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Welcome to the January 2016 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Aipoly Vision (iOS, Free)…

Apple has today released OS X El Capitan 10.11.3, bringing with it a series of bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements.

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, “OS X 10.11.3 includes unspecified bug fixes and security updates”.

Based on our testing of the betas which preceded this public release, it does not appear as though there are any accessibility-specific improvements in OS X El…

My digital world is beautiful, in large part, because I have been able to collect and protect the memories and experiences of a lifetime. I have huge electronic piles of my own writing, sound files from when my son was growing up, a massive library of accessible books, along with thousands of old radio shows and other valued mementos. I have recordings of my brother and sisters singing "The Signs of New Math" in the mid-1960's and I have oral histories of both my parents. I have audio…

Welcome to the December 2015 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

3000 (iOS, Free)

Apple has today released OS X El Capitan 10.11.2, bringing with it a series of bug fixes and improvements.

According to Apple's release notes via MacRumors, this update improves the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac and includes the following changes:

• Improves Wi-Fi reliability
• Improves the reliability of Handoff and AirDrop
• Fixes an…

Welcome to the October 2015 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

A Blind Legend (Free)

Apple has today released OS X El Capitan 10.11.1, bringing with it a series of bug fixes and improvements—including a fix for Microsoft Office 2016 compatibility.

According to AppleInsider, this update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of a user's Mac.

Specific changes made in OS X 10.11.1, according…

Welcome to the September 2015 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what's new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you'll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Audio Rally Racing (US$14.…

Apple has today released OS X 10.11 El Capitan. As with any major upgrade, it brings a number of exciting new accessibility features, but a number of new bugs have also been introduced. If you have not already upgraded, we strongly recommend that you read this list (and any user-submitted comments posted thereafter) before doing so, as we believe there are a number of bugs present in OS X El Capitan which may have a negative impact on the experience for some VoiceOver users.

At this…

Today, Apple released OS X 10.11 El Capitan, a free update that will run on any Mac which supports Yosemite. Apple addressed some bugs in this release, as well as including a lot of new features in VoiceOver, and we think you'll really enjoy these updates and improvements. If you find any we missed, especially regarding braille or Zoom--which none of us have the capability to test--please leave a comment and let us know.

Before you update, be sure to have a look at our…

New Everything

It's September again, and that means another media event from Apple. Apple usually uses these to announce the newest iPhones, the release date of the next major versions of iOS and OS X, and any other big secrets it's been hiding. Normally, the iPad gets either a silent update or a smaller event later in the year, but this time, Apple broke with tradition.

Today, at an event entitled "Hey Siri", Tim Cook and friends delightedly showed off a whole range of new…

I absolutely love working this way! I am sitting in my living room comfy chair and happily writing my first AppleVis blog. All the computer I need is right here. My iPhone 5S is in my shirt pocket, my Apple ear pods are where they belong, and my Logitech Bluetooth Keys-To-Go keyboard is cool and light on my lap. Except for taking my guide dog outside for another break, I cannot think of a single good reason to get up.

For many decades, I aspired to being connected, to being productive…

Alongside its release of iOS 8.4.1, Apple has today released OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 to the public.

According to Apple's support website, OS X 10.10.5 includes the following fixes and improvements:

The OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 update improves the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, and…

Following the release of Apple Music and iOS 8.4, Apple has today released OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 to the public.

According to Apple's release notes via Mac Rumors, OS X 10.10.4 includes the following bug fixes:

The OS X Yosemite v10.10.4 update improves the stability, compatibility…

WWDC 2015: Watch Some Music While Apple Goes Bug-Hunting

Today was Apples annual World Wide Developer's Conference keynote. This time each year, the world gets to preview the hardware and software coming out of Cupertino. We traditionally see the next iterations of iOS and OS X, and maybe a new service or cloud-based offering. This year was no exception: iOS9, OS X 10.11, watchOS 2.0, an updated Apple Pay, and the all-new Apple Music were all shown off with Apples usual flare. If…

Below is the AppleVis live blog for the June 8, 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote presentation. Information has been taken directly from the @AppleVis Twitter timeline, as well as from the Twitter timelines of MacRumorsLive / MacRumors, Macworld, and…

How Will Apple Finish Out 2015?

With Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference now just days away, a lot of people are wondering what new shinies we'll see. Will there be a new Apple TV? Yet another update to some Mac or other? A better iPad Mini? What will iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 bring to the table? Will Apple continue its headlong rush into dazzling new features at the expense of quality, or will it slow down and start refining what it has already done? what shots did…

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and we are asking everybody to use this as an opportunity to reach out to iOS and OS X developers - to either encourage them to make their applications accessible and usable by the vision-impaired; or to show your appreciation for applications which already are.

GAAD was created as a mechanism to reach out to the people who “build, shape, fund and influence technology and…

Welcome to the April 2015 edition of AppleVis Unlimited, our monthly series which aims to highlight what’s new and noteworthy in the accessible app landscape. Below, you’ll find a recap of the best content posted to AppleVis - from new app entries, to app updates, to podcasts and blogs. For easier navigation, the major sections of this post are at heading level 3, and each individual item is at heading level 4.

New and Noteworthy App Entries

Accessible Letter Soup (US$0.…

On April 29, 2005, Apple Inc. introduced Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Included in Mac OS X Tiger's list of features was the VoiceOver screen reader. VoiceOver was not Apple's first foray into assistive technology: Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar introduced Universal Access which provided customizations to the operating system for those with visual, hearing, and physical disabilities. In fact, Mac OS X Universal Access was influenced by similar technologies which were bundled with the classic Mac OS (…