"To turn Voiceover on and off, just press command+f5."
"Ok."
"Welcome to Macintosh! Voiceover is running."

This message is en-toned by a tenor male voice as VoiceOver is started. The "spoken interface" is part of the recently released Macintosh operating system version 10.4 (Tiger), which can be found at http://www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover.

This means that now, from IMac to Mac Mini, from IBook to Power book, and all apple computers in between, a person who requires their computer to talk can have out-of-the-box access to the Mac operating system and the majority of its native applications. Thus, Apple now has a full suite of accessibility options placing it in the forefront of universal access strategies. In addition to VoiceOver, this suite includes:

Speech Recognition, which allows interaction with the computer through commands that are spoken and which can be configured to carry out many commands in addition to the ones already built in.

The Universal Access set of four dialogs, divided into "seeing", "hearing", "keyboard", and "mouse and track-pad" also found in system preferences. The "seeing" dialog provides the ability to customize the size, video foreground and background, and contrast of the information appearing on the screen. The "hearing" dialog allows the screen to be set to flash whenever the computer emits a sound indicating that the computer needs attention. The "keyboard" dialog is where sticky keys, slow keys and toggle keys are set and whether or not to show keys pressed on screen. The "Mouse and Track-pad" dialog allows for adjustment of pointing/input devices and customizing the keyboard for using it as a mouse pointer manipulation device usually known as mouse keys.

The VoiceOver utility found in universal access allows for customization of the way that interaction with the computer is carried out through VoiceOver as well as how it speaks. Verbosity, navigation, voices and display controls are available. Through the VoiceOver utility, customization can be applied to rate, pitch and volume. It is also possible to set different voices for different types of information such as content or keyboard and select how you want VoiceOver to interact with your display.

One final feature that provides flexibility and better accessibility is found in the keyboard shortcuts dialog. With this feature, it is possible to change the way the keyboard works by setting it to allow the tab key to move through dialogs and windows. This is especially handy if using VoiceOver since VoiceOver does not require using a mouse.

VoiceOver can be used to interact with many of the applications included in the Mac operating system. Among these are Mac Mail, Chess, Safari, Spotlight, Dashboard, ICal, IChat, ITunes, Text Edit, and many more including some third party applications.

David Poehlman, a staff member of MDTAP, has switched to the Mac for almost all of his daily computer work after using Microsoft operating systems for over 14 years.

"I still use the PC for some things like working with Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations," Dave said, "but as soon as the ability to use VoiceOver is available for this, I will migrate that activity as well."

Dave became excited about the potential release of VoiceOver when it was first announced over two years ago and once it was released he began using it increasingly for daily tasks. "Migrating my Internet Explorer favorites, Outlook Express email messages, and address-book were the most difficult things to do during the transition, but once I got them set up with help from other VoiceOver users who hang out on the Mac Visionaries email discussion list, htttp://www.macvisionaries.com, I began using the Mac full time. My transition took about two weeks."

Dave continues, "I was surprised at how easy it was to adapt to the Mac and by how much like Windows it can be to use. If you have never used Windows though or you don't prefer the Windows style, you can use VoiceOver by employing the VoiceOver cursor for most if not all tasks. In order to keep from having to hold down control+option while using the VoiceOver cursor, it can be locked by pressing command+option+semi colon. When you want to stop using the VoiceOver cursor, pressing semicolon by its self will release it. So, while the mac is a graphical user interface (GUI), it is not just another GUI."

Although he still uses and supports PC's, Dave sees a time in the not-too-distant future when the Mac will become a commonplace tool for computer users who are blind.

Dave goes on to say, "I'm excited about the fact that everyone who owns a Mac can have a screen reading interface at no extra charge and that it can be obtained so easily from Apple or an Apple retailer. I want to assure everyone that I am not affiliated with Apple in any way except that I answered their call to 'switch' and have done so."

Dave has been on the cutting edge of assistive technology during most of the 14 years that he has been using computers, testing hardware and software, so moving to the Mac when VoiceOver became available was a natural progression for him. He says of his switch, "At first, I figured I'd just get to know it so I could demonstrate it, support it, tell others about it and perhaps teach others how to use it, but the more I used it, the more it grew on me and I woke up one morning soon after its release and declared 'today is the day I switch to the Mac.' I take my Powerbook with me now almost everywhere I go. I went to the launch party at the local Apple store where I gave VoiceOver a good test run and showed it to some friends there as well as others who watched and asked questions. The Apple store staff was interested too and I plan to go back there and spend more time with them."

Dave, who coordinates the Information Technology Access in Education Project for MDTAP, plans to provide some presentations on Apple Accessibility in the near future.

"I presented VoiceOver at a recent meeting, and as a result of my presentation, a member of the audience who had told me before that she was doubtful that the Mac would be right for her son came to me afterwards and said she had changed her mind and was now going to go ahead with the purchase."

Dave welcomes the challenge. "I'm happy to help people at least have the chance to decide if the technology is right for them. It's not right for every one, but what is? I will be even more excited when there is support for refreshable Braille displays. There are issues with some document formats and we need applications like Microsoft office and others to become accessible. A Mac with VoiceOver built-in can now be purchased for as little as $500. It's almost like buying a screen reader and getting a free computer."

An additional resource for those interested in learning more about Tiger, visit http://home.adelphia.net/~bmss/vo/