Hi, see my comments below. Best,
Erik Burggraaf This month in Ebony Promos: Two new gps systems for demo. Mac OS Lion When will it be supported? Ebony Consulting at accessibility Unconference Toronto. To read more and subscribe, Visit: http://www.erik-burggraaf.com/mailman/listinfo/ebony-promos_erik-burggraaf.com Ebony Consulting toll-free: 1-888-255-5194 or on the web at http://www.erik-burggraaf.com On 2011-09-01, at 6:56 AM, Paul Erkens wrote: > > 1. Which part of the blind community is best helped with a mac? > My current answer: those who are willing and capable of self study. As with > sighted folks, of course this does not include every one. There are courses > being developed, but if you have no users, there is no urgent need for > courses to get to know the mac. And if there are no courses, there's no urge > to buy a mac. So for the moment, the user will have to be willing to self > study. > Please add to this if appropriate. > I would add that wen sighted friends and family own and use mac they will be > better equipt to help the blind user on a mac than on a PC, there-by > increasing the effectiveness of the self-support system. > 2. When is a mac preferable? I would change this so that it reads something like, "why would the end user prefer to use a mac?" Then I would rewrite this answer. The user can do much more self-support on the mack than on the PC, including re-install of the operating system and restore from backups. mac systems are more secure against malicious attacks than windows systems and are attacked less often. With apple care you get top of the line coverage for three years if anything should go wrong with your hardware. In the main, apple care issues are resolved quickly and telephone support is very good. With the demise of Windows mobile and simbian mobile phones, the inaccessibility of phone 7 and blackberry, and the under-development of android, most users looking for an accessible mobile solution are turning to the IPhone. This has made apple a household brand name in the blind community and more and more users are turning to apple computers because of their familiarity with the IPhone. > > 3. From a user's perspective, Are there any areas where a mac is really > better for an independant blind user? > My current answer: I would say not really. You can get all things done on > both systems, but the mac will give you a smoother experience. Speaking for > myself, if something doesn't work, it is usually me, who doesn't know how to > do it, or something is just plainly inaccessible. You almost never wonder why > the system acts strangely this time, and tomorrow it might act differently. I > need reasons in daily experiences. > Might want to skip this. It's impossible to quantify. Personally I chafe > when I have to go back to windows, especially win7. In my opinion the mac OS > interface is much cleaner and easier to deal with than the current windows > interface. While you can mainly get all your day to day computing done on > both systems you can't really quantify the experience. I'd leave it. > 4. From the buyer's perspective, in this case the fund paying for the mac for > a blind person, is a mac cheaper than a pc? > My current answer: In the long term yes. Initially, a mac is more expensive. > However, you get the screen reader with it, which outweighs the problem of > cost for a mac. Further more, if the mac gets updated, usually the screen > reader is updated with no further cost. This avoids having to lag behind, > where the os is more modern than your screen reader, and you will probably > have to spend another sum to update that. Please add to this if appropriate. > > 5. Unknown makes unwanted. Why do funds, insurance companies etc, stick with > windows, when there could be a better alternative for a particular user and > with respect to price? > Familiarity: Windows has %94 of the over all computer marketshare. That > means the people doing the recommending and the buying will be windows users > most of the time, and the people doing the receiving will have no ground to > gainsay them since how do you start doing the research with no computer of > your own or experience there-of? How do you even know what questions to ask, > let alone who to ask. For a while windows was the only solution. Then you have brands like jaws for windows and high powered companies with 25 plus years of experience developing access technologies and convincing us that we need their product. Since apple has only made it's push in the last 4 or 5 years, it's not surprising that anyone comes along and sees blind people using jaws and thinks that's the end of the story. Magnification: for low vision users, universal access can be a bit of a disappointment. Windows programs like zoomtext still provide superior access for users needing special colour schemes, pointer enhancements and other visual effects to match their eye condition. Well, it may not apply here, but Hardware: I may want to put a PCIE solid state data controller instead of a hard drive. I might need a serial port or prefer to use an old braille display or speech synthesizer not supported on the mac. Mac hardware is unfortunately rather proprietary and if you want to use something leading edge or even bleading edge, the mac may not be right for you. > These are my questions for now. I'm not an expert. Just an average user, > wanting others to benefit from macs as well as windows pc's, whatever is best > for them. The fund is open to input, and I'd rather not let this opportunity > pass, now that they are listening. I don't want to favor the mac either. I > just want it to become an equal alternative, not suited for everyone, but > complementing the array of choices. > > Paul. > > -- > 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.
