1. Zoom function for the visually impaired
Snow Leopard OS X offers a zoom function by merely going in the opposite direction out with two fingers on the mousepad. This allows people who have vision problems to zoom in 6 times the size of the original website and even more (up to 40 times the original size!) if the settings are adjusted. People who have trouble reading and are farsighted can minimize text and for those who are nearsighted, people can enlarge text. This is efficient and effective for many people who don't have the ability to use a computer because of their vision impairments. It also enhances the amount of activity they can accomplish by eliminating the barriers that are holding them back.
2. Enlargable Dock for the visually impaired
The Dock offers a convenient way to access commonly used applications, files, and folders. As you drag items into the Dock, it automatically resizes to accommodate new items. The more items you add to the Dock, the smaller the icons get. With the enlargable dock option, the icons will become magnified when scrolled over so that they may become easier to see. This again would be better for those people with vision issues who cannot see what icons they are selecting. It would also be beneficial instead of using the finder with all of the small print, the most commonly used icons would be readily available and would be easily identifiable.
3. VoiceOver option for the blind and those with low vision
The VoiceOver option tool present in Snow Leopard OS X allows for those who are blind or with low vision to control the processes of the computer and understand what the computer is doing at all times. VoiceOver allows for text to speech reading but not only that it will tell the user exactly what is running, what it is doing, and other functions. There is also an option that can have the time spoken to the user at any intervals. VoiceOver also has a commander option. Using commanders, you can assign keys and gestures to open an application, utility, or file, run an AppleScript script or Automator workflow, or perform a VoiceOver command. There are also optional Braille keyboards that can be purchased in conjunction. It is a great tool to enhance the experience of computer use of the blind or low vision users.
