[nabs-l] Questions About Getting New Laptop

Mon Jun 20 23:27:01 UTC 2011

People say Macs can be pricey!  In the right configurations, they 
are.  But they hardly compare to the price of most Sony’s.  I don’t 
know if the cost is quite justified.

But then again, I use Mac OS X as my primary OS.  Mac OS X exists 
because making UNIX user-friendly was easier than making Windows not 
crash.  *snicker*

Joseph

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 08:48:35AM -0400, Ignasi Cambra wrote:
>I must say though that I've had much better results with Sony Vaio computers than with Toshiba. Vaio laptops seem to be more durable and solid, and in general I would say they are a little lighter than equivalent Toshibas.
>In any case you can always try whatever laptop that you want to get before you decide if you want to keep it or not. Best Buy and others will generally allow you to return the computer after 15 days if you aren't happy with it. I have never had to do that, but just having the option makes me feel like I can buy what I think is right for me, knowing that I can exchange it for an other product if I made a mistake.
>On Jun 20, 2011, at 6:29 AM, Jorge Paez wrote:
>
>> Kerri:
>> I went for the higher-end Core I7 Toshiba laptops.
>>
>> I'm quite happy with the performance, not to mention the HD audio and 3.0 USB.
>>
>> Don't get a Sony, just because the Sony laptop I saw was like $2,000 for like 500 GB of hard drive with core i3 or something like that while you could purchase a core I7 from Toshiba for around $8 to 9 hundred.
>>
>>
>> On Jun 20, 2011, at 2:00 AM, Kerri Kosten wrote:
>>
>>> 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 you’d 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.  They’ve
>>>> 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 it’s missing
>>>> optical drive and ethernet port.  And that it weighs half as much!  I
>>>> personally can’t imagine carrying anything else anymore.
>>>>
>>>> If you don’t 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 ages—it’s just
>>>> that Apple and Microsoft happen to put the "alternative function" and
>>>> "vendor logo function" keys in opposite locations.  I’ve gotten used
>>>> to using Windows that way.  To me it’s no different from using the
>>>> Control key versus the Command key for cut/copy/paste.  I just do
>>>> what’s appropriate in the environment I’m 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
>>>>>
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