perhaps you should let the author know. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alex Jurgensen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by theblind" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 3:41 PM Subject: Re: what we have to contend with:Fw: From today's Tech Update
Hi, There are other Screen readers for the Mac, and most of us don't have the money out of our pockets to upgrade JASW/Window-Eyes all the time, and bedisides, if you are not a tech geek, learning four screen readers is too much. Why not have one product that does it all well. I work with a large organization and we face significant problems with Windows PCs. Thanks for listening, Alex, On 2-Nov-08, at 12:02 PM, David Poehlman wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Gene" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 10:50 AM > Subject: Re: From today's Tech Update > > > I can think of one good reason to continue with Windows or perhaps > two even > if everything else is equal. the first reason is a matter of > preference but > many users may find it compelling. Consider speech. As far as I > know, > Eloquence, Via Voice and Dectalk are not available for Macs. I've > heard the > new synthesizer Mac has added and I am not impressed. It has the same > problems I've heard with all of the newer type of synthesizers, > incorrect > inflections and more words pronounced oddly or slurred than I find > acceptable. According to the promotional material, the synthesizer > also > simulates breathing before long passages. I don't want a > synthesizer to > pretend to breathe. I want it to read during the time it is > designed to > pretend to breathe and not waste my time. The new Mac synthesizer > may be as > responsive as Apple claims, I have no way to know since I heard a > recording > of it and didn't use it. However, many blind people may very much > want to > continue to use the speech they currently use in Windows or when > upgrading > to a g u i operating system from something else. What about hardware > synthesizers such as Double Talk or Tripple Talk that blind people > may want > to use. Do they loose access to them if they use a Mac? > > The second reason is one Mike mentioned. I am not saying this is or > is not > the case. As with Mike, I pose the question but in a different way. > > I currently use four screen-readers. I usually use JAWS but I have a > Window-eyes demo on my machine, NVDA, and I use System Access to Go > when it > does something better than the other screen-readers. Since I > haven't used > Macs, I can't evaluate this but the question arises as to whether > having > access to so many options provides better access to certain programs > or to > certain web sites. There are times when I get markedly better > access to a > web site using something other than JAWS and times when JAWS > provides the > best access. There are times when a feature in JAWS gives me more > convenient access to some aspect of a program. As with Mike, I am > skeptical > that development of a screen-reader facing no competition will equal > development when there is meaningful competition. Also, I question > whether > any single screen-reader can possibly deal as well with a large > number of > programs as having different screen-readers with different > characteristics > and variations of features. > > Isn't it interesting how many people complain about Microsoft being a > monopoly yet they are not the least bit bothered by the fact that > there is > literally only one screen-reader for the Mac? This is inconsistent. > > I'm not advocating that anyone use any particular operating system. > I have > consistently said that people should use what meets their needs and > what > they like. But I am not convinced that using Windows doesn't have > advantages. Using a Mac may have advantages but that doesn't mean > that > Windows may not have advantages not found in the Mac. It's > unfortunate that > so many Mac users discuss the Mac with missionary zeal and religious > fervor. > It lowers their credibility. I don't see Windows users doing the same > thing. Whenever anyone is too fanatical about anything, I become > suspicious. > > Gene > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jude DaShiell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 9:23 AM > Subject: Re: From today's Tech Update > > >> Apple has lots of user's groups in existence and not everybody who >> uses >> one of Apple's computers is connected with one of those groups or >> attends >> meetings regularly to their cost. Also not every Apple user knows >> about >> http://www.macupdate.com/ or http://www.versiontracker.com/ >> either. The >> windows users could even come up with more software too if they >> camped out >> on http://www.versiontracker.com/ too because that site offers >> software >> links and information for both sets of operating systems. By now >> we all >> of us know about the mac accessibility email lists which is more >> than many >> sighted people know. Those same sighted people who use mac's can >> use the >> same software those of us who use VoiceOver use because VoiceOver >> works >> the way it does. So sighted users can use unison as well as I can. >> That's >> an accessible newsgroup reader that works with VoiceOver but not >> all mac >> software does yet. As to the complaint about mac's and viruses, rest >> assured Apple and those in the user's groups keep current with actual >> threats and all of them know it's only a matter of time until those >> threats become actual viruses. But here's something to think about >> for >> now. One of the computer publications did a poll of security >> professionals and learned that when those security professionals >> have to >> do their work given a choice of a windows machine or a mac, the mac >> would >> be their machine of choice. One more thing to keep in mind, Snow >> Leopard >> will fix the problems Apple found after Leopard got released and >> some of >> those will be security optimizations. So Apple isn't standing still >> either. So long as Apple continues offering better operating >> systems than >> Vista and I'm alive I see no reason to spend money on windows. > > >
