The Stream 2 records in MP3 format now. Those play fine on the Mac. 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 group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> for more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> to post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> for more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> to post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> for more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >>> -- >>> 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > 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 to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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