[Athen] New Mac OS 10.5 release date announced

Jayme Johnson jjohnson at htctu.net
Tue Oct 16 17:00:55 PDT 2007


Hello everyone,

I just learned about the release date of the new version of the Macintosh
operating system. Mac OS 10.5, also known as Leopard, will be available for
purchase on October 26, 2007.

This revision to the Macintosh operating system has been long awaited, and
it looks like there are many improvements. In terms of accessibility, the
new operating system boasts plug and play support for refreshable Braille
displays in addition to much improved functionality for Braille in general.
Apple has included a new TTS voice, called "Alex", which is receiving rave
reviews. The functionality of Voice Over (the native screen reader for Mac
OS X) has been improved as well, now allowing for total control via the
keyboard, as well as offering the ability to highlight words and sentences
as they are read aloud. There are also improvements to sonic feedback
options for various aspects of computer use, including positional audio
effects and greater ability for customizing the features and functionality
of Voice Over. Perhaps most interesting in terms of providing student
access, Voice Over settings can be loaded onto a flash memory drive and be
used to instantly reconfigure the Voice Over settings on any other Mac OS
10.5 computer- and when you remove the flash drive the Voice Over settings
will automatically revert back to their original state.

Read more about these and other Mac OS 10.5 accessibility enhancements at
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#universalaccess.

For a general overview of the Mac Os, visit
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#universalaccess.

Jayme Johnson
Assistive Computer Technology Instructor
High Tech Center Training Unit
De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
408-996-6045
www.htctu.net






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