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    Laptop for visually impaired college student

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    thegreatmuta92

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    #1  Edited By thegreatmuta92

    I am a visually impaired computer science student looking to get a laptop for using IDEs and web browsers at the same time (my current laptop runs Visual Studio like crap). However, I am looking into convertible laptops as reading aids.

    The idea is that I can use the convertible laptop to read textbooks more comfortably than otherwise (I hate reading printed text because I can't zoom it, and reading ebooks on a regular laptop can be uncomfortable for me). Most tablets aren't big or powerful enough for me to read textbooks on, but a 15 inch convertible seems to be a reasonable option.

    I am in between getting a 15 inch convertible laptop (specifically the Sony Vaio Flip 15) and a 17 inch regular laptop such as this. I know for a fact that I can get a 17 inch laptop with a much better CPU at a cheaper price. Though I am excited about using a 15 inch touch screen, I am afraid that I wouldn't be getting the best bang for my buck.

    What do you all think? I am considering just getting the 17 inch and waiting until I can get a cheaper, more powerful convertible laptop. That still wouldn't help me with my issues with reading now, though, and by the time I can get a cheaper convertible laptop, I might be out of school and won't need it anymore.

    I'd be satisfied power-wise if the Vaio Flip was significantly more powerful than my current laptop and could run VS well for the next 2-3 years, really. Do you all think it meets that criteria?

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    xaLieNxGrEyx

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    I mean this in the highest respect, but isn't this what glasses are for?

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    thegreatmuta92

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    #3  Edited By thegreatmuta92

    @xalienxgreyx said:

    I mean this in the highest respect, but isn't this what glasses are for?

    There's a concept called "best corrected visual acuity"; a lot of people can't see 20/20 even with glasses, so this measures the highest visual acuity that glasses can get you to. To be classified as visually impaired, your best corrected visual acuity has to be less than 20/60.

    I'm 20/80 in one eye and 20/100 in another eye, i.e I have about a fifth of the vision of the average person.

    tl;dr: With vision as bad as mine glasses aren't enough.

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    TruthTellah

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    #4  Edited By TruthTellah

    @thegreatmuta92: I would definitely recommend a 17in laptop if you have visual impairment. Then run it at 720P with a higher default text and app size(150% to 200%). You should have a great deal of options for making it readable for you.

    I'm not sure why you want a convertible laptop, but those will generally run smaller and make reading a possible issue.

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    thegreatmuta92

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    @truthtellah said:

    @thegreatmuta92: I would definitely recommend a 17in laptop if you have visual impairment. Then run it at 720P with a higher default text and app size(150% to 200%). You should have a great deal of options for making it readable for you.

    I'm not sure why you want a convertible laptop, but those will generally run smaller and make reading a possible issue.

    17in would be a great laptop size for me for computer usage, but reading vertically formatted textbooks on a horizontally oriented laptop with a keyboard in the way kind of sucks. Maybe the 17 inch screen could make it better (I've never used one that big). I wish I could just turn it vertical and tuck the keyboard away when reading textbooks.

    I've been trying to supplement paper reading with a tablet for a while now, but the last tablet I got was 9.7 inches and was too small (and weak) to use for reading textbooks with massive amounts of text. The idea of a big, 15.6 inch touch screen with laptop power allures me. But it just might not be worth it right now.

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    xaLieNxGrEyx

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    @xalienxgreyx said:

    I mean this in the highest respect, but isn't this what glasses are for?

    There's a concept called "best corrected visual acuity"; a lot of people can't see 20/20 even with glasses, so this measures the highest visual acuity that glasses can get you to. To be classified as visually impaired, your best corrected visual acuity has to be less than 20/60.

    I'm 20/80 in one eye and 20/100 in another eye, i.e I have about a fifth of the vision of the average person.

    tl;dr: With vision as bad as mine glasses aren't enough.

    Well you've taught me something today, however unfortunately I have no answer to your question.

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