iOS/OSX "Spoken Content" - ♪ these are a few of my favourite things ♫

Starting a new job comes with a lot of reading! I'm a slow reader, so have been paying attention to tools and techiques to help me along.

I've previously mentioned Audible as a wonderful resource for getting that reading in and it has recently helped me access many great books such as the one listed below.

When it comes to E-books and PDF documents, I've had great success with iOS' accessibility features that reads content for you, and I have recommended these features to former colleagues who I know have been struggling with reading as well.

Now, my wife just entered the office and found me struggling through a lengthy PDF document on my new MacBook and casually asked why I didn't have the computer read it for me. Lo and behold, OSX offers the same excellent accessibility features as iOS!

My new Mac has proven itself invaluable in a number of ways already:

  1. The battery life is amazing - I used it for most of my first day in the office "plugged in" and had it charge my iPhone, only to realize that it wasn't plugged in at all - the other side of the cord wasn't actually connected to the socket! The MacBook just puttered along with no performance degradation and I only discovered the plug-not-connected by accident.
  2. The audio system is amazing - I don't have to wear headphones! Not even with an AC unit in my room! I've asked multiple meeting participants if they can hear anything in the background and they've all responded, saying that all they hear is my crystal clear voice (using Microsoft Teams and Zoom)
  3. The accessibility features mentioned above
  4. Oh, bonus - Touch Id on the power button. Very slick.

I'm still struggling a bit with my windows management (being used to... Windows 😉) and am likely to write another post once I've gotten accustomed to it (or found an application to help me).

Recent audible books:



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