Seniors, contrary to popular opinion, are thrilled with modern technology and have embraced the world of computers enthusiastically. There are no "simple" computers designed especially for seniors because the concept of computers isn’t that difficult to begin with---it just seems that way.
Why a computer? The world is a pretty exciting place, so don’t give me that "too old to learn new tricks" routine, or let me hear you mumbling under your breath about not being interested. Of course you are interested!
I want you to picture yourself (or your senior parent) learning about a wonderful new way to stay in touch with friends and relatives, or even make new friends. E-mailing and sending pictures are a great way to communicate, so even if that is the only thing that you learn how to do, it is a good thing.
It won’t be long before that isn’t enough and you will want to jump in with both feet when you discover that you can follow your stock options, keep informed, write in your journal, and continue to learn.
Don’t forget that learning new things and having new experiences is a good way to exercise your brain. Studies say that older adults who use computers have fewer depressive symptoms than those who don’t.
Kids seem to pop into the world already able to use a computer and you may feel a little intimidated when a six year is savvier than you are. There is no reason why you can’t learn to enjoy a computer too. Colleges, community colleges, universities, neighborhood recreation centers and senior centers all offer classes designed especially for seniors. If you can’t get out, you can find books and computer tutorials (right on your computer) that are geared for the senior audience. Just look up "computers for seniors" in your search engine.
Don’t give up! If you love your computer but are finding it hard to see or manipulate the keys on your standard keyboard, help is available. A number of modifications are available to make your work easier and to keep you in touch with your family and friends.
Read Braille? There are specialized stickers and keyboard overlays that are imprinted in Braille so that a blind person can feel and type on the computer.
If your fingers lack precision and aren’t as nimble as they used to be, you can find key locks and other modifications that enable you to press more than one key at a time. A key lock pivots onto a key that you want to hold down and holds it in place while you press another key at the same time. A sticky key works in much the same way if you have limited hand/arm control. If you press a sticky shift key, the computer waits for a second key to be pressed before acting on the initial stroke. Other options to investigate are one-handed keyboards, key guards, ergonomic keyboards and even on-screen keyboards where you just touch the letters on the screen.
Still nervous? For people with 20/20 vision using a standard sized computer screen is as easy as looking at your monitor. People with cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and other eye conditions encounter a whole new set of problems. Once again, modern technology has not forgotten the folks who don’t see quite as well as they used to.
People with low vision do not have to give up the joy and/or convenience of using their computers. Screen magnification products enlarge text and pictures to sizes more easily viewed. You can purchase free standing magnifiers that attach to the monitor or find software programs that will magnify the full screen.
Another type of software called Optical Character Recognition Software allows you to scan newspapers, recipes, bills, etc. where they can be stored, edited and used with screen magnification or screen reader programs.
Another option might be the use of speech synthesizer software. The screen reader reads the contents of all documents, as well as talking you through standard computer functions. The screen reading software helps you with writing, hearing what you are typing, reading back and editing your work, saving files, reading e-mails and web pages and more.
Isn’t this exciting? You can also find Assistive Mouse Adaptors that make it easier to control your mouse if you suffer from hand tremors or the Quick Glance for anyone who cannot use a hand operated mouse. There are easy to use Trackballs to make mouse control easier and Touch Pads that allow for mouse movement by just dragging your fingertip across a grid surface.
By vijitsoft.info
Sunday, May 2, 2010
computers are not scary 2
I usually don't categorize people into certain groups but in this circumstance I will. You are either one of two people. The first person sees the link 'Computers are not scary' and out of curiosity clicks the link. The second person is genuinely worried and maybe scared of computers and has clicked the link hoping to be reassured. Don't worry! You are going to be reassured of the fact that computers aren't scary.
Maybe you are a person that is very worried about computers and feels that if you click the wrong thing the whole computer will stop working or maybe even blow up. Maybe you find computers superstitious and feel that it will all of a sudden do something wrong. This page will hopefully reassure you of all your worries and make you feel a whole lot more comfortable in regards to them.
First of all, I would like to state that computers just don't stop working. There is always a reason when a computer stops working. Maybe there is a computer virus or a program needs updating or some hardware had reached its use by date. You need to reassure yourself that if your leg hits the computer case it will not start to smoke, or if your little brother accidentally drops the keyboard then it will not cease to work. Computers are generally built well enough to stand any little accidents.
I think the reason why many of the older generation seem to avoid computers is because they don't understand them. During their lifetime computers were non-existent and now when they see them they feel they should be left to the younger generation. However, this is the wrong approach. Computers should be explored by both young and old. My mum who wrote design-your-homeschool.com always says that life is a continual learning process and even when you reach 80 you should still be learning - even if it is computers.
So where do you start? Well you don't have to start with using complicated programs or learning to write HTML. Instead start with the basics. Learn how:
Just take one step at a time. You can't learn it all in a day so just set yourself a schedule and stick to it.
This website is designed to explain computer hardware to both the computer nerd and those uneducated in computers. I hope you will be encouraged to use this site to learn about computers and discover how each computer component has its job in making the computer function correctly.
By learning a little more, I hope you will discover that computers are much simpler than what you first thought and that computers are definitely not scary.
By vijitsoft.info
Maybe you are a person that is very worried about computers and feels that if you click the wrong thing the whole computer will stop working or maybe even blow up. Maybe you find computers superstitious and feel that it will all of a sudden do something wrong. This page will hopefully reassure you of all your worries and make you feel a whole lot more comfortable in regards to them.
First of all, I would like to state that computers just don't stop working. There is always a reason when a computer stops working. Maybe there is a computer virus or a program needs updating or some hardware had reached its use by date. You need to reassure yourself that if your leg hits the computer case it will not start to smoke, or if your little brother accidentally drops the keyboard then it will not cease to work. Computers are generally built well enough to stand any little accidents.
I think the reason why many of the older generation seem to avoid computers is because they don't understand them. During their lifetime computers were non-existent and now when they see them they feel they should be left to the younger generation. However, this is the wrong approach. Computers should be explored by both young and old. My mum who wrote design-your-homeschool.com always says that life is a continual learning process and even when you reach 80 you should still be learning - even if it is computers.
So where do you start? Well you don't have to start with using complicated programs or learning to write HTML. Instead start with the basics. Learn how:
- To turn a computer on and off using the correct method
- To type correctly using the keyboard
- To write a word document
- To go on to the internet
- To send an email
- Computer hardware works
This website is designed to explain computer hardware to both the computer nerd and those uneducated in computers. I hope you will be encouraged to use this site to learn about computers and discover how each computer component has its job in making the computer function correctly.
By learning a little more, I hope you will discover that computers are much simpler than what you first thought and that computers are definitely not scary.
By vijitsoft.info
Saturday, April 3, 2010
2 Lesser Known Ways To Brainstorm For Internet Home Business Keywords
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doctrine states that you should always find a keyword that has little to no competition and that has high demand so that you can rise to the top of the search engine results and dominate that particular keyword. The problem with the internet home business area is that many people online are creating new websites with the typical keywords like “work from home” and “home business” so as a result it is almost impossible to rise to the top of the search engines or risking having to pay lots of money for pay per click advertising.
Instead of trying to compete with long established websites in the internet home business niche or high paying pay per click advertisers, this article suggests two ways you can think outside of the box and think of new keywords to promote your internet home business and its products.
Motivations and the internet business opportunity
It has been said that if you figure out someone’s motivations well enough, you can determine what he could do. Instead of hitting the “work at home” keyword when promoting your internet business opportunity, why not instead start thinking of reasons why people would join an internet home business. Reasons such as early retirement, starting part time income, quitting the rat race, getting out of debt come to mind. So if you target the reasons why someone would be interested in an internet business opportunity you are in effect targeting your actual online target audience.
So what you could do is write articles on these topics, optimize your websites to these topics with links to your internet home business which fit in with these motivations rather than the run of the mill work at home business websites.
Another way to generate more internet business signups is to hang out at website forums that discuss such things and offer some constructive advice and have a signature that leads to your internet home business website. If people trust your advice on the forums, they are more likely to trust the internet home business that you promote.
Solve health problems
Many internet home businesses have as their products health supplements. The reason for this is that such products are consumable and can be consumed monthly. As a result of this, nearly every internet home business owner selling vitamins either floods the Google Adwords with ads promoting vitamins or builds websites promoting vitamins.
One way around this problem is to find keywords targeting the problem rather than the solution. E.g. Heart attack if you are trying to promote antioxidants. Do some research into the area you are talking about and then either build a website that tells people more information about their health problems or advertise your product via Google Adwords as the solution to such a problem. Your competition may be significantly lower than if you had targeted “Vitamins” directly. So the lower the competition, the potential more money you might make with regards to product sales.
In conclusion, always aim to find these niches and once you do, spend time on Search Engine Optimization in addition to PayperClick advertising and you will find that in the longer run you will make more money online that you would have dreamed with your internet home business.
By www.vijitsoft.info
Instead of trying to compete with long established websites in the internet home business niche or high paying pay per click advertisers, this article suggests two ways you can think outside of the box and think of new keywords to promote your internet home business and its products.
Motivations and the internet business opportunity
It has been said that if you figure out someone’s motivations well enough, you can determine what he could do. Instead of hitting the “work at home” keyword when promoting your internet business opportunity, why not instead start thinking of reasons why people would join an internet home business. Reasons such as early retirement, starting part time income, quitting the rat race, getting out of debt come to mind. So if you target the reasons why someone would be interested in an internet business opportunity you are in effect targeting your actual online target audience.
So what you could do is write articles on these topics, optimize your websites to these topics with links to your internet home business which fit in with these motivations rather than the run of the mill work at home business websites.
Another way to generate more internet business signups is to hang out at website forums that discuss such things and offer some constructive advice and have a signature that leads to your internet home business website. If people trust your advice on the forums, they are more likely to trust the internet home business that you promote.
Solve health problems
Many internet home businesses have as their products health supplements. The reason for this is that such products are consumable and can be consumed monthly. As a result of this, nearly every internet home business owner selling vitamins either floods the Google Adwords with ads promoting vitamins or builds websites promoting vitamins.
One way around this problem is to find keywords targeting the problem rather than the solution. E.g. Heart attack if you are trying to promote antioxidants. Do some research into the area you are talking about and then either build a website that tells people more information about their health problems or advertise your product via Google Adwords as the solution to such a problem. Your competition may be significantly lower than if you had targeted “Vitamins” directly. So the lower the competition, the potential more money you might make with regards to product sales.
In conclusion, always aim to find these niches and once you do, spend time on Search Engine Optimization in addition to PayperClick advertising and you will find that in the longer run you will make more money online that you would have dreamed with your internet home business.
By www.vijitsoft.info
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