Scott (and others), there may be some truth to my pushing here. I've been a screen reader user here for only a short time (less than 3 months). believe me when I say this: I thought I had a lot longer than I did, but if it hadn't been for the fact that I jumped on the mac bandwagon a year ago, I'd be waiting for accessibility now.
currently, the way things sit, I can't put together $1,000 for the software from freedom scientific to make windows accessible for me. in fact, I would ned visual assistance just to install NVDA. at least, with the mac, it was press 2 keys and I was going right then, no extra installation, no visual help (except for the initial instruction to find out how to turn on voiceover). I really am glad I paid the $29.00 for snow leopard to upgrade my 10.5 system. I am even more glad that I paid out the $450.00 for the used intel iMac brainbox. I have since added some nice hardware to it (new HD, better graphics, more ram). the graphics I no longer have use for, but hey, its in there should my room mates need to help me with something. anyway, I digress, david should get a mac while prices are still cheap on the mac mini. if he already has windows and jaws, then he's pretty much set, but believe me, OS X and voiceover will open up a new set of options. there are programs (like nocturne) that can add/modify settings for functionality a lot like windows. I have checked out the prices of some of the assistiveware products. they are far cheaper on some of their products than jaws and offer more variety of options. He doesn't have to get a mac if he doesn't want to, but believe me, having one and being able to use accessibility without all the extra cost is well worth it. -Eric On Oct 8, 2010, at 5:07 PM, Scott Ford wrote: > Hi David, > Yes, that is exactly what I had to do. I was running a computer > store/isp, I was finding that the high contrast and magnification was not > cutting it anymore. One day I fired up my jaws and never looked back. I > will admit that I use my remaining vision for anything that I can, however I > certainly know my limitations. As we say in the industry I just find a work > around, what else can one do. I am addicted to my technology. On a > different tact though I am looking at picking up an mac mini to turn it into > a tivo replacement. Has anyone done this. I am excited to be able to use > voice over and a large hdmi equipped flat panel high definition display. > Sincerely, > Scott. > > On Oct 8, 2010, at 12:09 PM, Scott Granados wrote: > >> That was really well put! >> >> I'm just imagining how much of a transition that must have been from >> magnification to screen reading. I can relate to having to learn different >> screen readers and that's trick enough. I must admit I force myself in >> these situations by just diving in and using the previous method as little >> as possible. I could see holding out until vision wasn't useful any more >> and then just jumping in with both feet. I guess I learn well under >> pressure.:) >> >> On Oct 8, 2010, at 8:51 AM, Scott Ford wrote: >> >>> Hello David, >>> I have traveled the same road as you. I still have some vision, >>> however my vision is in the more advanced stages than you. I must use a >>> screen reader in order to effectively navigate my computer. I am also an >>> Adaptive Technology specialist. This thread has been incredibly >>> fascinating to read. I purchased my Mac book pro nearly two years ago, >>> even at that time I was a voice over user and Jaws user. I found the >>> switch from magnification to voice an incredibly hard switch. The most >>> frustrating part is the linear way that one must use a computer while >>> working with a screen reader. This slows productivity down so much. On a >>> totally different point I unfortunately find that I must still frequently >>> complete work in windows. The positive to this is that I can run bootcamp. >>> The down side is it is really annoying to switch back and forth. I have >>> fusion, however the quirky keyboard configuration and the Jaws ilm >>> configuration is not very optimal. I did find the post about the >>> application for Mac color configuration very intriguing. I must agree with >>> you david, in your analysis, I feel that you are spot on. The most >>> exciting aspect is that the technology is only going to become better, the >>> machines are going to get faster. Finally whether you get a Mac today or a >>> Mac tomorrow it is just another computer, unlike common lore Macs are no >>> more magical than a PC. >>> Sincerely, >>> Scott to Oct 8, 2010, at 6:59 AM, David Goodwin wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Ricardo and Nic, >>>> >>>> Thank you both for your recent posts. I had been considering how best to >>>> respond to some of the comments made elsewhere in this thread, but I think >>>> you guys have just about covered things for me <smile>. >>>> >>>> All that I am trying to do is determine the combination of tools that will >>>> make using a desktop computer as easy and efficient as possible. At the >>>> moment my residual vision is such that it should be regarded as one of the >>>> 'tools' available to me (and will continue to be so for some time). And >>>> no, this is not me in some kind of denial about the state of my vision (as >>>> some others have hinted at). It is simply the way that things are for me. >>>> >>>> On something as small as an iPhone my residual sight has little to offer, >>>> so VoiceOver is my only real choice. However, things are less clear-cut on >>>> a desktop. A screen reader on its own would not be the most efficient >>>> option for me at this time. So, I need to decide whether having VoiceOver >>>> available as an option, along with the more important (to me) screen >>>> magnification and colour inversion, offers any advantages over my current >>>> set-up on a PC. Having now seen the colour inversion feature in operation, >>>> the decision is not as clear as I had anticipated. Looking at my screen >>>> right now, everything is displayed in colours that are optimized for my >>>> sight problems. This would not be the case if I were typing this on a Mac. >>>> >>>> David >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >> >> -- >> 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. >> > > -- > 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. > Eric Oyen - N7ZZT Phoenix Arizona Geocode: 33.488462 -112.234926 N33° 29.3077', W112° 14.0956' -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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