Wow... I totally disagree that voiceover is easy to llearn when compared to
jaws.
I am someone trying to make the transition from Windows to the Mac and I
think anyone who is considering doing the same should prepare themselves for
a struggle.
I am not a windows bigot. I desperately want voiceover to succeed. For one
thing, I don't want to have to ask my employer to shell out $1000 for
another jaws license when the current one runs out. And I can show you
messages from the NFB's comp sci list where I got into heated debates over
their policy supporting jaws. I have argued that voiceover is proof that
their policy is wrong.
However, I think voiceover is not as good as jaws. Jaws is more intuitive
and easier to use. To be fair, that opinion may be the result of my
familiarity with jaws and my lack of familiarity with voiceover. And some of
my problem with voiceover may be the result of my unfamiliarity with the Mac
operating system. I have to learn how to use the doc as well as voiceover.
But I recently installed orca, this is a new screen reader for linux/gnome.
And I was able to get real work done almost immediately. The tab key did
what I expected it to, etc. Again, to be fair, gnome may be more like
windows than MacOS is. Apple probably prefers that windows and MacOS are
different. The developers of gnome might have made it windows-like on
purpose.
I remember learning to use jaws and I didn't struggle nearly as much with it
as I did with voiceover.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rafael Bejarano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by
theblind" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:06 PM
Subject: Re: Hi
Hi Hanna,
I understand your anxiety at the prospect of switching operating systems.
I suggest going to an Apple store or asking a friend who uses a Mac with
the Tiger OS to let you play on it. I don't know where you live, of
course, but the folks at the Apple store in Chicago were extremely
helpful and professional when I went there to learn about Tiger and
VoiceOver. I think you will find that VoiceOver is a very easy to learn
screen reader, especially compared to JAWS.
Cordially,
Rafael Bejarano
On Apr 12, 2007, at 7:09 AM, Hannah Day wrote:
Hi all, I've recently joined this list as I'd like to learn about the
mac. I'm thinking of switching as I'm experiencing Windows problems,
including malware, sluggish performance, and so on. However, for someone
like me who is not only totally blind but also suffers from learning
disabilities, how could I go about learning to use the mac as I've been
a Windows user for several years. I currently do not own a mac yet by
the way, but I'm hoping to invest in one some day. Thanks, and I look
forward to hearing from you. Regards, Hannah
--
Hannah Day
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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