OT: Computers for seniors

[Bob Rasmussen]

Thanks, Richard. I should have been more clear -- she can see the screen, 
and she can see text if it's not to small. She's not to the point of 
needing text-to-speech (in fact her hearing is worse than her eyesight).

On Thu, 9 Feb 2012, Richard Kreiss wrote:

> 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
> > _______________________________________________
> > Filepro-list mailing list
> > Filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
> > Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Subscription Changes
> > http://mailman.celestial.com/mailman/listinfo/filepro-list
> 
> 

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