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Older person's Mac... which do I get?

M

M3G4

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 4, 2007
100
0
Kent, UK
Hi all,

I'm trying to get an elder relative into computers, because she has limited mobility and I feel getting her online would make things a bit easier (online shopping etc) and also perhaps find more things that interest her. I think introducing her to the mac is a better idea that getting her a cheap dell (Windows, IMO, is far too daunting for new users, MacOS is much friendlier)

Thing is, what machine do I get? How fast should the processor be? Bear in mind, it's best that the mac can support most websites, including flash based ones, java, etc. It'll probably also be used for DVD's and Word Processing. I was thinking along the lines of an eMac, or maybe a 600MHz G3 iMac? The budget is around £150-200. Being a post-PPC mac user, my experience of the older mac processors is limited so I'm not sure how they'd fare doing stuff a bog standard PC would do. I'm not ruling out G3/G4 towers or laptops - though mac laptops seem to hold their value just a little too well.

Any ideas guys?
 
Get no less than the 8-core Mac Pro with 16 gb ram :)

Joking aside, I think you can find a cheap (but working) machine on Ebay. Unfortunately I don't know how capable the earlier macs were...
 
If you can at least get a 1ghz G4 eMac I would. And something with 10.3 or higher. G3s are soooooooo slow.
 
I think an eMac would be capable of just about anything, so long as it has a fair amount of memory (1GB or so)
 
You haven't mentioned vision problems, but that should be a concern. The CRT iMac's have a viewable screen area of about 13", and that might be a little small for the elderly. (Although you could change the resolution to 800 x 600.) I would think in the CRT range a larger eMac screen would be much easier to look at. Any flat panel would probably be quite acceptable though.
 
eRondeau said:
You haven't mentioned vision problems, but that should be a concern. The CRT iMac's have a viewable screen area of about 13", and that might be a little small for the elderly. (Although you could change the resolution to 800 x 600.) I would think in the CRT range a larger eMac screen would be much easier to look at. Any flat panel would probably be quite acceptable though.
Click to expand...

That may well be a concern, if not now then possibly in the future. I would recommend a G4 Mini; completed listings on eBay show quite a few that have ended for less than 200 pounds. Then you could buy, or even get free through Craigslist, a monitor that is a good size. That way in the future you could upgrade to a bigger monitor if necessary without scraping the whole computer.
 
I recommend a G3 iMac (500 MHz or above) Or if your relative has vision problems, a G4 mini and a nice big monitor. (CRT is a lot cheaper, but if you want to spring for LCD, then go for it)
 
I am still using an iMac G4/800, and find it to be perfectly acceptable for browsing, email, Office, and watching a DVD now and again. Anything from this era or later in your price range would be suitable. The eMac, as many have already suggested, is a fine option as well.
I'd stay away from a G3 iMac if you can. I got one for my Mom and she found it far too slow to make her want to use it. Now it sits in my closet, slowing Folding.
 
I suggest a core solo mini. It should be cheap, and it could be hooked up to a TV to make life easier. I'm sure you can find one for under £150.
 
Be careful when purchasing an LCD for an elderly person. Most people don't think too much about pixel density. The best LCD for older eyes is a 19" that natively runs 1280x1024.

Running an LCD at something other than its native resolution usually looks pretty bad. I'm amazed at how many people buy large screens and then run them at non-native resolutions. They'd have been better off with a CRT.
 
Older g4

a 400mhz powerbook g4 can run 10.4, office, keynote, mail, safari, firefox, ect..:apple:
 
The iMac G3 slot load with one gig of ram and a new hard drive should be had for around 150 USD. These are excellent workhorses. I got my mom one and she learned so well on it at seventy years of age that she now has an iMac G5! The laptops were too much for her. The G3 imacs just sat on the desk, unlike laptops which get banged around with use.
 
There's this iMac G5 on eBay, but it looks like it will probably go over your budget (currently £143). On the other hand, the seller is willing to meet the buyer for pick-up, which would save you on shipping if the seller's location is convenient for you.
 
An apple-refurb'd mini, and get Applecare on it. Keyboards and monitors abound for not a lot of money. Big advantage is if it ever needs service, it's not a 40-pound bulky monster like the eMac could suddenly become. Maybe eMac is even more than 40 pounds.. anyway not something an elderly person is going to want to try to schlep in for repairs.
 
I just got my 77 year old mom a core solo Mac Mini about four months ago, picked it up used for around 500 bux shipped, and she loves it. Even though her memory isn't so good, she's still doing pretty good with it, she can send and receive e-mail and download pics of her digital camera. She likes the fact that it starts up pretty fast, unlike the old Athlon Windoze box she used to have.
 
LizKat said:
An apple-refurb'd mini, and get Applecare on it. Keyboards and monitors abound for not a lot of money. Big advantage is if it ever needs service, it's not a 40-pound bulky monster like the eMac could suddenly become. Maybe eMac is even more than 40 pounds.. anyway not something an elderly person is going to want to try to schlep in for repairs.
Click to expand...
Remember, M3G4's budget is £150-£200. Refurb Mini is £499.
 
I play tech support regularly for my grandmother's craptastic HP computer.

Here is what I have learned about older, non-computer friendly people and their computers:

-Get the simplest, easiest setup you can for her. Make it idiot proof.
-Put all the programs she needs on the dock.
-Make sure you have a username with admin privileges and give her a locked down user login instead, preferably one that can't access system files*.
-If she can read an emac screen ok, I think they are the best bet. It's all in one so you'll have a much easier time with wires and power buttons and such, and while that's not something we think about often, if you have someone who isn't used to computers they might get intimidated by too many wires leading places, and remembering to turn on the computer plus the monitor, etc. One button.
-Speaking of one button, for the love of all that is good in the world make sure she does not ever get her hands on a two button mouse. If she has any hand-eye coordination issues at all she will have a lot of difficulty with right-clicks, it seems instinctive to people who grow up with computers but for someone who is first touching a mouse as an adult, the concept of using your palm to move it and your fingers to click can be difficult, and she might have a tendency towards using her whole hand for clicking and moving.

I know this is ridiculously detailed, and your relative may get comfortable very fast with her computer, but I just wanted to share the things I wish I'd learned a few years ago. Also remember that an elderly relative who is sharp and can use a computer comfortably now may have more difficulty as she gets older, and so teaching her less steps early will help ease a lot of frustration if general old age makes using her computer more of a challenge.

*(I know it's far less likely on a mac than on a PC, but you'd be surprised at what random clicking and dragging can do to a computer, especially important files. I don't even think the engineers who built windows know you can do what my grandmother has done to her computer through indiscriminate clicks.)
 
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