From the Business Briefs section of the Star-Bulletin on July 23:

"Blind man sues SBA over Web access

A blind business owner from Honolulu has filed a complaint against the U.S. Small Business Administration over access to its Web site.

Virgil Stinnett, owner of Good News HI, which provides military dining services, alleges that he was unable to apply for Section 8(a) certification because SBA's Web site is inaccessible to the blind. The suit alleges that SBA's Web site violates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act because it is inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech screen access technology or Braille displays.”

A quick search of text-to-speech screens finds this, from the National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education:

“Although there is technology currently on the market for the inputting of text by speech, this is a relatively new area of development. Furthermore, it has not been a technology specifically designed for users with visual impairments. It is expected, however, that as speech input technology becomes more common in general, ways of making this technology accessible will be designed and improved.  Problems inherent with speech input are the speed with which text is entered, the amount of computer memory required, and the computer's ability to recognize the speaker's voice.”

Sample software they list cost from around $2400 to $5000.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard now has this built-in feature, as found on their website:

VoiceOver screen-reading built in.

Mac OS X is the first operating system to include as a standard feature an advanced screen-reading technology, which is called VoiceOver. Much more than simply a text-to-speech tool, VoiceOver makes it possible for those who are blind or have low vision to control their computer. It features a unique voice — based on speech technology invented by Apple — that delivers amazing intelligibility and natural intonation even at speaking rates up to 700 words per minute. And with Snow Leopard, VoiceOver gets more powerful and easier to use.

In addition, Mac OS X includes many other accessibility features such as dynamic full-screen magnification, plug-and-play braille display support, playback of closed captions, a scalable cursor, and more.

Also check The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for guidelines and protocols in setting up an accessible website.