[blindlaw] [blind law] Best Recent Developments, Technology

Thu May 16 07:11:04 UTC 2013

Hi Rahul,

Yes, there is a reason, and it is some deficiency with the word processing apps I use on the Mac and VoiceOver. At least so far as I can tell.

These deficiencies are as follows:
	•	Inability to tell which page number I'm on in a word document, particularly where pagination does not begin at page one.
	•	Inability to tell what line number I'm on in a word document.
	•	Inability to easily read footnotes, endnotes and comments.
	•	Inability to work meaningfully with track changes.

I also just find Pages a really clunky and difficult app to work with. TextEdit doesn't handle the kinds of advanced formatting I need for many legal documents. I'm experimenting with Nisus Writer Pro at the moment, but so far I haven't gotten to the point where it could replace Microsoft Word for me. This is really sad as I too do not like using Windows. The darn thing just automatically restarted on me a moment ago causing me to lose some work and reminding me why I like the Mac so much more.

Best,
Nic

On 15/05/2013, at 7:49 PM, Rahul Bajaj <rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Nicholas,

Is there any particular reason why you prefer to use Windows for
typing legal documents? Is this just your personal preference, or is
it on account of some deficiency of the Mac?

I, for one, find it confusing to use the  Mac and Windows at the same
time because the commands are so different.

On 15/05/2013, Nicholas Parsons <mr.nicholas.parsons at gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree the iPhone is one of the best developments in a while. Particularly
> iBooks, Kindle and a whole range of other legal resources and reference apps
> available on iOS.
> 
> I have a bluetooth keyboard but I find I don't use it much anymore. The
> iPhone case with attached keyboard sounds interesting, but I'd be worried
> that the tiny keyboard would still be annoying to type on. As it is, I
> usually only use my iPHone to consume content rather than create it. I
> generally do longer typing on my Mac. On my iPhone I use Siri a lot or, if
> it's not appropriate to use Siri, I use a brilliant app called Braille Touch
> which allows me to input text super fast (relatively speaking) similar to
> typing on a braille machine.
> 
> I plan to get an iPad to use primarily as a reading device.
> 
> However, for reading court transcripts and typing legal documents I still
> use Microsoft Word on a Windows computer running the JAWS screen reader.
> 
> On 15/05/2013, at 2:49 PM, Rahul Bajaj <rahul.bajaj1038 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I don't have a bluetooth keyboard case, but the idea sounds fascinating.
> I do use an app called Fleksy, though, which works like a charm.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On May 15, 2013, at 10:01 AM, Sy Hoekstra <sy.hoekstra at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Oh right. I don't use braille, so I always forget about that. And the huge
>> advantage of a keyboard over siri is you can actually type anywhere you
>> are, as opposed to speaking out loud to siri, which I only ever want to do
>> when I'm alone because it's just so weird to text out loud in public.
>> 
>> Also, I'm still a student, and I like to be able to sneak my headphones
>> out of my laptop and into my phone and text in class, haha.
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kirt
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 10:31 PM
>> To: Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] [blind law] Best Recent Developments, Technology
>> 
>> Well, you can always use Siri… And I think I actually prefer using my
>> braille note apex as opposed to a Bluetooth keyboard… I know this is a
>> luxury many of us can't afford, but I love being able to type and access
>> my phone with a braille display from the same device.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On May 14, 2013, at 8:16 PM, Sy Hoekstra <sy.hoekstra at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> iPhone with the built-in voice over screen reader + an iPhone case that
>>> has
>>> a slide-out Bluetooth qwerty keyboard. You can get the cases on Amazon
>>> for
>>> like $20. It's an amazing combo.
>>> 
>>> I suggest the Bluetooth keyboard cases for anyone using voiceover on the
>>> iPhone. I actually don't know why any blind people have iPhones without
>>> them
>>> because typing on a touch screen, even with voiceover, is so ridiculous.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Sybren Hoekstra
>>> New York University School of Law
>>> J.D. candidate, class of 2014
>>> (646) 358-2871
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Paul
>>> Harpur
>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 8:20 PM
>>> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List'
>>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] [blind law] Best Recent Developments, Technology
>>> 
>>> I have found universal design fantastic in smart phones.  Also, EBooks,
>>> when
>>> they are accessible, are fantastic.  Culturally it is a nice touch when
>>> I
>>> can easily down load a new book when my friends and colleagues are
>>> reading
>>> it.  The only thing stopping me now is work eating into relaxation time.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gerard
>>> Sadlier
>>> Sent: Wednesday, 15 May 2013 5:24 AM
>>> To: BCAB Discussion List
>>> Cc: blindlaw
>>> Subject: [blindlaw] Best Recent Developments, Technology
>>> 
>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>> From: Gerard Sadlier <gerard.sadlier at gmail.com>
>>> Date: Tue, 14 May 2013 20:15:51 +0100
>>> Subject:
>>> To: BCAB Discussion List <bcab at lists.bcab.org.uk>
>>> 
>>> Hi all,
>>> 
>>> I don't always keep up with technology, as much as I should and I wonder
>>> if
>>> people  had suggestions about the best recent developments in terms of
>>> technology for the blind, be it hardware, software etc.?
>>> 
>>> Ger
>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
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