Computer for my grandmother

[tobio]

I help out a friend of my grandma's whose typewriter packed in and decided she needed a computer so that she can do her correspondence and also go on this internet thing she keeps hearing about. She is very old and completely new to computers, so we got a 14" iBook. (She wanted to be able to stow it out of the way when not in use, and money is no object)

As she was a COMPLETE beginner the biggest thing for her was learning how to use the mouse. This is where apple have a great advantage over PCs in this area.
1) There is only one button so there is no confusion as to which to press.
2) It has the two "bits" on the side which you hold with your thumb and ring finger, otherwise she (at first) used to hold it sideways and get frustrated at the mouse not going where she wanted it to
3) Most importantly IMO you don’t need to use your finger to press the button, you press with your whole hand. For oldies that are getting arthritis this is a godsend, also the single button means she can swap from left hand to right hand when she gets tired.

Now she is typing and printing her letters with appleworks, and putting her contacts in the address book, so that she can use groups to print address labels. In a few weeks I think she will be ready for email and the internet.

For mouse practice I strongly recommend Mouserobics , and a lot of patients

 

[Inkmonkey]

Might want to think about who this will go to after your GM kicks the bucket, which is going to happen. So think about future for this thing too and what the next person is going to want to do with it.

Dude, let me know how it feels to burn in hell.

 

[rueyeet]

I know she deserves a fast computer, but its not even a matter of money. I'm not buying this for her, im merely making suggesstions for her. If she was going to use it, then a new imac/emac would be questionable. But knowing her, this will be just another one of her shopping sprees. Shes going to get the computer, use it for a while then rarely ever. She was ready to go buy a dell, but i said wait, shop around and get some ideas first. So i'll be sure to show her some older emacs/imacs.

MacOfAllTrades has a "G3/600MHz iMac Graphite 256/40GB DVD 56K Generic Keyboard/Mouse" unit going for $399 in their "Older Macs" section. You'll probably want to wipe the drive ('cause they don't), do a clean install of Panther, and maybe install a little more memory, but it sounds like this machine (or similar) would do just fine for what your grandma needs.

I run Panther on a 366 MHz indigo clamshell G3 iBook (one of the ooooold ones), and it does okay except for some of the eye-candy effects like Expose. So a 600 MHz G3 ought to be perfectly usable under Panther.

In any case, I wouldn't recommend you get anything with less than a 500 MHz G3, less than a 20 GB drive (she WILL be doing photos, after all), or anything without at least a CD-ROM, modem, and Ethernet.

Another site that might help you out is Low End Mac. They have profiles that list the specs on everything Apple's ever made, which can help you figure out which models will be sufficient. Also, you can probably email webmaster Dan Knight for his recommendations for a machine in your budget that'll do Panther.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

OT: Sort of...

Dude, let me know how it feels to burn in hell.

Sad thing is that this thought process is all too real. I have seen relatives and friends "help" an elderly relation with a purchase. Everything from computers, to cars, to homes (even as far as getting credit insurance to pay off the item after death). All with the idea that it will be "theirs" after the relations passing.

Greed is a powerful thing. I have seen people circling like vultures over the belongings of people in the hospital, because it looked like they would not make it through.

In some ways it was a blessing when my Dad passed and left everything to my sister (very long story). In the end I thought I did better in the long haul. Maybe it is a karma thing.

 

[iJoe]

Might want to think about who this will go to after your GM kicks the bucket, which is going to happen.

I had to cough a mouth full of coffee out the window reading that! (My neighbours are liking me less and less..)

Anyway, an eMac combo would be ample. Unless she does a lot of video editing etc...

And inheritance almost always causes friction in the family, especially if they didn't make a will. (Sometimes even if they did make a will.)