With all due respect, I think you are trying to translate something
from your Jaws/Windows experience that doesn't necessarily need
translating for most applications. I do know what screen review is;
in linux using the speakup screen reader we could review the screen
but it was done with the numeric keypad without having to change in
and out of modes. Using brltty in linux, which allows you to use
braille, you also just read the screen as a matter of course without
having to change to some kind of special mode. In vo, I simply move
around with the vo keys; nothing actually happens to change my
document or implement actions until I click on items or deliberately
write in text fields. So while I can see that moving the vo cursor
independently might help for some applications that I'm not using, I
don't really see its necessity for what I'm doing. I didn't think
about this until you posted, but in eight months of using vo I
haven't ever wished I could switch to a mode where I could explore
the screen. I'm not saying nobody would ever need that, just that I
haven't needed it.
I also feel from reading your posts that instead of trying to figure
out how things can be done in vo you are trying to constantly plug vo
into your way of doing things with Jaws and Windows. It's
understandable that you might want a point of reference, and I can
especially understand your approach if you are theorizing and don't
actually have access to a Mac. But I can assure you that, while
running vo isn't anything like working in linux and from comments of
Windows users is also not like working with Jaws or windoweyes in
windows, it is quite usable. Does that mean there aren't things we
want to see improved? Of course not; if you look back at my posts
alone in the archives you'll see that I'm not talking about happily
accepting vo's present state without pushing for further development.
But if you put aside as much as possible your comparisons of "Can I
do this like I do it in Windows" (or linux), I think you'll learn the
system a lot more quickly. If you can't work on a mac enough to get
these concepts and are debating about buying a mac, I'd say you
should only buy a Mac if you are willing to go out of your comfort
zone for the time it takes to learn the new system. If you are
comfortable with the way you are doing things in another OS and don't
want to have to make major adjustments in how you do things, or if
you don't want to work with a system which is most definitely still
under development despite functioning very nicely for my daily needs,
then a Mac might not be for you. There's nothing wrong with that; you
need to assess your own needs and your willingness to learn a new
system and make your decision accordingly. Despite some concerns I've
voiced, I'm extremely happy with my Mac and have gone so far as to
lay aside use of linux, but that doesn't mean everybody has to think
the same way I do. there isn't a right and wrong to this; you need to
do what works for you.
--
Cheryl
"Where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also".
