Computers/Ott

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Christopher Ott

It may not have occurred to you how hard it is to use typical computers if you can’t see well, have to type with a tool called a mouth stick, or can’t hear the computer’s occasional chimes and alerts.

But what if you or an employee should lose sight, hearing or the ability to use the keyboard or mouse? What if you are considering hiring a person with one or more of these disabilities?

Computers have been designed mostly with the able-bodied in mind. But now that they have become indispensable business tools, most companies will probably need to provide access to people with disabilities of one sort or another sooner or later.

The good news is that modifications can be made to accommodate nearly anyone, and in many cases these modifications are surprisingly easy. Originally pioneered for Macintosh, a variety of accessibility features now come standard in Windows and the Mac OS. All you need to know is how to turn them on.

In Windows 98, the key is the Accessibility Wizard, available by clicking Start, choosing Programs, then Accessories, then Accessibility.

For people with impaired vision, the Accessibility Wizard provides a variety of options for enlarging the size of text, icons, scroll bars and other on-screen features, or for controlling contrast for easier readability. There is also the Magnifier, which displays an enlarged image of whatever the mouse pointer is near, as if it were being viewed through a lens.

For audio options, SoundSentry and ShowSounds in the Accessibility Options control panel provide visual alternatives to system sounds, and they can take advantage of applications that are able to provide captions in place of sounds and spoken text.

For people who have difficulty using a keyboard or mouse, the Accessibility Wizard and Accessibility Options control panel also provide ways to make keys “stick” as if they were being pressed at the same time, which makes it easier to use key combinations like Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

There are also settings for ignoring repeated key strokes (useful for people whose hands shake), or for doing away with the mouse entirely by making it possible to control the mouse pointer with the numeric keypad.

These settings can all be set up to take effect when a particular user logs in, or they can be saved and transferred to other computers as well. Some of these features are also useful for “temporary disabilities,” such as the loss of a pair of glasses.

Similar accessibility options are available throughout the Mac OS with the control panels CloseView, for magnifying images, and Easy Access, for control of the keyboard and mouse. Easy Access and CloseView may not be installed automatically on every Macintosh, but they are included on the Mac OS CD-ROM, or can be downloaded free from Apple.

Also available to users of Mac OS 8.5 and higher is the Appearance control panel, which not only lets you determine the look and behavior of the entire user interface with increasing subtlety, it allows you to choose a “sound track” of sound effects to accompany actions like opening menus or clicking, dragging and dropping.

These sound effects as well as text-to-speech options available through the Speech control panel may be helpful to people with impaired vision, although they have admirers among people with 20/20 vision as well.

Still other options exist for those who are blind, such as Braille printers, keyboards, and displays, as well as speech features that can read electronic text. Similarly, people who are completely unable to use a keyboard or mouse may benefit from voice-recognition software or options for controlling computers through the use of eye movements.

For more information, see sites such as Microsoft Accessibility (http://www.microsoft.com/enable), Mac Access Passport (http://www.apple.com/education/k12/disability/map.html), and the Virtual Assistive Technology Center (http://at-center.com).

Christopher Ott is a freelance technology writer and can be reached at [email protected]. Individual questions cannot be answered, but suggestions for future columns will be considered.

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