edited to add: over the past few weeks Apple and their accessibility approach has come up a few times on HN, and when I responded there have been so many questions that I really really wanted to answer. However, not had the energy to be able to respond in a timely manner and certainly not quickly enough and set the article is still on the front page of HN. Basically because quadriplegia.
So I know that there are are a lot of questions about use my computer, and that's largely because The people on HN are genuinely and wonderfully curious.
The question that seems to fascinate able-bodied engineers goes something like this: "imagine coming home and finding somebody had removed every switch, button and lever from every device in your environment; What would you do?" That's the question I had to answer before I could get to where I don't get a job and have to start my own company as a result!
So my question is how best do people think I should share this information? Blog post, Twitter thread (eww) or messenger pigeon?
I would just like to say that there isn't a company on the planet making consumer electronics that leans in harder than Apple does, as a quadriplegic I can get an able-bodied monkey to take my new iShiny out-of-the-box and from then on I can do everything you can do on that device.
They really are world leaders at this stuff, I can use my right index finger and my mouth and with just that I can use Apple products to run my own company and talk to people on HN (you know, the important stuff!).
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My money doesn't seem to fit in any of the slots on my computer...
Apple just keeps knocking it out of the park and into a completely new sports metaphor assistive technology provision, they really do. Any measure, I'm a massive nerd/geek/hacker and I really have looked into alternatives both in the open source and proprietary basis and nobody at all is assistive technology as well as at all right now.
It really is as simple as whenever I have a new iShiny, I pounds on the nearest able-bodied monkey and get them to take total box and connected to Wi-Fi and then it's all me. From then on I don't need any more able-bodied assistance whatsoever with setting up the new device, it's awesome. And whilst it's been a few months, the last time I looked known of the other major players were able to come anywhere close to this level of frictionless setup for quadriplegics like me.
ALSO! ALSO! Let's not forget that this isn't some crappy subset of functions that quadriplegics have to settle for whilst everybody else gets the full fat version of the software. Nope, with very few exceptions pretty much anything an able-bodied person can do with their iShiny I'll be able to do as well. Just a little slower.
Apple, and specifically their approach to accessibility is only one of many reasons I'm able to work, see my family and generally engage with society as well as I currently do.
Also, I quite like the term cripple, differently abled or on a good day Stuart. WTF cares what label you give me, I am much more interested in whether this laptop enables me to do the shopping independently and see my Nieces without having to check with an able-bodied person first.
If anybody from the project is reading this, could you tell me where I should send the application, entrance form, fee or even straight up bribes to get my brain and this technology smushed together please?
I'm quadriplegic and since lockdown began last March I've not left this bed once. That's not hyperbole, I literally mean that I haven't left the spot in this bed I'm in right now, writing this comment to you all.
So Yeah, connecting with the world like this is something I need to be a part of. I really don't have words to describe how life changing this would be.
I pretty much completely agree with the content of what you said as well.