OSX keyboard navigation
...sucks.
very tricky, involves lots and lots of key taps.
i rely solely on my keyboard, using a mouthstick for navigation and i particularly hate the [lack of] menu item accessibility. Rather that Alt, T, then E to access say, Extensions under Tools in Firefox... i need to go Ctrl, F2, arrrrrrrrrrrroww keys, Space....... down arrow, Space.
Very annoying. In short i'm refering to the lack of underlined letters in menu items and such, a-la XP. Also most tabbed Preference dialogs have no keyboard access to the tabs themselves, plus theres many more issues that just make OSX an annoying experience for me... looks very pretty though.
I've used XP since forever, and i used Gnome desktop on FC5 for a while too and both were lightyears ahead of OSX as far as keyboard navigation goes.
it sucks, i just forked out 3 grand for a 24" imac, thinking Mac would be at the cutting edge of usability, but it takes 3 times longer to do standard things.
Leopard apparntly will have better keyboard navigation, i really really hope things will be made easier for me.. i guess i'll find out in 6 months.
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I discovered that the hard way as well...
You could always install Ubuntu (or another Linux distro) instead of MacOS
Web Developer, Kyan
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Developers working in Windows generally see keyboard navigation as just "something you always add" and without it the app isn't complete. MSDN and the tutorials which come with Microsoft programming stuff generally treat it as a given that any apps will have keyboard navigation added in, and always explain how to do this. For example: Guidelines for Keyboard User Interface Design.
I'm not sure whether Linux distributions think it's as important, but I imagine they'll mainly be targeting power users who'll demand good keyboard shortcuts to improve productivity. Which should be good for accessibility, too.
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I was surprised about the lack of keyboard navigation on OS X too (although I havn't bought a Mac yet). I use the keyboard excessively, especially when browsing, and Safari doesn't have the same keyboard navigation features that Firefox and Opera have (e.g., direct links search). I get pissed everytime I have (or when it's simpler) to use the mouse to complete a task, but obviously it's even worse for people who can't use a mouse at all.Simon Pieters
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yeah, i remember derek featherstone mentioning the lack of OS X keyboard access as a recent switcher down at d.construct...Patrick H. Lauke / webmaster / University of Salford
co-lead: WaSP Accesibility Task Force
take it to the streets ... WaSP Street Team
personal: splintered | photographia | redux
co-author: Web Accessibility - Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance
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ahh righto.. i guess the big priority for Mac developers is that it looks nice. After using XP then linux and finding them so easy i figured mac would smoke them both because of their, i dunno, emphasis on usability and everything being quicker? I was pretty excited about getting the mac and it ends up just being more work.
That MSDN guideline doc is interesting.. Apple must just chuckle and saay "everyone has a mouse connected!".
It's hard to know where i go from here now- i cant whinge to anyone and get my money back.
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