Roger Ebert Gives Thumbs Up to Apple VoiceOver Technology
TiPb's been saying Apple's accessibility technology is thumbs up for a while now, but the New York Times and legendary film critic Roger Ebert are giving real-world examples of just how good -- and inexpensive -- these new offerings are.
The NYT tells us Kara Lynn was given a deliberately crippled PC for $8,000 for text-to-speech, but instead she bought her own iPhone 3G and a $15 text-to-speech app, that was both less expensive but also provided greater mobility and functionality. (iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 include built-in VoiceOver and other accessibility features).
Ebert wrote in saying he likewise ditched the $8,000 PC after giving it a test drive, and instead went with his own MacBook, which again provided greater features and flexibility.
Again, kudos to Apple for emphasizing accessibility.
[Via AppleInsider]
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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Apple is the best....
see? apple isn't always more expensive.
I dont have to use those features but it shows great respect and honor to take the time out to develop features for people with special needs. Thats awesome! Another reason for me to continue using their products. MacBook is next on my list.
Umm the point of the story was how screwed up medical insurance and goverment rules are not to bash PC's or Microsoft, and make it look like Apple saved the planet.
"Government rules require the PC be disabled from doing anything other than speech,"
"Medicare reimburses specialty companies who bill it as much as a 2,000% premium on the hardware they provide. "Prentke Romich, for example, charges $250 for a Bluetooth wireless adapter similar to those that cost $20 in stores," the Times reported."
Makes me wonder if the fanboyz even read the original article. I am definitely an iPhone fanboy, but even I can recognize this DynaVox company intentionally crippled the PC to meet the stupid government & medical insurance rules. A stock XP Netbook for $350 would have done a better job.
The point of the story we ran was how well -- and inexpensively -- Apple is providing this technology not just on the Mac, but in the mobile space as well. For multitouch, highly visual devices like the iPhone, they're also technology leaders in accessibility.