It's been almost two weeks since I asked on this forum whether I should switch to a MacBook after ten years of using Windows, but I'm even more confused. I am a student studying programming, focusing on standard disciplines for this field: advanced mathematics, programming fundamentals, and more.
I understand that getting used to a new operating system is challenging, but if the OS offers many advantages, why not give it a try? I hoped to read comments that would be a hundred percent positive, but usually, when you want to find confirmation of your thoughts, you expect to hear just that. Instead, I received doubts: is it worth paying so much for a laptop that has many problems?
I can install Windows in parallel, and I will definitely do this because I use Telegram, and as I understand it, VoiceOver will not work with it. I've seen many comments about Word. I don't have specific requirements for text formatting, fonts, etc., but I write mathematics in Word. I know there are mathematical editors, but are they accessible for VoiceOver? If I switch to macOS, will I have issues with this?
I've read a lot about problems with VoiceOver on macOS in this forum; some issues are significant, while others are minor. Many comments were about Windows on ARM, but I believe it's not the right time because the laptops are very expensive but have quite a few problems. The Apple ecosystem is great, but buying an expensive laptop just for the ecosystem seems like a strange decision. I use an iPhone 11 Pro, and the convenience of the shared clipboard, messaging, and other features is indeed attractive.
I currently use Be My Eyes for text recognition from photos on Windows. Are there alternatives available on macOS? How well does VoiceOver work with text recognition from images?
Question: What programming advantages exist on macOS? I've heard that VS Code works well, but I haven't chosen a specific programming language I would like to work with yet. Currently, we are studying C++, and in the future, we will be learning Java, Python, and maybe something will change. However, I don't think the language is important when using VoiceOver. I understand that there are as many opinions as there are people, but all comments will greatly help me make the right choice.
I also want to know if there are issues with Windows on MacBooks with Apple Silicon. Is it convenient to switch between macOS and Windows? What other macOS features should I consider when transitioning from Windows? Has the "browser not responding" issue been fixed in the new macOS? Is it normal to use VoiceOver after updating macOS?
I understand that there are supporters of both macOS and Windows here, and each person's opinion is important to me.
Summary: Should I buy a MacBook and primarily use macOS, but use Windows for some tasks? Or is it better to buy a laptop with Windows that has worse battery life and a less comfortable keyboard but has the OS I’m used to? Is it worth investing in a MacBook if there's a chance to save on a Windows laptop?
By Kyrylo, 22 October, 2024
Forum
macOS and Mac Apps
Comments
Being a blind student is hard
I think the ansers you got were amazing - far more positive than you would have gotten five years ago.
From this post it sounds a bit like you want to spend money and you want people to push you over the edge. Is that true? If it is, then you should go ahead and do it, if you have the money and want to spend it and know what it will mean to you , then go ahead.
But isn't bieng a blind student of those subjects hard? From memory, the ansers you got said things might not be easier, might even be harder, but could be better, even much better. Nobody really knows and you won't know unless you try, have you got the time, money and mental energy to try? Maybe you have.
Good look wiht it all, my advice would be have both - Windows and Mac, VoiceOver and NVDA/JAWS, it realy is the best way to make sure you can do what you want when you want in a way that is acceptable.
I did a computer systems and…
I did a computer systems and engineering degree on windows. I would not have done it on mac. I used Jaws and was using matlab to build neural networks. This was twenty years ago and I'm sure it has improved even more since then.
The mac, unless you are a musician, is not a professional work station for the blind. I use it for writing but have had to adapt because it is what I've got. Windows is far more mature in terms of accessibility and customisability.
I'd also advise against believing you'll get two for one by installing parallels. You won't. Yes, it is useful, but there are keyboard conflicts you'll have to work around and not everything will run either. If you really want to dip your toe into getting a mac, maybe look out for an older m1 mini and see how you get on with it. At this time, you've got quite enough to learn though, stick with windows. It is the professional choice.
Also, I know the feeling. You want something new and better and I'd love to tell you that a mac is perfect for you. I just can't. If you were looking at phones, I'd say iPhone is the best for accessibility, as is iPad, apple watch, apple TV and so on. The mac is the oldest and least cared for part of member of the apple family.
Fueling the Fire
To add my two cents, or an additional two cents, if you want something new, & want to spend money, have a look at those new CoPilot+ Snapdragon PCs that have released recently. 🙂
Just two months ago I would…
Just two months ago I would have said don't bother buying a mac as.you will be suffering each seconds. My goal and requirements are the same as yours. I am currently a college student doing calculus and learning programming and IT on my own. The more I master the mac, which is a long process, the more I am happy with it. Sequoia is the most stable release I've ever had, and now that I can confidently use terminal and get all the unix backend I am used too, well I can do pretty much everything. I would say though that on windows we are used to a more polished and finish product as far as screen readers are concerned, and this means everything. That said, my personal theory is that since october 2023 something has changed internally and they are taking accessibility bugs seriously now, or as some say, much more than they were before. The battery alone is worth everything. As a screen reader user microsoft teams on the mac is a joy to use when you get use to it. Programming is definitely possible, you just have to learn the apple and mac voiceover way of doing things. And as always, the more users are professional, the more reports they send, the the better for the community as a whole, at least as of october 2024 with the current trend. Time will tell if this is still true.
I am an advocate of and firmly believe that accessibility should be everywhere, and fortunately american big tech are at least good in that. Why should be so dependent on windows? Now that I have a mac, after the initial year, it was so worth it that I can buy a device, liek everyone, that is made for everyone, and more or less use it liek everyone while paying the same price as others pay. Okay myself I have a license of jaws due to my readaptation centre but I use it as a fallback only as my primary screen reader on windows is and always be nvda, but windows defenders (myself included) should remember that having a fully functional screen reader from the very start of the os, as well as in the bios, is a luxury only mac has for now . Linux... I read an article awhile ago: "linux and accessibility: an unmaintained mess" which is still very true two years later and I 100% agree with every word in it. For that matter even chromebook is a real option, on the web it's absolutely amazing and it's sad that it has so little recognition from the blind community, as it could benefit many budget users, and aside of programming, any regular k-12 work can more or less be done on it and the priority for google now should be inclusion of mathml/mathjax (yes).
Anyways. It's as simple as that, if you really want to try a mac for the sake of having a mac and you have the money, the honestly just go for it! I had an urgent need of a mac back then which might explain why my transition was not smooth, but now I am good!
I don't do professional real world programming on it but in terms of learning to code? It's good. And terminal is all or nothing for me, before it was clode to nothing, now it's all.
For the battery, it might be a silly argument but when you are in public place finding an outlet can sometimes be awkward. With any of the apple silicon macbooks battery worry is virtually inexistent. I can count on my fingers the occurrence of my mac getting even just less cool. Oh and with airpods and mac you have an incredible wireless worry-free experience you can't have on any other laptop or os without messing up with things (yes, easy when you know them but still).
For math I just use latex,…
For math I just use latex, and pandoc is at its limit for convertion to html mathjax so I'll have to find another proper latex package. Mathml/mathjax with voiceover support is good on the web, but at least when I started on ventura, equation in iwork apps are only readable once and not navigable which I just reported yesterday to apple (FB15530138). Even tables in mathml work, a minor issue with the exact row column announcement but other than that they are very readable and you can navigate between cells easily.
Preview and pdf is generally…
Preview and pdf is generally good, far better now, and since sequoia we seem to have some automatic ocr but I am struggling to trigger it since yesterday but you can follow that on the dedicated thread. Generally speaking it's a little missier, but better than adobe on windows for most things. The only issue I really have with it currently, and generally on the web, is how to copy texts properly from different element on the web in one shot like we can do so easily on windows.
Pages, and especially as of writing, numbers, have less bugs than ever now with voiceover and the more I learn them the happier I am. Note that word on mac is at a horrible accessibility state, unlike excel which is almost 100% usable and pleasent to use. Powerpoint not so. But for pptx if it's just for reading powerpoints keynote will perfectly do the job for you.
The google suite is... problematic, cumbersome, but relatively usable for the most part when you really get use to it, and it's for that only that I'd rather have my windows machine near me, although I am very able to do team work online live during class while we are in tables in gdocs and multiple edits happening at the same time. Just windows, and chromeos for that matter, have a better accessibility experience.
My final word for now is that once you will be stuck, just don't pannick and stress, and this is a really good advice I'd have liked to know before. Try as much as you can to now discover how you can, or can't do things on the mac in production and where you immediately need to get that thing done, you will really have a hard time then.