[nabs-l] Macs Verses PCs

Sun Mar 6 19:58:02 UTC 2011

Then tell them what type of laptop you want such as windows 7 with all the 
microsoft suite; you might want a well known brand like Dell

-----Original Message----- 
From: Brianna Scerenscko
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 2:23 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Macs Verses PCs

I'm worried about what kind of a laptop my VR councelar will get me;
with a Mac, I really only have to specify that I want I Works
installed on it.

On 3/6/11, Ignasi Cambra <ignasicambra at gmail.com> wrote:
> A basic MacBook pro will cost you less than a Jaws license...
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 6, 2011, at 11:39 AM, Brianna Scerenscko <bfs1206 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> 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 that she will get me a really out of date laptop.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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