lucy24 - 6:08 pm on Nov 19, 2012 (gmt 0)

The touch interface is NOT intuitive. People think it is because they've been using iPods and cell phones and so on for years, so they've got it internalized. When I was given an iPad I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do, and being told that I already knew what to do was no help at all. And, unlike a full-sized computer, you don't get help from cat stepping on keyboard leading to discovery of unsuspected keyboard shortcuts. (This is really true.)

Get her a laptop that she can curl up with. Nice big screen that can be set to resolution and interface of choice in a variety of ways according to the need of the hour.

My mother recently said that she has trouble sending e-mail because she can no longer control the mouse perfectly. I advised her to look into, or rather ask her husband* to look into, the computer's alternative accessibility settings. (I, ahem, assume there is such a thing on That Other Platform. I've got zillions of 'em. Counting the ones activated by cat without my knowledge or consent.) She is not the kind of person who explores a computer's settings to see what it can do.


* This detail comes from past experience (a) trying to explain things directly and (b) being in a car when she is driving. It is not intended as a universal observation on gender.