[nabs-l] Mac Vs. Windows

[Greg Aikens]

There are a lot of factors that go into this kind of decision.  Others have asked similar questions on this list before, so you may want to check the archives in addition to whatever responses you get here.  

I grew up using Jaws and Windows but switched to mac a few years ago because I got caught between VR cases and needed a laptop and screen reader I could afford to start graduate school.  As with any system, there was a learning curve but I soon found both screen reading solutions to be comparable in many ways.  Access to email, the internet, pdf’s etc. are similar on both systems.  I now use Jaws at for work but am not as familiar with the recent additions to Jaws.

Here are the pros and cons of Mac+Voiceover, as I have experienced them.

Pros:
•Voiceover is a free screen reader
•Voiceover is integrated into the OS so that nearly all apple based programs work well and most third party stuff does too.
•Voiceover gets updated as the operating system gets updated
•Braille display support is built in and works quite well and requires minimal set up.
•There are lots of alternative voices available for free and in many languages.  Braille support for many languages is also available.
Cons:
•If you are used to JAWS and Windows, using VO can be a bit of a learning curve
•Pages, the apple word processing app works well with Voiceover but some advanced word processing features require complicated work arounds.  The same is true for Numbers (spreadsheet app) and Keynote (presentations like powerpoint).
•As of now there is not a good solution for embossing braille from the Mac.  This may not be important to you however.
•Mac laptops are generally more expensive than windows laptops.

I’m not as familiar with recent developments in braille support for Jaws and Windows.

I want to emphasize the learning curve involved in word processing using Pages and VoiceOver.  It took me a long time to confidently format my class assignments and papers and even now I’m not always 100% sure that I have things set up like I want.  The new update to Pages has made some of that easier, but I still find it far simpler to do that kind of editing using Jaws.  

Others may have different experiences/opinions so take this advice with a grain of salt.  

Best of luck as you prepare for college.

-Greg

On Jan 20, 2014, at 10:04 AM, lizzy <lizzym0827 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
> I'm looking into buying a laptop for college and I would like to know what you all think of the Mac Vs.  Windows computers.  What do you like and dislike about each one? Are there any features that you find significantly more helpful in one, or (vice versa) features that are a significant hinderance? What do you think of Voice Over vs.  Jaws? Has anyone put Jaws on their Mac? If so, how's it working out for you? I know that ultimately this will come down to personal preference, but I'm interested to see what you guys think.
> Thanks,
> Lizzy
> 
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