iTunes help needed!
April 14, 2008 8:01 PM Subscribe
My wife is visually impaired and uses the high-contrast white-on-black Windows configuration on her PC. iTunes unfortunately does not recognize this setting, making it very difficult for her to read the iTunes screen. Does anyone know if there are any solutions to this problem?
My wife has contacted Apple twice asking for help, but has not received any response (other than canned form letters thanking her for her interest in iTunes). :(
My wife has contacted Apple twice asking for help, but has not received any response (other than canned form letters thanking her for her interest in iTunes). :(
I mean, asking it again at the ilounge forums, if no one has an answer here.
posted by desjardins at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2008
posted by desjardins at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2008
Last I remember, iTunes's interface and colors aren't very simple to modify (as with most things made by Apple.. grumble). Have you considered using an alternative music player like Winamp or foobar2000?
I know this isn't ideal, but hopefully someone else will come up with a better answer.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 8:14 PM on April 14, 2008
I know this isn't ideal, but hopefully someone else will come up with a better answer.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 8:14 PM on April 14, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks for the replies so far!
ilounge if necessary.
She currently listens to the XM stations on Winamp. As of the end of April, they will no longer be available through Winamp (only through fee-based XM Radio Online). It was suggested that iTunes radio would be a good free alternative.
She also uses iTunes to manage the songs on her iPod Shuffle (which is a great device for the visually-impaired due to its very easy-to-use controls).
posted by garypratt at 8:30 PM on April 14, 2008
ilounge if necessary.
She currently listens to the XM stations on Winamp. As of the end of April, they will no longer be available through Winamp (only through fee-based XM Radio Online). It was suggested that iTunes radio would be a good free alternative.
She also uses iTunes to manage the songs on her iPod Shuffle (which is a great device for the visually-impaired due to its very easy-to-use controls).
posted by garypratt at 8:30 PM on April 14, 2008
Response by poster: What I meant to say about ilounge is that it's good to know it's there if I need it - thanks!
posted by garypratt at 8:31 PM on April 14, 2008
posted by garypratt at 8:31 PM on April 14, 2008
Oh darn, AOL is losing those stations too. :(
You can get XM for $3 a month. Might be worth if it you like those particular stations.
posted by kindall at 8:34 PM on April 14, 2008
You can get XM for $3 a month. Might be worth if it you like those particular stations.
posted by kindall at 8:34 PM on April 14, 2008
Best answer: She might want to look at Zoomtext or Magic. They are screen magnification programs that also allow you to set the color and contrast settings independent of Windows settings. You might have to do some fooling around with the settings to get exactly what you want, but then you can save those settings to be in effect just for iTunes. You may also find the programs do a better job with color settings than the Windows high contrast settings.
Both programs are available for an extended trial (60 days for Zoomtext, until August for Magic). While their primary purpose is magnification of screen text, you can set them for 1x magnification and just use them for handling contrast and color settings.
Feel free to email me (address is in my profile) if you have questions.
posted by rsclark at 9:06 PM on April 14, 2008
Both programs are available for an extended trial (60 days for Zoomtext, until August for Magic). While their primary purpose is magnification of screen text, you can set them for 1x magnification and just use them for handling contrast and color settings.
Feel free to email me (address is in my profile) if you have questions.
posted by rsclark at 9:06 PM on April 14, 2008
She also uses iTunes to manage the songs on her iPod Shuffle (which is a great device for the visually-impaired due to its very easy-to-use controls).
[tangent] if you're interested in options for players with screens, check out rockbox. It has voice navigation for visually impaired users, and it also lets you customize the display (font size, colors, etc.)
posted by trig at 10:42 PM on April 14, 2008
[tangent] if you're interested in options for players with screens, check out rockbox. It has voice navigation for visually impaired users, and it also lets you customize the display (font size, colors, etc.)
posted by trig at 10:42 PM on April 14, 2008
If you have a decent video card (read: add-on from ATI or nVidia, perhaps others), its drivers may allow you to tweak the display's brightness/contrast (and other settings) to your heart's content, providing you with something analgous to tweaking Windows style settings.
However, these settings may not be unique to the user's account -- if you share the machine, you might have to dig for a way to quickly change from "normal" to "my wife can read this" modes.
posted by catkins at 10:02 AM on April 15, 2008
However, these settings may not be unique to the user's account -- if you share the machine, you might have to dig for a way to quickly change from "normal" to "my wife can read this" modes.
posted by catkins at 10:02 AM on April 15, 2008
Response by poster: Zoomtext was the solution - she already had the program on her computer, just hadn't used it in quite awhile. She can also now use Zoomtext for other programs that don't comply with the Windows Accessibility features.
Thanks!
posted by garypratt at 7:09 PM on May 3, 2008
Thanks!
posted by garypratt at 7:09 PM on May 3, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by desjardins at 8:11 PM on April 14, 2008