Yes, you can even reinstall your operating system completely without sighted help, this is something windows does not provide. If someone offered me a windows PC for free, I would say, thanks, but no thanks. the mac does everything I need, and does it better than windows. On Apr 1, 2014, at 4:23 PM, Andrew Lamanche <ioani...@me.com> wrote:
> All I have to say is that Mac is much much more stable than Windows with a > screen reader. If things go wrong, I rarely feel I'm out of control. I am > very rarely left in the middle of doing something without speech whereas on > Windows it was and still is a frequent occurrence. I feel much more in > control on my Mac. > > Andrew > On 1 Apr 2014, at 20:21, Kristeen Hughes <khwi...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Jenine, I can basically echo what you say. I was a windows user from the >> windows 95 os. In fact, I worked for Microsoft for three years and so had to >> believe in something that provided me with my bread and butter, and of >> course, chocolate. (grin) However, I could crash any windows system with >> great ease. Some of it is the OS itself, which, although it is better in >> versions 7 and 8, still has more crashing issues than Mac. Some of it, >> probably most of it, is due to the fact the the screen reading software is >> separate from the os. this has always caused instability and i don't see >> that changing any time soon. >> >> When it comes to iOS, there's no contest in my oppinion. Talks and Mobile >> speaks and anything else is just so much more fickle than is the iOS. I, and >> lots of people i know, struggled constantly with crashes and lock-ups and >> having to turn the phone on and off a great number of times even in a day. >> >> I am very happy with both mac os and ios platforms andwould not want to give >> them up. >> >> . on apr 1, 2014, at 2:26 pm, jenine stanley <dragonwalke...@gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> this is an interesting question. from just an average user point of view, i >> have been using my macbook pro since early february and use a windows laptop >> for work. they literally sit side by side on my desk. >> >> i had used the iphone since 2011 so was sort of familiar with how voiceover >> works and love it on the ios platform that said, it's very different on the >> mac or os side. >> >> speaking first to stability, i managed to crash the mbp twice in the first >> week but literally have not made the speech stop since then. has my mbp >> slowed down or acted strangely a few times without explanation? yes, but >> it's come back to its original performance soon after these fits. >> >> my windows machine frequently hangs up both in the operating system in >> general and because of screen reader/video issues. outlook is really bad >> about this and i usually have to reboot at least once a day. yes, i maintain >> my windows machine well with weekly cleaning and such but ... >> >> the one thing that you will find difficult at first but which, if you >> continue to plug away at it will soon become second nature, is the whole >> concept of interacting with things. i hated it at first and still am not >> fond of it. unlike the ios realm, you have to take an extra step to access >> some things using voice over. once you get used to it though and combine >> quick nav with the regular vo operation, and ask this list a ton of stupid >> questions, :) you'll be fine. >> >> i really like the variety of quality voices available with vo too. it's fast >> and responsive. i'm sold. be sure though to give yourself some time and be >> patient. beprepared to read over and over any and all instructions, podcasts >> and other things about switching, commands and apps. >> jenine stanley >> dragonwalke...@gmail.com >> >> >> >> on apr 1, 2014, at 2:14 pm, scott rumery <blindfait...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> hello scott, >> >> you will probably get a lot of varying opinions on this topic so you will >> have to decide which ones you will take seriously or not. having said this >> let me first tell you that ever since i switched to using a mac more than 3 >> years ago i have become probably one of the biggest apple fan boys that >> there is, so my thoughts on this subject are going to have a strong apple >> bias to them. >> >> if you are wanting a computing environment that is very stable compared to >> what you are currently getting on the windows platform then in my opinion >> you would be very happy with a mac. >> >> the instability of my windows computer is exactly what helped me to make the >> decision to make the switch over 3 years ago. >> >> i used to have to restart my windows computer several times a day and now >> that i am on a mac i hardly ever need to reboot. >> >> you will notice that i said "hardly." i have had to restart my mac once in a >> while due to lost speech or something, but as i stated with the use the word >> hardly this does not happen with any regularity. >> >> now having said all of this let me give you a little word of caution about >> switching platforms. i teach blind people who make this switch how to use >> their macs for a company called fedora outlier, llc and one the biggest >> mistakes that people make is thinking that switching from a windows computer >> over to a mac computer is going to be easy. >> >> it isn't as easy as one might think. after all you are going to have to >> learn how to use a totally different operating system and a new and >> different screen reader. >> >> now having said this if you are determined to learn the new platform and you >> do it correctly by this i mean that you don't try and learn everything in >> one day you can definitely learn how to use a mac very quickly. >> >> one more thing. in response to your question as to whether or not a mac is >> more stable than a windows computer. remember earlier when i said that when >> i was still using a windows computer i would have to restart the computer >> several times a day, well with my current mac which is 2012 mac book pro >> with 4 gigabytes of ram i haven't had to restart it in about 2 weeks. my mac >> is on 24 hours a day. during the day when i am working i am actually using >> it, and at night the mac will just sleep, but it hasn't been turned off in >> at least 2 weeks now and voiceover is running flawlessly . >> >> i hope that all of this helps you with your decision and if you need >> anything else please just ask. >> >> have a great day, >> >> scott rumery >> on apr 1, 2014, at 11:44 am, scott duck <scottduck1...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> hi everyone, >> >> as i said previously, i am thinking about getting a mac and the main reason >> is that i am tired of the increasing instability of the pc environment. my >> first question is, is this really different on a mac? >> >> i am using jaws 15 with windows 8. both are not all that stable. i have >> been a jaws user for 17 years and i have noticed a definite progressive >> increase in instability with the last few releases. jaws crashes frequently >> and, even if it doesn't crash, it often stops talking when errors occur with >> other applications. then, there's windows 8. i don't mind the windows 8 >> interface but several times per week, i will have a problem that requires me >> to restart my computer. i did not have that nearly as much with windows 7. >> also, it isn't unusual for me to install a program which will, either >> directly or through add ins, make windows and/or jaws more unstable. i then >> have to decide rather the additional functionality is worth the increased >> instability. i'm just tired of all the crashes and reboots and having to >> use three or four screen readers because i have to run one when another one >> crashes. >> >> by contrast, my iphone and ipad, while not perfect, are certainly more >> stable. voiceover seldom just stops working. of course, every single app >> is not accessible and they do not all work correctly but any problems with >> an app are almost always confined only to that app. when an app crashes, it >> usually does not also cause voiceover or the device to crash. is this also >> true of the mac? >> >> i have certainly used technology enough to know that none of it is perfect. >> however, i would like something that is better than the pc, when it comes to >> stability. over all, in your experience, is the mac more stable? >> >> thanks, >> scott duck >> >> -- >> 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, 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