Thinking about switching to Mac from windows

I'd strongly suggest that you search this Applevis site for discussions on this topic. There have been several threads, one not too long ago from another student, I believe.

One thing that came out of that thread is that Macs don't deal well with pdf files at present, and often, textbooks are distributed in pdf format.

Another thing to consider is that if you decide you need to run Windows on your Mac, you'll have to purchase a copy of Windows for it, and possibly the software used to switch between macOS and Windows. Plus, you'll still need your Windows screen reader in this case.

This is my personal opinion, but I think unless you have a specific need to use a mac, you should stick to Windows. The hardware is considerably less expensive.

Hi,
I'd say go for the mac. I've been using them since 2010, and honestly love them! Sure you're gonna get those that say one is better than the other, but for my needs the mac works wonderfully! If you are going to read pDF's get an OCR app like either docuscan plus, or Prismo. I use docuscan all the time when I get instruction manuals to read, cause it meets my needs. The only thing is I don't know if in docuscan if there's a way to scan multiple pdf files at once. Ah well. Go to an apple store and play with the macs for a while and get what you can afford. I'm personally gonna get the 15 inch pro with the touch bar and probably max out everything, because once it's in, it's in no going back.

Hi,
I bought myself a barely used top of the line mac off of a friend who was switching the other way, and it works great. I partitioned half for windows and half for mac, so I can switch back and forth.

Hi! I've used Windows with Jaws since I was around seven years old, so close to 10 years, and I got a Mac about a year ago. I absolutely love it and haven't regretted it at all. I would definitely make the switched soon before you have to start your online classes though because there is a bit of a learning curve. I think it is probably doable to use a Mac for your online classes, but it might not be a very pleasant experience. I've taken online classes through my high school for the past 2 years, and unfortunately Blackboard really is not the least bit blind friendly... Honestly I've found myself using 4 devices and 3 screen readers just to do one assignment. Windows has been better for taking tests and turning in assignments, but Mac is light years ahead as far as the accessibility of the video conferencing platform. I still have an old netbook that I use for the Windows side, but I think having Windows running in a virtual machine with NVDA as the screen reader would give you the best of both worlds. Hopefully your online experience will be much better than mine! :)

Hello,
Since you are going to be doing online school, you need to watch out because most of what they teach will be Windows. This is something to consider. I have been a Windows guy since Windows 3.1 and I recently switched to a Mac book air recently and it is a good machine. I have Windows on it using boot camp so I can do both. If you want to do windows in a virtual machine you will need VM Fusion wich does cost around $79. What I really like about my configuration is that I have one machine that can do all I need From Mac to Windows.

Regards,
Greg Wocher

The usability and accessibility of Blackboard may depend on the version your school is using. In my experience as a student, the interface can be a little clunky and confusing to navigate, but it seemed to work well with Voiceover once I learned where I needed to go on the site.