[access-uk] Re: Samsung NC10 keyboard oddities explained (was: Re: Re: What netbook to Buy
- From: "Jackie Cairns" <jackie.cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:17:20 -0000
Hi Damon
I completely agree with everything you say. It annoys me a bit to have
to stretch my right pinky finger to the shift, and use the FN key with
other combinations, but it is nice to type on.
Jackie Cairns
Braille Specialist
Email: Jackie.Cairns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sight and Sound Technology Ltd
Welton House North Wing
Summerhouse Road
Moulton Park
Northampton
NN3 6WD
Telephone: 01604 798024
Fax: 01604 798090
Web: www.sightandsound.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Damon
Sent: 20 March 2009 04:50
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Samsung NC10 keyboard oddities explained (was: Re:
Re: What netbook to Buy
If it hasn't been explained here, I think it's useful to point out that
the Samsung NC10 has a slightly non standard keyboard that you have to
get your head around. That said, it doesn't take a lot of learning.
I'm gonna lay out the situation in detail below to help you choose which
Netbook you might want to buy. One big issue for blind people is that,
if we purchase on the internet, we can't do simple obvious stuff like
look at keyboards to get a basic idea if we might like it or not. And to
me, keyboards are strangely fundamental and your high spec 160 gig hard
drive might pale into insignificance if you can't type on it very
easily.
The two big issues with it are:
1: There are no home and end keys. What you have to do is hit a function
key and then hold down either pageup for home or pagedown for end. The
function key is situated on the left hand side of the keyboard near the
control key which is in the place you'd expect it to be. The pageup and
pagedown keys are situated in an unusual place, above the left and right
arrows respectively, on the right hand side in the place you'd expect to
find arrow keys (pageup is directly above the left arrow, pagedown is
above the right arrow, with no space in between, it's all keys laid out
flat)
I have an NC10 and, since using it, have realised just how much I rely
on the home and end keys in day to day use, especially in word
processing and using web forms. so it has been a learning curve. And
when I use my regular keyboard at work, I now find myself hunting for
the function key ... so it screws with your head. Be warned if your
memory is not so good or if you hate slightly fiddly stuff.
2: The right hand shift button is not in a regular place. So, when you
jab quickly at where you think it should be using the little finger on
your right hand, you'll find that you hit the backslash key. The right
hand shift key is a little further over to the right meaning you have to
start thinking about extending that little finger in an abnormal
position away from those learned home keys in order to do such things as
type a capital A or T or E or S, for instance (i.e. letters you would
traditionally type using your left hand from the classic home key
position) And i'ts a little more fiddly than you'd think as I find
myself extending the finger and also slightly twisting it to get to that
right hand shift. For a fast typer I find this annoying and it slows me
down and makes me think harder.
Other than this, the NC10 is absolutely superb. So go and buy one now.
It has a pretty normal sized keyboard so you can get up to good speeds
without half breaking your fingers or hitting two keys at once.
I'm not sure what keyboard configurations are like on other Netbooks.
Can anyone report back? Are others more standard or less standard than
the Samsung NC10
...Damon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Sweeney" <tonysweeney@xxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 11:28 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: What netbook to Buy
> Hi Eleanor,
>
> Netbooks don't come with CD drives!
>
> There are compact as getting a lot in to a small space if u get
might
> drift is the idea!
>
> Perhaps in time!
>
> Am checking out the NC10.
>
> Have you bought one and what do you think?
> regards
>
> Tony
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eleanor Burke" <eleanorburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:11 AM
> Subject: [access-uk] Re: What netbook to Buy
>
>
>> Oh sorry I thought I was answering Tony on another list but thanks a
>> million for that very useful link and apologies to all of you for
reading
>> my mail. You must have all thought I had lost the plot and in a way I
>> had!
>>
>> -original message-
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: What netbook to Buy
>> From: "Ibrahim Gucukoglu" <ibrahim_gucukoglu@xxxxxxxx>
>> Date: 17:03:2009 11:23 pm
>>
>> Hi.
>>
>> Just to back up what Eleanor is saying here, a number of review
websites
>> have prominently proclaimed that the NC10 is the best netbook on the
>> market to date. For anyone looking for a review, you can watch a
video
>> review at www.trustedreviews.com.
>>
>> All the best, Ibrahim.
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Eleanor Burke
>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 11:18 PM
>> Subject: [access-uk] Re: What netbook to Buy
>>
>>
>> Hi Tony and Others
>> I am on the Access UK list and we had a lot going before Christmas
all
>> about the NC10 and many of us purchased it and we all remain
delighted
>> with it. I note the info below does not say that there is no CD/DVD
>> drive. these Netbooks are sold in PC World so do go and have a look.
>> they can be pricey but their advantage is their portability.
Supernova
>> works very well on them as well as Jaws. You will not be
disappointed
>> with whichever one you choose I am sure of that.
>>
>> Eleanor
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Tony Sweeney
>> To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 10:58 PM
>> Subject: [access-uk] What netbook to Buy
>>
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Ccame across this on another list and thought that it would be of
>> interest at least to some.
>>
>> See below.
>>
>> Tony,
>>
>> Netbooks are a great invention primarily due to their portability.
I
>> own an
>> Asus EEEPC myself and find it excellent. The model is the 901, it
runs
>> Windows XP, has a 12 GB hard drive (solid state), 1 GB ram and an
>> 8.9inch
>> screen. It came loaded with Adobe Acrobat, Skype, Microsoft Works,
and
>> Star
>> Office. I have installed Jaws, Microsoft Office and AVG myself and
all
>> seems
>> to run happily together. The battery is a 6-cell, and lasts about
5
>> hours
>> (with bluetooth and wireless networking enabled). I mainly use it
for
>> browsing the web, catching up on emails, and reading / writing
word
>> documents. It's really handy when travelling.
>>
>> The main things to watch out for when buying one of these PCs in
my
>> opinion
>> are:
>>
>> 1) The size and usability of the keyboard;
>>
>> 2) The over all size and weight of the machine;
>>
>> 3) The amount of RAM included (1 GB is normal, however some models
>> come with
>> 512 MB which may not be enough);
>>
>> 4) The type of hard-drive - either solid state or magnetic (solid
>> state is
>> similar to a flash card and so are more robust than the
traditional
>> magnetic
>> ones);
>>
>> 5) The capacity of the battery (as a rule of thumb 1 cell will get
you
>> about
>> 50 minutes to one hours worth of power);
>>
>> 6) The operating system (most netbooks are sold with either Linux
or
>> Windows
>> XP, although Vista is starting to appear in the newer models);
>>
>> 7) The presence of integrated support for Bluetooth and / or
mobile
>> broadband;
>>
>> 8) The quality of the built-in webcam;
>>
>> 9) The number of USB ports;
>>
>> There are quite a number of netbooks on the market these days,
some
>> having
>> screens as small as 7inches which makes the over all size of the
>> machines
>> tiny in comparison to a traditional 14inch laptop. The Advent 4211
is
>> good,
>> the Acer Aspire One also, and getting a little more expensive the
>> Samsung
>> NC10. The Dells tend to be a little on the pricey side too, plus I
>> have
>> heard reports that the keyboard layout is quite strange on them.
>> Quirky
>> keyboard layout is a common feature of netbooks, so I would
strongly
>> advise
>> you to physically examine a number of your preferred machines
before
>> purchasing.
>>
>> For the most competitive pricing, I would recommend that you take
a
>> look at
>> http://www.elara.ie
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Ciaran
>>
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>>
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