i've looked at

• Who sells comps without Vista? - Jai
  • I actually saved $400 on the same exact computer going on Ebay. - Ebay is my best friend
  • Go do Dell.com and click on laptops. To the far right is an icon that says "looking for Windows - searching
  • go to Dell.com but look under ... - MTinTexas
  • i've looked at - sm
  • you could try --sm - dumdum
    • You can just order them that way. - mtx3
      • Bestbuybusiness.com (sm) - Just ordered one myself

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used DocQscribe, but I have used Meditech, Cerner, Vianeta, the Precyse platform (I can't remember the name), Dolbey, and  Lanier platform I think was called Cequence (?). 

Out of all the different platforms I have typed on, I have liked EXText the best.  In my opinion, it's very user friendly, easy to learn, and I really like ESP which is the built in abbreviation expander.  Plus it is very easy to create your own normals which I love.  My fingers literally never leave the keyboard because there are macro keys for everything.  You can use your mouse if you prefer or learn the function macros.  I love it.  I think I'm more productive on EXText than with any other platform.

In my part of the country: 

The training is 2 years.  You must pass with 95% accuracy these tests:   225 wpm 2-voice testimony, 200 wpm jury charge and 180 wpm literary.  Must do 40 hours of actual writing time during internship and submit 40 pages of transcript and a written narrative to get your degree. 

Also, you must invest in your own stenography equipment, $2,000+ (could go quite a bit higher depending on equipment).

Then you must do 2 years with a legal group. 

Then you can apply for a courthouse job after that (that's how my courthouse in a decently large city does it).

Then after you do 2 years of courthouse experience, the closed captioning company will take your application for consideration of hiring and "transitioning."  

Closed capitioning for live capitioning (news, sports, etc.) I am pretty sure those people can work at home. 

But if you want to do movies, etc., that is done in house.  At least in my neck of the woods this is how they do it and what I was told by someone at the company over the phone. 

I doubt that you can go straight into closed captioning from school--I am pretty sure that they want you to have pretty much courtroom experience and be pretty well versed with the steno machine. 

If you can make it, it seems like a pretty lucrative career.  I looked into it many years ago and went into med transcription instead.  Could kick myself now. 

Have had a couple friends who were court reporters, the machine seems it would take quite a while to master with any efficiency.  You know, it reminds me of the alpha-hand I took many many years ago.  But again, you would have to practice, practice, practice, and really enjoy what you are working towards. 

I just interviewed last week with a court reporting school and then with the local college to check out their court reporting course.  The court reporting school said as long as you get up to the 225 per minute speed, you can finish a little early, about 18 months. But not so with my local college, you must do the entire 2 years and classes only start once a year. 

Interestingly, I was told there is an 80% drop-out rate.  It is pretty tough going. 

I changed my mind about going this route, wasn't interested in the courthouse work, wanted to go straight to closed capitioning, but it sounds as though that is not possible.  I don't have 6 years to spend for school and experience.  

Then I have been reading on the internet that they are starting to get rid of the court reporters in a couple states and replacement them with the audio/video recorders that the courthouses already have in place.  So that doesn't sound to good to me.  Not sure how accurate that method would be for record keeping, but we all know with offshoring has done to the quality/accuracy of medical reports. 

Still thinking of what I should do instead now.   

Good luck to you.  Again, this is in my neck of the woods, could be different where you are.   

a "return to work" site to get people off disability and working.

They want you to sign up with a state worker to help you with vocational rehabilitation and get you back to work?  That's what I read.  And also they want you to work 30 hours a week with the telephone jobs.  That would be almost full-time, persons on permanent disability are not allowed to work that much.

This is fascinating.  I have never seen or heard of this.  See a pic...

http://www.vrbo.com/29508

He did his dictation at home I suppose and every night..."Daddy, stop talking, look at me".....for what seemed like hours on end.  Never took the child out, just let her screeeeeaaaam into the mic the entire time, while the wife talked in the background, oblivious to the child...I suppose she was glad someone was taking it off her hands. 

There's a lot of information about starting a service. I just signed up in their directory for free.

Typed in TranscriptionStar, Google gave info, a transcription service, looking for business, US and Europe.  Said they are one of the best, if I read right.