[Electronics-talk] MAC vs PC

[Gerald Levy]

But you can still buy a new computer with Windows 7 from a number of online 
sources, which is much more similar to XP than Windows 8.  Microsoft will 
continue to support Windows 7 through 2019, so you will continue to receive 
security updates until then. I'm no expert on the Mac, but from what I have 
read, it is inferior to Windows in a number of inportant respects, which you 
may want to keep in mind.  Oh sure, it already comes with the Voice Over 
screen reader built in, but web browsing is apparently more cumbersome and 
difficult to get used to than with Windows.  Also, there is no 
text-to-speech app that comes remotely close to Kurzweil 100 or Open Book 
available for the Mac.  The only one that I am aware of is DocuScan Plus 
fromSerotek whose users have reported is not as accurate or feature laden as 
the other two text-to-speech programs.  And there is no image solving app 
for the Mac that is comparable to Webvisum forFirefox, so if you need to 
solve an image cattcha, you will probably need sighted help.  Finally, there 
is the steep learning curve of the Mac, whose commands and menu structure 
are completely different than that of XP.  So your best bet would be to find 
a new computer with Windows 7.

Gerald


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andrews via Electronics-talk" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: "Star Song" <starsong at gmx.com>; "Discussion of accessible electronics 
and appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2014 10:22 AM
Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] MAC vs PC


> Well, a couple things here.  First, what is your reason for wanting a Mac? 
> It seems to me that with your level of use, and skill level, a change of 
> this magnitude doesn't make a lot of sense.  Unless you like learning new 
> technology, then why do it.  If your existing technology does the job you 
> should stick with it.
>
> Although in this case that may be a problem too.  You can't buy a new 
> computer with Windows XP on it.  XP is quite old, and no longer supported 
> by Microsoft.  They are no longer doing security updates, so if you plan 
> on  using it on the internet, this is not a good idea!
>
> You are going to have to bite the bullet and learn something new, so go 
> for it!
>
> Dave
>
> At 08:44 AM 8/17/2014, you wrote:
>>Hello all, I need to get a new laptop, and am wondering if I should get a 
>>MAC. I have only had an  Asus PC, and use it only for its internet and 
>>DVD/CD capabilities. I am a mediocre skills user, able to do mostly what I 
>>need, but don't know much more than that about how to figure out more 
>>complexx  operations. I don't have anyone who can help me with my computer 
>>unless I take it to a store. But I thought maybe from what everyone has 
>>said on this list A MAC would be better, since I still have Windows XP and 
>>don't feel comfortable graduating to Windows 8. Can you advise me? 
>>Thanks,   Shonen
>
>         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
> E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org
>
>
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