Computer Question

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Mlock

Active member
Joined
Aug 31, 2015
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67
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
12/2015
Country
US
State
AL
City
huntsville
I need a new lap top computer. Any suggestions on what I should get. Looking ahead, I will be trying to do voice banking and also want to make sure I can use TobbiDynovox and whatever other programs/devices I might need the long run. I am not quite a computer idiot but others have always picked out the right computer for me based on business/school needs. Hopefully PALS or CALS can give me some advice on this! Thanks, Wendy
 
I have been through many laptop brands over the years. Dell, Toshiba, Acer, HP, and many, many others. I have worked on well over 100 different types of computers in my career (though, not all laptops).

My favorite laptops are the professional line of Lenovo. I am typing this on an older Lenovo W520, which is my favorite of all the laptops I have used. It is large and heavy, and that suits my current need very well.

In the last 2 years I also have extensive experience working on the Lenovo T410, T420, and T430 laptops. I would be happy with any of those.

Lenovo has come out with newer versions of all of those. If I had to buy a computer today, I would probably buy a Lenovo W or T computer of some sort.

I like the Lenovo laptop keyboards the best of any I have used. When I am at my desk, I use a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse combination, which I like even better.

I like lots of screen resolution, demanding a minimum of 1080p (1920 x 1080). I prefer 1920 x 1280, but that is getting hard to find in laptops and even in stand-alone monitors. My Lenovo W520 is 1920 x 1280, as is my external monitor. I find this arrangement to be very productive.

I prefer a solid state primary drive both for speed and for battery efficiency. My W520 is old enough I still use a 750GB spinning drive as the primary (7200 RPM). I also have a 1TB secondary drive in the laptop. I wish the secondary drive was larger.

I was a computer professional, so feel at home with operating system complexity. I have told my wife that after I am gone she should transition to Macs (I have also used those extensively). They are wonderful and less complex to administer. I prefer Windows for compatibility with certain programs I run.

I vastly prefer Windows 7 Professional 64 bit to every other Windows OS I have used. I plan to stay away from Windows 10 until Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft.

I hate Microsoft Office 2013, vastly preferring earlier versions. But, I have Office 2013 installed on my main computer and use it regularly. I also have LibreOffice and OpenOffice installed and use those for situations where Microsoft Office 2013 is not appropriate. I use Office 97, Office 2003, Office XP, and Office 2010 on other computers.

I use Google Chrome as my browser and am very pleased with it. I occasionally use Firefox. I stay away from Internet Explorer unless absolutely necessary.

Good luck. Shopping for a computer is FUN!

Steve
 
Hi, Wendy,

First, the platform. At present, both Windows and Mac boxes will work with ModelTalker voices, can be used for voice banking and can be accessed via eye gaze interfaces (Tobii or Eyegaze Edge for Windows, Eyegaze Edge for Mac). Both can also be used for dictation apps if your hands go before your voice.

I'm biased toward Mac (all I have ever used at home, but have often had to use Win at work) but I'd use what you like. If you're agnostic, I'd go with a Mac simply because of the ease of maintenance, but that's me.

Second, the form factor. It's hard to look ahead in ALS even a couple of years, since everyone is different as you have seen. I'm typing this on the latest (12") MacBook, using the same stand horizontally that used to hold my husband's iPad mini vertically, which he used for watching video in bed/the sling. The reason I can change the angle by that much is that (1) I'm using a floor stand and (2) the new MacBook is very light (2.03 lbs). The same logic would apply to a clamp system for a table, bed or wheelchair.

Then we get to whether at that point for computer control, you're using a regular mouse or switch because you have some muscle(s) that still works, a head mouse (SmartNav), a tongue mouse (Tetramouse) or an eye gaze system. All this plays into what height your screen needs to be, what's attached to the laptop and things like that.

But no question you have more flex with a thinner unit (easier to raise/angle/transport), so why not get the thinnest? That would be the MacBook I'm typing on. Better ones (2nd gen after they "rebooted" the form factor last year) in terms of speed are due out in the spring, and so the prices for this one are already falling; I bought gently-used anyway. If you are not in a rush, you could see what April brings and whether you like the new one better.

If screen size will be important to you for some reason, e.g. you do a lot of graphics work, of course, the MacBook Pros go up to 15" but with a Retina display, I don't see any noticeable difference between this one and the 15" MacBook Pro I handed down. Since your ability to compensate for glare diminishes with being unable to turn your neck, I would definitely recommend either a Retina or matte display, not the glossy coating that is standard on many laptops these days.

If you want to share what apps you envision using, what you like doing on a laptop, I might be more helpful... and if you have a mobile device or laptop now, I'd be happy to show you what it looks like on a floor stand via video, and how's the Trilogy or other BiPAP coming?

Best,
Laurie
 
Also a good mix of USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports for extra switches & eye gaze hardware.
 
Fair point, Ells; I excluded that requirement since hubs are so easy to find and use; the current MB only has a single USB-C port but I immediately attached a tiny hub (fits on the stand) that has multiple USB ports and both SD card sizes. Since assistive tech is evolving, and even the mobile/desktop devices converging, I wouldn't recommend to buy hardware on that basis alone.
 
Laurie,
I don't think you can use a IOS when you actually bank your voice with Modeltalker. I bought my first Macbook Pro a couple of months ago, and when I went to download the app to start banking, it only had a Windows version.
I downloaded it on one my other laptops so I could begin banking. Hope I'm wrong about this!
Marty
 
Marty,
I didn't say you could use Modeltalker w/ the iOS; I said Mac or Win. But actually, iOS also has options for using the MT voice; Predictable and ChatAble now support that. And I've read that free apps such as Free Speech are available to use MT voices on Android devices.

The ModelTalker recording app is Windows-only but the Web recording option works with Macs (on Chrome). Evidently when you register you have to specify that you want to use Web recording, so if you didn't, that's why you didn't see a Mac option.
 
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Laurie,
I didn't specify Web recording. Thanks for the clarification.
Marty
 
Thanks for the help. Laurie, I am not using my laptop much right now. I use my iPad mini more. That may be because my laptop is so slow. However, I do have to use it to print out evaluations that I did while still practicing as a psychologist. Someone is always wanting a copy. So I keep them on a thumb drive in Microsoft word.

And I am doing okay with the Trilogy! Not wild about the mask but adapting. Thanks for asking!
 
We all have samsung products. We are able to do about anything on these tablets. The boys have hard keyboards but i am tablet only. Samsung offers many accessibility options. May be worth exploring.
 
One of my recommendations would be to use one platform and stick to it. I have a new iMac (gave the old one to a friend after six years of flawless use), an iPad, and iPhone. These were used strictly for personal use when I worked teaching online for many years. For work I had a custom build (last year) PC with all the whistles and bells (I opted out of Windows 10 and stuck with 7), 27 inch monitor and ergonomic work station set up in my home office. I was using Dragon dictation software on my PC for work purposes, along with all the standard business applications. I gave my laptop to my brother. I now have to make a decision for the future. My 27 inch PC monitor is wonderful. It has a matte finish but it is getting old. Even though it served me well for work and I'm using it right now, I think I'll move to the iMac with its beautiful retina display and keep my iPad and iPhone for compatibility with my iMac. when I got my new iMac I went from the 27 inch to the 21 inch. It's pretty light and portable and I figure I'll use it as long as possible, then go with the iPad (perhaps by then they will have a newer model and I can sell my PC along with all the other stuff) I will have to invest in the right software but that decision will have to wait until I get my BiPAP issue straightened out.

This thread helped me think through what will be a decision I'll need to make.

If I had nothing and had to start from scratch, I'd buy the Macbook Pro and iPad but there is an argument to keep the platform you feel most comfortable with and many are used to the PC.

Attaching some pictures of my work station and the view from my office. I really hope I can stay here awhile. Got rid of the ugly black chair when my dog jumped off it and broke his leg.
 

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Just sharing my thoughts.. I'm a windows person and I am considering getting a Windows Surface Pro tablet. You can purchase a docking station that the tablet can be docked into. This gives more USB and also options for monitor hook-up. I would like the flexibility of being at my desk with a large monitor or taking the tablet with me. There are a few models of the Surface Pro out now so pricing is $400-$1400 depending on needs.
 
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