alternatives to windows magnifier

[techidave]

I have a friend who just purchased a HP Pavilion dv3-2155mx netbook.  She has very poor eyesight like macular degeneration so everything has to be big in print or on screen.  The netbook has a 13.3" screen with a max resolution of 1366 x 768.  I can lower the resolution thus increasing the size of everything but that doesn't necessarily help that much.  I know Windows Vista has a magnifier but I don't think she will like that very well.

Is there some other kind of solution that I can use to help her out?  It would have to work for any screen or window that she might open.

thanks a bunch!

[lanux128]

instead of lowering the resolution, you can increase icon & fonts size to make things look big on the screen. you can right-click on the desktop and choose 'Properties' then go to 'Appearance' tab and choose the "Font Size" and in the same tab, click on the 'Effects' button and check "Use large icons".

as for the magnifier, the one i like most is ScreenMagnifier by holomind at the AHK forums. there is a compiled exe as well in that thread.

[rjbull]

The author of Q-Dir also offers OneLoupe as freeware, but I have no idea whether it will be good enough for your friend.

[techidave]

I have also heard about Xoomer here

I will try out some of these and see how she likes it later on today.

[techidave]

In following Lanux's suggestion, I could do that and then increase the text size in IE, Word, and Outlook and see what that does for her.

[joiwind]

There is also Virtual Magnifying Glass at Sourceforge : Magnifier