[access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system
- From: william lomas <will.d.lomas@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 11:46:58 +0100
why do people not change the subject lines?
what does this have to do with the voices?
On 19 May 2011, at 11:34, Chris Moore wrote:
> You can use Apple's iWork which is fairly accessible. You can use free
> applications, Bean for word processing and Tables for spreadsheet stuff. The
> built in Text editor on the Mac is actually very good too, much better than
> WordPad for Windows. Hopefully if and when iWork 11 or 12 comes out there
> will be an even more accessible solution. Office for Mac still contains old
> 32 bit C++ code, it will have to go 64 bit in the next release, this may
> improve things slightly, but judging by Outlook for the Mac which is 64 bit I
> doubt things will improve unless you contact Microsoft and request this.
>
> For now like today, I am sitting here with my work laptop which is Windows
> and running Microsoft Office and using my Mac for non related work stuff.
> The Mac is great, and I love it for email and surfing the web and listening
> to music, but for the blind community it currently lags behind our Windows
> cousin when it comes to productivity in my case and as for web design stuff
> like Dreamweaver, then forget it.
>
> Chris
> On 19 May 2011, at 10:07, ANDY COLLINS wrote:
>
>> Hi Jackie - this is useful feedback, thanks. So, if as you say, Office
>> doesn't cut it on the Mac, what are the word processing/spreadsheet options
>> for a blind user of the Mac?
>>
>> Andy
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Cairns"
>> <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 9:27 AM
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system
>>
>>
>>> Well Andy, I still use JAWS primarily because I'm used to it, sort of in a
>>> comfort zone if you like. I don't like Freedom Scientific, I think
>>> everybody knows that. I hate the way they operate, but that's my opinion
>>> and I'm sticking to it. I hope the day comes when Microsoft, for all its
>>> faults and flaws, will do as Apple have, and bring out a built-in screen
>>> reader. And the reason? Because Apple's operating system works with
>>> VoiceOver. You don't have to buy scripts or add-ons, and when the software
>>> has an upgrade, so does VoiceOver, and it works with everything on the Mac
>>> that is part of that operating system. That is not to say that VoiceOver
>>> works with everything you can buy for the Mac, and therein is the
>>> difference. There is software out there that doesn't work with VoiceOver.
>>>
>>> It is also a steep learning curve, but I now have an iMac, and I like
>>> leaving Windows for a bit to learn something on it. I also don't have
>>> iTunes on my PC, but use it on the Mac, and have my music collection on it
>>> so I can transfer what I want to my iPod Nano and the iTouch. The Alex
>>> voice on the Mac is very good too.
>>>
>>> I don't think I would ever swap my PC for the Mac full-time, I don't feel
>>> confident enough to do that, and there are apps on the PC that don't cut it
>>> on the Mac like Office. But to play with and learn, it's an interesting
>>> concept.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kind Regards,
>>>
>>> Jackie Cairns
>>> J&M Work-Ability
>>>
>>> jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> www.work-ability.co.uk
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
>>> ANDY COLLINS
>>> Sent: 18 May 2011 16:59
>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system
>>>
>>> Well you know Jackie, I've been considering a mac for when the time comes to
>>> buy a new laptop, if I haven't gone the IPad route by then.
>>>
>>> I guess there's quite a steep learning curve if going from Windows to Mac,
>>> but any improvement over JAWS and eloquence has to be a big plus for me -
>>>
>>> Andy
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairnsplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:27 AM
>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system
>>>
>>>
>>>> Yep Andy with you completely, and they are slower on a device too. I
>>>> wouldn't touch them with a barge pole unless they are built into something
>>>> that doesn't allow you to change them. Alex on the Mac is very good
>>>> quality. You even hear him take breaths when he is reading. It's
>>>> personal
>>>> preference, but I agree those voices are dreadful, apart from Sangita, who
>>>> is really quite realistic in her own way.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Jackie Cairns
>>>> J&M Work-Ability
>>>>
>>>> jandm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> www.work-ability.co.uk
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
>>>> Of
>>>> ANDY COLLINS
>>>> Sent: 17 May 2011 13:51
>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system
>>>>
>>>> Well, I hope, but doubt that they would sound better under Voice Over. I
>>>> hate them. Still too mechanical. Why do these voices always sound as
>>>> though
>>>> they're gargling as they speak? I'd hoped by now we'd be having a more
>>>> naturally flowing voice -
>>>>
>>>> Andy
>>>>
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: Gordon Keen
>>>> <mailto:gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 10:01 AM
>>>> Subject: [access-uk] New voices for the next apple operating system
>>>>
>>>> Hi
>>>> Thought some of you might want a listen to these, what do you think
>>>> of them...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hello
>>>>
>>>> Here are samples of a couple of the new voices in Lion which
>>>> have been doing the rounds. These aren't generated through Apple's speech
>>>> engine, they're the same voices used by another service so the samples are
>>>> generated from that. They may or may not sound better when used in
>>>> VoiceOver:
>>>>
>>>> English American Accent - Samantha
>>>> <http://nextupdownloads.com/scansamples/samantha.wav>
>>>>
>>>> English British Accent - Serena
>>>> <http://nextupdownloads.com/scansamples/serena.wav>
>>>>
>>>> Cheers
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> G
>>>>
>>>> From Bridgerule in glorious Devon, England.
>>>> Catch the buzz at http://www.bridgerule.co.uk
>>>>
>>>>
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