smallest device to run TA3?

[kraemder]

I was thinking of buying a netbook. Basically I'd like to get a portable device whose primary purpose would be to run text aloud for me. The smaller the better - any recommendations on what's out there that I could get? If there's something the size of an ebook reader or possibly a cell phone that would be awesome.

[kraemder]

this probably isn't the smallest but as i got no replies I went ahead and ordered a netbook:

ASUS Eee PC 1005PEB-RRED01S - Red $284.89 X 1 $284.89

I'm hoping it works out. At the very least it should be portable for moving around the house from room to room and taking to bed with me for some late night reading before sleep =). What would have been really cool would have been something that fit in my cycling jersey pocket (they're pretty darn big pockets actually) for when I go workout. Obviously I can make an mp3 of a text but it's a bit of a pain and prefer to use the TextAloud program to read my ebooks.

Not sure if the rest of you have kindles. I got one. I like the e-ink screen and the read outloud voice is tolerable but definitely a step down from ta2/3. And no variety either =/.

[kremesch]

You should be fine. I run it on a 10.1" HP netbook. Works fine. You might want to consider upgrading the RAM to 2G for better performance though. I found that the extra Gig made a world of difference. Not particlularly fond of the win7 starter edition either, and I wound up upgrading to win7 ultimate for more options. Ultimate's a bit of overkill for a netbook, but it was all I had on hand and the machine runs great with it.

I don't mind the voice on the Kindle. I've always liked Tom's voice. Not crazy about any of Nuance's female voices to be honest--love my Kindle though.

[kraemder]

I don't know. I hate paying for Windows - I've bought it so many times including a copy of Vista that was a terrible mistake. I remember having nightmares re-installing windows and having to call Microsoft's awful and rude call center to get someone to approve the internet validation. Somehow they couldn't fathom why I would format and do a clean install on my computer. You'd think they never heard of viruses or spyware. Whomever I spoke to felt this was the stupidest thing anyone could ever do - their validation system didn't like it I guess. The part that got me was that these representatives refused to give their names when asked - and while waiting on hold there was a message offering for you pay 75 bucks or some such thing for an added year of tech support.

Seems to me that spending over a hundred bucks on Win7 should mean I can use it for my personal use on as many computers that I own. I could maybe see a limit of 3 computers per license per household but 1 computer per license.. ugh.

Win7 Start will have to be god awful for me to upgrade it. I use Win7 home professional 64bit and it's pretty nice. I obviously wouldn't need a 64bit version for a netbook though.

[kremesch]

The trick to dealing with Microsoft's call center is to always tell the automated system that you have only installed it on one machine (it doesn't matter if this is not true, all that really matters is that you said, "one"). The answer is always "one", and you should have no problems. I rebuild machines and have to constantly re-authorize windows. I also have a tendency to experiment with my machines and have mucked things up beyond repair on several occassions to where I've had to re-install windows, and after I've added or replaced a good number of hardware and peripherals, windows will assume I'm using a different machine. So when I call, I simply say "one". I do this for Office as well. There is no reason why I should have to re-purchase the software when I'm the only one using it and have decided to move onto a new or different machine (again, I tell them "one" when I have to make the call).

If the copy of windows you have is a genuine and full copy, go ahead and give it a try. Just remember to create restore discs of Asus' setup before you attempt to mess around with anything, and don't forget to verify that they're working. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can just restore your system to the manufacturers setup.

Basically, my biggest pet peeve with win7 Starter is that I couldn't change the desktop background. Another annoyance is that you can't run more than 3 programs at a time. Starter is severly crippled. It makes sense for a netbook though, but in my opinion, disabling a feature as simple as changing the background picture is a bit excessive, particularly when I can do something this simple on my cell phone and my iTouch. Not to mention that the windows logo is just plain unattractive to look at; a plain background would have been more preferrable. It just really bugged me. There is a free program you can get that was designed specifically for Starter to create a type of "virtual" desktop that allows you to change the picture, but I found that it slowed my startup a bit, and I'm a little fussy in that area. If you're interested, the program is called Oceanis. You can find it easily by googling it.

[kraemder]

I came across this online...

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20016337-1.html

I guess this is will be the 1st really mobile device to run windows. If it comes out. So the netbooks are probably the smallest it gets at the moment and I wasn't just blind when I tried to find something smaller.

[kremesch]

That idea is a little too small for me. I'd love to have something that would fit in my pocket with full functionality, but unfortunately, I'll probably always require a full-size keyboard.