[senit] Safari on PC

From: "webmaster at aylesburyvale-sec.bucks.sch.uk"

Do Apple do less to support students with special needs?

On a personal note, I've worked with Macs since they first came out in 1984
and have always found that Apple looked to accessibility before any of it's
rivals did.  The Mac OS had a screen enlarger , CloseView, and facilities
such as "Sticky Keys" in the OS way back in 1985.

I believe that Apple Computers were sponsors of the Disabled Children's
Computer Group (DCCG) when it stared in 1983.

Apple used to produce a very weighty tome, "Apple Computer Resources in
Special Education and Rehabilitation" back in the eighties and nineties.

In 1993 I was part of a group Apple took to Cupertino from around the world
to discuss access issues.

Indeed from my recollection it wasn't until the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 included the provision that any company providing computers to
the American Government had to demonstrate accessibility that most other
computer manufacturers took any notice of accessibility at all. (I say most,
there were some notable exceptions such as IBM)

Now you could say that they may not seem as proactive as they used to be, I
certainly don't have as much direct contact with them in the UK as I used to
have.  But then I don't have much contact with Microsoft directly either

On the commercial side, as a company we provide our products for students
with learning difficulties on both Mac and Windows platforms.  We used to be
a purely Mac only developer, certainly back when Apple used to have about
70% of the US education market.  I can say we have had good and bad
experiences with both Apple and Microsoft.

By coincidence on my desk in front of me I have a new BECTA report on using
"digital creativity" to engage students with behavioural, emotional and
social difficulties from Liverpool University. I notice that was sponsored
by Apple. 

Jamie

-- 
Jamie Munro
Managing Director
Don Johnston Ltd.
18/19 Clarendon Court
Calver Road
Winwick Quay
Warrington WA2 8QP
Company Registration Number 2899525
Telephone: 01925 256500
Fax: 01925 241745
Mobile Telephone: 0772 0845428
email: jmunro at djsn.co.uk

> From: "webmaster at aylesburyvale-sec.bucks.sch.uk"
> <webmaster at aylesburyvale-sec.bucks.sch.uk>
> Reply-To: <senit at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:39:01 GMT
> To: <senit at lists.becta.org.uk>, <aph at misnet.co.uk>
> Subject: Re: [senit] Safari on PC
> 
> From: "Ira David Socol" <socolira at msu.edu>
>> as with most Apple
>> products - accessibility is an afterthought,  if thought
>> of at all. 
> 
> Whilst I agree that Firefox is a more accessible browser
> than Safari (if slower) I must say that your last sentence
> is complete nonsense.
> 
> Apple have always striven to make their products very user
> friendly. This benefits everyone regardless of your
> 'ability'. A 'typical SEN' student (if there is such a
> thing) finds 'Pages' easier to use than 'Word' but then so
> would a 'non SEN' (again if there is such a thing) user.
> 
> There are a number of features built into the OS which are
> specifically designed to increase accessibility.
> 
> I use both Macs and PCs (though modern Macs are PCs, the
> main difference being that the are capable of running OSX)
> and you couldn't really persuade me that windows is more
> accessible other than in the sense that there is a wider
> selection of software available on the Windows platform.
> 
> Mark
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Mark Norwood
> Assistant Headteacher
> www.avssc.org
> 
> 
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