Category: Geeks r Us
Hi, I'm just very curious about the Mac, since it's becoming much more accessible for us blind folk, and this question is for the Mac users themselves. Is the Mac pretty easy to use when you have VoiceOver turned on? Are the commands straightforward? I'm looking at perhaps getting a Mac in the future, so I was wanting to know how easy it is to use.
Michael, you may need a while to get use to it, but ones you get use to it, it is not a big issue. for mac voice over, well, perhaps, it will be the same feeling as if you switch over from jaws to window eyes, or any other screen reader.
as far as the command keys goes, it is different from windows. but it shouldn't be a big issue to get use to it, as long as you get the concept, it should be all well.
The mac is different from windows or linux, but in about 2-3 days, you'll have it down, and if you like it in that time period I doubt you'll ever go back. The keystrokes are not that hard to master, and most applications for the mac are accessible straight out of the .dmg file.
The thing that really excites me is the fact that VoiceOver is accessible with iTunes right out of the box. That's really a step-up for Apple. They have been doing really well in terms of accessibility for the Macs and iPods.
So another question I have: are Macs cheaper than Windows computers, or more expensive?
macs are more expendsive than a pc, but however, you get at least 7 years out of it. which may be a cheeper option in the long term.
with mac, you already have MacOS and other programs like the mac version of office already there for you.
when you think of it, you pretty much pay the whole thing ones, instead of paying all over the place to get your whole pc system running.
the voice over is one of the best screen reader that i come across by far, as you are conversing with a real person thru the computer, instead of a computer voice.
and yes, with Mac, you pretty much ready to go with itunes, and most of the apple software if not all.
if you are a student, or working in education field, you get discount with mac itself and other software that you may need.
Yeah macs are a bit more expensive then a windows PC, but I think its definitly worth it. Season, where did you find the student thing for macs?
Yeah, I didn't know there was a thing for students concerning macs.
Dollar for dollar, feature for feature, Macs and PC's are about equal. I mean, you can get a $500 PC, but it won't have the aluminum enclosure, slot-loading DVD super drive, Firewire 800, and display port of the Macs. If you step up to a comparably specked out Dell as say a MacBook Pro, you will pay the same money as you would the MBP. It's not really a question of price anymore. It's a question of feature sets. Besides that, Apple jjust has so many neat little innovations, even down to its power cords that make a big difference. Keep that in mind.
The student discount is on the apple page. If I remember right, It's $100 off.
Heard that the new snow leopard is even more awesome than leopard which was pretty good to begin with. anyone have any htoughts on the new pluses in snow leopard?
Snow leopard is wonderful. They didn't change anything really in the interface for a normal user, but Voiceover is completely new, scrpitable, and responsive. It now has a say all command, functionality it didn't have before, multitouch trackpad commands, so you now can use your trackpads to navigate the screen, just like a mouse user would, and so much more. The only complaint I have is that flash is still inaccessible, but that's Adobe's fault, not Apple's.
the student discount is honnored by apple's retail website and retail stores as well. Also some of there resellers may honnor it as well. Also i don't think this really matters to anyone on here but Blue Ray DVDs wont be playable on the mac any time soon it seems. Though if you are a student for a mininum of $30 you can dual boot your mac with windows 7 as well and have the best of both worlds.
wow track pad functionality! how kewl to have the option to use the mouse as sighted users do.
It's not as kewl as you think, or as I thought. Playing with it is neat, and for the occasional things, like flipping through pages on the screen and such, it's ok, but the keyboard is so much quicker and more efficient. The interface is very similar to the iPhone, or iPod Touch, if you've ever played with one of those, and the commands are identical, although there are other command gestures you can assign to do different things. It's more of a wow thing than anything else, but can be switched on and off on the fly.
i guess some posters already answer the question, you can simply get the education discount on apple website. as long as your intistution is register on their list, which you can found there, you'll get the education discount.
yeah i guess i can see the novelty of it wearing off quickly. I personally cannot use an IPhone or any touch screen thing - just don't seem to have the right touch for maneuvering the screen efficiently.
Honestly, the iPod Touch and iPhone are pretty easy, but you have got to be patient for about an hour with it to learn it. Patience is a must though, so if you're not patient, stick to buttons.
The iPod touch is a must for me. And really quickly I want to address that just because it's just a touch screen doesn't mean you can't use it as a blind person. Yes, of course a touch screen is just touching icons on a screen, but how can you criticize it when you haven't even tried using it before? I'm not directing this stuff at anyone, but my point is that you should really embrace this new technology and try it first before you criticize it. Apple has come a really long way in terms of accessibility, and I think that we all should embrace that.
Well, a lot of blind people want their hands held with technology, hense the Victor Stream, Book Sense, old APH recorders, etc., the machines with the very tactile buttons that are oddly shaped, and all the other tactile feedback. Handing them a flat piece of glass, with a single button can be a little overwhelming to them. Also, I just think the blind community at large is used to paying more for everything. They've come to expect it, and when a company like Apple comes around with a built-in accessibility solution, the skeptical community gets up in arms, and the popular blindness tech publications write articles against the new technology. Why? It all comes down to money. Blind tech is big money, and FS, and all the rest of the blind mafia's getting rich by extortioning us. Everyone should revolt!
I agree with what the above poster said, but apple isn't quite there yet with there accessibility. but it can only get better and companies like FS better start thinking of a new business model. I do wish apple would give you the option to use a blue tooth keyboard or something as well, but with alot of patience the touch screen can become fimiliar as well. Oh and for the track pad, i know alot of sighted people who turn it off just cuz it in advertenly does stuff all the time when they aren't trying to use the track pad lol.
Who says they're not there yet? Their screen reading solution is scriptable, as well as quite useable. What can Jaws itself do that Voiceover can't do? Do you use Voiceover on a daily basis, along with using Jaws in Windows? Believe me! I just upgraded to Windows 7, and if you think Vista broke accessibility, wait till you get your hands on this puppy!
for those that have yet to try on mac assessability shouldn't make any criticism base on what rumas please. in terms of assessability, apple is as good if not the best assessability that you can get so far in the main streem market. to be honest, it is something that microsoft should perhaps think about reenforcing their assessability in the future, and forget about FS or gw micro, or other company. isn't it weird, microsoft hasn't sue gw micro for using micro as part of their name, but fs sued saratec for using key to freedom? hmm, hmm.
so... thinking about going the used mac rout. not looking to spend a bunch just to play around with a system. what should i be looking for to make sure I get voice over...
You need at least Tiger for VoiceOver features, but Leopard and Snow Leopard are better.
so: is tiger like the computer nodel?
like, for example. apple Power mac G5 1.6ghz 10.5.6 Leopard 80gb DVDRW on ebay for 365. but they also have listed, mac-mini, Imac, etc.
just not much of a clue what I am looking for, but I like the price range
Tiger is the operating system. But I beleive Snow Leopard can be baught for 30 to 50 bucks or so. Dead cheap compared to buying a windows upgrade lol.