[blindlaw] Mac Users Out There?

[ckrugman at sbcglobal.net]

I'm running behind on emails but it would also be interesting to know how 
various types of specific legal software such as calendaring, case 
management programs and other software interfaces with the Mac.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Clark" <dennisgclark at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2011 1:37 PM
Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Mac Users Out There?


> Hello Mark and everyone,
>
> It will be very helpful for us to hear from blind users who have real 
> world experience using the Mac.  I have just spent a month upgrading to 
> Windows 7 as a result of needing new server hardware, and we are still 
> limping along with less functionality than before the upgrade. The cost to 
> me in lost time, lost functionality, decreased efficiency of my employees 
> and myself, and the cost of paying my employees salaries while they figure 
> out how to do their work in this new and unfamiliar environment is totally 
> unwarranted. As a result I have decided that we will be moving to a Mac or 
> Linux solution, and I am hopeful that it can be the Mac using voiceover. 
> Since one of my objectives is to eliminate Windows based programs from my 
> office if possible, I am not interested in using bootcamp or fusion. If 
> you could tell us about the programs you have used with voiceover, and 
> which have worked well and which have not, it would be very valuable.
>
> As attorneys we more often than not work with M.S. Word files, though I do 
> not think that this means we must use M.S. Word or office.  Which Apple 
> Mac word processors have you used with voiceover, and are they able to 
> open, work with, and then save files in Word format?
>
> Next, I would be curious to know which Apple Mac email programs are 
> provided with or can be purchased with the Mac, and how well they work 
> with Voiceover.  How easy is it to save attachments with these programs, 
> and how easy is it to create folders and move messages into them from the 
> inbox.
>
> Next, which web browsers are provided or available for the Mac using 
> Voiceover, and what are their pros and cons when compared to IE or 
> Firebox?
>
> Have you had any experience with backup software for the Mac, since this 
> is very important for a law firm?
>
> For those of us who are blind, optical character recognition software has 
> become an important part of our accessibility arsenal. I was pleased to 
> learn this morning that ABBY Finereader has a version of their OCR 
> software for the Mac called Abby Express.  I use ABBYY frequently on our 
> Windows machines, so this removes a big obstacle when considering whether 
> or not to move to the Mac. Have you had any experience with this program 
> or any other OCR software on the Mac?  The only criticism that I saw about 
> ABBY Express, was that it uses a twain interface, which is apparently not 
> standard on the Mac.  Other than that, users thought it did an excellent 
> job on optical character recognition.
>
> Have you read or scanned books on the Mac, and if so, what scanner and 
> software do you use?  I do most of my reading with Kurzweil under Windows, 
> because I like many of its  features such as that both lines and pages can 
> be of any length, and are not artificially imposed as is the case with 
> most word processors such as M.S. Word.  This is particularly important 
> for reading books, where one must know their actual location in a book to 
> create accurate citations.  Additionally, I find Kurzweil's multilevel 
> bookmark system to be very helpful when reading case documents and 
> pleadings.  I have been hoping that  Kurzweil would make a Mac version 
> available, but I have heard nothing to suggest that this might happen.
>
> I want to thank Mark and others for reading this lengthy email, and I 
> would really appreciate hearing your thoughts.
>
> All the best,
> Dennis
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mark BurningHawk" <stone_troll at sbcglobal.net>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2011 11:14 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] Mac Users Out There?
>
>
>>I use a mac for almost everything, for what it's worth.  I offer tutoring 
>>services (write of list) or will just answer questions if I can. I'm not a 
>>lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I use a Mac and like it MUCH better 
>>than the PC.
>>
>> Mark BurningHawk
>> Skype and Twitter:  BurningHawk1969
>> Home:  Http://MarkBurningHawk.net/
>> Namaste!
>>
>>
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