How accessible are Apple Macs? A subjective review

A friend asked me whether I'd give an opinion of the Apple
screenreader, Voiceover. I don't actually use voiceover as my main
access technology, being partially sighted. I do use it to read large
chunks of text, something I quite appreciate as backup, especially
when using the trackpad on the laptop, as this means I don't have to
constantly move my index finger to focus text. This blog entry is a review of what I know about Voiceover, and Applemac access technology generally.

Here's my general opinion of Voiceover.

Manual - you get an MP3 version on the Mac and you also pick up a PDF
version on the net. This explains things quite well and you should be
able to learn the basics of voiceover in about 2-3 hours if you go for
the MP3 version.

Compatibility. There are issues here. While many packages included
on the Mac's standard sales package work well, some don't work at all
and others need some serious tweaking by Apple. I'd like to hope that
these issues are cleared up with later versions of OSX. This depends
on whether Apple seriously intend to integrate Voiceover into their
operating system or are just offering it as a sweetener for the
massive American education market. Before Voiceover, Macs weren't ADA
compatible, so they could have lost out on a lot of sales if they
hadn't pulled their finger out.

Works well with:
TextEdit (the Mac's default word processor - not a bad one, but
lacking a few bells and whistles, but perfectly acceptable for 95
percent of all writing/documenting tasks. Also works with a third
party WP package called Nisus Writer Express which I like as as its
pretty well-featured for a package costing £35 or thereabouts. Nearly
as good as MS-Word.

Safari- works well with the standard Mac web browser, Safari. Does
not work with Firefox, a good alternative.

Mail - pretty obvious what that does. I don't use Mail a lot because
the Zoom cursor does not track with it (its worth bearing what tracks
and what doesn't if you/your users are partially sighted and likely to
use speech as a backup rather than using VO as their only access tech
solution). I use Gmail with Safari and this works well. However, VO
*does* work with Mail, and pretty well apparently.

iTunes. The Mac uses iTunes for a number of processes including CD
copying, MP3 ripping etc. Not accessible to voiceover - this is a
MAJOR failure on Apple's part. The script used to write the program
isn't Cocoa compliant, but as far as a user is concerned, we don't
care. It just don't work.

Appleworks - does not work fully. Another major failure since this is
their main "MS-Office" equivalent. I' ve heard rumours that the next
version will work properly, but wait for the fat lady to sing on this
one I think.

Navigating items. Apple's desktop, "dock" (a list of easily
selectable programs) and the "Finder" - what Windows calls Windows
Explorer, works very well and its easy to navigate with the voiceover
keys.

For and against:]

For
Apple Mac stability. Very reliable, mine has never crashed. You can
throw bricks at the operating system and the worst thing does is
briefly shrug. From my experience of Voiceover, I'd say this extends
to this. Voiceover is part of the OS rather than being a bolt-on
which makes it feel and act integrated.

What works, works well. While later versions of Windows have become
much more stable, the Mac way of doing things still makes quite a lot
of sense, though as Windows gets better, the "Mac is superior" feeling
which used to be espoused by Mac users is no longer applicable. I
like elements of both OS-es. Windows is just more familiar and stuff
is more likely to work with WindowEyes/JAWS out of the box.

Its included in the price. If cost is an issue, then a Mac Mini costs
£339 with Voiceover and Zoom included. A new copy of JAWS alone
costs twice that. If you are just into a bit of word processing,
email and Internet, then work it out for yourself

Voiceover is not a "special" technology. You don't get the
ghettosiation ethic that some PC products have. Every new Mac sold
can be used by a VI (within the limitations I've mentioned) out of the
box. This is a wonderfully liberating feeling. Also, means that
issues of the absolutely ridiculous (OK, I could use expletives here
but won't) lengths Windows PC access products are copy protected (and
all the user-related bureaucracy which goes with it) don't apply.
Keys, dongles, license rights? They just don't apply to Macs.

Against:

User might need to relearn access technology. My tech-savvy,
JAWS-using wife can't be bothered to learn Voiceover. If the user is
not familiar with an existing system, unlearning a familiar system
won't be a problem though.

The PC versions are industry standards, Voiceover is a new kid on the
block. There are much more support sites and VIs with JAWS/WinEyes
experience. Also Macs are comparatively rare in their own right with
5-7 percent of the overall PC market. GW Micro, Freedom Scientific et
al have been making and supporting their various access tech products
for years and know their stuff. While you might get lucky and find a
member of staff in Apple who knows about Voiceover, I'd imagine their
support team isn't half the leviathan

Third party Voiceover training might not be that easy to find. Hmmmm,
I feel a new niche for my good self here!


Should I or should I not....?

A few basic ground-rules.

Feeling adventurous? Go for the Mac but don't expect an easy ride.
The MacVsionairies user group is a great source of support and some
of the users on it are extremely knowledgeable. If you need to use a
particular Windows product, then obviously go for Windows and JAWS
etc.

Education purchaser: If classmates are using Macs by default then
also go for it.

Cautious buyer?
I'd stick to buying Windows PC and JAWS. You'll have to pay much more
you will have the sort of experience familiar to most blindies on
learning a new package with WinEyes, JAWS etc. This means good
support and availability of training. If Apple are serious about
Voiceover though, give it a few years and Windows based access
technology will have to serious drop in price (or SHOCK! HORROR! be
included as part of Windows, because if Apple are serious, Voiceover
will be giving the likes of Freedom, GW Micro and the rest a run for
their money. The Mac could in three to five years time, be the VI's
first choice of computer, simply on price alone.

Stay sane, avoid Watord

What do you buy for the woman who has everything? (That's her on the right). We are talking 40th birthdays. We are talking WIFE’s 40th birthday. And yet, after 6 mainly happy years of marriage, I’m still none-the-wiser. She’s a gadget freak, a technophile and, like me, thinks Asda contains all the fashion she’ll ever need, so clothes are not an option and she has all the technological whiz-bangs you could throw a stick at. I may have go down the jewellery route, but then she’d have to be there as its such a personal thing.

I suppose I could buy her a Mac. At least then she’d have a computer which works for more than five minutes.

Customer service at Watford Electronics, also known on the web as …no, if you want their site, go find it. I’m not going to help you as their service is the worst I’ve come across from a company, ever. It makes 02 seem like a company of semi-evolved simians.

Our Aries computer, a nicely spec’d one, with good components, packed up a month after we bought it (see previous excited blog entry). I’d guess it was the main motherboard taking leave of itself because it only got as far as showing us the BIOS info screen.

We called.

They said they’d pick it up (even after we reminded them we’d paid for onsite: they didn’t care). Having waited in three times for Amtrak to turn up, each time Watford then regretfully informed us (after waiting 20-40 minutes on hold for an answer) that Amtrak weren’t going to arrive that day because Watford hadn’t given them actually been decent enough to ask them to drive over to our house!). I could go on. If you are interested in getting a diary of all we went through, which fortunately Lynn kept as she didn’t trust their customer reps from the get-go, I’ll send it to you. We then tried to claim our money back. Either no replies to emails or constantly evasive customer service reps. We have had to involve Barclaycard who were so appalled after reading the log, that they couldn’t see how they wouldn’t be able to claw the money back on our behalf. We’re awaiting their further reply.

Now for anyone not familiar with Watford Electronics, they are one of the better-known independent PC manufacturers in the UK. They have 20 page adverts in Computer Shopper. They have been around since I was a kid, in fact our school bought loads of their kit. The company I work for, before going for Dell kit, kitted their offices with Watford computers. They are not, or sorry, were not, a Mickey Mouse organisation. They are also cheap without compromising on quality. The fact that our PC’s motherboard packed up doesn’t really count against them as all computer components might fail, even the best ones. That’s why you buy onsite maintenance.

Keep your head. Avoid them. Your sense of sanity will love you forever. Thank goodness for the reliable, trouble-free world of the Mac.

Mood: Lazy
Sounds: The magic of Radio 2 – I’m in the office, just about to leave so don’t have much choice about this.

I'm still blogging

I’ve avoided blogging for a bit because there has been nothing worth getting excited about. My job is as bad as ever and apart from that things are ticking along quite nicely. The Mac is working well and customer service from just about everyone we’ve had the joy of dealing with has been universally appalling.

I’m going to write a separate rant about this when I feel more motivated, but as its fairly late, Question Time is on TV and I’ve had a knackering week, me being the only person on the help-line, which should have five members of staff covering it, plus working a five day week when I have by right two working from home, I’m not motivated enough to do it. I’ve met an interesting bunch of yanks on a chat list called Blink Link, another blindy bunch o and we getting our rocks off talking about American politics and their relationship with the UK.

This always comes as a surprise, especially the reckless way the government of that country took it to war, but the Americans I’ve met on the net are far more clued up than us Brits give them credit for. So why is it that these people, who I would otherwise consider intelligent, likeable people, are only waking up to the fact that they were conned by Bush. Not that we did much better with Blair, but at least we plebs had the decency to disapprove of his warmongering.
I’m covering well trod ground here so will stop.

I’m writing this in Nisus Writer Express on the Mac, and so far, my favourite WP package. I just wish that MS-Word would talk to Voiceover then I’d use that. Oh yeah, it costs about £200 for the cheap version. Maybe not then. But Nisus is a friendly and competent package and there’s a good chance I’ll buy a proper licence since I’m only using the trial.

And finally, if you are wondering why there is a dog on the top of my page, its because Kizzie, Lynn's guide dog has retired. This is a picture placed in her honour on her last day as a working beast and demonstrates to the world that she isn't forgotten. Not bad for shot taken on the mobile. The tray was loaded with a full English breakfast, definitely deserved. She is now living the high life with a lovely family in commuter belt Surrey.

Gone but never forgotten, Kizzer. I never thought I'd be sentimental about a dog which wasn't even mine - just a pet. But they grow on you.

Mood: Tired
Book: Sight Unseen by Robert Goddard
Soundz: Madonna, Scritti Politti, rediscovered