Disability Support Services (DSS) has decided to raffle a laptop next year in order raise funds to buy special laptops loaded with unusual software which will help the students suffering with disability.

The students will be offered the laptops of their choice and they will also be allowed to take away the unit to their homes. That means it completely depends on the student’s choice whether they want to use the laptops in the lab or at their home, because some of the students find it difficult to come to the lab for work. And as the students are offered the laptop of their choice, they can even pick advanced and capable machines like the Sony Vaio VGN-FW21Z to help them out. Most of the DSS students are suffering from learning disabilities such as Dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. For such students the laptops, which have adaptive software installed, are really useful. The adaptive software basically contains Kurzweil 3000, which can convert the printed text into audio. It can also increase the size of the printed text. The DSS department is looking forward to raising enough money to buy at least five laptops and licenses for the Kurzweil 3000.

According to Regina Pino, assistant to the coordinator of disability support services, “If I was dyslexic, for example, I could use this software to see the words as I hear them being spoken, so I know exactly how to spell the word. If I couldn’t see well, this program allows me to make the text bigger.”

If you are looking for a budget laptop, without compromising on style and performance, then the Toshiba Satellite A305-S6864 is one of the best mobile computing devices you could opt for.

It’s an appealing laptop with a high-gloss finish, right from the screen cover to the entire keyboard area. The edges are not sharp; rather this unit has smooth rounded corners which make it comfortable to hold in your hands. Another unique feature of this device is its powerful built-in speakers. The other hardware installations are also very impressive. There is one speedy 2.26-GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 processor backed up by a formidable 4GB of RAM. Running heavy applications on this laptop is, therefore, obviously not an issue. To put it into perspective, the Sony VGN-FW21Z offers a similar performance, but for a far higher price. The A305 also has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256MB graphics card, which makes it an ideal device for playing new generation 3D games. This is not the best gaming laptop in the market, but if matched with its price then it certainly is up there. Performance wise this machine stands close to the Sony’s VAIO VGN-SZ791N which is very costly.

The connectivity options are also more than satisfactory. It offers a 10/100 ethernet LAN, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, eSATA, i-Link Firewire, ExpressCard and three USB 2.0 ports. The storage is provided via 320GB, 5400rpm hard disk drive. The only grey area this laptop possesses is it does not have backlit keyboard, which makes it almost impossible to work in dark areas. Oh! In case you are wondering, the display is fine as well with a 15.4-inch screen.