My mom is moving from the SoCal suburbs to a condo near us here in Oakland. She’s never had a computer, though she does use WebTV (only for e-mail; not for the web). This is largely because she lives alone and doesn’t interact with anyone in person who uses a computer so she has never had any exposure to what she might do with one (photographs, writing letters, playing music, using the web, etc.).
So we want to get her a computer-thingee. I qualify the noun because we are living in the 20th century ourselves and know there are a myriad of items that have a computer’s functionality in a lot of respects, but without the size or the complexity or the high maintenance of some computers.
I-pads or some other type of touch tablets? Some hardware that emulates a computer’s basic functions (like I’ve listed) but is through a phone company instead of internet provider? Something simple that won’t constantly need upgrades or downloads to stay operational? We really have no clue at what the landscape is like out there, except that things are smaller, stronger, and supposedly friendlier.
So help us out! Classic elderly person (scared, reluctant, but with great promise) needs to get connected! What should we be looking at as an option?
For an elderly person, one thing you need to keep in mind is reduced manual dexterity. Before she died, my grandmother used her MailStation for email only for years, and we kept buying them used off eBay once they’d die on her, but we finally had to move her to a “real” computer. We ended up getting her a netbook, because she didn’t have the room for a desktop and it really was overkill, but even with a mouse, she struggled–the touchpad was out of the question. She had arthritis in her hands, so this was a big factor. We take for granted the motions involved in using a mouse/touchpad because we do it day in and day out but for an elderly person with no computer experience, it’s tough.
She did use it though, and one thing she LOVED was Google Earth. She would use it to zoom in on her old neighborhood in England, her friend’s homes, and so on. It took me a long time to get her to understand that they were static images, from sometime in the past, and she wasn’t going to see her best friend waving up at her, but she loved loved it.
Have you considered a touch-screen tablet, such as an iPad? My aunt, who is 86, is interested in it because of the large finger-size icons and no need to use a mouse. She was very interested in my iPhone and would have bought it except that it was physically too small for her.
I think your mom sounds like an ideal iPad user. Take her to an Apple store and let her play with one. They also sell them at Best Buy. But it would mostly depend on her typing on the virtual keyboard.
The thing is, though, you’ll need an actual computer to set up your iPad. If you have a laptop yourself, that’d be fine. Or if she brought it over to your computer periodically, that’d work. She would only need access occasionally to update the software or do a backup.
If you don’t go for a tablet of some sort, any off the shelf computer will work fine for your mom’s needs. A Mac mini would be a good choice for a desktop, and harder to break for an inexperienced use.
Yeah. If you can set it up for her I would recoomend an iPad. It’s amazing how easy iPads and iPhones are for people who are usually computer phobic. My sister in law who shies away from ever sending emails, or doing anything on a computer got an iPad for Christmas. Now, she uses google maps, sends and reads emails, checks out recipes, reads books and does a bunch of stuff she never did before.
But, the only limitation is you need a computer to set it up, and maintain updates. But, once it is set up it should be ok.
Does it have to be a fellow Mac, or will any computer do? How often do these updates have to happen? Are there any system requirements for this other computer?
Oh, and another question–are there other tablets on the market that are genuinely competitive to the I-pad? I have no dog in this hunt (Mac vs. PC vs whatever); I just want to explore all our options.
Nope, it doesn’t have to be a Mac. Any computer from the past few years would be fine. It just needs to run iTunes. So, it has to be a Mac or a Windows machine.
About 2 or 3 times a year iOS is updated. These updates sometimes bring major changes and additions to the OS, other times minor bug fixes. I don’t think updating the iPad is an urgent a matter as it is on desktop machines. So, missing one for a few months wouldn’t be the end of the world.
It’s, of course, a matter of opinion, but the other tablets on the market haven’t gotten reviews nearly as glowing as the iPad.
I have only used a Xoom. But, the interface is a lot clunkier and harder to use compared to the smooth iPad. The price is about the same, too.
Blackberry just came out with something. But, it’s reviews have been so bad, that I would be surprised if it ends up selling much.
On the other hand there is promise that HP is coming out with a tablet based on Palm’s OS and that looks really good. But, it isn’t out yet. In my opinion, that is going to be the first machine that truly competes with the iPad on usability and utility.
We have iPhones and enjoy them immensely. The MIL - a spry 81 years old with minimal computer skills - just got an iPad for herself and likes it a lot. She surfs the internet, reads e-books, uses e-mail, and plays a few games. It seems to me that this is an ideal tool for someone like her as well as your mother. The only caveat to be aware of is that with touch screens, it needs the pad of your finger to get it to work. It will not process taps from a long fingernail
My mom likes my iPad, but she doesn’t like that she can’t play billiards and backgammon on yahoo games with it. It’s a matter of figuring out your mom’s routine.
For me, I’ve had an iPad nearly two weeks and have yet to hook it up to a computer. The Mac store guy booted it up for me, and I’ve had no reason to sync it up yet! So yeah, you could use your PC as a base for it if she lives within an even remotely close range of you!
I appreciate all the responses, and even more so since there appears to be a consensus! I’ll check out the Ipad and see if it’s suitable. My mom is extremely stubborn when it comes to new technology, but I’m hoping this works out well for her as an option.
I’d go with a laptop, as having a broader range of applications, increasing the chances that your mother will find one she likes. Pair it with a wireless broadband connection for use whever the user feels like using it .
Check the “assistive technology” options (“Ease of Access” center on the Windows 7 Control Panel menu). Lots of good adaptions for vision problems, arthritic hands, etc.
Learning to use the thing: check some instruction books out of a library for a test drive. When she finds one that is congenial, try to get her to commit to a chapter or two a week. I like the Maran “Illustrated” series, which matches instruction to what the user is seeing on the screen, but it may not work for everyone.
GET RID OF THE WEB-TV. Otherwise, your mother will keep reverting to the familiar. And doing everything the hard way.
touch screens can be very hard for elderly. hands and fingers are jittery. finger taps can occur when unwanted. finger gestures be interrupted by a jittering pull back.
She has arthritis, so have to be sensitive about the touch screen, but that would still be preferable to a laptop (that little mouse button is hard for even me to use sometimes).
Yes, the WEBTV is toast. I set up a Gmail account for her so she knows she has to adjust. It’ll be slow, but I like the I-pad because it appears to be visually very clean and intuitive. Not a lot of fuss (I hope), since the interface is most important in selling her on the whole idea.
If the iPad doesn’t work out, instead of a laptop, I would go with a desktop and a BIG flat screen (21" or so)
As you get older your eyes get weaker. Large fonts = good.
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