My primary reason for still using the Mac at this point is the frustration-free robustness of the OS and screen reader (if you’re on the right release, anyway). You really do get a lot in the package, especially if you also have iOS, but system-wide spell-check is still one of my favourite features. I don’t think Apple is keeping up with making the experience as good as it should be; I started with Leopard, a rough release, but still have a much higher opinion of that than contemporary releases. Snow Leopard was awesome and the best, really. I keep thinking about moving back to Windows, and have made all the necessary preparations, but somehow it isn’t happening; clearly, OS X is a pleasant enough experience that I’m willing to tolerate it, and I now have much Apple hardware. I still think that any day now, I will switch back to Windows. Perhaps when the next release fails to fix the bugs I’ve reported to Apple, I might do it, but there’s a lot of happiness wrapped up in the Mac experience for me. The primary argument for the Windows screen readers is that, while they might not be going anywhere, they do at least work reasonably and consistently in the environments they’re tested and customised for, and get bug fixes as needed to fix obvious problems. There is more choice on Windows, of course; the Mac usually has just the one or two best choices for certain apps, which often provide a much nicer equivalent to the Windows world, but often skimp on functionality or nerd appeal. Up to you, really.
The efficiency argument is mostly a red herring IMO, because one can become familiar with the system and apps and many of the workarounds to get it done faster. However, I do think the models are sufficiently different that it’s not the easiest thing in the world to adapt from one to the other. Also, it’s clear that overall efficiency belongs to Windows, because the native OS keyboard support is superior. The key differentiator here is that in Windows, one moves the system highlight to find out what something is, with no context; on the Mac, the screen reader provides the overlay necessary for screen exploration as a native, first-party cursor that has convenience features for tracking and moving the system cursor, but also providing you with context as you navigate. Both aspects have good and bad points, but you find that on the Mac you can learn to use many system commands to go faster, such as the Tab key. iTunes is clearly a nicer experience on OS X. On Windows you can get it done, but here’s a perfect illustration of how the two models differentiate, because iTunes is a complicated application that Windows screen readers aren’t really equipped to cope with using just one point of focus: you’ll want scripts and docs to explain and extract information and to jump around in the app. A windows user would probably read the iTunes help files, and use screen review to get a rough overview of the screen, but on VoiceOver all that is happening naturally as you use the app. Of course, iOS is a totally different kettle of fish without interaction, and I do agree that the experience is that much smoother; I have no doubt the Mac could get some of that, if Apple only put in the effort with its trackpad support, but ultimately the Mac is a multi-windowed environment so there is going to be some amount of added complexity. Braille support on the Mac is inferior to that of Windows. Keep your Mac. Even as a Windows box, it’s awesome. It’s durable hardware and you can’t really go wrong with it so long as you can choose to run both OSs on it. I intend to continue using Apple hardware, even if I switch full-time to Windows, simply because it’s such well-rounded, accessible hardware. You get Target Disk Mode, a fairly predictable boot process, USB booting, NO BIOS, and an accessible way to recover even in the worst possible situations. Windows systems just don’t give you that option; it’s all point-and-click BIOS setup screens and recovery partitions that you can accidentally trash. Of course, it’s true that prices are higher, too, but Apple’s choices are more than sufficient for me. If I went back to WinTel hardware, I’d go building the box myself, by necessity. AirPlay works well on Windows, too. Requires iTunes, but there are also third-party solutions. Indeed, Apple are quite nice to Windows users, overall. I could see myself being quite happy with Apple’s Windows offerings. All that having been said: if you are using Windows and you’re happy with it, and you want to skimp on the hardware, you could return the Mini and stick with your existing box, maybe upgrade to a newer release of Windows. But I’d keep the Mini and try hard to learn macOS, or BootCamp Windows on it, for the best of both worlds. You have a fine computer there. -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
