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Monday 16 Nov, 2009

Stuck for ideas of what to buy for an older relative? Stay away from the new granny-friendly computer

Did you give one or more of your grandparents soap or chocolates for Christmas last year? Was your New Year’s resolution to do better in 2009? Have you resigned yourself to going shopping for soap and chocolates again this year? Valerie Singleton thinks so. That’s why she’s invented a computer.

Let’s backtrack, because this is getting confusing already. First of all, who’s Valerie Singleton?

According to Wikipedia, she’s a veteran British television presenter, famous for being a long-term host on BBC children’s series ‘Blue Peter’. If you already knew that, there’s a good chance you’re on the receiving end of the soap and chocs.

But Ms Singleton’s resume is academic; the important thing to remember is that she did the bulk of her presenting in the infancy of colour television, long before HDMI ports (or SCART, for that matter), before DVD or Blu-ray. Heck, before VHS. She is - to use the common parlance - old. And that, to cut through the babble, is why she’s invented a computer. See, according to the blurb, old people have trouble with computers. They’re too complicated, they’re intimidating and you have to be fluent in Japanese to use one. The word ‘interface’ is terrifying to the over-50s. And, of course, the internet is darkest Gotham in the virtual world - a place where senior citizens are robbed and beaten just for kicks.

Ms Singleton’s computer - named the simplicITy - promises to offer all the benefits of fossicking for facts on Wikipedia, sending the grandchildren emails and using the modern typewriter of word processing, hassle free.

All worthy causes, but there is a snag, and it goes beyond the complicated typography of the name.

The computer runs on Linux - an operating system of such bewildering complexity to anyone outside its inner circle that trained IT experts have been known to weep in frustration at the process of installing a simple programme.

The reason? Linux has so many incarnations that software often has to be manually modified at the time of installation. That means coding. Yep, amateur programming. Scary, huh? Especially if you’re 82 and you’ve never used a computer before.

Attempting to create a computer for so-called silver surfers is a noble cause, but it’s also misguided.

The reason old people fear computers is not because they are complex or scary things. They aren’t, and they have never been simpler to use - more willing to talk to one another via email for example, and more human in taking instruction. The reason old people fear computers is that they are old, and computers are new.

It is human nature to fear change on some level, and natural for that fear of change to escalate in the later years of life. There’s a chance some older folks tried using a computer ten years ago and found it tricky.

If they assume nothing will have changed in the interim, they are sorely mistaken.

So, if you want to buy an old person a computer, don’t buy Valerie Singleton’s PC.

Buy them a Windows PC. Or a Mac. It barely matters any more.

But Linux? You might as well buy them an Xbox and a copy of Modern Warfare 2. As a last resort, there’s always soap and chocolate.

 
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COMMENTS

I guess you are totally blinded by Microsoft's publicity that Windows are easier to use than Linux. Have you ever used a Linux OS before or you are just reading articles from a website that promotes Windows as the greatest OS in the world? I believe that Linux Mint Gloria is far easier to use and easy to maintain than any other operating system ever known to man, I can install it in less than 30 minutes and fired up any video format without having to install a single codec or third party applications, play my mp3's, send an email and write a word document or even a spreadsheet, browse the web without any anti-virus installed and keep my computer up for almost 30 days without a single reboot. I would say that your article is misleading and keeps lots of people ignorant about Linux. What you see in Windows 7 interface is quite old in the Linux Community, Linux OS running a Compiz/Beryl Desktop Effects has been around for a couple of years now, do a search in Youtube for Compiz vs. Aero and see the difference. My 5 year old son likes to play games in the internet, browse some children websites and play with Compiz desktop effects, and he is using a Linux OS. The best part is, my boy is not a coder nor do I. That's why when I read your article and you mentioned that the installation process of Linux needs a simple programming and that many IT expert weep in frustration for a simple installation of software, I guess that is too old school, unless your grandma is going to setup a Linux Server that needs to be configured in the command line. For an average computer user who browse the web,send an email, write some documents and print to an HP Printer without installing any driver, I suggest to download and install the latest version of Linux Mint. I wish I could write an article in a magazine or a newspaper like 7days to inform people that there is a better alternative to Windows and Mac without spending thousand of Dirhams plus extra hundred of viruses. I started using Linux in 2008 because I always find Windows too slow and keeps on slowing day by day, not a single install that I haven't experienced a BSOD, so I tried Linux and never looked back since then. Go to www.linuxmint.com and download the distro that suites your computer, use it for a couple of days and write a review in your article, If you are having problem with your installation, email me and I will be happy to assist you. Oh I forgot, we all use Linux in our house, my father who is 55 years old who likes facebook a lot..LOL.., my wife who use Windows in their office but prefer Linux at home, my sister and my 4 year old son. Although my laptop is dual boot because of the pre-installed Windows when I purchased it, they all like Linux. For me, I am so happy that I stop worrying about viruses, service pack and the never ending security patches from Microsoft.

Posted by: Linux Mint [17.Nov.09 4 : 45 PM]

It might be true that any of the general Linux distributions really are somewhat complicated. But then for old folks, there'd be no difference between that and Windows or MacOS computers. What you really want to give them- is something that's designed for simplicity in a way that it operates less like a computer and more like an appliance. By appliance, I mean- there are no menus to figure out, no complicated rules to use and all that jargon- you simply turn it on, click on huge icons presented on the screen and get straight to the task at hand. Unfortunately, Windows, MacOS or any "general consumer" Operating System software out there can't be customized at that level to do this. But you can-- with Linux. A specialized Linux distribution can be "tailor-made" to run like an appliance. Valerie Singleton's pc is one such product and it's just one of many. Linux actually runs a whole lot of appliances- from multimedia players that you plug into your tv, to the routers running your internet connections at home, to TiVO boxes, even Amazon's Kindle and Garmin's GPS gadgets as well as various mobile phones and a lot more. The user doesn't even know it's Linux. They also shouldn't even really care- they just turn on the device- and it works. That idea is what makes Linux succeed. And since it's free- developers don't have to pay Microsoft or Apple to create custom versions of it. Developers can hide all that complexity under a user interface suited to a specific purpose. That was probably the idea behind Valerie Singleton's computer: to make the device behave less like a computer and more like an appliance designed for use by seniors. IMHO, the article may have lacked that vital information- allowing the author to make a bad and somewhat misguided review of a device that-- I'm sure the manufacturers should have already tested on the old folks prior to its release.

Posted by: drivernotfound [17.Nov.09 3 : 00 PM]

I suggest you install a linux distribution, I will happily supply you with Ubuntu, Mandriva, Fedora, openSUSE disks. It installs more easily than Windows, although Val's seems to be preinstalled, works faster and more efficiently than windows, so no hardware ugrades, is quicker to boot and is FREE as is all the software you could possibly want. I assume you used linux 10 years ago and have not kept up with technology.

Posted by: DesertJim [16.Nov.09 10 : 34 AM]

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