Comments on: SimplicITy ‘over 50s’ PC is so un-PC

By: Mark Newton

Mark Newton — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:53:29 +0000

Dear Jan
I was not complaining about the product as such and with out a doubt there is a need for such devices. It was the marketing attitude that I object to. If it was marketed as for the over 80’s then they might have a point.

By: Jan French

Jan French — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:06:04 +0000

I’m 54, PC savvy and high end user. I bought the SimplicITy PC big keys keyboard, printer/scanner and lots of extras for my dad who is 82. It’s not about being over 50 but it is aimed at those who know little or nothing about IT. Statistically this is the over 50 demographics. SimplicITy wraps it up in one neat easy to use package that you don’t have to worry about bugs, stalling, pressing the wrong buttons, commands, syntax. It’s idiot proof, reliable, easy to use and it works for Dad. He can email, surf the internet, watch movies, play CD’s, store photos all at the one press of a button. There’s no worry about virus’s or hacking. He couldn’t do this before on my PC but now he can. Don’t knock it – it does the job – fact…

By: Will Peach

Will Peach — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:34:42 +0000

Most over 50’s are already proving their tech-savvy.

I came across this article: http://www.neondrum.com/public/public_release.php?id=236

It talks about how over 50’s are a force for online mentoring services.

New hardware for them? They don’t need it!

By: Scoiattolina

Scoiattolina — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:56:19 +0000

All you need is a software called ELDY that is free and works in Windows, Linux and mac
get that from http://eldy.eu

By: linda pearson

linda pearson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:52:46 +0000

I am 57, have added memory , grphics cards, wifi cards and only last week added a new hard drive to my computer made one primary and the old drive the slave , this new hard drive I formatted and added the new windows 7, I now have a dual booting computer I.E windows seven and XP. I know many younger people who would not do what I do to computers. AND JUST TO ADD I AM SILVER HAIRED AND A WOMAN.

By: milliganp

milliganp — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:02:35 +0000

It would be interesting if we presumed all doctors over 50 weren’t up to date with medicine. However I recently had a fairly high-tech operation on a broken leg and the consultant, who was probably in his early 60’s had to call in an assistant to get my Xray up on his PC screen! I have every confidence in his medical skill -as long as he dosn’t have to use a PC as part of an operation!

By: Dylan Griffiths

Dylan Griffiths — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:31:40 +0000

I have just looked up ‘Windows 7′ on Amazon (.co.uk) and among the titles were:
Laptops for Seniors in Easy Steps:
Windows 7 Edition – For the Over 50s
Windows 7 for the Over 50s in Simple Steps
Windows 7 for Seniors for Dummies

Windows 7 for Seniors (Computer Books for Seniors)
Brilliant Internet for the Over 50s Windows 7 Edition
Computing with Windows 7 for the Older and Wiser:
Brilliant Laptops for the Over 50s Windows 7 Edition

(At least the last four don’t assume that if you are over 50 you are automatically a dummy!)

But why is it that young authors/publishers (and I am assuming that the authors/publishers are younger that 40 here) think that if you are over 50 you are bamboozelled by new technology (like mains electricity)

I am 53 and have been playing and working with computers since I built my own heathkit 101 in 1978 and, if truth be known, understand more about technology than most of the authors!

By: Steve Cassidy

Steve Cassidy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:32:20 +0000

I actually think that the years of “younger automatically means better” in IT have passed by. Younger IT users these days are if anything, regressed and infantilised – they are *operators*, not *constructors*. It’s all txt spk and OMG LOL and this book that book, twit-to-who? and so on. Not one of the youth oriented services offers a growth path to more skills or behind-the-scenes content creation: they are mental chewing gum. Distractions of an unproductive nature, and the young in general are far too easily seduced by them (because that is what those services are built to do).

I’d welcome more grey hair on the net, personally, and I don’t care how they get there. I think a lot of the barriers to older people going online are actually the classic “oh, I’ll just fix that” bodged-up presentation endemic to the more evangelical (and therefore cringemaking) type of nerd: any properly engineered and well presented platform is usable. What Liam has done here is make the right kind of assessment of a pre-existing platform, and turned it into something new, at least for the UK. And yes, disclaimers apply – he’s been around at PC Pro for a good few years, on and off!

By: Carl Barron

Carl Barron — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:54:50 +0000

Interesting is this, as in year 2000 I published a short tutorial of Microsoft Publisher for fast track learning of this software. When it was used for the first time during Government trials an 82-year-old lady completed her entire publication in just 53 minutes with nil faults. The publication is called ‘Easy Publisher’ and has only three pages of content excluding the front and rear cover. Every one on the trial had only basic keyboard skills and no prior knowledge of the software.

Your Government wanted me to publish more yet would not employ me to do so, I was unemployed at the time.

You may download a copy of Easy Publisher here, http://tinyurl.com/ybanq76 and try your luck at beating the 82 year old lady’s record of just 53 minutes.

Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk

By: Gill

Gill — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:58:32 +0000

@ Paul Ockenden: you mean the very name of the website didn’t give you a clue? Nor, it would seem, did you look at this page http://www.discount-age.co.uk/simplicity_computers/whatdoiget/ “Everyone who buys the simplicity will benefit from one year’s free membership of discount-age.co.uk, the website dedicated to getting the best deals for 50-pluses.”

I agree that the younger generation who’ve grown up with personal computing are more likely to be tech-savvy than those who didn’t, but I know plenty of people in the 25 – 45 age group, for example, who are way less knowledgeable than I am .. . and I’m an old fart of 57.

Apart from any other considerations, the price of these PCs is a complete ripoff.