Which mac is best for me?

As far as to what Mac is best for you, it depends on what you are looking for in features other than accessibility. As far as I know, all Macs offer the same accessibility features in the OS. So, the question becomes: Do you want a laptop or desktop? Do you need an internal CD drive? That kind of thing. It is worth noting that Outlook on the Mac is not accessible--for that matter, none of the Microsoft Office products are. iWork is better, but still not all features are accessible.

I think if I were you I would search for last year's MacBook Pro. They had a disc drive before the latest models came out.

Actually the Macbook Pro's still have optical drives just the new retna display unit doesn't.

Hi, I've been using a Mac for a while. I'm a college student getting a degree in audio engineering so I wanted to see how a mac would help me since I've got a friend who uses it for audio engineering. I absoluetly love it. Mail will work well for your e-mailing needs, I've got multiple accounts setup and they all work well. Safari which is the quivalent to IE on Windows works very well with VoiceOver. As for what you should get I'd go to an Apple retail store if you could and feel the laptops and figure out which one is best for you. If you can find a refurbished modle or a mid 2012 or early 2012 computer you'll save yourself some money. I've got a macbook pro early 2012 and I love it as I said before. If your looking for a good word processor check out Nisus writer Express and Nisus writer Pro.

Disclaimer: This is just my story and I hope it helps, but I know everyone's situation is different. Hello, I had originally heard about the Mac in 2009 when the iPhone 3Gs came out. I thought it was cool, but wasn't in a position to consider one. My parents had a Mac when I was really small, but stopped using it after a few years, mostly because of incompatibility issues. More on that in a bit. Fast forward to the Verizon iPhone launch. I really wanted one. I had read articles and listened to podcasts of other blind people using them. I confess, the first time I played with a friend's iPod Touch, I was intimidated, having the "How can I work this, it's flat glass!" feeling. I don't remember the exact "Whoa, that is cool" moment that came, but it did in college when I would play with a roommate's iPhone for a half hour at a time. This way, I could slowly acclimate myself to the device. When I finally got my own, except for the eventual surrender to iTunes, I was up and running in minutes. Fast forward again: the friend who showed me the iPod got a Mac first. I had the same overwhelming feeling that comes with learning something new, but the VO Quick Start and a familiarity with iOS made things a lot easier this time. I was visiting with this friend for a week, and she let me play with her computer. It was great, because I could ask questions of people in the next room and not feel strange about it because both of us were fairly new users. Her computer was a MacBook Air, and within two days of my return home, I had effectively cloned the machine. I'm in college, so wanted something super light. When I carry my Air around in a bag for eight hours on campus, I hardly notice it. A Pro would be too heavy, and it all depends on what you plan to do with the machine. I'm a science major, and Macs are quite common among the students, faculty, and classrooms. I already had a Windows netbook and desktop, so power and peripherals weren't a problem. I knew I'd be transferring content and that my netbook also lacked an optical, so an external hard and CD drive had been purchased earlier. I maxed the Air out, of course, so it will be with me for hopefully a few years and OS upgrades. Bottom line: What I like about my Mac: VoiceOver, of course. I rarely get tired of listening to Alex; that happened quite a lot with some of the eloquence voices. Added screen reader capabilities: Once you get used to the "interact" feature, it can help give you the parts of an app you're most interested in. Drag and drop is nice, too, and the ability to make an app accessible when it has unlabeled buttons. And the trackpad, oh, the trackpad! I love that all the iOs gestures carry over, and often assign custom commands so I use the keyboard even less. Coming from the Windows side, this is a major plus. Don't know what Windows 8 will bring, but it most likely won't be implemented for a while. The fact that you can install the OS from scratch: This is part of the Apple site, but it actually works and makes me more willing to play with software. I know if something goes wrong, I can successfully reboot. My MacBook Air in particular: As I said before, I didn't need a heavy-duty laptop, so chose the Air model. I love the physical keyboard on the thing; I have small hands and it is just the right size for me. . And coding is wonderful, because I rarely mistype a key on the numbers row. Oh, and it can run Windows if need be for that Office project or special laboratory program. So you can have both major software systems on one hardware device. what people say about leaving knowledge of a Windows screen reader behind is true, but you can't approach the Mac with that fact in your mind either. Just learn VO and take it for what it is. I find the more tech tools I have in my toolbox, the better off I am. What hardware specs you decide to go with will require you to consider what you use a computer most for. As far as configuration options, I find the Apple site to be helpful here in determining parts and budget. And there is no substitute for hands-on experience. Now, subconsciously, when I hear that Mac boot-up sound, I think back to the early days of a computer when I didn't know how to use one, but knew they were the next big thing. I've felt like I've come full-circle with the Mac. I still use Windows, but not as much for everyday things. Apple is used 99% of the time for my summer work right now, so knowing about the different options is more crucial. There is no longer one OS or screen reader to rule them all in this giant 21st century tech world.