Earlier today, Apple released an update to its Snow Leopard operating system, 10.6.3. A free update, 10.6.3 addresses a number of issues including some relating to VoiceOver. Sadly, although Apple provides links to details on security fixes and other changes, no mention is directly made to VoiceOver. I’m still playing with the update, but after about an hour, I can safely say that VoiceOver seems more responsive, at least on my MacBook Air. In addition, Apple has finally fixed what I’ve been calling the “word deletion bug,” a bug that caused VoiceOver to read a line in its entirety when deleting a single word.

At first glance, these may seem to be minor fixes, however, as someone who uses a Mac for just about everything these days, they’re a big deal. After all, increased responsiveness translates to greater efficiency whether that relate to VoiceOver, or the faster launching of applications. To me, it also reaffirms Apple’s commitment to the blind in that they continue to work on VoiceOver VS putting it off until a major release.

If you’re using a Mac, have Snow Leopard and want the update, simply go to Software Update located under the Apple menu. Software Update will eventually tell you about the update — it may take a few minutes as everyone is downloading it now — and it should walk you through the installation process. I’d also encourage anyone who thinks Apple should put descriptions, or at least a link detailing VoiceOver changes in its update release notes to Email accessibility@apple.com and let them know your thoughts.