Caryl writes:
I have XP, Service Pack 3. What do you recommend for an up-grade? I do very few letters from either me or for a friend who does not have a computer. I do check my e-mails. But with my hands being my disability, I don’t spend that much time on the computer.
Caryl, I’d suggest an upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8 and I would also suggest activating the speech recognition that comes with both of those systems. Windows XP also has limited speech recognition, but with 7 and 8, you can use your voice to control just about everything on your computer. As long as you have a microphone, you can train your computer to recognize your speech and control it without using your hands at all.
With speech recognition, you can not only control your computer by running programs, you can also dictate and edit text. That’s pretty easy on your hands. If you don’t already have a microphone, you should be able to get one in the $10 range.
For Windows 7, you simply go to the start menu and start typing speech recognition, then click on the Windows Speech Recognition in the results.
A wizard will open to walk you through the set-up process.
The set-up process is simple and step-by-step.
Once it’s finished, you’ll be amazed at what you can do with your voice. For Windows 8, you just type speech recognition in the Search Charm and select the icon.
And you’ll be walked through a step-by-step process.
You might also want to consider switching to a tablet. Many Android tablets and the iPad all feature voice control. A tablet would work fine if you mostly use your device for checking e-mail, but could be a little more of a challenge to print from.
But with voice control on your device, you may find that you use your computer a whole lot more.
~ Cynthia
I seldom disagree with these Tech Tips, but this one is off base. If you have a machine running Windows XP, there’s a couple things to consider if you want to upgrade. First, don’t waste your money on Windows 8. Consider Windows 7 or if your machine isn’t fast enough, upgrade to Vista. Yes, as much as I hate suggesting Vista, some Windows XP machines can’t run 7. Google the brand and model number of your machine and look for 2 key specifications. Is the processor dual core, and can the memory be upgraded to at least 2gb? If yes for both, upgrade to 7, if no on either or both, Vista is your only option. However, before upgrading to 7 (if your specs meet the requirements), do a little more research. Look at the type of video processor it has. Google it (example: NVidia xxxxx driver) and see if it has a Windows 7 driver available. If a Win7 driver is not available you will have problems. Poor video quality, or worse, random Blue Screen errors. If your video processor is not supported in Win7 you can replace it on desktops by buying a newer card for around $50. However on laptops it is usually too expensive because they have a video chip attached to the mother board that has to be de-soldered and the new one re-soldered. So, consider all the factors before making a decision to upgrade from Windows XP.