Hello,
Christmas is arriving with Godspeed and I am fed up with Jaws on Windows 8. I have successfully persuaded my loving family to band together and guide me through the metaphorical Garden of Eden also known as the apple store to purchase a Mac Book. The only problem I have is pure ignorance and nostalgia about my past whenever I think about using a Mac during them good ol’ times when apple[s] were truly organic. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone could recommend the suitable Mac book for my particular needs of being completely blind? (Sorry did not know if it was obvious enough lol).
Basic Criteria:
-notetaking, book reading, daily news reading, anything to do with studying this will be used for; education is a priority for my future.
-fast, like the flash fast…I really hate lag but don’t we all.
-portable and light in weight as well as very durable for those wall bumping routines.
-music and movies are secondary
-affordable
P.S. recommendations for any ACCURATE (crescendo) OCR software like Kurzweil will be greatly appreciated!!!
P.S.S also will booking an apple store appointment be a waste of my time because of the lack of VO/visually impaired experience the staff will have?
Thank you so much, I will check on this soon as we planned to go on Wednesday
J.
By JayBlind, 17 December, 2015
Forum
macOS and Mac Apps
Comments
Either a MacBook or MacBook Air
Considering you're only going to be using it for light tasks, I would either recommend the MacBook or MacBook Air. The MacBook is lighter, and thinner than the MacBook Air, and needs an adapter for regular USB devices, while the MacBook Air has USB ports, but is slightly thicker, and more powerful. The main reason I mentioned both is because the more powerful MacBook Air is a bit cheaper than the regular thinner MacBook, so at this point, it's up to you if you'd rather have a cheaper more powerful machine that's a little bit thicker, and heavier, or a more expensive machine that is a little less powerful, yet meets the requirements you listed and is the thinnest MacBook available.
Agreed
I agree completely that the MacBook Pro--the only option not mentioned in the previous comment--will be overkill here. The Air is cheaper than the MacBook, but has 128GB of storage and 4GB ram to start with. The starting configuration for the MacBook is 256GB storage and 8GB ram, so you're getting a slightly thinner and lighter machine that offers more drive space and ram. It does have a less powerful processor, though, and a keyboard many people find to be uncomfortable. The keys on the MacBook, while larger, are hard to distinguish by feel; there's next to no space between them, so it can be harder to feel where each is. Not impossible, but if you go with the MacBook, be warned that there may be a longer period of adjustment for the keyboard.
I've repeated the last comment in saying the Air is heaver and thicker, but please don't misunderstand: that's like saying cherry pie is better than apple pie. Technically true, but both are still great pies and are quite similar. The Air is larger, yes, but not by much, and it's still a very, very portable and capable machine. In fact, the MacBook (the smaller computer) is only as powerful as a MacBook Air… From 2012, according to articles I read when it came out but which I can't find anywhere now.
The point is that both machines are extremely light and portable, have great battery life, and will do the basics well. The Air offers more power, more USB ports and a mini display port, and what many feel is a better keyboard, for less money. It starts with less storage and ram, though, and doesn't include the Retina screen that the 2015 MacBook does. Also, if you want SD card support, you'll need to drop an extra $100 on the 13-inch Air, which will be a bit larger. That's still less than the MacBook, though. The laptop section of my guide to Macs might help in your decision, but I'd also spend a long time at the Apple Store. Look at the different models, ask questions, and get a feel for them before you decide. While there, you can also ask if anyone is comfortable enough with VoiceOver to offer training, as that varies by store location.
thanks for the comments
Hey guys, thanks for your input I really appreciate it!
I am glad that this forum is active, anyways I think I am going with the mac book pro although it is expensive, I concluded with my research that it will be better in the long run. A few people said "futuristic proof your mac" which is intelligently hilarious, and apparently the mac book air has been criticized to be quickly out dated after two years. From a logical standpoint, I believe buying a mac book prof will double the duration of use because of the powerful system, and spending that much money I would really factor in the length of use (forgot to mention in my post).
Thanks Santiago as I was really close to finalizing my choice to be the MacBook air and maximizing the speculations because the battery life was most appealing, but the fact that it would be outdated sooner than the pro persuaded me otherwise. The Mac book (I would rather call it a netbook) is esthetically appealing yet the keyboard (butterfly) has had troubling criticisms (learning curve or agreeing what mehgcap said). The processor of the net book which is slower than the Air convinced me to not choose the netbook and the comments read about the MacBook in regards to tricking the customer really resonated with my thoughts as a consumer too.
Final Judgement:
I’m not a computer expert but I’m quite adamant that the Mac Book Pro will prevail in the long run especially referencing the processor. Although the Retina display does not benefit me at all, others in my family will enjoy it. I have settled with the Mac Book Pro with the upgraded I7 2.9 GHz processor, 16 GB RAM, and 256 GB flash hard drive for $1799. I contemplated about the 512 flash hard drive but everyone said just to get a portable hard drive because it would be cheaper.
I am open to any comments or criticisms, and suggestions for any good accessories for my situation? The Logitech k760 Bluetooth keyboard is on the way for making notes with my iPhone and I will be ordering the Zendure A8 pro 25600MAh as a portable charging bank soon as it is currently on sale on Amazon :D.
Stick with it for now...
Hello,
For now, stick with the 250GB hard drive. Save your money and when you find yourself running out of disk space, probably in a year, replace the 250GB internal drive with a 1TB SSD drive. The prices are dropping on SSDs. The pros are it will make your computer run faster and your battery life will improve a little bit. Skip the external drive as it will be slow and another thing you will need to carry around.
HTH and good luck.
can cutomize after purchase?
Thanks DavidS,
I guess I will do that, so I'm assuming once I buy the Mac Book I can still go back to the apple store whenever I want to add/replace specs? Sorry I thought once it's customized the shop is closed down for good lol.
No post-purchase upgrading without risk
No, you're right. Once you customize and purchase a mac, you can't upgrade anything. Older Macs you can, and nowadays in some of the Minis you can. The newer laptops, though, you really can't easily. Even if you can, doing so will void your warranty. I'd suggest getting the drive size you want now, rather than counting on putting a larger one in later. There are other options, like adapters that store mini SD cards flush with the Mac, offering extra storage at the expense of your SD slot. Still, if you can afford it, I see no reason to not get the drive size you want now.