[blindkid] apple netbooks

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Tue May 22 17:01:39 UTC 2012


In addition, HP has a couple of full power laptops that are not much larger than a netbook at a 
reasonable price.  I purchased one such item and it has worked well.  

I think that one does need to take into account which computers and software that the school is using 
when making a decision.  Apple and Windows both have software that is powerful, but the software in each 
environment are not necessarily the same.  Going with what the school uses increases the chance of 
getting some additional support from school staff or even other students.  If a student already is good 
at independent use of a computer and doesn't have all that many years left in school, this kind of 
support may not matter, but it is an aspect to be considered.  From what I have observed, it seems that 
Apple's computers tend to be more expensive but you get the screen reader.  Windows computers vary 
greatly in price and can be just as expensive as Apple computers, but there seems to be more models 
available at the lower end.  If you buy a lower-end Windows computer and add a screen reader, you are 
probably not paying that much more than if you buy an Apple computer.  You may have less power in the 
computer, though, but it might be worth it if the software used is consistent with the software used by 
the other students.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson


On Mon, 21 May 2012 16:53:51 -0700 (PDT), SUSAN POLANSKY wrote:

>Our son is a high school sophomore honors student who has used a Samsung net book for several years. 
All we did was put in some extra memory and got an inexpensive external drive. This particular net book 
was recommended to us by several staff from the Jernigan Institute including one from the technology 
center. It runs JAWS just fine. I would suggest calling or emailing the technology center for advice. 


>Susan T. Polansky
> 

>________________________________
> From: Richard Holloway <rholloway at gopbc.org>
>To: "Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org> 
>Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 5:23 PM
>Subject: Re: [blindkid] apple netbooks
>  
>I would suggest you hit the brakes a bit and do some hands on research. I am a huge Apple fan and could 
hardly live without my MacBook and iPad. With that said, the MacBook is QUITE diffent than using a PC.

>You're speaking of "netbooks", and this may just be a confusion of terms. MacBooks are NOTEbooks, as 
are more substantial PC laptops. "Netbooks" are almost better referred to as mini-laptops. They have 
less processing power, don't have room for a CD or DVD drive, etc, and I wonder how well they are suited 
to even run JAWS. These are PC's in the $150 to $250 range. they are targeted for web applications 
almost entirely. Chances are you'll want more power than a netbook offers if that is your only machine 
at home.

>You mention PowerPoint. You'll need to buy that, and better to buy MS Office than PowerPoint and word 
and excel (etc.) one at a time. Student deals are in the $100-something range for office, but right off 
the bat, that is software that may not be ideal for a netbook. If you buy anything on CD or DVD, you'll 
have to buy an external drive to load it.

>Compare more in the mid-range of PC notebooks to Apple PowerBooks and see what works best. Cheap 
notebooks may not included a CD/DVD drive either, a check before you buy. If you have to interact with 
other machines, make certain you're on the same platform (PC vs Mac) or confirm that you can cross 
documents between the two. (PowerPoint should cross. It may have more small issues with things like 
fonts aka typefaces, when you change from Mac to PC)

>If you will need support, consider what those people supporting your needs are familiar with. They may 
support Mac and PC, but if they are PC only people, for example, who will help with your new Macintosh?

>Of corse, JAWS is a $1000 screen reader. Some would argue that there are free PC screen readers that 
would work as well for you. VoiceOver is nice, but has some limitations as well. Someone else here 
called it a nice work in progress. I agree entirely.

>Have the tech folks at school offered any suggestions for what would work best which would make things 
as similar for your son at home as possible to what it in use at school?

>Is there any chance you'll be at national convention to see machines working with JAWS loaded and to 
look at various setups? A local Mac dealer can demo VoiceOver for you. If you can use a PC where you can 
load software to demo, you could also load a JAWS demo for free.

>Do all you can to learn hands-on before you buy, because what works for one of us us may not be best 
for your situation. Hope that helps a little bit.

>Thanks,

>Richard

>Sent from my iPad

>On May 21, 2012, at 4:49 PM, Rosina Solano <colemangirly at yahoo.com> wrote:

>> Okay, I stated that I am looking for a netbook for my son for high school.  I have also been advised 
to not jump into the ipad arena just yet, that he needs to learn the computer skills first.  I am okay 
with that.  Now I am wondering about apple versus other netbooks.  I know that there is a big price 
difference.  My idea is that is comes installed with Voice Over.  If I get a netbook then I also have to 
get JAWS for a screen reader.  So I am just wondering if using the apple netbook will do the same as any 
other computer.  I see that it is compatable with his braille sense plus.  So I am just looking for 
which way to go and why.  He needs to be able to email his homework directly to his teachers and get it 
back.  To do powerpoint presentations, etc.  He already has good braille skills and uses an abacus 
extremely well.  He does well in school, but we are WAY behind in the tech dept.  We live rural and so 
do not have it at home either, so
>> this is all new for all of us.  No cell phones, no ipods, nothing tech other than his braille sense.  
I use internet several times a week at the local library, but if we get him going we plan on getting 
internet at home.  This is very overwhelming for us so please talk plainly. 
>>  
>> Thanks;
>> 
>> 
>> ********************************************
>> Rosina Foster
>> www.tadpoleacres.webs.com
>> MOPBC Missouri Parents of Blind Children
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