With the second generation Victor Stream, the default file type for notes is MP3. There is no longer that weird file type. If you still have the first generation of the Stream, then, if you purchase a license for the SoftPak, then you can choose MP3 as the file type for your notes. Therefore, in both of those cases, there is no longer the need for the Humanware companion.
Myrna -----Original Message----- From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com [mailto:macvisionaries@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike Arrigo Sent: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 12:51 AM To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: Stability of the Mac Humanware should have developed a tool for the mac, or, better yet, it should have used mp3 in the first place instead of a nonstandard format. On Apr 1, 2014, at 11:40 PM, Kerri <shalo...@shaw.ca> wrote: > the only thing I wish the mac would do--and this is no fault of the mac--is have the ability to convert the notes from a victor reader stream so I don't have to use humanWare companion. > > > > On Apr 1, 2014, at 9:31 PM, Mike Arrigo <n0...@charter.net> wrote: > >> 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, send an email tomacvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> to post to this 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