[nfbcs] [nabs-l] Basic Questions About Mac versus Pc

Gabe Vega theblindtech at gmail.com
Mon May 10 20:30:10 UTC 2010 

if you call me, I'll be more than happy to answer all your questions. I just don't feel like typing that much?
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Gabe Vega
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On May 10, 2010, at 12:49 PM, Joe Orozco wrote:

> 1. Is there context-sensitive help for applications?
> 
> 2. Can you describe the Internet navigation features?  If you have
> previously used JAWS before, are there comparable features like bring up a
> list of links, activating mouse over links, using Flash buttons, accessible
> favorites list, etc?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joe
> 
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Gabe Vega
> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 4:24 AM
> To: 'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] [nabs-l] Basic Questions About Mac versus Pc
> 
> I use transmit daily. And ICal is accessible. Next question? 
> 
> 
> Gabe Vega A+, Net+, ATACP
> The Tech of all Techs
> (623) 565-9357
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Joe Orozco
> Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 5:11 PM
> To: 'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] [nabs-l] Basic Questions About Mac versus Pc
> 
> Hi Steve,
> 
> I am the only PC user in our operation.  Two disadvantages that come to mind
> is that the office-wide calendars for the various departments do not play
> well with my Outlook.  Also, they have a program called (Transmit?) which
> makes exchanging documents via our public shared drive a lot easier than my
> sluggish way of opening FlashFXP, uploading, downloading, etc.  I tell you
> it's tempting, but if tomorrow I lose my job I also wonder if the overhaul
> would have been worth it.  I have no reason to believe I'd lose my job mind
> you, but in today's economy nothing outside the government sector seems
> certain and Apple machines are more expensive than their PC counterparts.
> Decisions, decisions.
> 
> Joe
> 
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org
> [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
> Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 12:15 AM
> To: NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] [nabs-l] Basic Questions About Mac versus Pc
> 
> Joe,
> 
> I am not a MAC user, at least not at this point, but I definitely am one who
> takes it seriously.  In the end, though, I think there is much to be gained
> by remaining as consistent as you can be with your co-workers in terms of
> the platform you use.  Clearly, if your workers use Windows and one of the
> major apps they use is not very accessible and the MAC version of the same
> app is much more accessible, you should give it a very good look.  If your
> co-workers are using MACS and the apps they use seem to be pretty
> accessible, it would seem worth going with a MAC unles you found the same
> apps were much more accessible on a Windows machine.  
> However, going it alone on the job with either platform puts you at a
> disadvantage.
> 
> I am still not convinced, although I am more than willing to listen, that it
> is worth going with a MAC if your job site makes heavy use of Microsoft
> Office, particularly if you will also be authoring or modifying documents.
> I know that Open Office can handle Microsoft Office files, but if things get
> complicated, there are just always oddities that come to the surface.  I
> just experienced that very thing with a document my daughter wrote in Open
> Office on the MAC and saved in Word format.  Something when wrong with the
> formatting in a big way. 
> Was there a cause and could it have been corrected in general, probably,
> but it took time and would have taken more time to investigate than we had
> just then.  Again, if you were to establish that your productivity was much
> better with Open Office in this particular example, it may overcome the
> potential pitfalls, but you again run a risk of not having the support of
> your jobs IT or help desk staff.  This example could be turned around, too,
> meaning that using Microsoft Office if your employer uses MACs and Open
> Office is also probably not a good idea if you find Open Office to work
> pretty well for you.  In most cases here, we're talking about document
> compatibility with other co-workers.  TextEdit on the MAC is far more than a
> text editor and is a decent word processor and it is free and very good for
> most personal use.  Some compare it with WordPad, but I believe that is not
> really a fair comparison, it has more power.  I just think that consistency
> with your co-workers has to be a major consideration, whichever platform
> they use, as long as the apps being used are accessible.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Steve Jacobson
> 
>> On May 8, 2010, at 11:46 AM, Joe Orozco wrote:
> 
>>> Hello all,
>>> 
>>> I keep hearing about all these wonderful things about Macs.  
> I was very
>>> interested in the iPad review on Access World, and my
> employer's offer to
>>> switch out my PC for a Mac just gets more tempting by the
> moment.  Still, as
>>> I get older I am less tolerant of drastic changes to my
> office assembly, and
>>> yet, temptations abound.
>>> 
>>> 1. In the most recent platform upgrade, how has the
> accessibility changed in
>>> terms of the screen reader?  Is the screen reader only
> updated with system
>>> upgrades, or are there ever updates between major upgrades?  
> If you had to
>>> compare Voiceover to JAWS, how does their functionality
> break down?  I know
>>> it's not fair to compare one to the other because the logic is a bit 
>>> different, but I'm hoping you can speak to the level of
> manipulation you
>>> have over the applications in your computer.
>>> 
>>> 2. How has the compatibility changed in terms of Macs and
> software packages?
>>> I originally hesitated, because it seemed the industry was
> more prone to be
>>> compatible with PC products.
>>> 
>>> 3. How easy is it to control documents in the word
> processor?  Do Macs use
>>> their own version of MS Office, or is there a native word
> processor that
>>> makes Office documents readable?
>>> 
>>> 4. What can you tell us about their e-mail client?  Outlook
> has its quirks
>>> but is almost 100 percent accessible.  Sunbird, by contrast,
> would be great
>>> but in my opinion still had some accessibility shortcomings. 
> I'm wondering
>>> if the same is true of iCal and Mac-based applications?
>>> 
>>> 5. How much freedom do you have with Macs to go outside of
> iTunes?  I don't
>>> much care for proprietary packages unless it's unavoidable.
>>> 
>>> 6. Are hardware repairs truly limited to Apple stores?
>>> 
>>> I know the best thing is to play around with Macs yourself.  
> I intend to do
>>> that when I visit our home office in California in a month,
> but I'm hoping
>>> those of you who are daily users of the system can give up-to-date 
>>> information since reviews can quickly become outdated.  And,
> I'm sure that
>>> even playing with a Mac for an hour or so would not truly
> give me a sense of
>>> how well they meet my daily task expectations.
>>> 
>>> Thanks for any information and/or website recommendations.
>>> 
>>> Best,
>>> 
>>> Joe
>>> 
>>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up
> their sleeves,
>>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>> 
>>> 
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