PC Doctor October 4, 2013

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Dear PC Doctor:

The cat stepped all over my mac powerbook and must have activated a feature I didn’t even know I had!  Now, whenever I use the computer, a voice narrates everything I do.  I was able to turn the volume all the way down so I wouldn’t hear it, but text bubbles describing the things I’m clicking on are still popping up.  It’s making me crazy!  Even turning the computer off and unplugging it for a while didn’t work.  What’s happening?  How do I get back to normal?

           Signed, Not Purring

Dear Not Purring:

I think your cat must have hit combination of keys and mouse strokes that turned on a program called VoiceOver.  It’s actually a pretty handy tool, when you want it.  VoiceOver reads web pages and documents out loud in English.  It also provides audio cues and narration of your workspace and computer use.

To turn off VoiceOver, go to the Apple menu.

Choose System Preferences.

Click Universal Access.

Click the Seeing tab, then select the Off radio button below VoiceOver to disable it.

To turn on VoiceOver, select the On radio button instead.

I hope this helps!  Let us know what other cool programs your cat finds for you!

Until next time… Happy Computing!

         PC Doctor