I don't think I can add much more to what Bill and Ana have already said,
but here's a few things to consider.

A laptop is going to give you more power, memory, storage and so on. It'll
have a nicer keyboard. It'll be heavier and won't run as long on a battery
though. So it really comes down to what you want the laptop/netbook for.

Most peple have a glut of processing power, memory and storage on their
systems, so they don't notice that they're giving up much when running on a
netbook. This isn't quite as true for a blind person using a screen reader,
since screen readers like Window Eyes and JFW are going to run better with
more memory. If you'll mostly be doing web surfing, using Skype and running
an email client, a netbook, even one running JFW, will probably be more than
adequate. This will also especially be true if it's your second computer or
portability and battery life are you're key factors.

If you'll be doing a lot with a office suite, especially large spread
sheets, storing a lot of music or doing any kind of gaming or audio/video
editting then a laptop would be more in line. This is all especially true if
this will be your main computer.

Like I said, I'm not sure if this added anything to what's already been
discussed.

--
Christopher
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-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ana G
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 5:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] laptop vs. netbook

for me, the small size and light weight of the netbook was the deciding 
factor: the unit really is small enough and light enough to carry around, 
which is what I was planning to do with it. It's about the size of a 
BrailleNote, maybe a little lighter. If you don't have a Braille Note, it's 
about the size of a halfsheet of letter writing paper and maybe half an inch

(1.3 cm) thick. the case I bought for it is the size of a purse that is 
bigger than medium, but not huge.

I use mine for writing, emailing, and web surfing. So far, I haven't had 
problems with memory, and I do sometimes work on documents that are between 
one and two hundred pages long.

there is no CD drive, but I bought one for 50 dollars, which is about the 
size of a CD jewel box, maybe twice as thick. It fits in the purse-like 
carrying case, so it's handy whenever I need it.

The keyboard is comfortable, but because I have to be careful of my wrist, I

connect an ergonomic keyboard to it if I plan to do more than casual typing.

the netbook is a secondary computer for me, so I don't use it all the time. 
Still, I like it very well. 


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