Hi Alex,
Just a few comments and suggestions:
I think it would be more useful to list typical programs people would
use by task function (mail, editing, PDF reading, etc.) rather than to
title your page as "Mac Equivalents to Common Windows Programs". If
you identify these as "Windows equivalents" your readers will have the
mental framework of working in Windows, and looking for something that
works exactly the same way on a Mac.
Some of these comparisons are not really quite so straight-forward
either, since it is possible to use Adobe Acrobat Reader on the Mac
(and, indeed if you have material covered by Digital Rights
Management, you may have to). It just doesn't offer the same degree
of flexibility and ease of use on a Mac that Preview has, since it
works through the Text-to-Speech engine rather than VoiceOver.
Presenting material in terms of "equivalent programs" can also lead to
misconceptions -- such as Windows users wanting to know which
defragmentation program to use on a Mac or where to find tools for
uninstalling programs and correcting the registry. (In general, these
are not functions with counterparts on the Mac side, except
occasionally the requirement of uninstallers -- which will come with
the programs if they are needed).
If you want an assessment of differences between OS X and Windows XP
or Vista, I would look at the site:
http://macvswindows.com/
which is an updated version of an older site that compared OS X with
Windows XP:
http://www.xvsxp.com/
That site is aimed at examining the differences in how each system
organizes its operations. Some of the Windows comparisons are
incomplete because of updating material from Vista. (This really is
beyond the scope of your Wiki, but I think it is a more dispassionate
comparison than the Mac vs. PC site listed at http://www.lioncourt.com:
http://www.macvspc.info/
which clearly is pro-Mac). None of these guides are written from the
viewpoint of accessible software.
For general software, check the VoiceOver Compatibility Guide that
Greg Kearney maintains at:
http://w3.wmcnet.org/vo/
This is not so much an list of recommendations as a source of
accessibility information on software that people have tried out,
grouped by category.
Finally, I believe that you have an error in the IP address you gave,
and that you want:
http://70.70.27.140/wiki/index.php/Mac_Programs_equivilants
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
On Nov 2, 2008, at 12:33 PM, Alex Jurgensen wrote:
Hi,
I am working on this page:
http://70.70.24.140/wiki/index.php/index.php/Category:Voiceover
I need more equivilant software, but don't use Windows, so I don't
know any. I am trying to get the list into Alphabetical Order too.
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
