[nabs-l] Macs Verses PCs

Sun Mar 6 16:39:21 UTC 2011

Hopefully my VR councilar will get me a laptop; however, I'm worried
that she will get me a really out of date laptop. That's what she did
with my friend. That's one of the reasons why I was looking into a
Mac.

On 3/6/11, Ignasi Cambra <ignasicambra at gmail.com> wrote:
> Commands in VoiceOver are certainly not hard. To me they actually end up
> making a lot more sense than Jaws commands, although this might not be the
> same for other people. Also, you can control a laptop with the trackpad
> which is very similar to using an iPhone with one hand. VoiceOver can also
> be controlled with the numpad on keyboards that have one, and with the arrow
> keys alone if you are just navigating websites etc.
> In the end, it really doesn't take any extra effort to use it, but there is
> a learning curve. To make it simple, elements on the screen are very well
> organized, and you need to interact with certain items to find other items
> inside. What this means is that if you know what you are looking for,
> finding it is very, very fast. Also VoiceOver allows you to literally type
> whatever you are looking for and get to it quickly. This works in any
> context, in any window in any applications. I like that part about it.
> I don't know, I would say if you are in a situation where you need to be
> 100% productive the day after you get your computer, maybe getting a mac
> right now is not the best choice because you'll have to learn how to use it.
> Maybe you can get Windows installed on it until you have time to actually
> learn the mac. But if you are willing to read the documentation and you are
> willing to discover a very different approach to screen reading software
> which actually works well, you'll probably love Apple computers.
> On Mar 5, 2011, at 7:30 PM, <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>
> <bookwormahb at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>> Briana,
>> I don't use a Mac, but this is what I heard.
>> The built in screen reader is a learning curve; you have more keys to
>> press for each command.  You almost need extra fingers!
>> Also, its been my experience that schools primarily use windows and
>> windows applications.
>> I don't know whether all handouts such as powerpoint slides will be read
>> alright on the Mac.
>> If you need a lot of things embossed, you're better off with a PC with
>> duxbury; most braille translation like DBT and tiger work with windows.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message----- From: Brianna Scerenscko
>> Sent: Saturday, March 05, 2011 5:41 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Macs Verses PCs
>>
>> One of my vision teachers suggested I get a Mac, but another of the
>> vision teachers in our school system said that Macs are hard to use;
>> but I guess I could learn it. Is it the same keyboard set up on a Mac
>> as on a PC? How does Mac work with braille embossers? Was it hard to
>> learn the new opperating system? Do most of the programs you need come
>> preloded into the computer?
>>
>>
>> On 3/5/11, Ignasi Cambra <ignasicambra at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I like macs. What's clear is that if you're used to JFW or other Windows
>>> screen readers you will have to take the time to learn and understand Mac
>>> OS
>>> X and VoiceOver. For me, the great thing about OS X is that application
>>> interfaces are generally very consistent. In other words, application
>>> windows are really similar across programs because people usually write
>>> their apps with the tools provided by Apple.
>>> Also, remember that every time the operating system is updated, VoiceOver
>>> also gets an update. Even minor system updates can contain updates to the
>>> screen reader.
>>> I've been playing around with OS 10.7 which should be out this summer,
>>> and
>>> VoiceOver gets lots of improvements.
>>>
>>> IC
>>> On Mar 5, 2011, at 4:34 PM, Bernadetta Pracon wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey Briana,
>>>> Personally, I think a Mac is a great machine to have. They're fully
>>>> accessible with voiceover being a fully functional screen reader right
>>>> out
>>>> of the box. You are able to set it up by yourself without any sighted
>>>> assistance, because the screen reader is on at the initial setup window
>>>> by
>>>> default. So that's just one of many advantages the mac has over the PC.
>>>> Plus, Macs are extremely durable machines, where hardware is concerned.
>>>> Because most of the software you would use on your Mac is produced by
>>>> Apple, you would have the garentee that it is compatible and functional
>>>> with voiceover, with few exceptions. You can use Open Office as a word
>>>> processor, in place of Microsoft word, since word  for apple  isn't very
>>>> accessible with voiceover as far as I know.
>>>> Also, remember that you can always install windows on a mac, and you can
>>>> do that without sighted assistance for the most part as well. This is
>>>> great, because you basically have two computers in one. Your hard drive
>>>> is
>>>> partitioned in two when you install windows onto a mac. So if you
>>>> weren't
>>>> sure how to do something using the apple operating system, you could
>>>> always complete the task on your windows side of the mac.
>>>> Also, I've found that Apple's operating systems are more stable and less
>>>> clunky than windows. There's a bit of a learning curve when transition
>>>> to
>>>> apple if you've been a PC user, but once you get the hang of it, it's
>>>> extremely intuitive.
>>>> I think getting amac is definitely a safe bet.
>>>>
>>>> HTH
>>>>
>>>> Bernadetta
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit
>>>> www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.
>>>>
>>>>
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