I think I am now persuaded against a tablet. My laptop – I forget the name – It is the firm beginning with W that used to trade as IBM seems to me have vastly superior spec for a fraction of the price Tablets are going for.
I got my laptop refurbished a year or so ago for £350. It has a fast Intel I7 processor and 8GB of Ram. It only has an 11 inch display but as I am completely without sight that does not worry me. I actually like the fact that the machine is so small and light. It also has the best tactile and responsive keyboard I have ever used on a laptop. Usefully it even has an insert key for Jaws and NVDA purposes. I accept that if I had bought it new I would have been paying much more serious money. I believe these machines were more like £800 when new but that is the good thing about buying refurbished I guess. About 6 months ago I swapped out the hard drive and replaced it with a Crucial 512 GB SSD. An engineer did this for me for £100 including upgrading from Windows 7 to installing Windows 10 on it and putting my old drive into an enclosure to use as an external drive. So in total I have invested £450 for a machine which it seems I would have to invest north of £800 for a similar spec Tablet. The remaining frustration is the lack of a sim mobile capacity. I guess that I will have to investigate the world of Dongles and mobile broadband. What I worked out is that essentially I was considering buying a whole new tablet and keyboard when I already have a perfectly good mobile option but just not the LTE capacity. Whilst this would be nice to have it is not worth investing £8-900 for when I would probably be better served just sticking a dongle into a machine I already have. David Griffith . From: gor...@mac-access.net [mailto:gor...@mac-access.net] Sent: 18 November 2017 05:58 To: techno-chat@techno-chat.net Subject: RE: [Techno-Chat]: Tablet Computing Not having seen one of those devices before, I really cannot comment on the specific design of it. What I can tell you, however, is that my old faithful, the Surface Pro 3, has not fan at all. It, too, can get rather warm. But it uses the case itself as a heat sink, and it discpates the heat very well. To be utterly honest, I’ve given this a great deal of thought over the passed few months. I’ve considered an upgrade for the Surface. I do acknowledge that it is no longer cutting edge technology, as it was when I originally bought it. However, it does do what I bought it for, and it does so very well. It also has a 12X12-inch display, with edge-to-edge useability in all directions. My model has 256GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM. I forget the processor frequency, but it is an Intel I7. Needless to say, it is 64-bit and I have it running Windows 10 Pro. All things considered, I have concluded that, unless my business venture launches quite soon, which I hope it will, I really cannot justify, let alone afford, an upgrade. You know the old saying: If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it! This is particularly true given that I also have the ElBraille W14. I’m hoping to get the Wdj too when we launch. Anyway, the reason I mention this again now is because the little box of tricks takes away the primary reason for my justifying the upgrade. And that is the presence of an LTE modem. Minutes after unpacking the ElBraille for the first's time, I inserted a micro-SIM into the LTE slot. And once I enabled the modem in Windows and set up the dial-up connection, it just worked, no hacking about needed. Had I not had this machine, I would have gone for something more substancial than the Surface Pro. But as I said, x’s neither necessary nor practical for me to do so right now. All that having been said, I undoubtedly will make a move for something early in 2018, and it will most probably be a Galaxy Book 12. I do like the way that Samsung do things, having two of their Android tablets myself. So time will tell, I guess. The word is that Google is also poised to enter the Windows tablet market next year. I seriously thought about going for a Pixel2-XL. But apparently there are a few issues that users have found, so I will wait to see how things go. The PixelBook also appeals to me, although I’d probably get little advantage from that. So I’ll probably keep my existing Android solutions and go for something Windows 10 when I upgrade. Sorry for the waffle. It sometimes helps me think when I write down my thoughts as they occurr. From: Dane Trethowan [mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net] Sent: 17 November 2017 19:35 To: techno-chat@techno-chat.net Subject: Re: [Techno-Chat]: Tablet Computing I don’t know about the smaller but the 12 inch certainly can get very warm when you’re doing serious multi tasking. There’s a fan in the machine which does take the heat out through vents at the top of the tablet. ********** “For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the 1’s you put in the ground and not the electric light 1’s.” On 17 Nov 2017, at 11:48 pm, Gordon Smith <gor...@mac-access.net> wrote: I would imagine that heat dispersal is one of the major issues with the smaller model, regarding the processor. I’ll have to think hard before I jump into this market. ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: <gor...@mac-access.net> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! Contact: • UK Free Phone: 0800 8620538 • UK Geographic / Global: +44(0) 1642 688095 • UK Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7804 983849 • Vic. Australia: +61 38 82059300 • US/Canada: +1 646 9151493 ---------------------------------------- On 16 Nov 2017, at 20:10, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote: The LTE version is the one I have. Also bare in mind that the Specs of the smaller Galaxy Book vary considerably to that of the large, with the large you get a 256GB SSD and an Intel I5 Processor whereas with the smaller you get a 128GB SSD and Intel I3 processor. I’m wondering if the keyboard is the same with the smaller version? I wonder this for the obvious reason size, the keyboard would have to be smaller so what’s been sacrificed. ********** “For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the 1’s you put in the ground and not the electric light 1’s.” On 17 Nov 2017, at 3:03 am, Gordon Smith <gor...@mac-access.net> wrote: No! The Galaxy Book sells for £699.00 for the 10.6-Inch version and £899.00 for the 12-Inch. I’m not sure how much the LTE-enabled versions go for, I’ll check. ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: <gor...@mac-access.net> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! Contact: • UK Free Phone: 0800 8620538 • UK Geographic / Global: +44(0) 1642 688095 • UK Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7804 983849 • Vic. Australia: +61 38 82059300 • US/Canada: +1 646 9151493 ---------------------------------------- On 16 Nov 2017, at 15:41, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote: I can't be sure of that as I don't know the conversion rate from pounds to Australian dollars but I think it would be near the mark yep. On 11/17/2017 1:07 AM, david griffith wrote: Wow – I have just looked on Amazon and the price for that Tablet appears to be £1,400 – does that sound right? David Griffith My Blind Access and Guide dog Blog <http://dgriffithblog.wordpress.com/> http://dgriffithblog.wordpress.com/ My Blind hammer Blog <https://www.westhamtillidie.com/authors/blind-hammer/posts> https://www.westhamtillidie.com/authors/blind-hammer/posts From: <mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net> Dane Trethowan Sent: 15 November 2017 21:46 To: <mailto:techno-chat@techno-chat.net> Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: [Techno-Chat]: Tablet Computing The Samsung tablet in question is the Samsung Galaxy Book 12, its a higher spec and more powerful machine than the Tab and I think its more recent too. ********** “For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the 1’s you put in the ground and not the electric light 1’s.” On 16 Nov 2017, at 4:01 am, David Griffith < <mailto:d.griff...@btinternet.com> d.griff...@btinternet.com> wrote: OK glad to be contradicted. I looked up the Samsung 12 on UK Amazon. Is it this one on the UK Store ? <http://tinyurl.com/y8ml9a9o> http://tinyurl.com/y8ml9a9o In my defence it does not scream out a sim card in its specification though I did notice a description of 4G WiFi on its description. The main issue I think is that at over £700 including delivery It is significantly more expensive than the tablets I was looking at – about twice the cost of other PC tablet machines and nearly 3 times as much as the Asus Chrome Books and 6 times as much as some of the Kindle options. Even my sim based 64gb iPad was only £450, admittedly a few years ago now. so I am probably looking at the wrong end of the market. I am not at all sure I want to pay over £700 for a tablet I am only going to use occasionally whilst out or on holiday. My main Desktop machine with 16 GB ram, 512 GB SSD main drive with 4TB secondary drive which I used every single day only cost me £550 , with Windows and Office though it was custom built by an engineer I know. If I could find a cheaper Tablet option like a Chrome Book at about £250 with a sim slot I would go for it like a shot. David Griffith From: Dane Trethowan [ <mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net> mailto:grtd...@internode..on.net] Sent: 15 November 2017 15:28 To: Techno-Chat .. Technology Enthusiasm! Subject: Re: [Techno-Chat]: Tablet Computing I’m sorry to contradict you but all the devices we have been talking about - including my Samsung Galaxy Book 12 Windows Tablet - do allow for SIM card data thus they are totally portable so use on a mountain top, park bench or in a cafe, the choice is yours. Actually the use of SIM cards in modern day computing goes deeper and runs wider than I possibly thought, my New HP Probook 404 G3 can also take a SIM card. Many of the Android tablets out there naturally take a SIM card too though - as I said earlier - at present I don’t believe the current crop of Android tablets are anywhere near up to speed when it comes to Windows or IOS offerings, even the build isn’t as good. Will that change? I sincerely hope so but its taking a long time. ********** “For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the 1’s you put in the ground and not the electric light 1’s.” On 16 Nov 2017, at 2:00 am, David Griffith < <mailto:d.griff...@btinternet.com> d.griff...@btinternet.com> wrote: The biggest and surprising failing for nearly all of the Android / Kindle / windows Tablet options out there I see is the failure to include a Sim option for genuinely mobile computing. WiFi devices may be feasible for use in cities but quickly grind to a halt when travelling or when you are in a cottage in the country which does not have WiFi. I find this extremely odd as it is precisely when I am away from home and in this situation away from WiFi that I am most likely to need to use these sorts of devices. If they are portable devices they should in my mind be most useful if they can be used wherever there is a mobile signal rather than reliant on clumsily piggy backing on somebody else’s WiFi. I started looking at chrome Books but no mobile sim options I can find, similarly for Windows tablets Kindle tablets and most Android tablets. This is the strangest lack I find in the mobile tablet sector at the moment. You could cobble solutions together I suppose by using Dongles or tethering but elegant this is not. In these situations only my iPhone and my old iPad Mini with data sim cut the mustard and provide some web connectivity for me. People are often surprised that my old iPad can connect to the web anywhere but this is old not new technology. In ancient times of early Kindle Keyboard models you could use a data sim but bizarrely no more as Amazon has completely withdrawn data sim options for Kindle and they are all WiFi only now. As useful as a choclate teapot on a motorway or in a country cottage without WiFi. If anybody can point me to a newer genuinely portable device with this functionality I would be interested. David Griffith From: Dane Trethowan [ <mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net> mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net] Sent: 14 November 2017 21:15 To: <mailto:techno-chat@techno-chat.net> techno-chat@techno-chat.net Subject: [Techno-Chat]: Tablet Computing Firstly the Samsung Galaxy Books are Windows based tablets so if you purchase a Galaxy Book you're literally purchasing yourself a mini Windows 10 Pro machine, nothing wrong with that whatever. I was asked what I thought the best Android tablet was. Only my opinion of course but I don't think there's any best Android tablet right now and I'm astonished that I'm making such remarks as there very clearly should be some very good Android tables around but for some reason there isn't. When it comes to build the iPad range are tops, I've not yet seen an Android tablet come even close. When it comes to Power the iPad keeps moving ahead. So we have the iPad but then that's not everything that people may demand from a tablet, yes its powerful but perhaps not versatile enough and that's where a good Android tablet should be in its element but no, not yet, the only alternative then is a Windows tablet such as the Galaxy Book. The Galaxy Book isn't quite as well built as an iPad but its a tough build all the same as all modern Samsung phones and tablets seem to be thus should last you hears to come. I'm working on a series of audio demos for the Samsung Galaxy Book 12 at the moment and will release them shortly. On 11/15/2017 7:32 AM, Gordon Smith wrote: The latest model is called the PixelBook. The main advantage is that there is now full 100% Android app support built-in which means, of course, that you can install TalkBack and BrailleBack. Specs look quite good, although I still think that the Samsung Galaxy Books, based on what I’ve read and what I’ve been told, offer a better alternative. ======================================== My compliments and kindest regards Gordon Smith: < <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net> gor...@mac-access.net> Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! Contact: • UK Free Phone: 0800 8620538 • UK Geographic / Global: +44(0) 1642 688095 • UK Mobile/SMS: +44 (0)7804 983849 • Vic. Australia: +61 38 82059300 • US/Canada: +1 646 9151493 ---------------------------------------- On 10 Nov 2017, at 10:14, Joshua Gregory < <mailto:joshtg...@gmail.com> joshtg...@gmail.com> wrote: I'll have to take a look at that, thank you! On Fri, Nov 10, 2017, 12:07 AM Dane Trethowan < <mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net> grtd...@internode.on.net> wrote: Hi! No first hand experience hereas yet. I've thought about getting a Chromebook to look at and I do know someone who uses a Chromebook fulltime, he's totally blind and loves it, he came from using an Apple Mac Mini and Voiceover. Further to this, may I suggest you look up the AFB Access World magazine. There you'll find a series of reviews and articles that have tracked the Chromebook and the Screen Reading technology. On 11/10/2017 1:34 PM, Joshua Gregory wrote: > > Hello, > I was wondering if anybody has had any experiences with Chromebooks > and the chromevox screen reader. What were your experiences? Did you > like it, did you not? Was there anything that stood out to you in > comparison to, say, windows and nvda or narrator? Thanks very much! > -- ********** "For the gardener nothing is more handier than bulbs, I mean the one's you put in the ground and not the electric light one's." ********** ------------------------------ This post, like all posts to the Techno Chat E-Mail group has been scanned by our server-side antivirus/malware solution. This should not, however, be viewed as a substitution for your own security strategy. We assume no culpability whatever, implicit or otherwise, for any compromise to your systems as a result of opening any post to this group. Suffice it to say that we remain vigilant within the boundaries of reason. We strongly urge you to do likewise! You have been warned!!! 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