That is actually a major difference in regard to
accessibility. I can walk into an Apple Store and play with the
systems right there on the floor. Actually, I've done it quite a few
times now. Good luck with that in the Microsoft Store. Imagine
trying to explain to the sales person that you're just going to use
this little USB thumb drive with Window-Eyes or System Access on it to
check out the computers? That ain't going to fly.
This topic has been thoroughly beaten in the past on this list,
as, to sum it all up, everyone's experiences in their local Apple
Store has ranged from amazingly impressive to disappointingly
lacking. Without a doubt, as previously was the consensus, there
should be some level of knowledge of VoiceOver among some of the staff
of a store. Obviously, this, as pointed out, is a major task and the
average employee probably has strengths and weaknesses with every
product sold in the store. In other words, as a sighted friend said
to me when discussing the subject of sales people and VoiceOver in the
Apple Store around here, he dealt with someone who knew relatively
nothing about the Airport Express and Extreme, but kew all of the
audio and video applications inside and out. Thus, people are people,
and trying to hold them to some unreasonable standard is wishful
thinking and ... well .. unreasonable. There has to be a realistic
perspective here, and, as mentioned, it is really rather trivial at
best compared to the very fact that VoiceOver does exist, is free, and
is part of every Mac.
Take Care
John Panarese
On Jul 28, 2009, at 3:01 PM, Barry Hadder wrote:
>
> I really don't know if accessibility is a place that Microsoft wants
> to go in their presentations. I agree that I would like to see Apple
> employees be more familiar with Voiceover, but that isn't a trivial
> thing to ask. Apple has a very functional screen reading system built
> into their os that the seem to be dedicated to improving. As it
> stands now, I think it stacks up quite well against the two giants
> WEyes and JFW.
>
> However, I think using a screen reader in place of a pair of eyes to
> use a computer is very unintuitive with whatever is used and is not
> the way I would be doing things if I had a choice. I hope that more
> people will become familiar with VO and how we get things done with
> it, but I'm afraid that it will take time. I think what Apple has
> done in regards to Mac OS and the IPhone is a massive start though.
>
> On Jul 25, 2009, at 12:51 AM, Abdul Kamara wrote:
>
>> Oh how sad...
>>
>> I bet the people at Microsoft were "squirting" all over each other
>> Zoons in hand when they came up with that...
>>
>> Yeah, this is one of few areas where I would criticize Apple. It is
>> problematic when Geniuses know nothing about the accessibility
>> components of the operating system, or at least, not reliably so..
>> to the extent that they could demonstrate it in house.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Abdul
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> A
>>
>>
>> On 25 Jul 2009, at 04:20, Scott Howell wrote:
>>
>>> WOw, maybe Microsoft is feeling a little pressured to try emulating
>>> Apple even more? This should prove quite fascinating and I assume
>>> with all these PCs they plan to sell, would mean third-party deals
>>> with Dell and other companies. What is interesting is if they will
>>> have demos of the windows-based screen readers. :)
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> Date: July 24, 2009 9:20:00 PM EDT
>>>> Subject: Microsoft stores to mimic Apple's with "Guru Bars"
>>>> Source: AppleInsider
>>>>
>>>> A leaked presentation has exposed Microsoft's tentative plans for
>>>> its retail stores -- and the high degree to which they'll imitate
>>>> Apple stores, down to their layouts and even the presence of a
>>>> dedicated "Guru Bar" for help.
>>>> Read more…
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>>
>
>
> >
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