[nfbcs] Mac Accessibility

Thu May 28 06:56:12 UTC 2009

Good evening,

Virtualization is a relatively new technology to the consumer market.

There are two ways to run OS X and Windows on a Mac.  The first is to  
setup a dual boot system.  This would require you to select your  
operating system when you turn on the computer and only that operating  
system will load.

The second is to use a program like VMWare Fusion to run Windows  
virtually from within OS X.  This means that you will be able to  
essentially tab back and forthe between OS X and Windows.

I use a Macbook and run Windows as a virtualized operating system from  
within OS X all day long.  I enjoy using some applications more with  
Voiceover and OS X and other applications like Firefox in Windows.  I  
personally hate using the Mac for web browsing and cannot comprehend  
the Mac users who prefer it to JAWS and Firefox or IE.

Once you get your Mac feel free to contact me off list and I will do  
my best to assist you with virtualizing Windows on your Mac.

HTH,
Everett

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On 28-May-09, at 2:46 AM, Joe Orozco wrote:

> Hi Everett,
>
> Can you elaborate a little more on this Virtual Windows you mentioned?
> You're saying it's possible to retain my Windows XP system on a Mac
> computer, allowing me to access both the Windows features as well as  
> those
> included with a Mac?  Or is it more along the lines of tabbing  
> between both
> systems?  I'm hoping this aspect of the job is not a deal breaker  
> for me
> with these folks, but it seems I would have to learn VoiceOver, the  
> Mac
> system itself and hope the software they are using in the company is
> compatible with VoiceOver.  That, to me, seems like a lot of  
> hoping.  But,
> thank you and Dean for your assistance.
>
> Joe Orozco
>
> "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
> crowd."--Max Lucado
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of E.J. Zufelt
> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:21 AM
> To: NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List
> Cc: nabs at acb.org; 'National Association of Blind Students mailing  
> list'
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Mac Accessibility
>
> See my responses inline below.
>
>
> Everett
>
> Follow me on Twitter
> http://twitter.com/ezufelt
>
> View my LinkedIn Profile
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt
>
>
> On 28-May-09, at 12:35 AM, Joe Orozco wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Forgive the cross post.  I need information from former PC users who
>> are now using the Mac environment as their primary operating system.
>> My
>> questions:
>>
>> 1. How steep is the learning curve moving from Mac to PC?
>>
> Fairly steep.  Voiceover operates oppositely to JAWS and Window
> Eyes, but it is nice when you get used to it.
>>
>
>> 2. Is Firefox available to the Mac environment, and are there any
>> limitations to the browser in this environment?
>> No, firefox is currently not accessible on the Mac with Voiceover.
>
>> 3. What general limitations have you discovered using Mac moving from
>> the PC?
>>
> Voiceover is not scriptable, there is no way to tweak the
> accessibility of an application.  There is no word processor
> hat supports tables.
>
>> 4. Is Voice Over built into the Mac system.  If not, how much is it,
>> and where is it found?
>>
> Voiceover is built into the Mac operating system and gets
> updated as you update your operating system.
>
>> 5. How often is the screen reader for the Mac OS updated?  How
>> comparable is Voice Over to JAWS?  What kind of speech does
> Voice Over
>> use?
>>
> Voiceover is updated when the OS is updated, but I'm not sure
> how many features actually get updated, there is no real list
> of new features / bug fixes that I have ever found.  In my
> opinion Voicover sounds nicer than Eloquence, but has a harder
> time pronouncing words.
>>
>
>> 6. How easy is it to exchange documents between PC and Mac machines?
>> Very easy via memory stick or e-mail.  You can also setup your Mac to
>> dual boot Windows.  Or, you can run Windows in a virtual machine on
>> the Mac, essentially running each operating system
> simultaneously.  On
>> a newer Mac there is no significant performance problem running OS X
>> and Windows simultaneously.
>
>
>
>> I hope someone can help me address some or all of these points.
>> I've picked
>> up an organization who insists on using Mac computers.  I
> would rather
>> stick to the PC.  I'm not impressed with JAWS a lot of times,
> but it's
>> what I know.  That said, I have a Mac laptop headed to me, and I
>> suppose I had better learn how to adopt to the new environment real
>> quick-like.  I would appreciate any and all advice you can provide.
>>
>> Many thanks in advance.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Joe Orozco
>>
>>
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>
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