[blindLaw] Screen-readers and Dell Machines

Thu Jul 1 18:46:35 UTC 2021

All,

I'm personally moving over to an HP machine, though I've heard a ton
of great things about Lenovo. I second Nikki's observations about the
Surface line.

I'm also grateful for everyone's input here. I've been in nearly
constant contact with Visparo/Freedom Scientific, Dell, and Microsoft.
Everyone pointed the finger at everyone else. They also told me I was
the only one reporting the problem. Turns out it's exactly what I
thought it was to begin with. Wow, if only I'd known that a year ago.

Warmth,
Sanho

On 7/1/21, Singh, Nandini via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I want to interject and say that Microsoft Surface units have a number of
> issues. Granted, the family member from where I got this information has an
> older Surface Book, but I hope this is useful: (1) the unit does not work
> well as either or a tablet, one of the main features that it advertises, (2)
> it is fairly heavy for what it is, (3) the audio output is not the greatest,
> (4) the audio headphone jack tends to fail in a relatively short amount of
> time but warranty does not cover it, (5) limited ports, which is becoming
> more standard as laptop profiles get thinner, so (6) please pay attention to
> specs when evaluating which set of ports you need vs how much money you
> could end up spending for an adaptor, hub, or docking station.
>
> I am not affiliated with HP in any way, but I urge you to take a look at
> some of those models. They are really quite good. Also, while I am happy to
> spout out all kinds of stuff here about tech, you can check out Wirecutter,
> a consumer affairs website related to the NYTimes and secondarily, PC Mag,
> where you want to be more critical.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tim Elder via
> BlindLaw
> Sent: Thursday, July 1, 2021 1:54 PM
> To: 'Teresita Rios' <teresitarios22 at gmail.com>; 'Blind Law Mailing List'
> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: tim at timeldermusic.com
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Screen-readers and Dell Machines
>
> [EXTERNAL]
>
> I'm thrilled to see this thread.  I recently bought a new Dell Precision
> laptop to replace my old XPS and have been having all kinds of problems with
> it.  I will gladly help with a letter while I start shopping around for
> Microsoft Surface machines.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Teresita Rios <teresitarios22 at gmail.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 7:25 AM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blindLaw] Screen-readers and Dell Machines
>
> Lauren I like your idea of writing a letter. Perhaps all of us who are
> having serious issues with Dell computers can write a draft, then we can
> approach NFB and ask any other affected individuals to join. I think NFB
> would be more inclined to send the letter if we help.
> I am usually busy during the week, but I am pretty free on the weekends.
> Having a job is easier than school. lol.
> To start, if anyone is interested email me directly so we do not bombard the
> mailing list with suggestions and edits.
>
> Thanks
> Teresita Rios
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 30, 2021 at 9:31 AM Lauren Bishop via BlindLaw <
> blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I have been following this thread for a while. I also have a Dell
>> machine, and I have definitely had apps crash while I am using them and I
>> have also
>> seen an out of memory error box pop up   Now that I know others are
>> experiencing this problem, I have done a little digging. I read on a
>> form for NVDA users that this memory leak is caused by dels real tech
>> audio drivers. Essentially, Dell  has tweaked the drivers in such a
>> way that it causes a memory leak when NVDA or jaws are running. Given
>> that Dell is a popular brand of computers, it might be wise for the
>> NFB to reach out to Dell  regarding this issue.
>> Lauren
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> > On Jun 29, 2021, at 5:00 PM, Sanho Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw <
>> blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > Luis and others,
>> >
>> > Just changing the subject line so the powers that be don't need to
>> > grumble at us.
>> >
>> > No, anti-virus programs don't make a difference, and both of my
>> > laptops have plenty of space when the problem happens. I actually
>> > did a clean install of Windows from a USB this weekend and the
>> > problem disappeared... right up to the point Windows Update reloaded
>> > the various security patches and driver updates it onboards
>> > automatically.
>> >
>> > Rob mentioned loading on Windows 10 LTSC, the stripped-down
>> > operating system without bloatware, etc. Unfortunately, Windows
>> > Enterprise will only sell LTSC licenses to authorized businesses and
>> > only in packages of 5 product keys. The upshot is that private
>> > individuals aren't usually granted licenses, and when they are, they're
>> > about $400.
>> >
>> > At this point I'm considering buying something from a different
>> > manufacturer. I'm just afraid of spending many hundreds of dollars
>> > just to have the same problem present itself on another machine.
>> >
>> > Sanho
>> >
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>
>
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