Color Changes in Mac OS X for the Visually Impaired?

drdink asks: "I am an avid FreeBSD and Windows user. This semester for a class I'm having to use MacOS X for the first time, and I've also been pondering jumping into the Apple scene anyway. However, I am also visually impaired and I can't seem to find a way to do specific color theming in a way similar to Windows, KDE, and GNOME. I want to be able to say 'Text is white, backgrounds are black, but EVERYTHING ELSE is its normal color.' The only options I've found that are similar is using 'White on Black' in the Universal Access control panel. However, this results in me losing all display colors and my machine looking monochrome. I don't want to use a $2,000+ machine just to have no colors. Is there anybody out there who has actually managed to get Mac OS X to use the normal colors but have high contrast white on black dialog boxes? I am interested in the Apple platform, but I can't use it for useful things, if I have no color."

Write to Apple or call

[theolein]

This would be a good reason to write to Apple and ask them if they have solution or know of one. There might also be some shareware that could help you. Ask on http://forums.macnn.com or http://versiontracker.com

Re:Newer Panther Options

[drdink]

The zoom functionality in OS X kicks ass. It makes the stupid Magnifier in Windows 2000+ look like a piece of crap... oh wait, it is. However, I think I could get along well without zooming were the screen a higehr contrast (white on black). That is how I operate in every other GUI right now (Windows, KDE, GNOME, ...). It is sort of saddening to see how difficult it is to do the equivelent in OS X. I haven't seen the contrast setting, but I've heard of it. Is this something that is currently in 10.3 snapshots?

Re:Newer Panther Options

[Anonymous Coward]

yes it's given that the 'contrast' feature is just like digital vibrance control, graphic cards, and software have been doing these features for year, yes, all true.

The wisdom comes from putting this control under Accessibility Options, and not placing it in the colour syncing utilities.

Windows has had contrasting features, in the order of a colour scheme and big fonts, OSX also features the ability to speak to the user the text under cursor, dialogue and so on, software which costs $2500 AUD when I asked the RBS of Australia for an equivalent software package for windows.

Using the existing electronics to alter colour profiling on the screen is not new (certainly before 2001, when nvidia gave out glossy images stating that digital vibrance control did more than up the contrast to unusuable levels.) Both these responses sound like windows zealots urinating some territory rather than actually addressing the initial question.

P.S. For your windows flame, OSX is already standardised on features than windows users won't see until long after 2005 has passed.