A Linux machine for grandma

[linuxforartists]

The $500 Linux PC aimed at senior citizens (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Linux-Ubuntu-10.10-KiWi-PC-Senior-Citizens,12409.html)

Nice idea, but I found the specs to be underwhelming. For $500, you could get a much more powerful laptop than this machine.

For comparison, here's an Asus laptop from Best Buy's website. Factory-refurbished, though.

Model: Asus K52FRF-BBR9
Intel core i3 2.4GHz processor
4 GB RAM
500 GB hard drive (5,400 RPM)
Intel graphics media accelerator HD

Price: $499.99

What do you guys think? What computer would you get for Grandma?

[kerry_s]

You could get a netbook & hook it up to a lcd, keyboard & mouse, it would be cheaper.
I paid $70 sum dollars for a barebone nettop, lcd from craigslist, total I spent was $200 for everything I needed.

[NormanFLinux]

A dual core Windows 7 HP PC from Walmart is around $400. Add in $50 for a wireless USB card... you will need it for Internet connectivity.

Its powerful enough for every day use. If you don't like Windows, you can run Linux on it.

[Throne777]

What do you guys think? What computer would you get for Grandma?

I don't know, which one works in the afterlife?

[beew]

How patronizing. I am not aware that computers are supposed to be age specific.

In my uni there are several distinguished computer scientists who happen to be seniors. At the same time I know quite a few young people who are pretty much computer illiterate.

[Copper Bezel]

Talk about missing the boat. There's already a $500 computer (http://www.apple.com/ipad/) that's proven to be very popular with the less tech-savvy, including that subset of seniors.

Edit: And yes, computer illiteracy is a fairly evenly-distributed problem.

[Lucradia]

I'd have to get a PC with the following:

1. It HAS to have minesweeper. (WITH sounds)

2. It HAS to have a neasy-to-use holiday card / stationary maker.

3. It most be able to open up ALL doc files, PDF files, etc. by default. (Newsletters, etc.)

4. It must play CDs easily via the CD-ROM Drive.

5. It must have the hosts file set up to block malicious sites by default.

etc.

In short, no, it wouldn't be what I'd buy for grandma.

[HermanAB]

Hmm, for my mother in law I provided a netbook with Skype and a browser with a link to facebook. It sits next to her phone in her kitchen and is almost always running Skype.

[Jagoly]

My Auntie (68) in Melbourne is is the most computer-literate person I know. She would settle for nothing less than Custom-Built, Quad core, 24" LED goodness. Last time I saw her she was setting up an NVidea SLI. She would laugh her head off if she saw this.

[3rdalbum]

It has a custom desktop called "Me Menu"? I thought Me Menu was the thing that sits almost on the far right on my Gnome panel!

[Eldera]

I checked out Kiwi PC's website. They are offering only a desktop. If by "Seniors" they are referring to people in the 70 to 90 age bracket, our age specific issues are failing eyesight and a need for comfort, not computer illiteracy. (Illiteracy is not age specific.)

Many people in the 70-90 age group suffer from arthritis. I personally am not able to sit at a desktop, and would not recommend a desktop for anyone my age.

For comfort I would recommend a laptop or something smaller. For aging eyesight problems I would recommend a screen on a device that was the largest and heaviest that the senoir who is buying it could comfortably hold. A laptop with a 15" screen and resolution set to 1024 x600 is a good fit for me. I also adjust the fonts in the various programs I use.

If we are going to stereotype senior computer users, think of someone in a upholstered chair or a wheel chair, with their feet up, a lap robe over their knees, and their computer in their lap; happily downloading pictures of their great-grandkids, surfing the web, or playing some games.

IMHO Kiwi PC has missed the boat by offering a desktop.