Hi Johnny, I can totally see where you're coming from regarding your Mac and VO queries, but it's difficult to say, in your particular situation, whether the Mac would be the right choice for you because we don't know what you want to use it for. For example, if you're wanting to be able to write and read musical notation, the Mac might not be the best choice because, as far as I'm aware, there isn't any accessible musical notation creation software available for the Mac yet. I used to use Sibelius under Windows with Jaws and have seen nothing to compare on the Mac side yet, though I'm sure that a similar solution won't be far away. However, if you want to do things such as use email, browse the internet and do basic word processing, (by basic I mean without a lot of complicated formatting,) the Mac might be a viable choice for you. You can also use spreadsheets and create presentations with little trouble.
I believe for basic music creation, (rather than notation,) there are some good choices, such as using Garageband, as one example. As I understand it, the more advanced Logic and Pro Tools have a way to go in terms of accessibility. I am currently using Garageband and have found it does most of what I want it to do in my own musical endeavours for the moment. There are accessible finance management programs available, and you are able to read most common file types with ease, including PDF. The calendar and address book are accessible, as is iTunes and a host of third party applications. There are also a growing number of podcasts and other resources available to you that demonstrate the various aspects of the Mac and VoiceOver. VoiceOver itself is very customisable and you can accomplish tasks in a variety of different ways. As an experienced Jaws user, I have found there are little things that VO can't do for me personally in the way I was used to, but those are convenience things more than functional limitations and I have found easy alternatives and work-arounds that work well for me. Coming from a Windows background, the switch to the Mac can be a bit of a learning curve, and I personally can't compare one with the other as they are vastly different. But from my own experience, switching to the Mac has been one of the best decisions I've made from a technology point of view. Certainly the initial cost may be a bit higher when purchasing the Mac you want, but as VoiceOver is built into the operating system, the costs of accessibility are much less on an ongoing basis. I've only really touched on the music-related issues I see, being a musician and composer myself, and there are undoubtedly other questions or concerns not raised here that others will have different opinions on, but I focussed primarily on the music side of things as that was one aspect you mentioned you were interested in. If you're looking for something for a work or study situation, you might also want to consider the time you'll need to invest in learning the Mac and VoiceOver and whether that will impact your situation. If it's more for personal use, that is less of an issue, but the considerations lie more in what else you want to be able to do with it, e.g. social networking, DVD ripping, communicating with friends and family etc and whether you're able to do those things comfortably on a Mac. I use a variety of different programs for the above, including skype, Hand Brake, instant messaging and twitter clients in conjunction with Apple Mail and Safari, and have found that I can accomplish all I used to do in Windows and more, and in some cases, in a much more efficient manner. Also, Apple and a lot of app developers are often extremely approachable if you have accessibility concerns with particular apps or suggestions for VoiceOver improvement, and developers will often work with you to enhance their apps for VO users where they can. It's also worth bearing in mind that there are ways to access Windows on a Mac, either by dual booting your system like I do with Windows running separately, or through virtualisation software which will still enable you to use Windows programs if you need to. I only really use Windows now for audio editing with Sound Forge, and that's by choice at the moment rather than limitations on the Mac side, and occasionally for viewing word documents that have complex formatting that VO misses. I hope this helps and that I haven't confused you. Cheers, Chantelle. On 28/03/2011, at 11:51 AM, Johchi wrote: > Hi folks, > I'm not a Mac user yet, but I am learning sooo much by gtleaning from this > wonderful > list. > My question has to do with convincing the PA State agency that getting VO and > the > MacBook for me is a better choice then the traditional Windows screen reader > setup. > But I want to be completely honest with you: > Since I'm not currently an Apple products user, I really don't know if the > Mac is > really the best way for me to go. I'm an educated professional piano > technician > who is also a musician keyboardist. But the State won't purchase anything > for me > based on personal musical ambition. I have joined this list and the AiPhone > list > in order to hear for myself just how accessible the apple platform really is. > I > must say that I am quite amazed beyond words on how much blind folks are able > to > accomplish on the touch screen iPhone. So needless to say, I am looking > forward > to the iPhone 5 when it comes out, and I'll probably be getting something in > an iPhone > for myself at that time. But anyway, getting back to my situation with the > State > getting me some new computer equipment: > Their immediate response to my interests for having a Mac was negative. Why? > Because > the guy hired to do my equipment evaluation has had zero experience using a > Mac and > so he told the agency that he felt that it was in his opinion that it was a > bad idea > to get me a Mac. I immediately came back with saying to them that it was my > right > to make my own choice as to what equipment I would like to have use of. And > that > my choice of equipment was being discriminated against based on their lack of > knowledge > and understanding of the subject. They then quickly changed their tune and > gave > me another equipment evaluator to work with me who they say is familiar with > the > Mac platform and said that they would have to go with his recommendations > thereafter. > I have yet to meet with this second person. > Consequently, in the meantime I am needing to get as much concrete evidence > that > VO on a Mac is perfectly viable and that everything I need to do on the > MacBook is > accessible, or better yet, even better accessible then the Windows / > Microsoft platform > using the latest WE screen reader alone.. > So I need to locate information supporting the ability for the blind to be > able to > use the MacBook successfully.Please be so kind as to briefly speak to this > matter > with either your own testimonies of your own success and support, or > negatatives > and concerns concerning the use of the Apple Mac platform for the blind > computer > user. > Thanks much, > -- > Johnny Chilelli > [email protected] > 814-450-5433 > > -- > 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. 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