GazeSpeaker » Topic: laptop vs desktop vs Windows tablet? one monitor or two?

laptop vs desktop vs Windows tablet? one monitor or two?

David Berman — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 14:21:14 +0000

We are trying to set up GazeSpeaker and EyeTribe (or perhaps Tobii eyex?) for an adult quadraplegic whose recent tracheotomy has made voice control and mouth wand control of his Windows computer no longer viable for the medium term.

Does anyone have any broad recommendations as to whether we are better off using laptop vs. desktop vs. Windows tablet? And one monitor vs. two monitors?

Reply To: laptop vs desktop vs Windows tablet? one monitor or two?

Pierre — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 20:58:11 +0000

Hi David, here are some criteria for your choice:
– tablets are better if you need to move the person in a wheelchair for example, but the screen is smaller and it is more difficult to select cells in a smaller device
– laptop is a good compromise: it is both portable, can be used for someone lying in a bed (you need a bed table to support the laptop, such as the tables used for having lunch in the bed)
– desktop is a good solution if you already have a desktop; the advantage is the big screen, but you will need a rather big support to hold the screen if the person is lying in a bed.

Finally, it will also depend on the hardware you already own. Please remember that you will need a USB 3.0 to use Tobii EyeX or The Eye Tribe eye trackers; for tablets or laptops, it is a prerequisite, for desktops you can add USB 3.0 PCI cards (20 to 30€) if you don’t have USB 3.0 already.

Hope it helps
Pierre

Reply To: laptop vs desktop vs Windows tablet? one monitor or two?

David Berman — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:27:39 +0000

Hi Pierre

Thank you.
We understand the need for USB 3.
We are willing to acquire whatever hardware is best.

We are thinking to build a cart on wheels that the wheelchair can be parked in front of.
So now I’m wondering if a multiple monitor solution is best where on monitor is dedicated to the onscreen keyboard or gazespeaker tiles and the other monitor for everything else (e.g. Notepad, Word, Firefox, Email client). Is it a good idea or a bad idea to try to use Gazespaker and an eyetracker on multiple monitors?

I’m really torn between the portability (and maintainability) of a laptop vs. the potential larger screen and/or multiple monitors of a desktop solution.

David