on.
There are only two media centres for mac that have VoiceOver support that we know of - Front Row in Leopard, and XHub. Front Row does the job, but it ain't, you know - anything special. The creator of XHub is pretty willing to expand the programs VO support but development of it (the whole program) seems to have died on it's bum.
Please please please could we have this very important and helpful feature in boxee. Us visually impaired computer users seem to so often get shafted when it comes to media experiences, so I'd be willing to pay good money for a program that didn't !
Many thanks.
VoiceOver is Apple's built in screen reader for the visually impaired. I use it (I have little residual vision) and my fiance depends on it (he is totally blind). It reads and speaks back everything on the screen as it is selected by mouse, keyboard or remote so one knows how to navigate without seeing the screen.
Both of us still watch tv, movies, and listen to music from our macs despite being what most people would refer to as "blind" - my mac mini is connected to a 50" plasma tv and is my HTPC. Most "blind" people do still watch tv and movies, which seems to be something that not everybody realises. However deaf bods get subtitling support as standard in media programs much of the time. So why not support the other main sensory impairment too ?
Not only would this be a total "i'm so happy I could kiss you !" feature for us and other visually impaired users, it would also benefit fully sighted users as well. How ?
Well, when you're sitting across the room from your tv or mac and can't quite make out the text on boxee, wouldn't it be useful and neat if you could have the text read to you ? You could navigate boxee without having to be close enough to see read the info you needed to navigate, choose media, and so on.
There are only two media centres for mac that have VoiceOver support that we know of - Front Row in Leopard, and XHub. Front Row does the job, but it ain't, you know - anything special. The creator of XHub is pretty willing to expand the programs VO support but development of it (the whole program) seems to have died on it's bum.
Please please please could we have this very important and helpful feature in boxee. Us visually impaired computer users seem to so often get shafted when it comes to media experiences, so I'd be willing to pay good money for a program that didn't !
Many thanks.