Hi Dark, Well, I can agree with that assessment up to a point. Certainly having been sighted and am blind I find it takes me longer to learn interfaces, to find my way around a piece of software, etc than I did when I could see because I can't get an idea of what I am looking at a glance. However, the migration from another operating system to another still would take a sighted user longer to learn because the interface is unfamiliar to them and things are in a different place or the way to do something is just flat out different.
I will give you an idea in point. Last spring my mom got a new HP laptop on it with Windows 8 on it. Up until then her experience was with an old Del desktop running Windows XP. She called me to ask how to do basic tasks like shut down the computer because Microsoft has moved the location of things in the new user interface, and it isn't as intuitive as with XP. Sighted people are having just as much an issue grasping the new user interface as blind people and a lot of that is due in part because Microsoft has moved, renamed, or otherwise redesigned things that prior experience is confusing because what you expect to see and what you actually get are different things. So while I agree blindness is an issue I think having an unfamiliar interface is just as confusing for sighted users too. However, as you said people can get use to anything if they put a mind to it. I'll be the first to say when I beta tested Windows 8 I hated it, did not think I would like it, or adopt it. A year or so out I am growing fond of it. I like Windows 8.1 better than Windows 8 because Microsoft put back a few things they took out such as the classic Start Button, you have some extra customizations such as being able to turn off the Start Screen on startup, and if you use something like Classic Shell you can get back the classic Windows XP Start Menu too. So Windows 8.1 is not as dreadful as some people make it out to be. In fact, it is actually faster, boots and shuts down quicker than Windows 7, and the new Sapi voices are good too. the little apps like the weather applet are handy as well so I think Windows 8.1 is really a decent choice for anyone upgrading from XP. Cheers! On 12/17/13, dark <[email protected]> wrote: > Well tome there is also the fact that it is possible to get used to just > about anything, indeed there are situations where the human ability to do > this is quite scary. > > I suspect I could learn to live with windows 7 if there was actually a > reason to do so, the same way I learnt to use the Iphone touch screen. > > This is however also why i tried Ios before I bought an Iphone, since if I > was going to spend that amount of money on something I wanted to be dam sure > > about it first. > > One problem however I think if you lack sight generally with any interface > is because you don't have the quick and instant aaccess to information and > overview a sighted person does, you are naturally going to take more time > learning new positions and thus be more wary of any change in that > established learn routine. > > Think of it this way, suppose you go into your favourite local restauant and > > they've utterly rearranged the tables so that the counter is at the opposite > > end of the room. for a sighted person, ---- no problem. But for a blind > person who neesd to remember the positioning of objects it means more > learning. This is especially true when things are complex. > > Of course, everyone gets used to doing this, however it still takes time and > > energy that a sighted person does not have to expend. > > Beware the Grue! > > Dark. > --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
