"Making Technology Accessible for
Seniors"
There are many types of home computers on the market. You should decide on how you plan to use the computer. If you what to use it at a desk or table then a laptop or desktop computer would be best. If you plan to carry the computer with you then a laptop or a smart cell phone or PDA would be the best. Yes, the cell phone is a computer and can do many of the operations that larger computers can do. The Blackberry or iPhone are very powerful hand held devices and are invaluable for long or short trips.
If price is a concern look for PC by either Acer or Dell, both companies have good quality machine at low prices. Dell has a laptop starting at $500 and Best Buy was selling the Acer for $500 that would be great for a senior.
Before a computer can run an application ( e.g. an email program, word processor, or a video game) it must have an operating system that directs how the hardware and software should be implemented. The choice of the operating system that a home computer runs on is important for ease of use. There are three basic operating systems for the home user: Apple OS for the MacIntosh, Microsoft Windows OS for PC's, and Linux OS for PC's and Unix-like machines. The current operating system name for the Apple Mac is called "Leopard," for the Windows PC is called "Vista," and "Ubuntu" for a Linux distributed open source software. The Apple Mac OS is very user friendly compared to a Windows or Linux machine. Any of these operating systems will suit your application needs.
Want do you plan to do on your computer? If it is just writing email and documents then any machine will do. If you plan to do video editing or video gaming then you will need a more powerful machine. What type of software you want to use will determine the type of hardware you will need. Before you purchase a computer look at the system requirements for the software you plan to use that are printed on the side of the package. This will tell you the minimum requirements needed for the application program to run on your computer. Remember these are minimium requirements and you may want a more powerful machine for a better experience. But don't buy a more powerful computer than you need unless you plan to install more robust programs in the future. Also, the computer you buy today will not be as powerful as the one in the future at the same price.
The higher your computer's specification is compared with the listed requirements, the faster the software may run. The hard drive requirement for the software refers to free space on the hard drive, not the overall size of the drive itself.
It is very important when buying software to make sure that it meets the listed requirements, and that your specific operating system is mentioned - and not just the word Windows, but your version, e.g. Windows Vista.
When buying a computer, it is easy to be misled by advertisements and come-ons. Very often, these will be for computers which may be more powerful - and so probably more expensive - than you need.
If your only purpose for buying a computer is to enable you to write letters and emails, then you have no need for a very powerful computer. You should be fine with lower priced computer available from any retailer.
A second-hand computer is also likely to be fine, as although older computers are slower, they will be adequate for your purposes. Remember it is the programs that you want to run that will determine the computer you buy.