[nabs-l] questions about a mac bok pro

Mon Apr 23 04:31:50 UTC 2012

Bootcamp comes with your Mac, but Windows doesn't. Setting up a bootcamp partition takes just a couple of minutes, but unless you have an automated Windows installation dvd you won't be able to install Windows independently. That's one of the things I love about Mac OS X, I can do everything by myself.
On Apr 22, 2012, at 10:40 PM, Laurel wrote:

> Cindy,
> What is boot camp, and how can I get it? Does it automatically come or
> do I have to buy it, and if I have to buy it, how much does it cost?
> I know I'm asking alot of general broad questions, but I appreciate
> you all helping me out.
> Laurel and Stockard
> 
> P.S.
> I am a foreign language major and will be doing alot of interpreting
> and translating. One of the reasons I love vo is it's good support for
> alot of languages, where I don't hafta download extra voices or buy
> extra languages.
> Thanks
> 
> On 4/20/12, Cindy Bennett <clb5590 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Laurel:
>> 
>> I think that Bryan gave you a lot of good information. I can enlighten
>> you on the switch though. I have a MacBook pro and I split it with
>> bootcamp, and I use the PC side of my computer way more. Like
>> anything, if I had started with Macs, I think that I would have
>> trouble switching to a PC, and I think that is the main reason I
>> haven't switched. Because of the MS Word problems Bryan talked about,
>> I will never fully switch, because I plan to go back to school, and
>> unless you are majoring in something in the arts or graphic design,
>> you absolutely have to have access to the Microsoft Suite while in
>> school. I love VoiceOver though. You'll pick up the track pad quickly
>> because of using an iPhone, and it is amazing. There are a lot of 3
>> and 4 key combinations. Basically, if I could mix the advantages of
>> PC's and Macs when it comes to accessibility, I would. i like and
>> dislike them both for different reasons.
>> 
>> One thing to know about VoiceOver is that it gives you an idea of the
>> layout of pages much better than screen readers on PC's. While it's
>> great to know that, I have found that it sometimes slows me down when
>> I just need to navigate to one specific thing.
>> 
>> I love Textedit. Numbers is pretty similar to Excel, but you'll have
>> to get used to the fact that Macs are more artsy and eye appealing.
>> Programs are going to automatically look nice. While this takes some
>> pressure off of a blind person when it comes to printing spreadsheets
>> without graphs on top of them, they are sometimes cumbersome to
>> navigate. I found the same thing in Keynote. In some ways, it is much
>> more accessible than JAWS and PowerPoint, but again, you can insert a
>> picture and you won't be able to get feedback about whether you put it
>> in the right place, and text boxes aren't very navigacable especially
>> when you arrange multiple columns.
>> 
>> In any case, if you are curious, and if you learn more and really want
>> to switch, just know that you can always split your Mac with Bootcamp.
>> Even though I do use Windows too much, I think that Apple products are
>> made better, and the warrantee is great.
>> 
>> I also second getting the refirbished products. I got a 13-inch pro
>> with 3 years of Apple care for $50 less than the New 13-inch pro with
>> only the standard 1 year warrantee. I got the 3 years of Apple care,
>> because it was my first time buying a refirbished Apple product, so I
>> wanted to be safe, and Apple care is much more inclusive than the
>> regular warrantee. There are basically no questions asked if something
>> happens to your product. I do disagree about the air though. Your
>> decision should be made on what you need to do with your computer, but
>> the Pro has more memory, and is not much bigger. It also has more
>> ports to plug things in and an SD card slot which is great if you take
>> a lot of pictures.
>> 
>> Good luck in your decision, and I hope I was able to provide some good
>> information for you.
>> 
>> Cindy
>> 
>> On 4/20/12, Bryan Jones <opensesame at me.com> wrote:
>>> Hello Laurel,
>>> 
>>> My perspective is as someone who has never used a Windows screen reader,
>>> so
>>> I can't offer much in terms of comparing VoiceOver to Jaws or Window-Eyes
>>> or
>>> NVDA, but I can provide a bit of input to a few of your other questions.
>>> 
>>>> 1. Macbook Pro vs iMac.
>>> I've used a variety of Mac desktops and laptops in the past 5 or 6 years
>>> and
>>> my personal favorite is the current 11 inch Macbook Air. Portability is a
>>> high priority for me, and the Air also offers good performance and a
>>> decent,
>>> though notperfect, keyboard. If you are set on choosing between an MBP
>>> and
>>> an iMac, you might consider waiting another month or two as rumor has it
>>> Apple will soon be introducing updated versions of the MBP.
>>> 
>>>> 3, Kurzweil / OCR options.
>>> I use Abbyy FineReader Express for OCR. It's been able to handle most of
>>> the
>>> jobs I've thrown at it, including PDF conversions and multi-language
>>> documents. Again, I've never used Kurzweil, so can't offer a comparison.
>>> 
>>>> 4, anything else.
>>>> 4a. MS Office for Mac is not accessible using VO. In fact, if you expect
>>>> to be editing or creating documents that include tables and several
>>>> other
>>>> key elements, there is currently no word processor that smoothly allows
>>>> VO
>>>> access to these functions. Pages and Nissus Writer are close and getting
>>>> better, but are not there yet. That said, if you do not expect to be
>>>> working with complex documents, you might be OK just using  the Mac's
>>>> very
>>>> good built-in word processor called Textedit. It opens Word documents
>>>> and
>>>> can save in a variety of formats.
>>> 
>>> 4b. Web browser options are still limited on the Mac. Safari and it's
>>> cousins Webkit and Chrome work OK with VO, but FIrefox  and Opera aren't
>>> there yet and there is no version of IE on the Mac.
>>> 4c. Generally, when folks ask me if I think they should switch to a Mac,
>>> my
>>> answer is "No, unless you really have a desire to learn something
>>> different
>>> or you just want a new toy." For most Users and functions, the Mac OS is
>>> no
>>> better than Windows. You'll still crash sometimes, you'll still be
>>> vulnerable to malware and other security threats, and you'll find plenty
>>> of
>>> hardware and software that does not play well with VO.
>>> Plus if you've already invested in an expensive windows screen reader,
>>> and
>>> expensive Windows office suite, and if they're working OK for you, you'll
>>> lose that investment when moving too the Mac unless you decide to go
>>> through
>>> the hassle of installing Windows on your Mac.
>>> 
>>> More than anything else, I strongly suggest spending time in an Apple
>>> Store,
>>> Best Buy or other place where you can get your hands on the Macs and spend
>>> a
>>> bit of time trying them out. If you want to actively learn how to use VO
>>> while sitting in front of any current Mac, you can turn on VO by pressing
>>> Command+F5. The Command key is the key immediately to the left of the
>>> spacebar, and the F5 key is the sixth key from the left in the top row
>>> (the
>>> first key being the escape key). When you press Command+F5, you should
>>> hear
>>> the announcement, "VoiceOver On." Once VoiceOver is running, you can
>>> access
>>> a quick VoiceOver tutorial by pressing and holding the three keys located
>>> immediately to the left of the Spacebar and then pressing the F8 key,
>>> which
>>> is the ninth key from the left in the top row. You should hear VoiceOver
>>> announce, "VoiceOver Quick Start." The quick start tutorial will
>>> introduce
>>> you to the "VO" keys and will point you in the right direction for
>>> learning
>>> more about the Mac and VO. Consider bringing a pair of headphones or
>>> earbuds
>>> when you try this out. It can get pretty noisy in an Apple store.
>>> 
>>> If you haven't already joined, there are a number of active email lists
>>> and
>>> forums for blind and low-vision Mac Users. A quick google will turn up a
>>> list of them.
>>> 
>>> One last note: I personally think the best way to purchase a Mac is
>>> through
>>> Apple's own refurb store, which can be found from their main shopping
>>> site
>>> at store dot apple dot com. Macs purchased there usually cost a couple
>>> hundred dollars less, come with the exact same 1 year warranty as new
>>> Macs
>>> and can be covered under the same extended Applecare warranty plans. The
>>> only Macs I've had to take in for service were ones I purchased new. My
>>> refurbs have never needed service.
>>> 
>>> HTH,
>>> Bryan
>>> 
>>> On Apr 20, 2012, at 10:29 AM, Laurel wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Hi all,
>>>> I have to confess, I haven't been watching the recent thread where
>>>> people were talking about mac vs. pc. I wanted to buy a mac but I
>>>> didn't have the money so I was putting it off. This week I got some
>>>> very unexpected money from somewhere (I don't wanna go into all the
>>>> details) but I have enough to buy a mac. I plan to do so but I wanted
>>>> to ask some questions about the mac that maybe some of y'all could
>>>> answer for me.
>>>> 
>>>> 1. Do you all prefer the Mac Book Pro (lap top) or the iMac (desk top).
>>>> 2, those of you who use JAWS and switched to voice over on the mac,
>>>> how hard/easy was the switch? I already use voice over on the
>>>> iPad/iPhone but I'm not used to it on the mac yet.
>>>> 3, Do any of you use Kurzweil for scanning? I have Kurzweil 1000 for
>>>> windows, and I don't know what to do for my scanning program on a mac.
>>>> Should I use my Kurzweil, I know you can use mac to run programs that
>>>> run on windows, or should I switch to another program. What other
>>>> scanning programs out there work well with voice over?
>>>> 
>>>> 4, is there anything else, accessibility related as far as softwear
>>>> goes, that I should know before I make the switch?
>>>> 
>>>> I plan on keeping my pc at least for the summer so I can slowly switch
>>>> over and have time to get used to a mac. I know this is a long email,
>>>> but for you mac users out there, thanks for the help. It's
>>>> appreciated.
>>>> Laurel and Stockard
>>>> 
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> nabs-l:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/opensesame%40me.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nabs-l mailing list
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nabs-l:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/clb5590%40gmail.com
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Cindy Bennett
>> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
>> 
>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>> 828.989.5383
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> nabs-l mailing list
>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nabs-l:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/laurel.stockard%40gmail.com
>> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nabs-l:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/ignasicambra%40gmail.com