Yes, the numpad does make things easier, and on the laptops, you can use the trackpad commander which also makes navigating much easier. On Sep 29, 2012, at 11:18 PM, Shaun Oliver wrote:
> I've also had it said to me that if you can get hold of a numpad, bluetooth > or otherwise, you can make full use of numpad commander and it makes the > navigating experience just that much better. > I personally had no issue with learning to use the mac. I learned to drive on > around two years ago, as a friend of mine had one. ever since then, I could > wander into a store, turn voiceover on and have a play. > Now I have one, I've not looked back. > > On 30/09/2012, at 12:45 PM, "Debbie April Yuille" <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Here, Here. Well said. I've just migrated to mac and I'm quite surprised >> with how accessible it really is. I have virtually no site, and I'm learning >> to get around it quite well. I particularly love the way that you can use >> the Item chooser to navigate around a page rather than tab around a hole >> screen in other systems to find what you want. >> >> Debbie >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [email protected] >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mrs. Lynnette >> Annabel Smith >> Sent: Sunday, 30 September 2012 3:39 AM >> To: Mac OSX & iOS Accessibility >> Subject: Making The Most Of Your Accessible Tools; A Passionate Rant [Was >> "so wish apple had done this"] >> >> Hello John, Will and all >> >> As somebody with vision looking in, so to speak, I frequently find it >> astonishing when I hear people criticising what Apple is doing with >> accessibility; particularly in view of the practicalities. For instance, >> unless you're a pirate and by definition, therefore, a thief, Freedom >> Scientific, GW Micro and Dolphin Access, to name but three vendors, charge a >> very great deal of money for their accessibility tools. Also, Microsoft >> charges for their operating system, even for the most basic version, over 5 >> times what Apple does. VoiceOver is a free and, most of the time, very >> reliable product. It gives the user access to a WYSIWYG, (what you see is >> what you get) interface to websites. Most of which can, if you take the time >> to learn to use it, be navigated extremely well using VoiceOver and Safari. >> >> Ultimately, it really depends upon the individual. If you just want a sheet >> of virtual paper with a hand-holding web environment, by all means use your >> other products and I wish you the very best of luck in all you do. >> >> I, (and I count my lucky stars, believe me), have the advantage of vision >> and I have seen both sides of this. I do see some sites where VoiceOver just >> will not play nicely and yes, we have seen some pretty spectacular crashes >> at times. However, in the general scheme of things, the environment is more >> stable and just as, if not more, reliable than the competition if, and it is >> a very big if, the pilot of the machine takes the time and effort to learn >> to handle it. >> >> I sincerely hope that we see a time when Apple perfects their accessibility >> tools. But make no mistake about it; they are committed to accessibility and >> they will improve their offerings. Remember also that the competing products >> have been available far far longer than has VoiceOver. Yes, I know that you >> can't always go by that and I know also that Apple has been involved in the >> field of accessibility for around 8 years now. However, just cast your mind >> back to how things were before Apple entered the market. Apple really has >> made a difference, not only to their own products, but also the competition. >> >> I recall the vice president of one accessibility company saying: >> "It's all very well having an operating system with a talking installer. But >> that's not much use if you can't do anything with it afterwards." >> >> That statement was a direct quote. It was, and remains, the utterings of a >> frightened man who feared losing custom. As things have worked out, that is >> exactly what has happened. Literally tens of thousands of visually impaired >> users across the world have now migrated to Apple's products; desktop and >> mobile. Indeed, the vice president of Freedom Scientific himself is the >> proud owner of an iPhone. Make of that what you will! >> >> Anyway, I am ranting. But I sometimes find it really disappointing when I >> hear people complaining like this. People who have freedom to choose. The >> long and the short of this is: If you want perfection, you'll be waiting for >> a very very long time. If you are prepared to be flexible and innovative, >> you have the power at your fingertips, quite literally in some cases. If, >> however, you are happy with constant virtualisation, hand-holding and costly >> solutions, then perhaps Apple's platforms are not for you. yes, there are >> free and low-cost applications available out there for other operating >> systems. And that is to be applauded. However, you are still working within >> the confines of an often insecure, vulnerable and unstable environment. >> >> Which ever option you choose to take is entirely down to your preference. >> However, although I can understand a degree of frustration when things don't >> quite work out; and yes, it does happen to my other half as well quite >> frequently, the best thing you could do is to make the most of the failures. >> Try to reliably replicate them and, if possible, send your crash reports to >> Apple. That is the only way your problems will be fixed. It isn't reasonable >> to expect Apple to foresee every eventuality and I urge cooperation and >> patience. Believe it or not, as somebody with vision, I can tel you that >> Internet Explorer 9 and FireFox 15 are not invulnerable and do crash quite >> frequently, even without accessibility tools in the mix. Speaking >> personally, I learned to do much more than point and click and I learned >> most of it on an Apple Mac. I also made it my business to learn to use >> VoiceOver in order that I can interact with my other half who is, like many >> people in this group, totally bl >> ind. I feel for each and every one of you. But I urge you to try and make >> the very best of what you have available. Only in that way will you be able >> to evolve with the ever-changing world of technologies, assistive and >> otherwise. >> >> Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for the rant. This is, however, a topic on >> which I hold passionate views. >> >> My very best and most sincere wishes to each and every one of you. >> >> Lynne >> >> On 29 Sep 2012, at 17:24, John Panarese <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> There are a lot of things you can do to fiddle and troubleshoot such >> issues. Do you have examples of sites and what you are specifically looking >> for? The reality is that VoiceOver and Safari are not perfect, but neither >> are web designers. Don't discount the possiblity of the site simply being >> badly designed. >> >> <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> >> >> To reply to this post, please address your message to >> [email protected] >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at >> either the list's own dedicated web archive: >> <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> >> or at the public Mail Archive: >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. >> Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> >> >> The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus >> and worm-free! >> >> Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting >> the list website at: >> <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/> >> >> <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> >> >> To reply to this post, please address your message to >> [email protected] >> >> You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at >> either the list's own dedicated web archive: >> <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> >> or at the public Mail Archive: >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. >> Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> >> >> The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus >> and worm-free! >> >> Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting >> the list website at: >> <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/> > > <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> > > To reply to this post, please address your message to > [email protected] > > You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at > either the list's own dedicated web archive: > <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> > or at the public Mail Archive: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. > Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> > > The Mac-Access mailing list is guaranteed malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and > worm-free! > > Please remember to update your membership options periodically by visiting > the list website at: > <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/mac-access/options/> <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> To reply to this post, please address your message to [email protected] You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at either the list's own dedicated web archive: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> or at the public Mail Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. 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