Hi, Yes. Particularly since I am a lawyer with the public defenders office. And my primary role as an appellate and post-conviction attorney is to write briefs, with case citations.
I knew about the fusion program, as I have spent time talking to others about the program. I didn't know about the snap shot. So thanks. From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John J Herzog Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:14 PM To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com Subject: Re: the apple user? Hello, As a macbook user, who has to write substantial papers for law school, and who has used his computer at a summer internship with Pepsico, I feel I can helpfully answer your questions. Forgive the length of this email. First, the idea that macs are only play toys is complete and utter nonsense. On my mac, I do use the apps like Itunes and Ichat, but I use serious apps as well. Iwork is quite accessible, as is text edit, allowing you to do extensive formatting of documents. Also, the preview application on the mac is one of the best PDF readers I have ever seen. The text is readable with voiceover, and there are few, if any crashes. What other screen readers can you say that about? Next, I will address your concern about microsoft office applications not being accessible. It is true that they do not work with voiceover. However, for about seventy dollars, you can pick up a program called VMware fusion. Fusion allows you to install windows and run it at the same time as your mac. This means that you can use whatever screen reader you like for windows and run office without a hitch. There is one more upside to running fusion on mac. After you have configured windows just the way you want it, you can create what is known as a snapshot. The snapshot will restore your system to its exact configuration at the time you took it, meaning you will always have a fresh install of windows, office, and your screen reader a click away. It's awesome, because it does a complete and utter system restore when windows decides to go south on you. For a blind person, I actually think a mac with fusion is better than a standard windows PC for this reason. Note that a fusion snapshot literally restores all files and settings to the way they were when you took it. It is much more extensive than using the built in windows system restore utility. It has saved my skin a number of times, and I will give you a perfect example. At the beginning of law school, I found it necessary to purchase a scanner with a document feeder. Previously, I had a different scanner that I was using with kurzweil 1000. Now, when I installed the twain drivers for the new scanner, after trying to unsuccessfully remove the old drivers, I found myself in a situation where neither set worked. If I had a standard windows machine, I was facing the real possibility of having to reinstall windows to get either unit to work reliably. Either that, or it was having to spend hours and hours messing with system dll files, and we all know what happens after that. So, instead, I just restored a snapshot I made of my XP machine prior to having installed either Kurzweil or the scanner software. I then installed both on what was essentially a fresh copy of windows, and all was smooth sailing from there. It saved me from endless headaches, plus the burden of having to get a sighted person to help install the screen reader again, and the time that would have been wasted in such a pursuit. I hope this helps answer your questions. John P.S. If you go to www.blindcooltech.com, you can find some excellent demos of the macintosh by Mike Arigo. He even shows how fusion and voiceover work, and he runs window eyes on the XP side of things. Hope this helps. On Apr 20, 2010, at 7:52 PM, denise avant wrote: Hello all, Please forgive the length of this message. In researching the issue of whether to purchase an apple mac or not, I've come across a few people who have expressed criticism if not concern about the mac computers themselves. I own the iphone, and have enjoyed it tremendously. I've been able to do things with the phone I was never able to do with other phones. The only problem I still have is putting in extensions and account numbers once the number is connected. But having said this, I seriously doubt whether I will ever buy another phone, where I don't have accessibility built in. There is an applestoe here in Chicago, and when I've had any problem of any kind, the sales staff has been very easy to deal with. Even when I call on the telephone, I find a very friendly staff. I have my own personal sales representative since I have mac book pro on the drawing board. What I enjoy most of all, is that I can go to an appelstore, and with the exception of a couple of products, there is accessibility right out of the box, with no extra costs or smas to worry about. I'm seeking opinions from those of you who use these computers with voice over. The biggest criticism I've heard that if you're conducting a business or doing a serious project, the mac is not for the blind user. This apparently has to do with the fact that the office aps are not accessible with vo, and iwork9 acts strangely sometimes. Basically, one person, who doesn't use the mac, but is familiar with the product line, told me that the operating system was those who wanted to "play." Can those you have used the macbooks or other appel operating systems address these issues. Thanks. __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 5045 (20100420) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email tomacvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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 macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 5045 (20100420) __________ The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. http://www.eset.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
