Emails for Old folk

[oshta]

I was speaking to an old lady the other day who said she used to have am amstrad 'Emailer' which she used to use to send emails to her relations abroad with before it broke/stoppedworking/whatever.

She doesn't want a computer and has no wish to learn to use one or go on the internet, but she would like to be able to send emails (probably text only) again. Maybe email photos taken with a digital camera but probably not.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the best way of doing this? Cost not a huge objective but easy of use features very highly as does not taking up too much room.

A feasible amount of laptop can be had for £50. Are there any email-koisk type programs/operatingsystems that might to the job?

Thoughts on a postcard.


Daniel

[Flibb]

Interesting question. One slight odd idea I had for this is a kindle. It can view web pages (I can view my gmail account), and the 3G version has has free intenet access. Going to be a bit clunky but would work. You would have to checkout the text size, but in theory once purcahsed you get free internet access. Browser isnt that great but for gmail the wifi version works for me.

[Kumagoro]

I have never used one but I have read the screen update is proper slow on the kindle
trying to type would be a nightmare with the lag.

Maybe something like the revo would be better. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/236579

There must be some kind of linux which is setup for old people, or perhaps one of the simple
netbook linux ones would be suitable. If its hooked up to the tv (assuming a lcd type) then
its pretty tidy too.

[chrestomanci]

Interesting question. One slight odd idea I had for this is a kindle. It can view web pages (I can view my gmail account), and the 3G version has has free intenet access. Going to be a bit clunky but would work. You would have to checkout the text size, but in theory once purcahsed you get free internet access. Browser isnt that great but for gmail the wifi version works for me.

I a fairly sure there is no email client built into a Kindle, so the old lady would need to use webmail. Problem is that most webmail these days assumes a reasonable sized colour screen, and JavaScript support. Does the Kindle browser support JavaScript?

Also how good is this old lady's eyesight and manual dexterity? The Kindle keyboard is quite small and is fairly difficult for even a normal person to enter lots of text into, let alone someone with reduced fine motor skills. I would say that typing text into a Kindle is about as hard as typing into a qwerty keyboard smartphone such as a Blackbery.

The kindle screen is is easy to read, but it is rather small for webmail. If there was a dedicated email client, or it had SMS support then that would not be a problem, but for webmail there would be a lot of onscreen clutter such as navigation bars, banners and adverts that would use up most of the screen real estate.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/236579[/url]

There must be some kind of linux which is setup for old people, or perhaps one of the simple
netbook linux ones would be suitable. If its hooked up to the tv (assuming a lcd type) then
its pretty tidy too.

I think that is a better idea. I don't know either but I am sure that there there will be a simplified GUI available that you can install on top of the main linux distro that will hide all but a few apps.

A full powered linux computer should be more versatile. It will enable the old lady to view attached photos and surf the web as well. It should be fairly safe from viruses and the like if you keep it updated.

Assuming the old lady already has a modern TV, then perhaps the way to go would be to permanently hook the Revo up to the TV, and leave it permanently running. When she wants to use email she can switch the TV to the AV channel, and get out a wireless keyboard & mouse combo and then read and write emails from her sofa. When she is done all she has to do is switch the TV back to normal and put the keyboard away. The OP would need to remote login from time to time to make sure the system stays updated and to make sure the disc does not fill up or the like.

[Paulus]

Assuming the old lady already has a modern TV, then perhaps the way to go would be to permanently hook the Revo up to the TV, and leave it permanently running. ... The OP would need to remote login from time to time to make sure the system stays updated and to make sure the disc does not fill up or the like.

I like this solution. I have used the Kindle and honestly feel that usability wise (for someone who does not like small fiddly controls) it is awful (again, this is usability only - otherwise, it is cool in many ways!). The directional pad is particularly bad, with very small "edges" for navigation and the centre for selecting (easy to press accidentally).

Another similar thread (on another forum) suggested that a command line interface would be best. Not sure if I agree with this! However, if you restricted the commands and found a very easy-to-use command line email client, then perhaps it would simplify matters (the interface at least). Attachments may be a problem, although perhaps the email client could launch a very simple viewer application that can be closed with escape.

[Kumagoro]

Another option could be something like an iPad on a dock with a keyboard
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC533B/A

That way it is sort of similar to the old emailer she had.

[usxhe190]

Just get her an iPad or some other tablet and link an email to that product.

[oshta]

The kindle is an interesting idea, however the show time i spent playing with one i have to say i found it fairly diabolical for web browsing (wifi) due to the screens refresh rate making scrolling very laggy and messy. Keyboards also very weak.

Ive had a bit of a dig for simplified linux distros which i agree is proberbly the way forward and the 'Eldy' software looks like it could be the trick. Theres a firm (simplicITy) who sell a package with it preloaded onto a box running linux mint. Might have to have a play there.

Eye sight has recently dropped to a point where reading of stnd font books is an issue even with a magnifying glass so font size would be key.

Thanks for the thoughts so far, keep it coming.


Daniel

[Kumagoro]

I think if her eye sight is going then realistically a proper monitor would be the way to go.
Could get a biggish low res screen and revo of ebay.

Linux makes more sense malware wise no doubt.

[The Fish]

The one thing that really sticks out so far is the lady has failing eyes.

Why spend silly money on an ipad when a laptop can be had for much less and with a larger screen? And being an elderly lady, surely a real keyboard will be more user friendly?

Yes she doesn't want to learn how to use a pc, but with the absence of Mr Sugar's emailer, all her alternatives will require some degree of learning. And it's a funny old thing but when folk learn how to do something out of their comfort zone, then they get more confident.

I can't see past a laptop on this one. It doesn't have to stay with Win 7 pre installed, but try that and Linux and she which one she prefers.

[usxhe190]

The learning curve to know how to use a mouse, keyboard and the various commands for webmail on a laptop is going to be harder than the simple instructions in ipad. Emailing pictures from an ipad is easy as pie.

However, if her eyesight can't use ipad, then so be it, but I think she should at least try at an Apple store.

Laptop are good machines but only if she wants to learn.

[mycarsavw]

If an emailer worked before, what's to stop you getting her another?

There's an E-Mailer Plus on ebay for under £70.

[The Fish]

Lol...thats the answer then...

[mycarsavw]

I wasn't sure if I was missing something, but no one had suggested the obvious, so...

[usxhe190]

Yea guess she can go with an Amstrad emailer again but let her play with an ipad - can also take pictures and send them

EDIT - but much more expensive option.

[kopite]

what about something like this
http://www.jacob.steelsmith.org/cate...-kiosk-edition COuld prolly hack it so it would load up THunderbird instead.