[nfbcs] All-in-One Computers and Screen Readers

[George]

Peter,

Never care about rumors of possible trends, just think about what you 
want, about your specific needs, about the advantages, disadvantages and 
risks.

Yes, notebooks or all-in-one pcs are portable and convenient, but you'll 
be in trouble when something breaks. If you want a notebook pc, look for 
one with several USB ports, at least.
Once the keyboard of my notebook pc broke and I started using a usb 
keyboard instead, otherwise I would have had to send it for repair and 
it would have cost me a lot of money.
If the speakers break, you would have to have it repaired or to use USB 
speakers.  At last, you will end using many accessories on your notebook 
pc, too.
So, if you are not taking your pc everywhere, I would say that a desktop 
computer is much easier and cheaper to repair.
As you know, if the speakers of your desktop pc break, you just buy new 
ones and change them, the same is true for the mouse, camera, etc.
Generally, desktop pcs are louder and heavierthan notebooks. Notebooks 
have batteries, which makes them safer in case of light downs.

I think that this is true for all devices: all-in-one devices are good 
until something breaks: when something breaks, you might regret to have 
bought them.
But, self phones are all-in-one devices and very convenient.

If you buy a 17-inch notebook, you will probably have the normal 
keyboard.  If you buy a 15,6-inch notebook you might get a keyboard 
without the number keypad and this is sometimes bothering particularly 
for users of screen readers.
Pcs smaller than that might cause us trouble, not only because of the 
screen reader, but also because of the operating system, keyboard, etc.

A 17-inch/15-inch Toshiba or DELL might be the best choice in terms of 
performance and cost.  DELL pcs seem to be cheaper, but Toshiba pcs also 
have good advantages.
I bought a Dell 17-inch notebook (Inspiron 17 5748) with Windows 8.1 and 
I'm very happy with it. Just the program DELL Backup and Recovery gave 
me some headache at the beginning. Also there's a learn curve from XP to 
8.1, but I got used to Win 8.1 in about one month. I use NVDA, Firefox, 
Thunderbird, Excel, Word, etc.

HTH


On 2015/02/04 11:55, Peter Donahue via nfbcs wrote:
> Good evening everyone,
>
>      Considering that my trusty HP Pavillian is not long for this
> World I'm in the market for a new computer possibly another HP. I'm told
> that the trend is away from multi-component desktops to all-in-one PCS.
> Several years ago I heard that there were issues with running screen
> readers on all-in-one units. An update to this situation would be very
> enlightening. Having visited the Microsoft Store and checking out PCS on
> various manufacturer Websites I feel like we're still in the dark ages
> with respect to desktop computers. We use JAWS for Windows. Your
> feedback on this concern will be very much appreciated.
>
> Peter Donahue
>
>
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