I found this discussion (more than 2 years old) interesting http://www.olpcnews.com/use_cases/community/one_xo_laptop_grandmother.html
Does anyone know of any progress along these lines ? (Is this the right list to ask this question? or IAEP?) You may be interested to know, your idea is already under experimentation in > an adult retirement complex in the Niagara Peninsula,* Ontario, Canada*. I > just saw your blog to day, but back in November, I had the same idea, and > joined the G1G1 donors in order to get an XO laptop for trials. I moved > recently into an adult community (Heritage Village, Vineland, ON). I'm still > working and have computed via PCs for 25 years, but many folks here are in > their 80s without computers or Internet access. > I have set up a Meraki wifi mesh to share my DSL feed with a disabled > Senior (stroke victim, age 85) in a wheelchair. My XO Laptop arrived in > mid-January and we have been conducting trials to see if it could assist him > in his home. Wifi connectivity works great. > The small-size keyboard and screen is not really an issue. Perhaps the > contrast of symbols against backgrounds could be improved. He finds that his > poor motion control makes it difficult to get the cursor arrow in the right > spot. Too many drop-down mini-menus and disappearing black frame. I'm > working on some solutions found on XO forums for eliminating the frame > appearance/disappearance and using the key control instead. A USB mouse is > essential. > So far he has figured out the Internet browsing, photos via Record and > Googling for information. We're working on the Gmail module. Even though it is designed for easy learning, the XO Laptop software is not > intuitive and needs to be taught. The OpenSource community will have to > improve the software and fix the bugs and missing features. But at least one > Senior is delighted with his new toy. > Yesterday he claimed that the mental exercise of learning the XO laptop has > improved his damaged mind. He can now walk more steps under better balance > than before. He is struggling to get out of his wheel chair and the XO > laptop has given him hope and connectivity. "I would suggest something like the OLPC as an everything. Yes, it's geared > for children but I guess you're kind of dealing with ... well, in some cases > degenerated minds. > > I don't say that to be mean but ironically my four year old cousin and my > 80 year old grandfather have some of the same needs when it comes to high > tech gadgets." > Kids and elderly do have the same needs, though maybe in a different form > factor. The OLPC XO would need to be SuperSized - made with enlarged screens > and keyboards for those with failing eyesight and poor hand-eye > coordination. But would much else need to be altered? I'm supporting quite a few elderly users whose only needs are Internet > browsing and word processing and an inexpensive, simple and easy to use > computer like XO would be ideal for them. Come to think of it, that's what > many/most people use their computers for anyway. Add to it a 'super' eBook > functionality and you have a winner - surely, even an OLPC critic like > yourself should be able to see this... Mohan
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