I got an Apple USB keyboard at Best Buy for about $40 and it works great.
One other word of advice as you migrate to Mac is to "stop looking for Windows" and learn as much about running a Mac via keyboard as you can as the UI metaphors do not always have a 1:1 corelation and if you let go of as many preconceived notions you will learn more quickly. Also, especially at first, slow down a bit or you will find your fingers executing WE commands which can easily be meaningless or worse on a Macintosh.
While the migration is pretty slow and sloppy, it is well worth the trip.
Happy Hacking, cdh On Feb 7, 2009, at 5:53 AM, Michael Busboom wrote:
Hello Chris,Roselle uses only superlatives whenever she talks about you, too. And since the aforementioned lady can occasionally be a little caustic, that says a lot about what a great guy you must be, too-- <Smile>.Your idea about immersing myself in all things related to Voice Over totally meshes with my plans. I will, however, have one large translation to do during that period, and it has to be done in Word. Before I lose a client for working to slowly owing to a learning curve with entirely new programs, I may bite the bullet and use my current system. I do love Window-Eyes and for now, I’m just faster with it. Please post information about where to obtain your article, once you have finished it. Thanks.You mentioned getting an external keyboard. Can I use an off-the- shelf USB keyboard for Windows or should I buy one for my Mac, provided they even exist. I assume that in order to obtain certain information from Voice Over, I will need to use specific key combinations with function keys, and the function keys I will need to use might not even be available on a Windows-based USB keyboard. Recommendations for an externam keyboard, either Bluetooth or USB would be greatly appreciated. The computer I will be using is a Mac Book with 4 GB/RAM and a 2.4 Ghz processor.Best regards, MikeFrom: macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:macvoiceover-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ] On Behalf Of Chris HofstaderSent: Friday, 06 February, 2009 22:39 To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Introduction Mike,Great to see you here, I have heard Roselle (CF) say all sorts of great things about your ideas and skills.I'm currently working on an outline for a long form textual document on using Macintosh with only keyboard and will include a lot about migrating from JAWS, WE, SA, orca and other screen access tools that do things differently. The learning curve, without the existence of such a document, is less steep if you come here and ask lots of questions. Also, try to go for a few weeks or longer if you can totally emersing yourself in VoiceOver as philosophically it differs quite a lot from that with which you may be familiar on Windows. Finally, if you bought a laptop, get an external keyboard.Happy Hacking, cdh On Feb 6, 2009, at 1:32 PM, Michael Busboom wrote: Hi listers,My name is Mike Busboom, and I have joined this list because I will be taking possession of my Mac Book in late February. I am very excited! I have been a PC user since 1984, having started with MS DOS, migrating to Windows 3.1, etc. Since my point of reference is currently MS Windows, I was wondering if there was any documentation that explains concepts from a Windows vs. Leopard point of view. I am not looking for evaluations; I am just trying to find materials that might use Windows points of reference to explain Voice Over concepts.I am also wondering if there is documentation that describes the layout of the Mac Book and its keyboard.A little bit about me:I grew up on a farm in Illinois, but I have been living in Vienna, Austria since 1976. I have a guide dog named Arla, I enjoy hiking and wine collecting. I love all things pertaining to Bible studying, so I especially hope that the Mac world has software that will allow me to follow this pursuit.I love meeting new people. If any of you want to contact me off list, please feel free to do so. I can also be reached on Skype where my user name is mbusboom .My best to all of you and please allow me to apologize in advance if any of my questions are too “novice-like.”Mike
