I would grab the Dell quickly. It sounds like a great deal. My Dell has only 2 gig of ram but I usually find that enough to run many programs at the same time so 4 gig would be heaven. 250 gig hard drive is pretty good,too. I only have 125 so keep all my talking books and such on an external hard drive instead. I got my Dell over a year ago and still love it. I have also used Acer and Hewlit Packard. The Dell comes with a regular Ethernet port as well as the wireless capability. The feature I like best about my Dell is the manual switch that can turn off the wireless access so I feel safer leaving it on during the night to do the virus scans and backups and such. I always carry an external keyboard with me when I travel because I am too lazy to learn the laptop keyboard. I also like being able to put the external keyboard on the lower level of the desk to make it easier on my back since I use it for hours at a time. To sign on to the Internet with wireless is easy or automatic after the first time you do it in a new location. I do have to admit that Dell has its own system of signing on the first time that is more difficult than just using the regular "Connect to" in the Windows operating system. I think that I just need to learn exactly what to do to get connected. Dell does give you a year of excellent support and warranty but even though I had them guide me through connecting to my wireless network I forgot to make notes for the future. In fact if any other Dell users would give me the step by step instructions I would be grateful. I would love to be able to use the regular Windows wireless connection dialog since it is so easy. I do know it is not recommended now to sit a laptop directly on your lap to use it without something to raise it up and allow the fan vents to function properly. Sherrie
----- Original Message ----- From: "Maria Campbell" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 10:59 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] an old computer user with a few questionsaboutlaptops As others have said, the biggest thing to get used to on a laptop is the keyboard. JAWS hotkey commands can be different as well. I get around that by using an external keyboard, though I can use the one on the laptop if necessary. I like my Toshiba with built-in wireless capability, though wireless cards can be purchased if not built in. You can piggy-back on other people's wireless connections, but for security sake, it's best to have your own Internet provider. Some providers have wireless-capable modems, but if not, a routers can be added to the system. The wireless signal will vary depending on Internet speed, wireless card and other variables. That Dell sounds too good to be true. Good luck. Sunny Day Maria Campbell [email protected] The light of God surrounds us. The love of God enfolds us. The power of God protects us. The presence of God watches over us. Wherever we are, God is, and all is well.' ----- Original Message ----- From: "JOHN JUSTICE" <[email protected]> To: "BLIND COMPUTING MAILING LIST" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:12 PM Subject: [Blind-Computing] an old computer user with a few questions aboutlaptops > Hello group. > I have never used a laptop computer before but now, I am considering > purchasing one. Our old desktop PC is still functioning quite well but > it is getting a little long in the tooth. Rather than replacing it with > another tower, I have decided to look into laptops. I know absolutely > nothing about them so I'm going to ask a few apparently stupid and > certainly ignorant questions. > > 1. What is Wi Fi and how does it work? > 2. Do you need an internet provider to use the Wi Fi connection? > 3. How good is Wi Fi in most areas? > 3. How does it work, precisely? > 4. Can you take me through a session using a laptop and describe the > steps you take when going on line? > 5. Are there good laptops and bad laptops? > 6. How can I tell the difference? > 7. Which is better, something like Dell or buying one off of the shelf? > 8. All I want is a good quality laptop which can play music, play and > record DVDS, handle document related functions and store enough software > to make me safe on line. I'd like enough RAM to make running any program > relatively easy. > Here are some things I have found. Dell makes a laptop with dual > processors, 4 gigabytes of RAM and 250 gigabytes of drive storage. It has > a DVDRW and a battery which lasts about 4 hours. It's called a Vostro > and is on sale for around $479 straight out of the box. That sounds > wonderful but am I missing something? > > I sure could use some help with this. David gave me a link for Tiger > Direct and I went there to look but now, I'm even more confused. I > realize that there are different strokes for different folks but it seems > to me that someone who doesn't know much could really be misled by > unscrupulous sales people. I don't really trust the big box stores. I am > putting this on our list since I'll bet that there are some people here > who use laptops regularly. I have a feeling that some of us would like to > know more about laptops. > > 9. Is it true that laptop keyboards don't last very long? > 10. Is it true that the average life of a laptop is about 2 years? > > John and Linda Justice Visit the JAWS Users List home page at: http://www.jaws-users.com Visit the Blind Computing home page at: http://www.blind-computing.com Address for the list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to [email protected] For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject or body of a blank message to: [email protected] Use the following address in order to contact the management team [email protected] If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the following address: [email protected]
