[nabs-l] questions about a mac bok pro

Jorge Paez jorge.paez1994 at gmail.com
Mon Apr 23 11:04:57 UTC 2012 

>> Laurel:
The only thing I would add to this is be careful with certain windows and Bootcamp versions, for example, I had a huge problem installing Windows XP on my Macbook Pro.
It worked, but there was a really annoying volume issue which I never figured out.



On Apr 23, 2012, at 12:31 AM, Ignasi Cambra Díaz wrote:

> 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
>>>>> 
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>>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Cindy Bennett
>>> B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
>>> 
>>> clb5590 at gmail.com
>>> 828.989.5383
>>> 
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>> 
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