This is what Mac demos never tell us though, and Mac users seem similar. Navigating to between two areas could either be really simple or really straightforward, depending whereabouts on the screen they are, looks like VO is a recipe for RSI to me! Please discuss!
Cheers Dave -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Moore Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 10:47 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Prospective Mac User You can create keyboard command shortcuts to perform basic tasks, such as launch an application, tell you the current time, tell you how many unread messages you have and I have assigned a toggle between DOM and Group mode for when using Safari. mAC os x has scripting built into the OS which VoiceOver is part of too as VoiceOver is built into the OS its not an add on. Mac OS X has Automator too fa visual way to build many scripts. I must admit I have not used scripts yet as I am fairly new to VoiceOver too. Like you I would prefer a better way of using IM, it is a bit clumsy on the Mac I find. I wrote to Apple accessibility about iChat, I would like iChat to automatically speak out a message as it arrives in the active window so I can easily quickly type a response. Currently I have to move to the edit box and type my message and then navigate to the HTML window to read my replies in a conversation and a lot of the time (Adium) I have to keep scrolling down the entire history to read my last message received. Not sure if there is a better way. I think iChat supports VO +J but as I was about to try it Safari 5 seemed to mess up my iChat experience. I have seen JAWS use MSN Messenger for Windows and it is far superior, if we keep the pressure up with Apple hopefully iChat will work just as well. As for other IM applications, we are best writing to the developers directly. On 17 Jun 2010, at 10:35, Dave Taylor wrote: > Here are some specific questions on areas where it appears Jaws is ahead. > > 1. In messenger programs, is it possible to have a set of keystrokes that > will read messages and stay within the history area while being able to type > in the edit area at the same time and review that typing? I would want to > have a feature set like the alt plus numbers and arrows in Jaws otherwise it > would be too slow. This is one of the main reasons I haven't switched to > NVDA rather than Jaws. > > 2. In Skype, I can get to my contacts or conversations list with single > keystrokes using ctrl 1 and ctrl 2, and focus most other areas with similar > keystrokes. In addition to the feature I just asked for in messenger, how > easy is this in Mac? > > 3. This one is not a Mac problem, but is really important to me. I use > several programs that make tasks so easy in Windows that don't work on the > Mac. How much does it cost to buy Windows stand alone these days to run > those on a Mac? I'm thinking of SpeakOn which makes internet radio, podcasts > and all sorts of other audio things much easier and gives you fantastic > control over speed etc, Kurzweil 1000 which though expensive automates so > much of my mail reading by simply scanning and automatically reading things > while I'm doing things, and programs that don't even exist for Mac like the > VIP communicator for the Accessible Friends Network and VIP Conduit. > > It is also possible with Jaws for people to write scripts to do things and > share them. Is this possible for VO? > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Olivia Norman > Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 1:13 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Prospective Mac User > > What do you feel Freedom Sciencefiction and jaws provide that VO lacks? > I'm just curious. > "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" Steve Jobs > > On Jun 16, 2010, at 4:25 PM, cathyk wrote: > >> Hi Kolby, >> I bought my MacBook Pro about a month ago, and am largely happy. But >> there are a few important things to know. 1) VO doesn't work with all >> programs, notably MS Word. I was surprised that such an industry >> standard requires finding workarounds every time you open a document, >> which isn't ideal when doing collaborative writing projects or comment >> on hundreds of papers electronically as I do. Whether this is Apple's >> or Microsoft's fault, the bottom line is that Word files need to be >> "translated" through programs like "Preview" (which comes installed) >> or Pages in iworks, which requires laying out another $50 or $60. >> Some say the new freeware version of Open Office works better; I >> haven't tried, so I'd love to hear from someone who writes and edits a >> lot. Even if it works better than the paid version, I suspect other >> features get lost - alas, you get what you pay for. 2) the >> portability features seem terrific but you should consider which >> environments you'll be wanting to access because at least for now the >> Mac market is quite small in comparison to PCs, so the number of >> computers where your USB settings will work is fairly small. 3) VO is >> very good, but it isn't JAWS or ZoomText. Many of us dream of a day >> when we can use out-of-the-box technology just like everyone else; >> we're much, much closer, but that day isn't there yet. 4) The user >> support is limited for VO. This discussion list is excellent, but I >> still have a growing list of questions that people can't answer and >> that are impossible to look up. Even the in-depth manual isn't *that* >> in-depth. This means there's a kind of pioneer spirit to the whole >> thing, with people figuring out this and that just like they would >> sort out how to repair a wagon wheel a thousand miles from >> civilization. That's exciting, hip, and creative, but sometimes you >> just want a simple answer to a nagging problem that's still beyond >> even the best macvisionaries. All that said, I'm enjoying my new >> machine. >> Best, >> Cathyk >> >> >> >> On Jun 16, 2:10 pm, Pete Nalda <[email protected]> wrote: >>> First off, don't worry about what may be going on at the moment, with the > update. Mac OS is still so much easier in general to deal with than windows > and its various screen readers. This may not apply for everyone on here but > to me the choice was economical. Every time there was a new version of > windows, I'd have to purchase a new version ("upgrade") of ZoomText. I got > tired of playing that game. Every time I buy a new version of Mac OSX, I get > a new version of Zoom *and* VoiceOver :) >>> >>> On Jun 16, 2010, at 3:21 PM, Kolby Garrison wrote: >>> >>>> Hello Everyone, >>>> I am considering purchasing a mac book pro, and I wanted to know what > satisfied mac users have to say about the pros and cons of mac and windows. > I have been researching voiceover, and it sounds like a very stable screen > reading solution. I like the portable preferences feature, and from what I > have read thus far I do believe that a mac book pro will be purchased in my > very near future. I will go to an apple store for some hands on time with a > mac, but if anyone would share your mac experiences with me I would > appreciate it. I know that there will be a learning curve going from the > windows operating system to the mac operating system, but I am ready and > willing to learn all that I can. >>>> Thank you, >>>> Kolby >>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 > athttp://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >>> Egun On, Lagunak! (Basque for G'day, Mates) >>> Pete > Naldahttp://www.myspace.com/musikonaldahttp://www.facebook.com/lpnalda >> >> -- >> 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. >> > > -- > 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. > > -- > 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. > -- 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. -- 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.
