OT: Computers for seniors

[Richard Kreiss]

Bob,

I know many will disagree with me but a windows based pc with outlook and Dragon Naturally Speaking might be a good solution. 

The latest version I'd Dragon works well with Windows opening apps and letting you dictate easily. The only problem I have had is with the word (send). Dragon treats this as a command and transmits the email. 

Dragon can also be set to read text so she would be able to hear her emails. 

I have not tested Win7 voice programs but I like Dragon. Setup is fast and easy. 

I have even used it with filePro. It does work for data entry. It is not good for programming with the Fp editor. If one uses a text editor, Dragon will take a lot of training especially with long variable names. :)

Richard
Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 9, 2012, at 12:11 AM, Bob Rasmussen <ras at anzio.com> wrote:

> Hi folks,
> 
> I'm looking for tips on helping my 83-year-old mother with her computer 
> needs. She's very tied into her email, but that's almost all she does. 
> She's cognitively doing pretty well, but vision is a problem. She uses 
> dial-up Internet to save money, but we might be flexible on that. 
> 
> After using a series of hand-me-down laptops (from me) with web-based 
> email (gmail), she's talking about buying something. I would think any 
> Windows PC with a large enough screen would suffice, for the hardware.
> 
> For software, again primarily for email, the primary issue is ease of use, 
> which I would imagine means:
> 
> * Lack of visual clutter (such as ads) on the screen.
> 
> * Large target areas for mouse actions, maybe for use with a touch screen.
> 
> * High contrast colors, no partial transparency. 
> 
> * Not too many options she is unlikely to need.
> 
> * Ability to view common attachments.
> 
> * Minimal bandwidth requirements, for dial-up.
> 
> I'd appreciate any helpful suggestions, especially if backed up by family 
> experience.
> 
> Regards,
> ....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.
> 
> personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
> company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
>          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
>            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
>            web: http://www.anzio.com
> street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
>                 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
>                 Portland, OR  97223  USA
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