I can only report what I experience. I invested considerable money and
extensive effort over years getting to grips with Mac OS but sadly I
think the OS and Voiceover has seriously dipped
in performance over the last few years.
I get the impression that the Mac can still provide a pretty
satisfactory experience for those with some residual vision to assist
them but I am not so sure with straight Voiceover usage now.
However some of the points in the Brian Hargan article are definately
not valid in my view. For example criticising Mac for having different
cursor navigation to Windows, I still actually think the \Mac cursor
navigation method whilst initially unfamiliar is far more logical when
you get used to it, and you can in any case set the Voiceover cursor
in settings to behave like Windows Screenreaders if you really want it
to. In genral though I have no sympathy with complaints based simply
on the Mac being different to Windows.
However there are other criticism which are more valid and with which
I now sadly share.
My personal intention was to migrate to the Mac and only use Windows as
a Backup. Sadly the opposite has been true and many of the things which
worked really smoothly on the Mac in earlier versions of the OS have
become erratic and clunky. I have found myself drifting back to Windows
for a smoother experience of overcoming access hurdles.
For me personally fundamental Mac support
for many basics like for example reading PDFs and eBooks reduced
alarmingly duing El Kapitan which for me was the worst performing OS,
though Sierra is definitely an upgrade.
I enjoyed the inbuilt PDF support on Macs when I first entered the OS
back in 2011 but last year could not get a native Mac app to reliably
read PDFs with Voiceover no matter how many times I interacted with
Text. I ended up using Nisus Writer Pro for PDF reading.
Even under Sierra though problems persist, I experience exactly the same
frustrations with Apple Mail nowadays as stated in Mosen's article and I
often have to restart Voiceover to regain proper cursor navigation in
Apple Mail. This is all very sad as Apple Mail and Safari were far
better to use when I first entered the Mac world.
Safari seems to have definitely gone backwards for me personally, with
the loss of simple cursor navigation since Sierra replace El Kapitan,
many more busy messages, and Voiceover frequently resetting itself
during browsing sessions.
I have lost confidence using Voiceover with Banking sites because of
erratic typing and screen feedback and tend to do all my Internet
Banking and Grocery shopping on Windows nowadays. I still enjoy the
Safari Reader function though and if all you want to do is read news
sites then the experience can still be good. I agree with the comment
that the mac may well suit those with more artistic / entertainment
ambitions but for serious productivity I think the choice of access
solutions on Windows now assists us. There is no doubt in my mind that
with any one screenreader on Windows you will find probably as many
issues as Voiceover has on the Mac. However on a PC if Jaws does not
work then you can try Window Eyes. NVDA and even Narrator.
If in contrast, things do not work with Voiceover on a Mac you are
pretty much up a gum tree. This would not matter if Voiceover performed
flawlessly throughout the system but sadly things, in my experience, are
just as likely to break as improve.
I keep waiting for the OS which had the speed and functionality of Lion
when I first entered the Mac world, you never know it may come one day.
David Griffith
On 24/11/2016 15:47, Jackie Brown wrote:
I think they are both really well written, with points balanced and
succinctly made. There is no way on this Earth that I personally would ever
trade Windows for the Mac OS, even if I was paid to. I have a Mac, but I
don't enjoy using it. I appreciate I am nowhere near as clued up on it as I
am in Windows, and I admit that this influences my thinking. I have just
purchased a Dell XPS13, but the equivalent spec on a Macbook Pro would have
cost me easily £600 more, and offered me a lot less connectivity.
I appreciate it is all subjective, and if you Mac guys are happy with your
lot, then good for you. But I would never be drawn away from Windows on a
full-time basis no matter what problems I come up against.
Kind Regards,
Jackie Brown
Emails: thebrownsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
jackieannbrown62@xxxxxxxxx
jackie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Check out my website: www.thebrownsplace.info
Read my EyeWrite blog: www.thebrownsplace.info/?page_id=136
Follow me on Twitter: @thebrownsplace
Skype: thejackmate
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steve Nutt
Sent: 24 November 2016 14:25
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: A very well written article: Saying Goodbye to the
Mac
Hi Mo,
Ably backed up by this article too:-
http://www.hartgen-home.org/node/47
I don't believe that in a working environment, Voiceover is nearly good
enough, compared to Windows screen readers.
All the best
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Mobeen Iqbal
Sent: 24 November 2016 09:54
To: BCAB Discussion List <bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [access-uk] A very well written article: Saying Goodbye to the Mac
Hi.
This is a very well written article which I found very interesting. Macs
aren't all they're cracked up to be it would seem...
http://mosen.org/saying-goodbye-to-the-mac/
Cheers,
Mo.
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq