I love the fact that I don't have to beg someone else to fix my comptuer when windows blows a gasket and falls apart! i can reinstall and do all the maintinance on my mac myself windows yeah right you still have to see to install that trash On Apr 29, 2011, at 10:34 PM, Aman Singer wrote:
> Hi, Carolyn and all. > I do not use a Mac for two reasons. The first, and most important, > has nothing to do with this thread, but a second, and almost equally > important reason is one which Carolyn's message below hints at. > Carolyn writes > The Mac is a totally different system, and built to some stringent > specifications. You don't see any Macs for $300 as you do for PC > machines. And there's > a good reason. They're worth more. > > I think they are worth more. That's not to say that they're worth > what is being charged for them, but if you're saying that a Mac is > worth more than most netbooks, I absolutely agree. The problem with > Apple is, though, that they don't realize that technology needs to be > adaptable to be taken up by a large number of people. I want a very > good desktop and an adequate laptop. That's because I want to carry my > laptop around with me everywhere. I want it light and I don't want to > worry about damaging it, losing it, etc. I can use my powerful desktop > remotely and everything works well. A $300 netbook is just the thing > for me. No Mac is. The wonderful thing about both Windows and Linux is > that they are so adaptable. Your $250 netbook runs Windows, and your > $1000 laptop runs Windows, and your $2500 desktop runs Windows. Your > plug PC costing $50 runs Linux and your $500 laptop Runs Linux and > your $2500 desktop runs Linux. Obviously, I could say more, but I'm > speaking strictly as a consumer. Anyhow, this is where Apple fails. > Their products are adaptable over a narrow range. For many > circumstances, what you want is simply something that will do the job > cheaply and reasonably, and that usually isn't a Mac. Sometimes you > want the fastest/best components on the market and here, again, Apple > fails because of its stringency. For example, SSDs were available for > other computers for nearly a year before they were available for the > Mac. I think what Brant is pointing out here isn't that the Mac is too > expensive for what you get, though that may well be true, but is too > rigidly expensive for certain users, and too rigidly cheap for others. > The fact that he finds the prices high is just a symptom, the disease, > if I may be so fanciful, is that a Mac machine doesn't adapt to his > situation. If you want the very high-end or the somewhat/very low-end, > you don't want a new Mac. If you want to spread your money > differently, spending more on certain components and less on others, > you don't want a Mac at all. Of course, that also means that your > skill set on a Mac, and this is particularly as an AT user, isn't as > useful because it isn't used on as many devices and at as many > locations. > Now, you may argue that all of the above is well and good for the > ordinary user but that it doesn't apply to the blind user because of > the cost of screen readers and other at. The cost savings, though, on > AT, have been somewhat exaggerated, in my view. They apply most > obviously to a person who has never bought a screen reader or other AT > before, and who wants something a bit more complicated than NVDA. This > person saves money, and gets capability, with the Mac. Others don't > save money quickly, don't save it at all, or take a cut in capability > when they buy a Mac. An example of where the financial savings take > quite a while to kick in is where people have already purchased a > screen reader, Say Jaws or Window Eyes, and are purchasing a Mac > rather than purchasing an SMA. Depending on the cost of the Mac and > the SMA, their savings may not kick in for anywhere from 2-5 years. > Again, people who want multiple computers, even if it is two machines, > can, because they need only purchase the screen reader once, end up > spending less on the Windows option over all. The more computers you > have, the more the cost of a screen reader purchase is wiped out by > cheaper hardware. Again, people who run Windows for any reason do not > save money except possibly for upgrade costs in their screen reader. > Again, people who want fairly simple computing can buy a netbook, use > NVDA, and save large amounts of money compared to those who buy a Mac. > My point, as if I haven't belaboured it enough, is that the Mac is not > adaptable in the same way the PC is, and that what I hear from those > who say that "the Mac costs more because it's better than Windows > Machines", ignores the further question "Why should I care if I don't > need to pay for a better machine?". > Note that where Apple has been really successful, they have brought > out devices which either push forward a category in its infancy (the > iPad and iPod), or fit into a fairly narrow category (iPhone). They > haven't been general purpose, like PCs are. > I should say that I know about, but completely ignore, the cool/other > emotional factors in buying any computer. I understand that people buy > the Mac because they feel that they're supporting accessibility, or > that buying mainstream technology rather than specialized access > technology is somehow important/beneficial, or that they like Apple's > design philosophy, or that their friends have Macs, and so on. I > acknowledge that these are reasons for some people, they're just not > reasons for me. I am not emotionally invested in any platform or > computer, a computer is a tool, and the only questions that matters to > me is what can it do and how much does it cost? It seems to me that > the Mac is still on the high-cost end of the curve, and that its > capabilities do not justify the premium charged by Apple which, as I > understand Brandt, is what he is saying. > Aman > > > > On 4/29/11, carolyn Haas <chaas0...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Hi Brandt: >> Couldn't disagree with this point of view more. First you're comparing >> Apples and raspberries.:) >> The Mac is a totally different system, and built to some stringent >> specifications. You don't see any Macs for $300 as you do for PC machines. >> And there's a good reason. They're worth more. >> Secondly: you're buying mainstream technology, and not having to fork out >> the price of a second machine just to get it to talk. Voiceover is built >> into the system, not as an adaptation of the system. >> As such, Vo is intended to give the VI Mac user a more accurate picture of >> the screen. >> >> >> Finally, even at $299, if docuscan works as well as we're hoping it does, >> it's still a third of the price of your krzweil or openbook programs. >> >> Sorry, but I believe when you buy a Mac, you get what you pay for. >> >> >> Carolyn >> >> On Apr 29, 2011, at 12:33 AM, brandt wrote: >> >>> Hi there, >>> >>> Yes, $299 is a fair bit of money, but how many actually went and bought >>> open Book or something similar back when ever for 3 ore 4 times more? My >>> biggest complaint is not the cost of software but the ridiculous prices of >>> Mac computers. I can and probably will go the Hakintosh route just because >>> of that. >>> >>> Warm regards, >>> >>> Brandt Steenkamp >>> >>> If you like country, oldies and the occasional modern track, you can tune >>> in to my show, "an Eclectic mess" every Wednesday afternoon at 3 PM UTC by >>> going to www.TheGlobalVoice.info >>> >>> Contact me: >>> >>> Skype: brandt.steenkamp007 >>> MSN: brandt...@live.com >>> Google talk/AIM: brandt.steenk...@gmail.com >>> Twitter @brandtsteenkamp >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: E.J. Zufelt >>> To: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com >>> Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 5:23 AM >>> Subject: Re: For those who can actually afford this, DocuScan Plus is now >>> on the mac app store. >>> >>> I know nothing at all about this app. But, I suspect that a significant >>> portion of the cost is related to licencing a OCR SDK >>> >>> >>> Everett Zufelt >>> http://zufelt.ca >>> >>> Follow me on Twitter >>> http://twitter.com/ezufelt >>> >>> View my LinkedIn Profile >>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt >>> >>> >>> >>> On 2011-04-28, at 10:05 PM, Matthew Campbell wrote: >>> >>>> Hello Listers. >>>> DocuScan is now mac compatible and can be found on the mac app store. >>>> Don't get too excited though, unless you have $299.00 to burn on it. >>>> Hope this actually benefits someone. >>>> the Infuriated Matt Campbell. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@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 macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group >>> athttp://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 macvisionaries@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 macvisionaries@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 macvisionaries@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. 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