My mind works that way. Give me a few words, and a song title or lyrics pop into my brain and usually out my mouth.

“Magic Mouse, build me a hundred….I want it, I want it, I want it…”

I know…I am showing my age.

In any case, the Apple Magic Mouse caught my attention and I did indeed secretly want to get my hands on one. It’s shape, color and “trackpad” features intrigued me. So, when I was in fact in need of another mouse – this for my new MacBookPro (MBP), my AppleFanBoi friend suggested I get on.

Seventy dollars later, it was ordered and within a week the box arrived.

I must confess that I have also been intrigued by Apple’s packaging department. They don’t do anything without panache. It took me a week to figure out what that flat black thing wrapped in plastic was in the MCP box. Who would have guessed they would supply you with a silk-like “dust cloth” to keep your screen clean. Don’t get me started with Apples use of all of that unique thin plastic wrap.

So, after what seemed like an inordinate amount of time to get the MBP’s Bluetooth to discover the mouse – or vice versa – the device came alive.

Sadly, my first discovery was that the Magic Mouse is designed for people who have hands the size of a … mouse. It is tiny, and flat. It immediately reminded me of the hockey puck that came with the original iMacs back in the mid 90′s. I had thought that Apple had learned its lesson by now. The Magic Mouse does NOT fit my paw.

The second big disappointment is: unless you are using your Magic Mouse on a mouse pad, the device does not slide very easily, and because the bottom is made of metal – unlike the el Cheapo plastic ones I have all over the house – it makes a considerable amount of noise when it “scrapes” along on the top of my desk.

The positives should also be mentioned: the touchpad-like scrolling function is flawless, very accurate and easy on the hand. Unlike a standard scroll wheel, there is no tension in the motion and you can control the cursor with much more accuracy than with a wheel, especially a wheel with a gear in it that gives the mouse that “ratchet” feel.

Second positive: the zoom feature. While holding the Control button, the scroll function activates the screen zoom. I don’t use it much, but it is nice to have.

But the small size of the Magic Mouse may be the deal breaker for me. We’ll play with it for a while longer and see.

The Magic Mouse does not support all of the great features that are found in the MBP trackpad and that was a big mistake on Apple’s part. It seems to me they could have added the three- and four-finger actions; maybe we’ll see those in the next version.

So, if you have seventy good ones burning a hole in your pocket and own a late model Apple computer, you’ll probably want one of these. If not, I’ll sell you mine – cheap.

I have disliked Flash for a long time, primarily due to its problems with assistive technologies; it often does not play well with screen readers, especially if it has not been developed correctly. In my mind, many Flash developers are graphic artists, illustrators or animators, and don’t really understand web design.

Add to this the fact that more people are now accessing web content via a non-traditional user agent (i.e., not a traditional browser) and you see why I agree with Bradley that Flash may be past its prime.

It’s ironic that Adobe developed Acrobat to find a way to share documents at a time just prior to the “invention” of HTML. Flash, build on the same business principles, was developed for the same reason. And once again, a new standard (HTML 5) may usurp their position. And, I should point out that the new standard will be accessible to screen readers.

But just as those who predicted the demise of Adobe Acrobat 15 years ago were wrong, I suspect it is not quite time for Adobe to throw in the towel and hire the undertaker. Look for Flash to be around for some time to come. But at least for some of us, there will be other options.

This will be interesting to watch.

That said, the e-reader, and specifically the Kindle by Amazon, has been having a rough time of it. First introduced in November of 2007, the Kindle was a big hit, selling out in the first five hours and on backorder for months after that. The Kindle 2, released two years later was equally well received and the DX version released a couple of months later was also very popular.

Then the fun began. A controversy with The Author’s Guild forced Amazon to hobble the Kindle 2 by shutting off the text-to-speech feature. Disability groups stormed the Manhattan offices of The Author’s Guild to protest and claim discrimination, but the device, it seems, was already inherently inaccessible to people with disabilities.

In May of 2009, Amazon announced a bold move of a offering the Kindles to several large US universities with the goal of taking over the college textbook industry and making paper college textbooks a thing of the past. More fun followed when the inherent inaccessibility of the device became widely known. A number of the  universities that piloted the program with the Kindle backtracked and dropped out when they started to see the accessibility problems. “Syracuse University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, also examined the utility of the Kindle DX as a teaching device and decided that they would not use the Kindle DX until it is accessible to blind individuals” – this according to the US Department of Justice (USDOJ).

The latest news on Kindle is a settlement with the USDOJ announced this week. It states:

Under the agreements reached today, the universities (Case Western Reserve University, Pace University, Reed College, and Arizona State University) generally will not purchase, recommend or promote use of the Kindle DX, or any other dedicated electronic book reader, unless the devices are fully accessible to students who are blind and have low vision. The universities agree that if they use dedicated electronic book readers, they will ensure that students with vision disabilities are able to access and acquire the same materials and information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as sighted students with substantially equivalent ease of use. The agreements that the Justice Department reached with these universities extend beyond the Kindle DX to any dedicated electronic reading device.

This sounds pretty bad for Amazon and the Kindle.

And given Mr. Jobs recent efforts at making Apple products fully accessible, one can only imagine that the rumored “Apple Table device” WILL be fully accessible and perfectly timed to kick butt.

Stay tuned.

Apart from the fact that it is built in WordPress and just happens to use the same template as this jebswebs’ blog, it should be a welcome addition to the program and to Maine educators.

Most noticeably the blog will feature a section discussing “accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).” We are pleased that this “theme” is important to the MLTI program and look forward to the potential for collaboration.

BTW, a little background. The MLTI program is Maine’s “laptop program;” designed to get laptop computers into the hands of students and teachers. The program started in fall of 2002 with Apple iBook G4s deployed to every student and teacher in Maine’s middle schools. Eventually the program was expanded to include administrators and support staff and most recently, it was expanded into Maine’s high schools. About 64,000 Apple MacBooks were sent out this summer making it one of the largest 1-to-1 educational technology programs, of its kind, in the country. Read the MLTI history

~j

Perhaps what has impressed me most is the “touch screen” that is the main user interface. Like the move from the keyboard to the mouse – which Apple also perfected more than 25 years ago – the touch screen, I believe, is the way we will interact with computers in the future. I probably should expand that to include the fantastical 3D user interface that Tom Cruise’s character used in The Minority Report even though in that futuristic fantasy the interaction is between hands and holograms as opposed to actually touching a screen. But the concepts are the same – a more direct connection between human physical movement and the actions of a computer.

I think what I like best about the touch screen is how, almost intuitively (and I hate to even admit this), I was able to navigate the device. Being the typical red-blooded-American-male, I didn’t bother to read the directions until after I had given the device a good spin. I found it easy to navigate and move between apps and generally work the browser. The less intuitive stuff related to moving the badges around on the home screen or how to remove them from the device (I still don’t know how to do that on the Mac OS), I had to study to learn. But even these make sense if you think of it (unlike ejecting a CD by dragging it to the trash can – huh?).

The movement of dragging documents around on the screen to view them, squeezing and stretching them to zoom in and out and even the “flick of the finger” action of moving between pages is very close to the “feel” of hands and paper.

Well, it seems everyone has gotten into the “touch screen act” these days and yes things are getting ratcheted up dramatically with the recent release of the new Palm Pre – another touch screen dependent smart phone - in addition to the pending release of the Apple iPhone 3G S. Add to this is Microsoft’s announcement that touch screen capacity has been added into Window 7 (additional hardware required), and it is pretty clear that within a couple of years we will see more and more people engaging their technology “by touch” rather than using a clunky piece of hardware like a mouse or keyboard. Or will we?

Of course all of this creates many new challenges for people with disabilities. How does this new technology work with people who cannot see?

I am sensing that solutions to some of these issues may already be on the drawing board – well at the very least, on Apple’s drawing board. We’ll have to wait and see if the solutions become widespread.

Apple’s solution is the inclusion of the native VoiceOver screenreader into the new iPhone O/S. By the way, I was a little miffed by Apple’s insistence that the iPhone O/S is actually a version of Mac O/S X – bit of stretch if you ask me, Cupertino.

In addition to VoiceOver – which at this point apparently only works with the iPhone’s Safari browser and “native” apps – the new iPhone has Voice Control which will make dialing calls, choosing music and even announcing music titles accessible to people with visual impairments. As demonstrated, Voice Control is a universally designed feature which give heads-up control to all users and allows those who cannot see the device better ability to engage it.

But the clincher may come with the issue of the touch keyboard. If people who are blind or have visual impairments want to use the iPhone 3G S to send text messages or otherwise input text into the device, they are going to have to learn how to “touch type” in a whole new way. And the success of that remains to be seen – sorry no pun intended.

Of course, the next iteration of the iPhone (4G?) might have voice-to-text built in, but since we haven’t mastered that on desktop computers, it might not be that soon. But those Apple people are crafty.

It’s only been 48 hours since Apple made their big announcements at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference – WWDC (which I affectionately have referred to as the “Apple-Love-In”). It is clearly too early to gauge how this new iPhone will work with folks with disabilities. So, I am waiting patiently for the final verdict from my screenreading colleagues who just can’t wait to get their hands on the new toys when they are release to the public next week. I am assuming that Apple live tested these new accessibility features extensively before now – at least I hope they have – but I want to hear from my friends about what they really think about these tools when the phone is released and in the hands of real users.

So to answer my own question, it is pretty apparent that touch screens are the next big thing in personal technology, but maybe just a temporary thing.

Your thoughts?

~j

According to the Maine Department of Education website:

The expansion is part of an agreement the state Department of Education negotiated with Apple Inc. for a reduced rate on the laptops, allowing the state to lease 100,000 machines within existing funds dedicated to educational technology. Under the agreement, the state will provide new laptops to all high schoolers and replace older machines at the middle school level.  School districts are not required to participate in the program, though superintendents have indicated overwhelming support for the laptop expansion.

The MLTI program began in 2002 with deployments of  Macintosh i-books to all 7th and 8th graders and their teachers. The program has been renewed once in the interim with laptops also being provided to high school teachers and some central office staff.

The newest iteration of the MLTI program was announced to include the capacity for families to be able to use their student’s laptop to access job and labor information from the state’s Department of Labor (DOL). I presume this means it will provide a link to the DOL Career Center website and not mean the state will provide home internet access to these families.

“We are going to revamp our laptop program and turn it into a powerful tool for the entire family,” Governor Baldacci said. “Every night when students in seventh through 12th-grade bring those computers home, they’ll connect the whole family to new opportunities and new resources.”

Read the entire news release

~jeb

Apple safari for Mac + PC

Judging from all the twittering on Twitter regarding the latest version of the Safari browser, most people seem pretty happy with the release.

This past Tuesday, February 24th, Apple released Safari 4.0 in public beta to the approving roar of Apple enthusiasts and technology wonks alike. Some in the industry have indicated that Safari 4.0 was long overdue, but as the latest round of browser wars seems to be reigniting, the timing of this release was pretty effective and perhaps well planned.

What is of concern to me is how well the new browser will behave in terms of accessibility and particularly how well it will interface with the Mac OS X screen reader – VoiceOver. Reports from my various colleagues who have been putting Safari 4.0 through its paces have been rather impressive. I suggest you head over to the Mac-accessibility blog for  the play-by-play and to get specifics, but the general consensus is that the new browser is a winner and seems to work well with assistive technology. For mere mortals, ZDNet has several reviews with all of the details.

~j

VoiceOver

[Originally posted 01/08/09]

As I continue to “drink the Kool Aid,” I am pleased report that Apple is continuing its move toward making the Mac OSX not only fully accessible but Universally Designed. The latest on this was the release of iWork09 the new version of the Apple “office suite.” The previous version was one of the few Apple applications that did not work with VoiceOver, the built-in screenreading application in Mac OSX.

With the revisions to iTunes and the iTunes website made last fall, and this announcement this week at MacWorld, Apple shows that it continues to “get it” and move towards a fully Univerally Designed operating system.

Keep up the good work. Or, should I say, keep up the good iWork .

Read more about the iWork news on Lioncourt’s blog

~jeb

01/08/09 | Posted by admin | Category Accessibility

VoiceOver icon

[Originally posted October 19, 2008]

I think.

I had the opportunity to partake in a presentation at the ACTEM MainEducation 2008 Conference last Thursday (October 16, 2008) where the presenter Mike Shebanek, Product Marketing Manager in Apple’s worldwide software product marketing group and 14-year veteran of Apple Inc. spoke on the new and improved accessibility features of the Mac OS X.

In addition to showing all of the marvelous widgets and gizmos that are built throughout the operating system, half of Mike’s presentation was on the new VoiceOver “screen reader” that is built into the new OS. VoiceOver first appeared in 2005 in OS X v10.4 Tiger, but grew a more distinct reputation when v 10.5 – Leopard appeared. The major reason was the inclusion of a new “voice” – Alex. Quoting from Apple, “…the new voice of Mac OS X Leopard, speaks English and uses advanced new Apple technologies to deliver natural intonation even at extraordinarily fast speaking rates.” My blind friend Steve noted that “Alex breathes!”

Those who know me know that “I’m a PC” and although I’ve tried not to get caught up in the hype of the OS Wars, Macs and I have not always gotten along very well. My first foray into AppleLand was in 1999 when I joined the staff at Maine ASCD – an All Mac Environment. Ironically, I had interviewed at Bates College earlier that fall – another All Mac Environment – and was assured by the folks there that I could be readily converted. I think the combination of the fervor and intensity of those from AppleLand are what I often find most troubling. Apple People from AppleLand tend to be a little over zealous and try a little too hard to find converts. They sometimes remind me of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on Fulton St. in Brooklyn when I was a kid. Stare at the ground and keep walking.

The Apple conversion did not take place in 1999 partially because I went from being fairly neutral about the Mac to downright hostile. The new iMac I was presented with actually bit me and drew blood – but that’s another story. Within a year I had divested Maine ASCD from their aging Mac fleet primarily for economic reasons. We simply could not afford the product. I admit to a little glee when the iMac kept crashing for unknown reasons and the G3 was full of macro viruses.

So with that background, I tuned into Mike Shebanek’s sermon fully expecting to find holes of faulty logic and extended examples of overreaching. While there was some of that – and I will note that Mike is a “Product Marketing Manager” – I was dutifully impressed. Not so much with all the gizmos, but I think that I actually sensed that Apple may “get it.”

The “get it” I am referring to is the concept of Universal Design that I have been preaching about for the past 8-9 years. The idea that products and services should be designed with the goal of making everything easier for everyone and in so doing, make it easier for people with disabilities.

I’ve heard many other speakers claim their respective companies were indeed modeling this behavior only to again and again find flaws in their message. My most recent experience was with the folks at Adobe who while claiming to have fully embraced accessibility, have been building and exploiting Rich Internet Applications using their new Adobe AIR development system. The best I can tell, everything they make with that product is completely inaccessible.

Unlike some of the competition – and I am now actually pointing my finger in the direction of northern Washington – Apple does appear to have practiced what they preach. The new VoiceOver does appear to really be a fully functioning – and fully integrated – screen reader AND actually has functionality that fully sighted people can use. This makes it a Universally Designed system; not an add-on or a plug in.

So, I was impressed and figured I had to make a public admission.

Now, the marketing pitch that Mike made did indeed make me a bit squeamish. But, paraphrasing the logic: “… for less than a thousand bucks, you can purchase a MacBook with OS X and not have to purchase an $800 copy of JAWS or other screen reader…” Hmm, kind of hard to argue with that.

To give the full picture – and just to prove that I was not completely co-opted – while VoiceOver is integrated into the OS, not all software made for the Mac – including many Apple-labeled products – work with it. And my colleagues and I are still testing VoiceOver before giving it our blessing. But I feel like I have drunk the Kool Aid. Stay tuned.

~j

Originally posted 10/19/08 | Posted by admin | Category Software and Applications