Hi,
Just a little comment about cursors. In the Mac OS, the cursor always
follows the direction in which you are working. For example, if you
are at the beginning of a line and you press right arrow, you will
hear the first letter, unlike in windows where you have to go back one
space to hear the character. Now if you are at the end of a line and
you press left arrow, the same thing will happen, the cursor will show
you the last character on the line.
So again, the cursor always follows you in what ever direction you are
working. This is certainly more logical than the way windows does it.
I broke that habit real fast.
Now, God forbid, if I ever am forced to use a windows machine, I find
the windows way of doing things real cumbersome.
Just my thoughts.
Oh, and, welcome to the Mac world.
Dan
On Mar 16, 2008, at 11:53 AM, Jean-Claude Provost wrote:
Hi there,
Here's a new Mac user
who bought a MacBook Pro only because I thought it was now
accessible enough for me to give it a try. I have used windows
for... I don't care to remember how long. The only thing that got
me in the Mac world was curiosity.
Now that I'm in it, let me share a few feelings I had/have.
The Synthesizer that comes with VO has a new voice Alex and it's
scary... I mean, the thing actually breathes,! for god's sake! It
is indeed the best speech I had heard. That is, until I went on the
Assistiveware site where I found synthesizers from Acapella. I
installed a Canadian French voice (Louise) and, with it, they give
you Heather. Those 2 ladies are ranking at the very top of my
speech synthesizer list. They are! sexy sounding and, I don't think
you'll have any problem spending a whole day hearing them telling
you the screen content. I have setup Alex to be the content voice
and Heather as the default and I like it very much.
Looking at your needs the only thing I can say is that after 2 weeks
of random use, reading this list and practicing, I'm handling all my
personal email on the Mac , I purchased installed and registered
Louise and Heather online and I have connected the thing on my home
network and I can exchange files between my Mac and my other PC's.
To me, the biggest thing for now is to get used to the way the
cursor works. For instance, I don't know how to delete characters
the way we do it in windows. IN WINDOWS, WHEN YOU PRESS THE DELETE
KEY, IT DELETES THE CHARACTER IN FRONT OF THE CURSOR. I HAVE NOT
FOUND HOW TO DO THIS YET ON THE MAC AND, TO BE CANDID, A 25 YEARS
HABIT IS QUITE HARD TO BREAK. I'M HOPING SOMEONE WILL TELL ME HOW I
CAN DO THIS BECAUSE, THE SOLE USE OF THE BACKSPACE KEY to delete
characters behind the cursor IS DRIVING ME A LITTLE coucou BANANA
WILD. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I'M DEFINITELY NOT READY TO SWITCH MY
WORD PROCESSING ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE FENCE FOR NOW.
ONE THING YOU PROBABLY WANT TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT, FOR $79.00, you
can purchase Fusion from VMWare. This will allow you to run a
Windows session from the Mac, hence, potentially providing you with
a transitional ground that might be quite acceptable. I've not
tried this yet but I certainly intend to.
I tried streaming a few things on the internet and I found ITune to
be quite neat to use. I started 3 different radio station streams
and I could switch between them (back and forth) within about half
of a second.
ITune also appeared faster to initiate the streams. Another neat
thing about the Mac is its natural sound-related abilities. You can
set the volume of ITune, the volume of your synthesizer as well as
the overall volume independently. I even experienced instances
where the synthesizer was speaking 2 things simultaneously and all
that, using only the default sound card. This thing definitely
appeared to be multichannels.
One final thought, in my opinion, the most important part of a
successful migration is the transition. If you can, try to walk
across it as opposed to jumping in it. This way, you're not stuck
having to do things when you don't have time to learn them. And if
you can't do that, jumping in the Mac pool is not so bad. I didn't
find the water to be cold at all.
Besides, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on this list who
will certainly be able to help you, if you decide to embark on the
jerney.
So much for my .00000004840345 cens worth.
Cheers from Varennes, Qc, Canada,
JC
Skype: Canadianfrog
On 14-Mar-08, at 2:10 PM, Store wrote:
Here's your chance to pitch VO to a potential switcher or to pass
along those warnings that you wish you had been given.
I'm not a computer professional, though I've used everything from
an Apple II E with Braille Edit as a child to VersaBrailles and,
today, both JAWS and Window-Eyes. Right now, I generally use word
processing, E-mail, the Internet for informational purposes, and
the occasional spreadsheet. I'm not a musician or in any way
likely to produce entertainment material on my computer, though,
once I replace my obsolete home system, I'm likely to try learning
more about podcasts and listening to more audio. I have checked
out Screenless Switchers and a few articles sited recently on the
list and found them interesting. Since I have no vision, I'm most
interested in the thoughts of those who rely on speech. My
questions?
For those who use both, what are your favorite qualities of the Mac
or of Windows vs. the Mac?
What types of tasks does the Mac excell at?
For any non-computer pros: How long did it take to learn VO well?
I checked it out at the store and even read some documentation.
I'm fascinated by Apple's interest in building accessibility into
their products, but I sense that my learning curve may be steep.
That being the case, I'm looking for the low-down on what kind of
bang I might get for my buck, so to speak.
Since I'm subscribed from my part-time job, I'll only be able to
reply during certain times on weekdays, so please don't mistake
silence for lack of interest.
Also, if there are any VO experts in Pittsburhg, PA, feel free to
write me off list if you're willing to have a novice come and play
on your computer.
Thanks a bunch for any input.
Tammi
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