[access-uk] Re: New voices for the next apple operating system

  • From: Chris Moore <moore.c@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 11:34:04 +0100

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
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ** 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
> 
> ** 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

Other related posts: