[bookshare-discuss] Re: Ot New computer advice and monitor for low vision

  • From: Chris Hill <hillco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2012 16:32:20 -0500

Any computer made within the last five years will likely suit the purpose. Your fan is likely getting loud because the machine is working hard, and unless you've cleaned it or had it cleaned out, the heatsink is probably clogged with dirt dust, fur or whatever. Proofreading long documents with a screen reader running isn't exactly hard service, even scanning isn't hard service anymore. Get at least 4gb of ram and you'll be good. Spending over $400 for just the computer is likely a waste of money for your purpose. Good luck on the monitor. Your choices today are likely lcd or lcd, unless you can find someone with a big old crt they don't want anymore. New computers can use old monitors, so you could keep what you have until it quits if need be.




On 8/17/2012 14:57, Estelnalissi wrote:
Dear Booksharian Friends,

Proofreading is what I do most of the time when I'm at my computer. Mine
is about 7 years old. To proof books in word I have to divide them in
parts or my computer fan shrieks and there are large time lags when I
make changes. Last night I got a blue screen and two weeks ago I got a
blue screen one day, a black screen the next day and a blue screen the
following day. My fan is so loud when I go to a site like Amazon or
Paperback Swap that I can't hear anything else in the house. I think
Scotty would say, "She can't stand the strain, Captain.!"

I'm terrified that the next crash will leave me with no ability to save
the files of all the books I've proofed, my the poetry I've collected,
the quotes I glean from the books I proof, the Gaelic dictionary I've
compiled while reading books about Scotland and Ireland, The personal
e-mail that means so much to me and my favorites that help me find the
sites on the internet I love.

I have to get a new computer! I use jaws to do 99 percent of my computer
work. I have no light perception in one eye and under 20/400 in the eye
that works. It has no travel vision. I can't see things at the end of my
arm, on the floor or across the table from me when I'm eating with
others. The miracle is that I can still see print if my nose is
literally touching the screen or no more than 2 inches away, one inch if
the print is on paper and is large enough.

My current monitor which turns dark aqua blue sometimes is the heavy old
type of TV. I can see enlarged pictures or print on it with no
distortion. I only have to frequently clean off my nose prints. The new
computers have flat screens. When I get close enough to them to see them
a kind of shadow appears, darkening what I'm trying to see so that I
can't see it at all. No matter how large the screen is, my particular
vision problem requires me to be right up there. Often it means standing
up so I can lean over the keyboard. For this reason, I can't see the
screen on a laptop. I'll be buying a desk top with a big monitor.

Can any of you advise me of a kind of monitor which doesn't get all
distorted when you get right up close to it? Can anyone advise me of a
computer you think will be strong enough for me to continue
proofreading? I don't play computer games because they move too fast for
me to track and I can only see a little part of the screen at one time.
I want a computer which will be able to handle long books in Word and
will have a big memory for the books I like to keep after they are
approved. I'd also like to save music, which I haven't been able to do
for ages because my computer has been extremely noisy for at least two
years. I just couldn't afford to replace it the minute it became
troublesome. I think now I can't delay getting a new computer any longer.

I'm also wondering if anyone will be able to help me work with the new
Word I'll get. I'm not intuitive when it comes to anything electronic.
I'd use word 2003 forever if I could. Evan proofs in k1000, so word
isn't his go to proofing platform.

Any advice will be deeply appreciated. I'm so sad that my Dell is
begging to retire.

Maybe with a new computer it'll be easier to organize and keep up with
e-mail, particular e-mail from individuals. I don't do face book and
twitter, but e-mail from individuals is precious.

The Geek squad from Best buy will come to my house to install JAWS,
k1000 and transfer my current memories to my new computer. I am so
scared they'll say they can't do it. Computers are wonderful, but hard
copies of books and music don't vaporize in an instant. When my new
computer crashed after only a year, they said they couldn't retrieve the
email.

Wish me luck. Evan thinks I should be excited to be updating but I think
its terrifying! And, I don't want to be stopped from proofreading for a
single day.

Always with love,

Lissi
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to
bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list
of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.


To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
 Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line.  To get a list of 
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.

Other related posts: