PC versus Apple MacBook - Convert or not to convert

By OhioBuckeye, 13 January, 2017

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

My primary computer is a Dell 14z, running Win 7. Being that I have RP, I heavily utilize ZoomText 10.1 on this platform. My secondary PC is a Dell desktop mini-tower. It is an i5 with 8 GB RAM, 1.5 TB of HD space, running Win 10. I've installed ZT 10.1 on that machine as well. I had full intentions of migrating to the desktop and use the laptop on an as needed basis. That was a mistake.

ZoomText 10.1 and ZoomText Fusion on a Win 10 PC does not support Windows Edge nor does it support Google Chrome 64-bit (this was confirmed in an email from AISquared Tech Support). While using the Win 10 PC, I found Internet Explorer to run extremely slow as did some of the MS Office Suite apps. The poor performance was enough for me to reconsider using the Win 10 PC and now I'm back to using the laptop full time. Seems that ZoomText is not so fluid while running on a Win 10 platform.

That being said, I am thinking more and more about moving to an Apple MacBook Pro. Here are my questions and I hope that we can generate a lot of converstations on this so that it will help others who are also considering the same:

1. How well does AISquared's ZoomText product perform on the MacBook Pro?
2. The Touchbar seems to be a hot topic at this time. Many visual folks also believe it's a waste of money. Do you agree?
3. I would use Boot Camp so that I can continue to utilize some of my PC-based apps. Has this caused isses with any of you?
4. What, if anything, do you or did you find discouraging on the Mac OS platform?
5. Any others familiar with the ZT and Win 10 performance issues?

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

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Comments

By Justin on Sunday, January 22, 2017 - 20:36

Hi,
Theres the zoom magnifier on macOs, so I don't get why you'd need zoomtext on the mac side. The best way to run windows if you don't want to bootcamp is to use fusion with a virtual machine. Keep in mind that I am an exclusive macOs user and haven't honestly had a thing to do with windows since 2010. Also, be prepared to spend a lot of cash on the new MacBooks. Plus if you get the 15 inch theres the quad core CPU plus AMD graphics instead of intel ones. Also the touch bar is interesting. I like it a lot. Just my opinions. So, it really boils down to what you can afford with these new macs. If I were you, go for the 13 inch MBP without touch bar. it's got the traditional function keys and you should be good to go. macb

By OhioBuckeye on Sunday, January 22, 2017 - 20:36

Took your comments under advisement. I went to the local BestBuy to look at the new Apples. My wife was encouraging me to look at the 27" iMac All-in-one. She turned on the accessibility functions and it simply wasn't enough for me to be able to view the screen in the same way that I view it currently using the PC. It appears that I'd need to use ZoomText for the Mac. Not sure I want that added expense at this time.

Thanks again.