Topic by cw 2007-10-27 21:10:46

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A while back I played on a mac. The thing that got me looking at the mac was voice-over. Voice-over didn't seem to be as good as jfw or WE at that time, but it was a heck of alot better then nerrator and it was free. Anyway I was wondering how much they improved VO. What got me at that time was the fact that I couldn't get the same level of info as JFW Gives me. Sometimes I wish I had a mac over my Vista laptop. Vista takes way to long to load and crashes a lot. Oh why can't MS improve Nerrator?

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by andy smith 2007-10-27 21:13:06

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I agree, MS should improve this. If people who can see can just buy a computer and just plug it in and use it, why can't we. We've gotta spend $700 plus to have access to computers... I agree.

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Reply by cw 2007-10-27 22:57:26

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I agree. When I got my laptop I had to go with what ever I could get my work done the quickest on, but I think my next computer might be a mac if VO is up to par then, but right now I got a desktop running XP just fine.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by Game Man 2007-10-28 00:29:11

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Hi:

Why not try Ubuntu, it has orca built in to it and is currently being worked on and changes are very frequent. Right now I'm trying it for myself and it's pretty interesting.

Game Man

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Reply by cw 2007-10-28 01:06:09

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My main problem with vista is the boot time among other things. I already own JFw, so having a screen reader is no problem. I don't know about Ubuntu. What does it offer. Doesn't it have a command line interface? I do know onething, XP is better then vista. Don't get me talking about the crapware on the laptop. OH yeh, my family bilt desktop is so much nicer then a store bought PC loaded with crapware.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by Game Man 2007-10-28 04:49:57

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Hi:

Ubuntu, uses Gnome so there is a graphical interface so it is not all command line stuff. That's what Orca is built for. It is created to work with the gnome interface. You can check e-mail with evalution, browse the internet with Firefox, do some audio editing, use Instant Messenging with game, write documents and use spead sheet applications with Open office, manage your money with a money program and many other things.

Game Man

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-28 11:38:46

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I'll agree with the sentiment that NVDA should be the first choice for a free Windows solution.

I have a fundemental discomfort with the OS manufacturer providing the access software, I mean Apple not only gave the mac a free screen reader they also locked out anybody else from making such software and so there is no competition for the Mac screen reader. I just don't trust the OS manufacturer to either be responsive to our needs, or to maintain support through any future shifts in the company politics. Imagine if Apple dropped any changes to their system in the future, but still didn't allow other companies to make solutions?

I really don't want to put my ability to use a computer solely in their hands. And while I admit microsoft are a pain, Windows has the advantage of having the largest compatibility for additional software and hardware of any operating system right now.

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Reply by cw 2007-10-28 15:24:49

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That is a major problem for the mac right now. Matter of fact, the main reason I went with XP on my desktop was due to the fact that there was surrtain hardware I wanted bilt in to the PC. I haven't seen a mac with a bilt in card reader, 5.1 surround sound, six USB ports, wireless keyboard and mouse, and ETC.  alright the reciever to the wireless keyboard an mouse is plugged in via USB, but still... So the real question is "what do I need in my next computer?" I know I can't answer that until the time comes.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by andy smith 2007-10-28 22:39:45

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I prefer Windows, partly because I am used to it. Partly because of gaming, partly because of other software, and partly because I have no idea how I would get the Eloquence synthesizer to work on a mac, compared to what they have built-in to VO right now which isn't good in my oppinion.

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Reply by zhtfreak 2007-10-29 02:17:49

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I agree with CX2.

The reason VO is even there is because the only other mac screen reader stopped being supported.  I think you should have a choice in your screen reader.  I'm a JAWS guy, but some people really hate it.  Competition is good.

If iTunes is any indication of how the rest of the mac OS is, and there was a version of JAWS for mac, I would have to think about getting a Mac Book for my next computer.  I've heard from people that macs are very user friendly.  Having used iTunes, most errors that come up are explained, unlike in Windows where you get a dialog and an OK button, and at least in XP, the help is very seldom helpeul at all!

Having said that though, Windows is definitely compadible with more software.

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-29 16:11:12

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I forget where it was but I recall some joke article comparing operating systems to airlines.

Windows had a very attractive plane, but blew up half an hour into the flight.
The Mac's flight attendants told you whenever you asked a question "you don't need to know that, you don't want to know that, sit down and enjoy the flight."
Or somehting to that effect. I'll maybe have to see if I can find it again.

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Reply by cw 2007-10-29 18:20:17

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LOL. It like choosing a screen for your computer. If the sighted can choose the screen of there choice then, why can't the blind choose there favorit screen reader for there computer. From the info I have, you only have one choice on the mac. Who wants to try to port NVDA to the MAC? The mac semed to boot faster then windows. So it is as sample as what do you want? If it is lots of software the windows might be what you want, but if it is easy of use and voice while setting up the OS on a blank drive the mac maybe what you looking for.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by cx2 2007-10-29 19:35:41

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Other solutions, even NVDA, may be impossible on the Mac. I know the Mac lacks MSAA, obviously, and if the prior Mac screen reader couldn't be adapted it is likely either impossible or impractical to make another reader for the Mac.

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-29 20:01:14

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Okay here's that article

If the OS ran the airlines.

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Reply by cw 2007-10-30 23:33:09

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LOL. Don't know wich to choose, but not windows air. Then again don't know.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
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Reply by andy smith 2007-10-31 02:52:39

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I like AirLinux the best out of all of the "air OS's"

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Reply by cx2 2007-10-31 08:53:23

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I find Win NT the most amusing personally lol.

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