Weekend ProjectGettogripswithsomeserioustechtinkeringtoboostyourcomputerandotherdevices58 27 Nov-10 Dec2019
to System, thenAccessibility. Here, you’ll
find anAccessibility Menu which, when
enabled, providesalarge on-screen
menuto controlyour phone.Tap the
Accessibility button thatappears on the
bottom of thescreen to access this menu.
From the Settings screen,youcan
enable ‘Selectto Speak’, whichreads
selectedtext aloud;orTalkBack, which
provides spokenfeedbackoneverything
on thephone.Weshowyou howtouseHowto... Makeyour phone andtabletmoreaccessibleWayneWilliams revealsthe tweaks and apps thatcan makeyour
mobile devices much easier to see,hear and use
Simplify Android use
Theaccessibility optionsavaila ble
to Android users depend on which
version of Google’soperatingsystem
youhaveinstalledonyour phone.
To complicate matters further,many
developers customise Android, adding
andremovingfeatures.Forthis project,
we’ll befocusingon what’sonoffer in
thestandardversion of Android9(Pie).
To getstarted, openSettingsand go
Smartphonesandtabletsaredesignedtobevery
easytouse,butasignificantportionofthe
populationhaveproblemswiththem.Somepeople
arebornwithdisabilitiesthatmakeinteractingwith
today’stechnologyachallenge,whileothersstruggleas
aresultofaccidents,debilitatingillnessoroldage.Those
withimpairedvisionstruggletoseebuttonsandtext,
whileuserswithpoormotorskillsmayfinditdifficultto
interactwithcontrolsandapps.
Thankfully,iOS,iPadOSandAndroidallhavesettings
youcanadjusttohelpcombattheseproblemsandmake
thedevicesmucheasiertouse,whetherforyourself
orforsomeoneyouknow.TalkBack in our MiniWorkshop,opposite.
The‘Text-to-speech output’setting lets
youadjustthe speechrate and pitch
usingsliders. Tapthe Playbuttontohear
someexampletext read aloud.
People with motor impairments can
control theirdeviceusing oneormore
switches, and thatoption can be enabled
herealso.
Back in the main Settings menu, select
Displayand youcan change thefont sizeMT WT FSS