[nabs-l] Questions About Getting New Laptop

Mon Jun 20 19:19:46 UTC 2011

Hi, all,
  I have been following this thread as I'm also planning to purchase a
new laptop within the next year or so (my current one still runs
Windows XP). One question for those of you who use and like Macs: Is
there some sort of OCR sofftware that works with Macs? I regularly use
Open Book to scan documents or convert pdf files into a more
accessible format, but from what I understand it only works on Windows
machines. Is that correct? Thanks!
   Katie

On 6/20/11, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> Florida? Are you going to convention while you're there?
>
>  Chris
>
> "A loss of sight, never a loss of vision!" (Camp Abilities motto)
> To learn more about Camp Abilities and find a local camp near
> you, just click on this link to their national Web site:
> www.campabilities.org.
>
> The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps visually impaired youth in
> Maryland have the ability to confidently say "I can!" How? Click
> on this link to learn more and to contribute:
> www.icanfoundation.info.
>
>  Sent from my BrailleNote
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kerri Kosten <kerrik2006 at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>,"T.  Joseph Carter" <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com
> Date sent: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:00:04 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Questions About Getting New Laptop
>
> Hi All!
>
> Thanks for the info.  I really appreciate it!
>
> I want to hopefully bring this new laptop to my upcoming trip to
> Florida to visit some family so I think I am going to just go for
> windows and maybe get a mac later when I know I'll have more time
> to
> spend learning voiceover.
>
> I did a quick search on Amazon for the I7 laptops and the
> cheapest
> prices I can find are in the $800 range.
>
> What kind of budget/price should I go for? I guess the more you
> pay
> the better...are the more expensive I7 processor high end laptops
> worth it over the much cheaper I3 ones?
>
> I don't want to be so cheap I get a crappy laptop but at the same
> time
> I don't want to get something that is overpriced and I end up
> getting
> screwed.
>
> For those who have purchased laptops recently did you go for the
> cheaper lower end or the more expensive higher end models?
>
> I don't mind spending the money for something good but I also
> don't
> want to spend a ton on something and get screwed.
>
> Thanks!
> Kerri
>
> On 6/19/11, T.  Joseph Carter <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com> wrote:
>  For a JAWS user or Window Eyes user, the Mac is going to take a
>  little getting used to, but other than learning the new screen
>  reader, it functions basically as you뭗 expect it to.  The
> option to
>  use a virtual machine to run Windows exists on a Mac as well,
> and you
>  will find the MacBook Air in particular a joy to carry after
> lugging
>  around a larger, heavier laptop.
>
>  Most ultralight PCs are cheap netbooks and pretty sluggish.
> They뭭e
>  got going for them the size and usually also the weight, but
> they
>  sacrifice much in terms of function to do it.  The difference
> between
>  the MacBook Air and a more conventional laptop is that it뭩
> missing
>  optical drive and ethernet port.  And that it weighs half as
> much!  I
>  personally can뭪 imagine carrying anything else anymore.
>
>  If you don뭪 mind the heavier laptop, all the advice about what
> to
>  look for in a good laptop (i7 being more battery efficient than
> i3,
>  etc.) applies to Macs as well.
>
>  The one thing that will take getting used to if you use Windows
> your
>  Mac (either via BootCamp or virtual machine) is the keyboard.
> You
>  will find that the Alt and Windows keys are reversed.  The
> keyboard
>  is basically done the way Mac keyboards have been for ages뾦t뭩
> just
>  that Apple and Microsoft happen to put the "alternative
> function" and
>  "vendor logo function" keys in opposite locations.  I뭭e gotten
> used
>  to using Windows that way.  To me it뭩 no different from using
> the
>  Control key versus the Command key for cut/copy/paste.  I just
> do
>  what뭩 appropriate in the environment I뭢 using pretty
> automatically.
>
>  Joseph
>
>
>  On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 07:55:28PM -0400, Kerri Kosten wrote:
> Hi Everyone!
>
> Well, after five years, it looks like I am going to have to get a
> new
>  laptop.
>
> I haven't had to look for a laptop in like five years so I had
> some
>  questions.
>
> First, from an accessibility/screenreader standpoint what is
> better
> windows or Mac? Was the switch to mac from windows hard? Was
> voiceover
> easy to get used to? Do you like your mac better than windows?
> I've
> been told macs don't get viruses or have spyware and they seem a
> lot
> more durable.  I have a friend who says he has had one for three
> years
> (he isn't blind) and he says other than spending some money on a
> bigger hard drive and paying $25 for one of the new OS updates (I
> believe it was snow lepoard) he said it works just as fast and
> everything as it did the day he got it.  It seems with windows
> the life
> is only around four or five years old.  Sighted people are
> telling me
> to go with mac but I know the world is still largely dominated by
> windows.
>
> For windows users who have purchased laptops recently what things
> did
> you look for in the laptop? What brands are people using with the
> windows screenreaders? I found a Tasheba satellite on Amazon.com
> for
> $479...it is usually $780 but has been on sale for $479.  It has
> an I3
> processor, 4 gigs of ram, 640 gig hard drive, and a 15 inch
> screen not
> that that matters to me.  Supposedly the battery lasts for five
> hours.
> I was going to just go with this one but i noticed it is rated 3
> starrs on the customer reviews and I wonder why it has dropped so
> much
> in price on Amazon.  is anyone else using a tasheba and are they
> good?
> What things did you look for in you're laptop before purchasing
> it?
>
> The laptop I will likely get has Windows 7 and is 64 BIT.  Is
> there any
> big bugs I should know about with 64 BIT, Windows 7, and Jaws? Do
> you
> like windows 7 overall? Is it better than windows vista? My old
> hp
> laptop had windows vista on it and my netbook (which I am typing
> this
> on) has windows XP.
>
> Even if Rehab or some other source purchased your laptop, I am
> noticing most of the new ones have similar specks:Windows 7, a
> 500 gig
> or bigger hard drive, I 3 and up processor, 4 gigs of ram.  How
> fast
> are these? My laptop is so old I'm kind of excited and curious to
> hear
> about how fast the latest laptops with these new and improved
> specks
> are.
>
> Thanks!
> Kerri
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
> for
>  nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/carter.tj
> oseph%40gmail.com
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  nabs-l mailing list
>  nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>  http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
>  To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account
> info for
>  nabs-l:
>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/kerrik200
> 6%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
> for nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nu
> sbaum%40gmail.com
>
>
>