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If you were old...

T

Tofaha

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 18, 2007
256
0
MI
would you use apple or window?
ok i assume most of you here will say mac.
my grandpa needs his "first" computer...he needs it for email, and internet, thats pretty much it. now he has some limitations, he can't see that well on screen (he has difficulty reading of a screen because "its too small") and another problem he has is using a mouse, but i think thats just a matter of practice ;)


i am thinking of a mini and then adding a large screen and maybe some other accessibility items..what do you guys suggest?
Thanks!:D
 
Tofaha said:
would you use apple or window?
ok i assume most of you here will say mac.
my grandpa needs his "first" computer...he needs it for email, and internet, thats pretty much it. now he has some limitations, he can't see that well on screen (he has difficulty reading of a screen because "its too small") and another problem he has is using a mouse, but i think thats just a matter of practice ;)


i am thinking of a mini and then adding a large screen and maybe some other accessibility items..what do you guys suggest?
Thanks!:D
Click to expand...

If I were old, I'd choose Mac. Hell, if I were young (which I am) I would choose Mac. I'd set up "mail" and tell him whenever he sees a red number above it to click it and he has mail...
 
wvuwhat said:
If I were old, I'd choose Mac. Hell, if I were young (which I am) I would choose Mac. I'd set up "mail" and tell him whenever he sees a red number above it to click it and he has mail...
Click to expand...

trust me so would i :rolleyes:
but the problem im having is teaching him how to use a mouse because he doesn't have a very steady hand...and using a mouse is pretty much imperative
 
OSX has some great accesibility features. Easy to enable and understand. One of them that I use, and I'm not even old, is the "zoom" feature. Hold down "ctrl" and scroll "up" on your mouse to zoom in on your pointer. Definitely useful, definitely mac.
 
Tofaha said:
trust me so would i :rolleyes:
but the problem im having is teaching him how to use a mouse because he doesn't have a very steady hand...and using a mouse is pretty much imperative
Click to expand...

I'm running into the problem of helping my grandmother out with this. She's not up on all the computer skills, but when I was like just click on "this thing" she makes it a point to click on that. The best thing you can do is be there for them (her/him). Set it up for them and be able and ready to help them out whenever they need help. My one grandmother is good with computers and uses a PC, because I set it up so her homepage is gmail. The other grandfather is having a problem and when he has problems I help. Just be there...
 
What about a trackball instead of a mouse? Might be easier since it's not as important to have a steady hand with those
 
Make sure you increase the size of the cursor in the screen with Universal Access. This has got to be the feature that has helped the most my grandparents.
 
Old is such an ugly term. ;) My primary electronics instructor was in his 70's, one of the original designers of missile radar guidance systems in the 1940's, and he'd still get excited about the "latest thing". He programmed as a hobby in four or five languages. It's more a matter of natural proclivities & interests.

I was rewiring my Lionel transformer and dismantling telephones from about 6. Built Tandy & Heathkits in my adolescence, and was using MS-DOS/ProDOS/Win (all flavors)/Mac (all flavors) since I was 20 (in 1976). I use XPSP2 and 10.5.2 now, and figure I won't quit until I'm permanently horizontal, using whatever versions of the predominant desktop OS's are around.

I use a Mac as my predominant machine because I prefer it, for the same reason I did in 1984: it just doesn't get in the way of my workflow. Windows always has, and likely always will require more of my attention than I want from an OS, until MS decides to scrap the code base and start over. Age has nothing to do with it, but the value of my time does.
 
JohnNotBeatle said:
Old is such an ugly term. ;) My primary electronics instructor was in his 70's, one of the original designers of missile radar guidance systems in the 1940's, and he'd still get excited about the "latest thing". He programmed as a hobby in four or five languages. It's more a matter of natural proclivities & interests.
Click to expand...
Yep, old is mostly a state of mind.

Of course the body does not always follow the mind. ;)
 
Thanks to everyone's replys!!!
i think those "universal access" options sure will help.
mac os x has a lot to offer in terms of accessibility and user friendliness
I can't wait to start teaching my grandpa :D
:apple:
 
I am old enough to be your grandfather - most likely - and my mother and father use an iMac. As stated above, adjust the size of the arrow/cursor. Also, decrease the resolution so that everything is larger.

I recommend at least the 20" iMac. The standard mouse is easy to learn to use, but I recommend a wireless version so the cord doesn't get in the way. My parents found the mouse cord to be a pain, so I bought them a Logitech cordless. The only problem with it is that you can't disable the right-click, which gets confusing for them. You might just go with the Apple wireless.

My parents' friends mostly have Windows machines, and they have all sorts of problems. If you can get iChat to work (I can't), you can even troubleshoot his computer from home.

Mac all the way.

Mooch
 
I recommend decreasing the screen resolution, things may look blurry but at least they'll be big.

Then hope that resolution independence comes in the next OSX update.
 
Thanatoast said:
OSX has some great accesibility features. Easy to enable and understand. One of them that I use, and I'm not even old, is the "zoom" feature. Hold down "ctrl" and scroll "up" on your mouse to zoom in on your pointer. Definitely useful, definitely mac.
Click to expand...

Never knew about that - thanks!!! :)

As someone already mentioned, one of the huge advantages to having relatives using Macs is that you can help them from afar by using screen sharing and iChat. See this thread for more info. Then, if your elderly relative gets stuck, you can be right there to help without ever having to leave your house!

Not old yet . . . just feel like I am!
 
I'd also recommend getting him a Mac as being more user friendly, also he's less likely to crash the whole system and there aren't the same problems with viruses every time he connects up.
 
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