Dear Al,
   You usually send me info in response to my questions, but this time I'd like to send some to you. It's in response to the article published last Wednesday (in Dr. Gizmo's column) in which the reader said that Macs don't offer amenities for the blind or visually impaired.
   I believe that Apple got onto this problem earlier than those in the Windows world and built all sorts of aids into their offerings for Universal Access, which I find in my Preferences options in OS X. In addition to what Dr. Gizmo noted in his column, there is capacity to change backgrounds (white on black or other options), brightness, magnification levels, etc.
   The only thing Apple seems to have neglected is to publicize these features. I first became aware of them on the web. Sometime later, I went to a local center for Apple products (before the new store in the mall) and asked for a demo on how I could make the New York Times Web site legible for me.
   At that time I was totally dependent on my AI-Square program for magnification on my Windows PC. The otherwise knowledgeable sales assistant showed us various ways to adjust type and screen sizes, but never noted that simple adjustments could be made from the Preference screen. We did get a nice demo of Garage Band, Apple's music authoring software, however.
   I went back to searching Web info and found that, indeed, Universal Access is built into OS X. I called Apple to order my notebook model and found that the order taker at Apple didn't know what I was talking about. She went to ask her supervisor and then verified that it was part of OS X.
   I've been working with this now for several months and find the magnification easy to access and easy to use, once the cursor is adjusted to follow the type so that one can get the line that runs off to the right or left of what I'm reading. I have the brightness of my screen turned quite high and the magnification at about 2. I can easily adjust it up or down at will by pressing Option-Apple-plus or minus.
   Problems have come with moving straight across lines vs. bouncing up, down, back, and forth; but I think that's a mouse problem, and I'm learning to hold a slow, steady hand.
   I bought my Windows XP computer two years ago because I could find software for my visual impairment (macular degeneration). None was available for the Mac. When it came time to buy the notebook, I almost fell into the same trap again. No software for such is available for the Mac. However, the reason it's not available separately is simple -- it's already built in. But nobody seems to know it.
   Maybe a column on all the adjustments that can be made would be helpful. Thanks for all your help and interesting columns.