HI, I am answering your questions inline just below where they apear:
On 16-Jul-09, at 4:32 PM, a radix wrote: > Hello, I am very new to apple in general (although I did use an ipod > shuffle and a rockboxed 5.5g imod i nthe past). I am a 24-year old > blind law student from the Netherlands and have been using computers > from a very young age mostly with dos, windows and sometimes ubuntu. > Recently I became interested in macbook pro because I am an > audiophile and the macbooks are one of the few powerful laptops I > know that have optical audio output. But of course I was also > interested in trying os x since I had read the voicover page > (although not the manual). > I went to a local apple store yesterda and was rather disppointed > that I could not seem to use things intuitively as I had thought, ... Answer: This is because VO is not a traditional screen reader but revolutionizes the was AT works, ... > so I mailed apple accessibility who pointed me to the manual and > this page. Aside from the fact that I thought apple voicover would > not be usable (and so neither os x) by a blind person right out of > the box (I am rather independand and besides no one in my vicinity > knows anything about apple) I was concerned that the screenreader > was not made by a professional screenreader manufacturer, ... Answer: Apple is a proffessional screen reader manufacturer and can be concidered such since Leopard's release. What is a screen reader manufacturer, but someone or some people who know how to make a screen reader that can be used in every day life. FS and GW Micro started life small too. Just because Apple's main focus is not accessibility, does not make them any less professional, ... > and was built-in into os x (after all narrator is not that great > although it is functional) I was also concerned by the lack of > scriptability or map files to make unaccessible applications > accessible., ... Answer: Again this is a cultural ifference between Apple and FS/GW Micro/Orca. Developers on the Mac generally jusmp at the chance to make their applications accessible. These update come fairly quickly., ... > In short I thought it would be a second Narrator. Also despite my > googling I could not finda user community for vo, no one in nl seems > to use it. > So I will be reading the manual asap but a few quick questions:, ... Answer: I believe some members on this list are from the NL. Also, there are a lot of resources such as: http://www.lioncort.com/ http://www.icanworkthisthing.com/ http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ Many more exist, ... > 1. does omnipage pro work on the mac/is it accessible? Answer: Perhaps, and I can't speak to this one personally, but most people use Voscan and REad Iris for OCR. > 2. I guess it would be able to use my linksys route ron the mac? Answer: > Yes. You can for sure. I had one for a few years and just replaced > it. It worked great, despite a small bug in Safari that rendered the > web interface useless. However, this has been resolved. > 3. hp scanners/printers, are they supported? Answer: Generally yes. However, do a search on your model for specifics. Hint: Twain Sain for Mac supports scanners the OS does not by default. > 4. Is it possible to install mac os x (or reinstall it sinc eI guess > it always comes preinstalled but you might want to install a bigger > hd for example) as a blind person? (this is possible with both > ubuntu and windows xp). Answer: It is possible, though challenging if you have a unibody machine because of the design of the shell/casing, but this is not a software problem, but a hardware issue with a select few models. In contrast the Mac Pro is super easy to change drives with the Macbook White and Mac Mini in between. > 5. How is braille support with voiceover? I dont mean the displays > themselves i know mine will work but the amount of details shown > versus spech. I am a die-hard braille user. Answer: It is very good. Norigion I don't belive is supported right now for Braille Tables, but it may be in September. > 6. Since os x is unix based, I wonder if ORCA (the screenreader for > linux, although it work sunder gnome) will ever be ported? Answer: If it is, it would only work in the the Gnome environment on OS X under X11. Regards, Alex, --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
