<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Hey Joe, <div><br></div><div>I have been using a Mac for the last 20 years or more and have not even owned a Windows PC during that time. I use the Mac for everything from software development to word processing. While I do have Office on my Mac computers I typically do not do any hard core word processing these days. Here is the honest truth. You are 100 percent correct in that Microsoft Office and Apple VoiceOver have not reched a point of compatibility in accessibility to be any where near how it is on PC with Jaws. Freedom Scientific and Microsoft have had an exclusive partnership for decades which has given them the upper hand to be the best option for accessibility and usability when it comes to the Windows OS and Office tool suite. </div><div><br></div><div>To answer your question more directly, can you use a Mac for everything you want to do with complete accessibility? Yes. Can you do everything you want to do in the Office suite using VoiceOver as you currently do with Jaws on a PC, no. The keyboard commands are different, the toolbars are a bit different, and I am not even sure if the same key commands can be programmed into office to make it function the same. I love my Mac with VoiceOver because I use the UI just as much as I use the command line. If Word processing was my primary use for a computer there is no doubt I would have to bite the bullet and go with a PC. Since that is not my primary use case I do not need or use Windows except for at work. In closing I will say Mac does have the IWork suite which is their spin on the Office suite and it is much much better with VoiceOver accessibility and usability than Office is right now. The commands are different still and there are some things that take some getting use to but it is another option for editing Word document's. All this said I love my Mac computers for all the reasons you mentioned and for the smmplicity of the OS, built in accessibility out of the box, and incredible speed of the OS. Oh and it looks good, feels good and the battery life is amazing! . <div dir="ltr">Bryan Duarte Ph.D. <div><br></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Jul 9, 2023, at 1:32 AM, Joe Orozco via NFBCS <nfbcs@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Is anyone using an Apple laptop to be as productive as they were on a PC? It doesn't feel as though Voiceover and Office for Mac have reached the same level of accessibility, but I'd like to be proven wrong. I need to be able to manipulate Office documents with the same degree of precision as in the Windows environment. The only option for dual-boot on the M2 chip I've found doesn't seem promising, but before I assume a PC is my only option, I'd like to hear from anyone who successfully made the transition to a Mac and still feels productive using Voiceover and not any sort of magnification. The battery, craftsmanship, and overall longevity on a Mac is undisputed, but these specs won't be compelling if I feel I can't be as productive. Thanks in advance for any guidance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Joe<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none">--<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none">Joe Orozco: Your Message, My Mission<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://joeorozco.com/services/__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!eME1rgC2-EhM0m6-SXyurcKVj28sOX6k5_gyklG46WgKPEy4WgrHD79-FxJcPw7AVB49mogbaSBp5Q$">https://joeorozco.com/services/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>NFBCS mailing list</span><br><span>NFBCS@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!eME1rgC2-EhM0m6-SXyurcKVj28sOX6k5_gyklG46WgKPEy4WgrHD79-FxJcPw7AVB49moi3jP5YKw$ </span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBCS:</span><br><span>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/bjduarte*40asu.edu__;JQ!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!eME1rgC2-EhM0m6-SXyurcKVj28sOX6k5_gyklG46WgKPEy4WgrHD79-FxJcPw7AVB49moiMNjCg1g$ </span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>