[macvoiceover] Re: Teaching the use of the Mac to Computer newcomers

Hi everyone,

I guess I must go into more detail, so you understand the reasoning of my 
colleagues. I did not want to do it in the list, but since I got replies here, 
I will give it a try.

My personal feeling is that a total newcomer would indeed quickly learn to use 
the Mac. There are already German voices available, which you have to download 
separately. And they have the best artificial speech quality I have heard so 
far. Also, they respond more quickly than the SAPI 5 voices available for JAWS. 
So that's a big plus for a newcomer already.

However: When we start teaching JAWS, we can let people go quite a way without 
having to know any JAWS commands: The press the Windows Key and are in the 
start Menue. They can select programs, we can teach them to start a program, we 
can direct them to a file and have them read that file with just the cursor 
keys. 

If we would try to do the same on the Mac, we would rather quickly come to the 
point where we have to explain to them the concept of interacting with an 
object. 

On the other hand - that is the argument I bring into the discussion - Once you 
understand that concept and know only seven VO commands, you can get very far 
on an Apple computer: Thats the combinations for starting and ending 
interaction, vo+spacebar and vo+cursor keys in their four directions.

But that's all our thinking. I am looking for someone who has actually tried it 
with a total newcomer or - even better - who has experience with teaching 
newcomers under Windows and Snow Leopard. Is there such a person?

Best greetings again,


Norbert

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