Post by Steve on May 2, 2017 7:05:48 GMT -8
From personal experience, I can suggest the following:
• It's radical to suggest this, but I am really happy that I realized that my career as a graphic designer was in decline when I couldn't really read my own 21" computer monitor! Or more correctly, I could zoom the content only so far and it was still a liitle hard to see PLUS I needed to keep scrolling up and down, left and right to see all the content of a standard form. It was time to take the plunge and buy a bigger Mac. I was taken to the Apple store so I could check the 27" Retina iMac. It has 5000+ horizontal pixels ( standard 27" screens are about half that) so the zomming goes up twice as big! I saw the result and in five minutes I had my answer: this would keep me working. I went home with it. This was a push to spend, but a needed indulgence. This iMac was $2000! But I have to add that this Mac has kept me being able to do some design work, use the internet, listen to my music, PLUS it easily reads web pages to me in a pretty normal voice! If I visit a page of info with dense text, often in a serif font which I find particularly hard to read, I just highlight the text, tap a button combo, then sit here and listen.
• Another Apple option with lots of usefulness and a lower cost is an iPad. The iPad can serve you well for web browsing, shopping, watching Netflix, listening to music, and more. Google :refurbished iPads" and see the Apple store list. Items change daily as purchases are made.
If you are using a PC, look for info on how to get it to read the screen text. I'm sure it can be done. Otherwise maybe a Mac is worth a look? The Apple website offers really good prices on refurbished recent models. And Apple has always had a number of system options to make accessabilty easier.
On a more "snap decision" level, small magnifiers that can be kept in a pocket for reading the glucose meter and blood pressure info, pill bottles, and even food labels to see how long to nuke a frozen entrée from Trader Joe's, or even checking the return address on new mail! Actually reading the mail? I wait for a friend. Here are two types I use:
• Carson 5x LED Magnifier: I bought a set of four, and I always have one on the desk and one in my pocket. Very useful. It is in a slide-out case that turns on the LED that can act as a flashlight! I must use mine 20 times a day.
• A Carson 2x Magnifier: A large lens on a stand that lets me hold my finger under it to see where the blood is to hit it with the tip of a test strip! Since I can't see red too well, this actually helps. Cheap at about $8.
I also have a few smaller lenses that clutter my desk drawer, and even some larger units that I keep on my microwave to see what I'm setting. But you can search Amazon for any of several other products. I simply suggest the ones I have come to appreciate and stick with.
- - -
Of course the ultimate help comes from having a friend who reads my mail, fills out any forms that come up, and that is help no magnifying glass can provide.
• It's radical to suggest this, but I am really happy that I realized that my career as a graphic designer was in decline when I couldn't really read my own 21" computer monitor! Or more correctly, I could zoom the content only so far and it was still a liitle hard to see PLUS I needed to keep scrolling up and down, left and right to see all the content of a standard form. It was time to take the plunge and buy a bigger Mac. I was taken to the Apple store so I could check the 27" Retina iMac. It has 5000+ horizontal pixels ( standard 27" screens are about half that) so the zomming goes up twice as big! I saw the result and in five minutes I had my answer: this would keep me working. I went home with it. This was a push to spend, but a needed indulgence. This iMac was $2000! But I have to add that this Mac has kept me being able to do some design work, use the internet, listen to my music, PLUS it easily reads web pages to me in a pretty normal voice! If I visit a page of info with dense text, often in a serif font which I find particularly hard to read, I just highlight the text, tap a button combo, then sit here and listen.
• Another Apple option with lots of usefulness and a lower cost is an iPad. The iPad can serve you well for web browsing, shopping, watching Netflix, listening to music, and more. Google :refurbished iPads" and see the Apple store list. Items change daily as purchases are made.
If you are using a PC, look for info on how to get it to read the screen text. I'm sure it can be done. Otherwise maybe a Mac is worth a look? The Apple website offers really good prices on refurbished recent models. And Apple has always had a number of system options to make accessabilty easier.
On a more "snap decision" level, small magnifiers that can be kept in a pocket for reading the glucose meter and blood pressure info, pill bottles, and even food labels to see how long to nuke a frozen entrée from Trader Joe's, or even checking the return address on new mail! Actually reading the mail? I wait for a friend. Here are two types I use:
• Carson 5x LED Magnifier: I bought a set of four, and I always have one on the desk and one in my pocket. Very useful. It is in a slide-out case that turns on the LED that can act as a flashlight! I must use mine 20 times a day.
• A Carson 2x Magnifier: A large lens on a stand that lets me hold my finger under it to see where the blood is to hit it with the tip of a test strip! Since I can't see red too well, this actually helps. Cheap at about $8.
I also have a few smaller lenses that clutter my desk drawer, and even some larger units that I keep on my microwave to see what I'm setting. But you can search Amazon for any of several other products. I simply suggest the ones I have come to appreciate and stick with.
- - -
Of course the ultimate help comes from having a friend who reads my mail, fills out any forms that come up, and that is help no magnifying glass can provide.