Category: Geeks r Us
Has anyone used JAWS on a cheap laptop? I’m looking at a real cheap one at BestBuy for under $200. Has 2 g of ram and a 36 g flash drive. Mainly I’ll be surfing the web and maybe for some word files. Not even sure Office 2007 would even work on it as it has Windows 8 on it. Any thoughts?
I'm not an expert at this, but I'm still going to say that it might work, but it will run so slow, that it will leave you frustrated and yeah...
Jaws will run fine on such a computer.
2GB is enough power for Jaws.
I've used it on less, but a computer like that would be find.
It won't be any slower then it is, if that makes sense?
Office 2007 does also run on windows 8.1. I installed it recently on a friend's computer and it worked good.
For what you're planning to do, 2GB of RAM is not bad at all. You won't lag.
You're not going to be zippy-fast though. For instance, you may experience a little slowdown if you try playing Youtube videos. this will also depend on your internet speed, however.
Some high-demand games may also cause you some slowdown, but it shouldn't be too awful.
Frankly, the only reason I got a much stronger computer is because I am hoping it will last, and because having more is never a truly bad thing. If I multi-task, I don't experience slowdown or lag. My boot times are very fast. Jaws basically never crashes or lags or anything. It's all I want and more. You, on the other hand, are apt to be fine with a weaker system. 2GB of RAM doesn't sound like too much anymore, but I ran Windows XP with Jaws 9 on a machine with 512MB of RAM on it for years, and that was probably the single best machine I ever owned, barring maybe the one I'm typing on right now.
Thanks everyone. I do most of my computer work on a desktop just because I like it better if I need to be doing alot of work. I'm mainly getting this as a portable computer I can use for basic tasks. Good to hear that office 2007 will work on it. Now I'll have to figure out how to get it on the thing as it has no cd drive.
You should be able to download Office 2007 if you know where to find it. Might be kind of big and might take awhile, but I'm fairly sure you can find it somewhere.
Alternatively, there are other programs like open Office that might let you do the things you want to do, while being both free and much more lightweight. If you're dead set on Office itself, you should be able to find it; if you're just dead set on a good word processor, then I advise you to at least consider other options, not least because they're free while Office is not.
I'm not dead set on useing office. In fact I really would only use a very small part of it mainly for documents. However, I already have it I bought it years ago that is why I was hoping Office 2007 would work. I have it on cd and this computer I am looking to get doesn't have a cd drive. "Open Office"? Any others you'd like to suggest I take a look at?
if you are buying a cheap computer, be prepared to replace it in 2 years.
day after day I see people posting about how their cheap crappy laptop is failing and they only baught it 2 years ago!
My old laptop was a cheap one, and it died in less than that time. so much of it just started failing and literally everything went slowly.
after that, I took my ex bf's advice which was basically that, if you are poorer than most people, you should not buy a cheap computer. instead, do without one for a bit longer and save to get a decent brand like Asus or something.
Couple of things:
1. Asus is not necessarily a decent brand. They have some pretty cheap budget models.
2. While you're correct when you say that cheaper laptops die a little faster, I'm not sure if the increased expense is justified by the increased life. I got a pretty decent Toshiba, and within three years it was dead. Had all kinds of issues, including a screwy sound jack, a battery that no longer held a charge, a power jack that had to be replaced and was never quite the same, and a hard drive that eventually failed.
Some computers, cheap or expensive, are just lemons. They last two years and then they're toast. Alternatively, some are just well-built. I've known of at least two people who bought a sub-500 dollar laptop that lasted more than three years with fairly heavy use.
It's not as if you're going to spend a thousand dollars and get ten years out of the machine, while something that only costs two hundred will give you two years. The sliding scale, if such exists, is nowhere near that simple.
All this having been said, you don't necessarily want to get absolute bottom-of-the-barrel, because the components are made more cheaply and are of lower quality. The chipsets and parts will be from brands you aren't aware of, or will be specific models that are least power-friendly and least optimal. This doesn't mean it will be a bad computer, or that it's guaranteed to be a paperweight in two years. It just means that you do have a somewhat greater risk of hardware problems in exchange for the undeniable benefit of paying less money.
Personally I don’t believe any laptop will last like a desktop will. I’ve heard the Macs do last longer but I’m only looking at Window machines right now. I did end up spending about 100 more than I was planning but I ended up with a laptop that has a cd drive 6 g of ram a much faster processor and is a 64 bit machine. I really do hope to get a few years out of it but I’m not holding my breath.
Laptops last according to how you care fore them.
Because these are protable machines, carring them in a bag is best.
Keeping them clean and dust free.
It is hard to say if a cheaper machine will not last like an expensive machine, because you have to many variables in there.
I pay more money for processor, ram, and other features, and I'm parshal to some specific brands.
Even these brand now and again turn out what I call a Friday, or Monday computer.
The workers want to just go home on Friday, and on Monday their lazy. Smile.
The other thing you pay for is service. You buy an expensive machine, you get a longer warentee, and in home service, so if you have an expensive Friday machine, your tech will visit you more often. Smile.
If you don't have the budget, and you aren't needing lots of power, you'll be fine.
I bought an asus zenbook. it was about 700 euros at the time, and I did end up getting it on the cheaper side because my ex worked for the shop and let it be a demo computer for a day so I would get a discount.
it has a SSD drive, which is something I now sware by, and 3 yearrs after I bought it, it still runs like the day I first turned it on.
That's definitely a more high-end computer, mind you. It's more than most people will pay for a computer.
As far as the SSD, those are neat. I love the hybrids actually, since an SSD is usually smaller by nature. Mine has Windows on the SSD, and everything else on the other part, which is much much bigger.
ssd drives are fantastic, and actually worth the extra expense to have one, especially on a laptop. they contribute significantly to increased laptop life. actually, the computer I got is probably considerably cheaper now, since it had literally only just come out when I bought it.
I am pretty sure the SSD is the main reason for why it runs so smoothly now though, after 3 years.
I personally wouldn't buy cheap, nor would I buy on the lower end of the processor scail.
Having baught a Core I3 last year (even with the SSD drive and 8 gigs of ram, it just lags at times.) glad its my backup and not my main rig! also, remember the cheaper computers have the ram sottered onto the board. the hard disk might be an EMMC and not a solid state drive. EMMC's are soddered onto the board too. so you wont be upgrading should you want too. also I don't believe that Office 2007 is still supported by Microsoft but i'm not sure on this so don't hold me to it.
We'll see how the I3 does if i decide to upgrade it to windows 10 from windows 7 (which it currently runs).
and yes, i run Jaws16.
I have an I3 and it works just fine.
Budget is the key here.
Of course, if you've got more money, you get better, but Jaws won't be the issue why a cheap laptop doesn't run fast.
Also, all processors, like the i3 are not created equal.
I have one of Intel's top level i3, so it works fine.
No, it isn't a work hourse like the i5 that sits in my desktop, but I can do anything I like with my laptop, and enjoy doing it too.
not sure if mine is the top dog on the I3.
The computer I ended up getting has an AMD A-series in it. I think it is someplace between the I3 and I5. So far so good. This is one of Lenovos bottom priced laptops. They sure do put alot of bloatware on them. Some are pretty hard to figure out if they can be removed or kept.
No actually.
A rule of tumb is, anything not labeled Windows, or Microsoft can be removed.
The next thing you'll want to keep is drivers for sound cards and video. These will also be lebeled.
Some machines will warn you if you are removing something you need.
There are programs that will tell you as well, but I don't have the name handy.
All the rest of that crap can be removed, and if you want it back, it is easy to reinstall, but I doubt you'll miss it.
I have a program here that claims it can remove most bloat and crapwear from a system, it has worked pretty well all things considered in the past. I'd have to find it again, assuming it wasn't destroyed in the reset I had to do on here.
Their is alot of Lenovo labled stuff that I'm really not sure about. I'm guessing your correct and it can be removed just playing it safe right now. Did google alot of them but it wasn't alot of help.
I had some bloatware on my IdeaPad Y510P, and got rid of all of it without an issue. I think Lenovo has a program installed on all laptops that can help you detect damage if you drop or shake or thump the laptop too hard, but generally you don't want to be doing that anyway. I don't know how effective this program is at actually determining what, if anything, goes wrong.
In any case, with basically no exceptions I can think of right off the top of my head, you can safely remove proprietary programs stuck on your machine by a manufacturer. Just don't go deleting drivers or system files. That'll end badly.
Thanks everyone. I did remove a driver on a laptop that I had years ago. It controlled the sound so you can imagine how well that went for a jaws user. I did remove a bunch of the Lenovo stuff and it hasn’t seemed to harm anything. There are still a few I am not sure about and there isn’t much info on them at all.
Post them. I'll tell you.
It made me laugh if they've got a program to tell you about drops and such.
That seems silly. You'll surely know, if you drop your laptop how it is working, or not, when you pick it up.
If you damage the hard drive, you simply need to get another one, flat out, because that one is going to stop working soon, if it hasn't already.
That program is on that hard drive, so.
Smile.
Also, any program you want information on, just look it up in your search, like Bing, or Google.
Ostensibly, this program I mentioned, Wayne, is supposed to tell you whenever you've done something serious enough to screw with the hard drive, or any other sensitive hardware inside the machine. Not sure if you people know this, but a really really strong shake, or in a more realistic case a bunch of prolonged shakes, will screw with a hard drive sometimes. Obviously you know if your laptop has been dropped or bumped, but the program is meant to tell you 1. if seemingly harmless activity is doing harm, and 2. if something that you've done has done damage to components. Personally I don't bother with it.
Silly.
The only sensitive stuff in a computer is the hard drive.
If you drop it hard enough to cause damage to say the mother board, or shake the memory loose, you've already damaged the drive, and so.
It is a good gimic however.
Some of the stuff installed is useful, but most is not accessible, so it waste space in my opinion.
Wayne, that's actually not true. The hard drive is finicky, yes, but contact points for a laptop battery are also notorious, as is the power supply and jack itself on most models. CD-DVD drives are also very very easy to screw up; drop or bump the right part of your laptop shell, and you'll jam the tray.
Laptops aren't made of spun glass, but there's more than just the hard drive to worry about, and since most laptops are big enough that the hard drive will occupy less than thirty percent of their internal space, that program is perhaps not as much a gimmick as you might think. Unnecessary? Yes. Gimick? Not so much, not if you want to be hypervigilant...and some do. I just don't, that's all.
I see your point, but here's the thing.
If you drop your machine hard enough to break one of these other things, you'll most likely have damaged the hard drive too.
The only way you might be okay, is if that drive were an SSD, but I fear, not a regular drive.
Now, for the other reasons, as far as trouble shooting generally, I could see the usefulness of that program, but not in the drop case.
Me, I'd delete it, and get me a good case/shoulder bag for my cargo. Smile.
The only way I'll drop it with one of these, is if I fall for some reason while traveling anyway.
You said you don't bother it, is it actually accessible?
OK a few I don’t really know what they do arre, ccsdk Lenovo, Energy Manager Lenovo, Lenovo FusionEngine, Lenovo OneKey recovery, Lenovo VeriFace pro, USEDK lenovo, Nitro Pro 9. I also kept Lenovo updates and am not sure why. .
All can be removed, but they are valid programs.
Example, the energy manager could help you with better saving, but isn't necessary.
The backup service will help you back your system up, but will most likely cost something after the first year, or 90 days.
Others help with system problems, and the updates of course will keep all their programs updated.
Many times, you have to open the programs before they become active on your system.
If you don't need the space, keep them.
Yeah, I think the only other one to go is Nitro Pro.
I would check if those programs are even accessible before deciding whether you need them or not.
If they aren't, they're just bloatware. You could probably find other, more accessible programs to accomplish those tasks if necessary.