Yep. I agree here again. I believe at the present pace Apple will soon
completely capture the education market due to political pressures. I
bought a Mac simply because I heard two things. One, a single system has
all one would need to operate it if one was blind or dyslexic or had low
vision. The upgrade of a mac system includes the upgrade of the VoiceOver
program as well. While I pay for a PC and pay an extra thousand dollars for
a screen reader, the cost of a Mac system includes the cost of the screen
reader for about half the price. When I upgrade my PC to Vista, I am sure I
am going to have to pay a hefty upgrade cost to Microsoft, and when I
upgrade my system from Tiger to Leopard, I will have to pay an upgrade cost
there, too. The difference can become significant for many, since the cost
of the upgrade in Mac also includes the upgrade for the cost of VO. I doubt
narator will become useable by the blind when Windows is upgraded to Vista.
Any body who owns a Vista system is still going to have to purchase a
separate screen reader to make their Mac work for them. This will not be
the case for Mac users. It is also difficult for me to disregard the
policy, Voiceover is proof of the invalidity of the
NFB's point of view.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Heim" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS Xby
theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 9:55 AM
Subject: Re: Accessibility look at Vista
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) told Microsoft to *not* include
a screen reader in their operating system. There is Narrator which allows
you to get started but it's not something you can use to get your job
done. The NFB felt that including a screen reader in Windows would drive
companies like Freedom Scientific out of business and that Microsoft's
screen reader would be inferiour to existing screen readers like JAWS.
That seems like contradictory logic to me. But you know how it goes... If
the NFB tells Microsoft to not include a screen reader, they're not going
to. And after all, who knows if Microsoft really would have done it.
I argued on the NFB's list that Voiceover is proof of the invalidity of
the NFB's point of view.
Another thing I argued was that Apple might regain a toe-hold in schools
and colleges with Voiceover. Those institutions have to supply accessible
computers to students and a Mac with voiceover is a very cost effective
solution Instead of having a lab with 10 or 20 Windows machines and just 1
with JAWS installed, they can have 10 or 20 Macintoshes all of which are
usable by a blind student.
I wouldn't be surprised if someday Microsoft ignored the NFB and improved
their screen reader to a point where you can actually do your job with it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Weir" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by
theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: Accessibility look at Vista
I am not much impressed. All that the article talks to is already done by
the MAC. Voice recognition has been there for some time and the enlarging
of letters and other items are all in VoiceOver. I didnt see anything
about screen readers. Vickie Weir
LARRY WANGER wrote:
Hi,
I ran across this article this evening and thought I'd share it. I know,
its a Mac list but some of the steps Microsoft is taking to incorperate
and promote accessibility are intreaguing. Now, we know Microsoft and
the hype is just that but it will be interesting to see this. Even more
interesting to see some of the other access improvements in Leopard and
where we end up.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/technology/story/B30BAA80C251A2D7862571E1006E85F9?OpenDocument
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