One to Six
While searching for some info about Mac and FTP servers I stumbled upon a rather funny article. I guess it’s not supposed to be funny - it’s more like a coincidence.
Check out this article about connecting to an FTP server. First, one screenshot showing how to connect using a Mac, and then six screenshots showing how to connect using Windows XP. Says a lot about the high level of usability on Mac OS X.
on March 4th, 2007 at 16:25
Glad to hear you found the article amusing.
On a similar note, try getting OS X to read a Word Document, select the text then
Word > Services > Speech > Start Speaking Text
Now look what you need to do in Windows…
Use Text to Speech in Word
The following example uses the Excel object model to access Text to Speech from a Word document. This procedure demonstrates how to reference and create an Excel object in order to use the Speech object.
Insert a Module into Word
1. Open a Word document.
2. Press ALT+F11 to start the Visual Basic Editor.
3. On the Insert menu, click Module.
4. Type or copy and paste into the module the sample code that appears later in this section.
Add a Reference to Excel 10 Object Library
1. In the Visual Basic Editor, point to References on the Tools menu.
2. Under Available References, select the Microsoft Excel 10.0 Object Library check box, and then click OK.
Sub Procedure to Automate Excel Text to Speech from Word
The following example assumes that you type text in your Word document and then select the text before you run the Sub procedure.
Sub TTS()
‘Declare and create an Excel object.
Dim XL_tts As Excel.Application
Set XL_tts = CreateObject(”Excel.Application”)
XL_tts.Speech.Speak Selection
XL_tts.Quit
Set XL_tts = Nothing
End Sub
NOTE: Word security is set at high by default. Unsigned Visual Basic macros do not run in this setting. Change the macro security level to medium by following these steps:
1. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Security.
2. On the Security Level tab, click to select Medium, and then click OK.
3. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Word.
NOTE: You must quit and restart Word for the security level change to take effect.
on March 4th, 2007 at 17:31
Oh my god… It puts things a little bit in perspective. Mac OS X just IS much more user friendly.