I think I know what I want, but I will be the first to admit that my technical knowledge of computers is quite basic. I'm hoping some of you that are more knowledgeable than I can steer me in the right direction.
Background: the computer will be primarily for my oldest son. He has the same bone disease as the child that uses a wheelchair, but his issues are mostly upper body instead of lower body like his youngest brother. His major issue is difficulty with fine motor skills and intermittent, temporary paralysis of his arms. He uses an iPhone 6 Plus at school to take notes, record lectures and take pictures when he can't write.
Needs:
-must have voice control software
-must have some sort of drawing app for things like chemistry, math, physics, etc.
-must be able to easily transfer files back and forth between the phone and the computer.
Preferences:
I want a desktop. A laptop would be too tempting to take to school, increasing the risk of damage or theft. His school is on the rough side. I'd like a larger monitor so I can more easily see what's on the screen from a distance. The house is huge and individual rooms are large. I have been considering a laptop with a docking station. That means there's still the temptation to take it to school, but it also means it's more portable for hospital stays.
What I think I want:
I think I want a 27 inch iMac loaded with Microsoft office for Mac. Most of the other devices in the house are apple products. The file transfer thing is extremely easy between them. In my personal experience I like being able to work on a document on my phone and then be able to open the same doc on my computer without having to do anything special. I think he would like that as well. OS X has voice command integrated into the OS so I wouldn't have to buy a separate piece of software. If I buy the apple trackpad, I already have an app I bought for my computer that uses the track pad as a sensor to draw. With family sharing, I would not have to re purchase it.
That said, I really don't understand the technical specs. There's a few options and I honestly don't know what makes things better or worse. I also don't really know if some of the options for PC's might actually be better, even if I have to give up the seamless sharing between Apple devices.
I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice you guys might have.
ETA: Cost isn't much of a factor. I'm paying for this with a dedicated fund that can only be used for medical or educational needs. This is qualifying as educational. There's still nearly $12k left in that fund. I don't want to spend it all, and I still don't want to spend more than I have to going crazy with things he doesn't need, but I don't have to be cheap either.
Background: the computer will be primarily for my oldest son. He has the same bone disease as the child that uses a wheelchair, but his issues are mostly upper body instead of lower body like his youngest brother. His major issue is difficulty with fine motor skills and intermittent, temporary paralysis of his arms. He uses an iPhone 6 Plus at school to take notes, record lectures and take pictures when he can't write.
Needs:
-must have voice control software
-must have some sort of drawing app for things like chemistry, math, physics, etc.
-must be able to easily transfer files back and forth between the phone and the computer.
Preferences:
I want a desktop. A laptop would be too tempting to take to school, increasing the risk of damage or theft. His school is on the rough side. I'd like a larger monitor so I can more easily see what's on the screen from a distance. The house is huge and individual rooms are large. I have been considering a laptop with a docking station. That means there's still the temptation to take it to school, but it also means it's more portable for hospital stays.
What I think I want:
I think I want a 27 inch iMac loaded with Microsoft office for Mac. Most of the other devices in the house are apple products. The file transfer thing is extremely easy between them. In my personal experience I like being able to work on a document on my phone and then be able to open the same doc on my computer without having to do anything special. I think he would like that as well. OS X has voice command integrated into the OS so I wouldn't have to buy a separate piece of software. If I buy the apple trackpad, I already have an app I bought for my computer that uses the track pad as a sensor to draw. With family sharing, I would not have to re purchase it.
That said, I really don't understand the technical specs. There's a few options and I honestly don't know what makes things better or worse. I also don't really know if some of the options for PC's might actually be better, even if I have to give up the seamless sharing between Apple devices.
I'd appreciate any thoughts or advice you guys might have.
ETA: Cost isn't much of a factor. I'm paying for this with a dedicated fund that can only be used for medical or educational needs. This is qualifying as educational. There's still nearly $12k left in that fund. I don't want to spend it all, and I still don't want to spend more than I have to going crazy with things he doesn't need, but I don't have to be cheap either.
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