kestrell | Blind iPod users

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Anyone remember the old Samsonite luggage commercials where a giant ape beat up the luggage? That's me when it comes to accessible ebook readers. It doesn't seem to matter which one I choose, they all last about two years and then suddenly die. The only exception is the original BookPort that runs on batteries, which is *still* working, but I can't add new books on to it.

Anyway, my ebook reader suddenly died, so I am once more in need of a new ebook reader. I think I want to get another BookSense (it possesses, by far, my favorite TTS), but I know a few people have recommended the iPod, though I can't remember which kind of iPod.

So, fellow blind readers, please tell me about your iPod reading experiences. Is it easier to learn than the laptops? Do you need to install some sort of TTS book reading programs for Bookshare books? What formats can it read? How happy are you with the TTS, and does it have the Alex voice?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

jesse_the_k

...oh! I'm almost tempted to load up my system with VO, but before I do that....

Many volumes don't "auto open" on mounting. That is, insert USB, operating system shows icon & name, and then sits there. At this point I'd open a new Finder window. The mounted volumes stack in a vertical column in the left (called "the sidebar.") Top volume is boot; others are in chrono order. Your usb should appear then: select and its contents appear in the right 4/5s of the window.

From:

kestrell

Thank you! I will try that.

From:

kestrell

For some reason, your suggestion didn't work for me, but the other person's suggestion to go to the desktop and tab around to find the drive and then use control+o worked very simply.
Does the fact that I am VoiceOver turned on change how the commands you are using work? Or perhaps Lion has slightly different shortcut commands?

I do have a book from Bookshare on the topic of using the command line, but the books never seem to quite mention what I want to do, or they use those icons instead of text so it is difficult to find what I am looking for.
Anyway, I have now succeeded in opening up a HTML format ebook loaded on a USB, so go me! And go you for talking me along, thanks!
One more thing: I know I have asked you this more than once, but what is the name of the cover you recommended for my Mac Air?

From:

jesse_the_k

I'm using Mountain Lion, 10.8. Apple never stops tweaking the Finder. I don't know the default contents of the Sidebar; control which items show up in Finder -> Preferences -> Sidebar.

VO could change the keyboard commands (and that wouuld be REALLY annoying!) Using the command line for file manipulation requires opening up a terminal window:
1. command-space to invoke Spotlight
2. type termi to highlight item with that name
3. return to open it, and you'll hear whatever convoluted command prompt. For example, my default prompt is "Ls-MacBook-Pro:~ ljk$ "
which is a hella lot of characters for every line, and I guess I'd have to find out how to get my mac's name out of it, not to mention my intitials.

YAY! You on opening the HTML file. Did you read it with Safari (default browser) or yet another nifty tool?

Oh, and you do know you could wipe the Mac OS off this box and load Windows or Linux? Still have sleek hardware with not so steep learning curve.

The case I used for four happy years on a Macbook Pro 13 was a Speck, however the user reviews on its home page are fairly harsh, at this link
my summary: not enough roon for the hinge area, frequent cracks

Cases sorta depend on how brutal you are. I managed to never drop the Speck-cased computer. Perhaps this was because the case made it easier to hold, since it had a persistent, though subtle, grippy surface. If I had dropped it, I don't think the case would have saved a cracked screen or prevented the hinge from warping. But that's why I always buy AppleCare for my computers: its $300 well spent if I do clod out and drop it.

From:

kestrell

Thank you for all the juicy information. I'm kind of paranoid about my tech, so they rarely leave the house and usually just sit very carefully on a specific shelf, so they rarely move even in my room. I'm this paranoid because accessible tech companies like to blame the incredibly short lifespan of their products on blind people being too clumsy and careless with products, instead of products having shoddy designs.

I used Safari as the default broswer for reading the HTML format books but, although I could see the table of contents page, when I clicked on links to go to chapters it didn't work, even though the contents page would announce that I had visited that link.

Yes, I thought of wiping and installing Windows, but I would really like to learn the OS so I can use Apple products and get away from Enslavement Scientific. I probably need to just lock myself in my room for a week and focus on solely using the Mac Air.