The voice control challenge

Published on , 603 words, 3 minutes to read

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A lot of software these days is difficult to use with accessibility tools. A lot of this problem is not really exposed to the people that create the software. A lot of software seems to be made with the assumption that people have working hands, they can use a mouse, and that the text is legible. This is simply not the case for many people.

I would like to propose a challenge for people. Let's call it the voice control challenge. For this challenge, you need to use voice control on your mac, iPad, or iPhone and see how many of your day-to-day tasks you can do without having to reach for a keyboard or type on the phone manually.

Here are some important commands with voice control that will be useful:

Many more commands are documented on iMore.com.

You can enable voice control in the accessibility menus in the settings app. I think it is well worth peoples time to learn how to use this. This will give a new light into how accessible programs really are, and hopefully it will give people the motivation to change things for the better.

It is frustrating that people aren't going to figure out how difficult it is to use a computer when you violate fundamental design assumptions unless they do so. Also, make sure to stay hydrated. Holy crap when you speak a lot more you end up drying out your throat a lot more easily.

You win the challenge if you can do most of what you can normally do without using an input device. You will also quickly find out that electron apps are the bane of your existence. There is a reason that most of my voice control is done with an iPad. It's not just because I'm an apple fan.


Facts and circumstances may have changed since publication. Please contact me before jumping to conclusions if something seems wrong or unclear.

Tags: dictated, voiceControl