Silver surfers, unite!

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

No, I’m not commenting about that awful Fantastic Four film from a couple of years back. Instead, a couple of stories have caught my attention today, and they both seem to point to a greater usage of the internet by older folks.

Specifically, much older folks.

First, from the BBC, is a story about a group of Cistercian Monks who have had broadband installed on their remote island. They live on an island three miles off the coast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, and their reliance on dial-up internet was hampering the Monk’s work: selling home-made perfume and sweets over the internet.

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When sat-navs meet racing games

Monday, July 21st, 2008

There have been several blogs from various members of the PC Pro team about the joys of sat-nav recently. First I gushed about the ease with which I drove 1,400 miles in a couple of days, and barely got the map out once. Then Darien got all excited about the beat-the-ETA game everyone inevitably ends up playing to liven up long journeys.

But this… well. This is just brilliant.

According to CNN, General Motors is developing a windshield that “combines lasers, infrared sensors and a camera to take what’s happening on the road and enhance it” for ageing drivers. (more…)