[nfbcs] Notetakers vs. netbooks

[John G. Heim]

I bought a Pac Mate because I wanted a braille display and a GPS. I got it 
used so the Pac Mate was only about the same cost as what it would have cost 
me to buy a notebook and a talking GPS.

I've found that I could get along without the braille display though. I'd 
rather have Windows XP so I could run more software. I am a systems 
administrator and I really need to be able to map network shares, do ssh, 
etc.

That's why I said I'd buy a notebook if I had it to do over again. Not that 
I don't like the Pac Mate.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 1:07 PM
Subject: [nfbcs] Notetakers vs. netbooks


> Is there a good reason, other than a built-in braille display, to buy a
> notetaker instead of a netbook?
> The weight of the netbook seems about the same as that of many notetakers,
> and it runs off-the-shelf software.  Of course, one would have to add the
> extra weight and space of a braille display, which could be a drawback.
> Someone told me that netbooks have trouble running speech, but another
> person said she'd had no problems.  The netbooks I saw online look to be
> more powerful than my old laptop, and smaller.
> And a netbook is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a notetaker, even one
> without braille.  So what are the drawbacks?  Why aren't most blind guys
> buying netbooks instead of notetakers?
> Just curious, and wondering if I should replace my old laptop with
> something new and snazzy.
> Tracy
>
>
>
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