A good laptop can more than hold its own against a desktop or tower machine
for most users. If you want the comfort of a desktop and the portability of
a laptop, you can really kind of have both. If you get a docking station for
the laptop you can easily attach decent speakers and a desktop style
keyboard and mouse. You can also have your printer and scanner attached to
the docking station. This enables you to pick up the laptop and go by only
disconnecting one cable instead of a bunch. Blue Tooth full sized keyboards
are also very affordable so even if you don't get a docking station, you can
use a full size keyboard. If you plan to type a lot on the laptop while
mobile, then make sure you physically test out some laptop keyboards at a
local shop to see how they feel. Some laptops have cramped or cheap feeling
keyboards. Another factor is the speakers. Some laptops have pretty good
speakers all things considered, and some have horrible speakers forcing you
to use headphones or ear buds to hear the speech properly.  There are lots
of solid laptop choices out there. Personally, I'd avoid HP not because
there is anything wrong with their machines, but because they have the worst
customer service by far in the industry.  There is nothing wrong with Dell,
MSI, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, or Sony. I have an Acer netbook and love
it though the speakers stink. I have a Dell 15.4 laptop and love it too, has
good speakers, good keyboard, and is very fast.  Virtually every machine out
there has a hard drive bigger than you'll ever really need, so don't worry
about that. 
Since you don't really need a screen, you might opt for a 12 or 14 inch
screen because they are a lot lighter and smaller. I hear a lot of good
things about the Mac. However, you will pay more for  an Apple laptop then
its Windows competitors. Of course, the screen reader is free, so if you
have to buy that too, it might be a bargain.  If you go with Windows, get
the 64 bit premium versions rather than basic.  If the machine is new, it
will have a decent processor in it. I wouldn't fret too much about exactly
which one. Just avoid refurbished, used, or discontinued models which appear
to be a bargain.

HTH
Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Deborah Kendrick
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2011 8:05 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VICUG-L] Seeking advice from my favorite experts

Hi Everyone,
I have an opportunity to get a new computer and need to act fairly quickly. 
My desktop is 7 years old and fading fast.
Here are my questions for all of you.
First, I'm thinking to go with a laptop rather than a tower and would like
to hear opinions on the subject.  My sense is that laptops can be just as
powerful as towers and could then be portable if necessary.
Second, what brands and/or specs in laptops are needed for best performance
with all our screen-reading jazz?
I was just looking around online and suddenly felt dizzy!  Looking at HP
laptops, for instance, the home and student edition looked like they had
more RAM and storage space than the models listed as professional.  What's
up with that?
Grateful for all and any direction!
Deborah


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