On 02/10/2012 05:26 PM, S. Dale Morrey wrote: > Hi Plug, > > This has me thinking; Why hasn't anyone come up with a dedicated > device that could be used for elderly and shut in older folks to > communicate with their loved ones? I'm not talking about a tablet > that can do everything like an iPad or even a nook color, I just mean > a dedicated device that only does facebook (yeeech), or some other > similar service.
No actually an iPad probably *is* ideal for this. The interface is fairly easy (I've heard of many people in their 80s that use iPads and like them). Just install the facebook app for her. Maybe set up e-mail too. If a keyboard is required, maybe a bluetooth keyboard. An iPad certainly doesn't do "everything," or even a lot of things. But for your requirements, facebook and e-mail, it should work extremely well. As much as it pains me to admit it, Apple's walled garden probably suits a lot of older people better than a generic computer. To them it's simply a communications tool, and that's what they'd use it for. While I mourn the end of general purpose computing, I really can see why the iPad is so appealing to so many people. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
