My 80 year old father wants to get onto the web.

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toggleswitch2

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Anyone else have older parents uploading and downloading?

So what is the cheapest alternative, service-wise?
He knows he wants a lap-top, which he called a lap-dance. OH JEEBUS, HELP ME! *LOL*

His cronies told him of a Verizon DSL in his area that splits a copper pair of wires for home phone and web access. In his area he was advised to stay off the cable-TV line modem.

Is there a dial-up provider such as Net-Zero for less?

Trying to explain all the technology to him is hell.

Thanks in advance for your help. Have mercy and pity on me! *LOL*
 
My 88 y/o father has been online for about 10 years. He somehow creates problems with his email and one of my cousins has to come fix it. Otherwise, he does well with web surfing.
 
My Mother is on the first version of Web T.V. She can not even see Youtube. Change is hard for the elderly. I try to make her a part of the process. When showing her new computers she holds the mouse like a t.v. remote and clicks it. Some things I have been considering...

Simplicity = the simpler the better
Vision =Elderly have a hard time seeing sometimes,bigger screen
Laptop = Easier if it needs to be taken in for repair.
Memory = As big as possible.
Hearing = Good sound.
Wireless = Yes!
Keyboard = Lighted key board with number key pad on the right.
Warranty = Gives the elderly peace of mind
Installation = Have the Geek Squad at Best Buy set it up. This way I don't go to WAR with Mom,Best Buy does...
 
Spankomatic

gave you good advice.

I strongly urge: Keep It Simple.

And accept that he's going to need your help just as much as everybody else does - which means lots.

I would stay away from Apple and Linux here and stick with Windows XP.

If vision or hearing are a problem, several folks here fight with those and can probably advice you.

I have a neighbor who is 94 and she does just fine with email and internet, but the printer drives her crazy. She doesn't understand how something can work just fine one day and not the other.

Like any of the rest of us do...
 
Just read that Net Zero is about $10 per month for dial-up.

I'm thinking this is a good thing before one commits to a dedicated DSL.
 
I tried that with my parents. Netzero was slow and my father kept clicking on stuff over and over thinking it will speed up until he crashed the computer. Then, he would call me and complain about the computer (an iMac). We got my parents DSL and I haven't had a call in a long time.
 
One other thing

If you ever have to fix your parent's computer, neverr, ever look in the cache. I did, just to find out what my Dad's tase in porn was......YIKES!!!!
 
Toggles,

We just went through the same thing with my grandmother who bought herself a 17" Dell laptop and it was quite interesting to see how she ran the machine. Honestly, I'd recommend a web-TV type device, or an entry level MacBook/iMac. Some thoughts on human interfaces…keep it simple, eliminate superfluous choices. Windows can be powerful, but there's about 5 ways to perform every operation…which means 5 different ways to accidentally get into trouble if you're not a power-user. Bumping the Alt key while typing has surprised me a time or two : )

Something as basic as shutting the machine down turned into a lesson in complication (she's running Vista). Once she finally did have a menu of options up, she had to choose from sleep, hibernate, restart, standby, shutdown, logoff, etc. Simply closing the lid did not always provide the intuitive result. Going to the START menu is not the first thing folks go to for a Shutdown, either.

The left vs right click can be confusing for older folks, too. What's worse, many PC laptops double up on the buttons for convenience. Now you have to explain why there are 4 unmarked buttons, what they do and when to use them. Her Dell had the trackpad double-click option on by default. She'd be typing a doc and her wrist would graze the pad and the cursor would end up somewhere else. Might as well have yanked the paper out of the typewriter! Sheesh.

The Vista eye candy was a real strain on older eyes, especially the new minimize/dismiss buttons. And every 2 minutes there'd be a prompt warning her about the operation she was about to complete. A cautious, older user takes these prompts pretty seriously. So something simple like following a web link became a big deal. Then there was the virus scans. Oye.
 
Thanks for the input.

I'm thinking let THEM choose the computer and get a nice "Geek-service" type support.

Headaches I don't need.
 
I can't begin to imagine the amount of impact rampant assumed knowledge on the part of programming geeks would have on anyone just getting started with computing, octogenarians in particular. Togs, your dad will be scratching his head over dialog box messages within minutes of booting up.

I think the DSL route is the way to go. Easy installation and these days it's about as cheap as a land line anyway. If your parents already have the lower "Lifeline" rate on their phone service, it could be even cheaper. Dial-up is something I'd only wish on my worst and most impatient enemy.

And Togs, please, I'd rather not think about my parents doing any uploading . . .

Ralph
 
Some elderly are intimidated by the computer because they do not understand it. I encourage my Mom that she can do it. I'm honest with her and let her know it will crash but she CAN learn how to use it. I try not to go down the road of all the problems computers can have. That scares her more.

Jim
 
I can't begin to imagine the amount of impact rampant assumed knowledge on the part of programming geeks

WELL I'VE NEVER! ;-)

So when we're all 88 I wonder if we will have the same problems with newer technology??? I'll probably get into my transporter and "Select" Palm Springs and end up in Novosibirsk lol.
 
~And Togs, please, I'd rather not think about my parents doing any uploading . . .

*LOL* if his new lap-top comes with a built in web-cam it's getting a nice thick and wide piece of electrical tape over its lens, thank you very much.

Certain things I'm just not about to explain. It's bad enough I had to give my mother the condoms and HIV/AIDS talk when she became single in her mid 40s. UGH!
 
Not on topic

Certain things I'm just not about to explain. It's bad enough I had to give my mother the condoms and HIV/AIDS talk when she became single in her mid 40s. UGH!

Did any one see the skit on tv about the older people in florida having sex?? And the internet and dating? Oy Vey...
 
NetZero:

I'm a reasonably happy NetZero customer, having used both their dial-up and DSL services. Service is cheap and the software is easy to configure; I've actually had less trouble with them than I've had with some better-known ISPs.

NetZero is compatible with most email clients (I use Eudora) and with alternative browsers (I use Firefox for that). The only drawback there is that NetZero will not permit you to use anything but Internet Explorer as your default browser, so you have to log on, let IE open, then close IE and launch Firefox.

They have Internet mail, and various upgrades to their mailbox capacities are available for a very modest upcharge. If he goes dial-up, NetZero has plenty of dial-up numbers and very few hassles with those numbers or with their modems going down.
 

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