Get our Latest Finds
Subscribe to our RSS feed or enter your email address below to get the feed delivered to you by email:
Follow Gizmo
Using this Site
Top Rated
Gizmo's Freeware is Recruiting
We are currently looking for people with skills and/or interest in the following areas:
- Anonymous Surfing Service
- Mobile Apps contributors
- Mac Section contributors
If this sounds like you then click here for more details
7 Steps to Make Computers Accessible for the Elderly (Windows)
These steps all use tools that are built in to Windows and can help with eyesight and other difficulties.
The main focus is on improving visibility with some tips on using sounds and keystrokes for pain and stiffness in fingers.
There are tips on these topics:
- Screen Resolution
- Contrast
- Sizing Fonts and Icons
- Start Menu buttons
- Magnifier
- Keystrokes
- Mouse
Some of the tools are useful for almost everyone, have a look and you might find something that will make computing easier.
7 Steps to Make Computers Accessible for the Elderly
Enjoy,
Rhiannon
Click here for more items like this. Better still, get Rhiannon's latest tasty tech treats delivered daily via your RSS feeder or alternatively, have the RSS feed sent as email direct to your in-box.
- Article type:
Printer-friendly version
Comments
Good article, thanks!
For internet use, Opera has some useful features built in.
You can easily zoom in on a page via mouse or + and - keys, or set the default size to be larger than usual.
Mouse gestures and copious keyboard shortcuts also make life easier.
It will also read items aloud provided Windows has the necessary stuff installed.
How about a program that would allow switching between these settings and "regular" settings and back again for the benefit of those of us with multiple computer users in the family?
You didn't mention what operating system you are using, but Vista and Windows 7 let you set up User Accounts for different people. The accounts can be customized to each person and any settings will stay with the account.
I don't have XP handy but I think the same thing can be done with it.
HI,
Nice of you to present some stuff to help the people with bad eye sight etc.
Do not forget, ALL of you young folks will get here sooner or later - so this should be of interest to a wide audience.
I also believe that a good part of the readership of this site are elderly folks with most of the difficulties that you mentioned. Hence, it makes a lot of sense to attend to the needs of this part of your readership.
Carry on and do it again on a regular basis.
Regards
I know the title of the post mentioned elderly, but it was aimed at anyone who can use the information.
Age isn't a prerequisite for having difficulties in many areas. :)
I run dual monitors 1920x1200 (LCD) native resolution, and 1600x1200 (analog). I find if I set DPI to 180 I can actually read without zooming. Using the Chrome browser and Ctlr-'Rotate Mouse Wheel' still can be done if desired for a particular site. In at least Windows 7, search Windows Help for "DPI" to see how to make DPI totally customizable. My desktop icons look good as well.
To the Moderator -
To the Moderator -
Have you edited out my post ?
Can you point out any technical inaccuracy in my post ?
It may have been critical, but it was not abusive.
Also I believe it would be extremely beneficial to your target audience (those with poor site).
I have no affiliation with the program that I recommended.
I have searched for years for a free program that can do what I described, but I believe such a program does not exist.
Others may respond with free suggestions, which I would welcome (for my friends).
PS I have written to Gizmo, as I believe the censorship was unwarranted.
Your original comment contained an insulting remark directed at the editor which in itself was enough to require its removal without the references to commercial software.
A bit thin skinned of you or him.
I still question his advice which was -
- To be changing away from the normal DPI
(because it will cause some program to display incorrectly).
Are you going to correct that bad advice ?
If you have issues with the content in the article, you need to take them up with the person who wrote it.
Obviously, no one here can change the article since it wasn't written by anyone associated with this site.
You can find the article and the author here:
7 Steps to Make Computers Accessible for the Elderly
Regarding monitors, many modern wide-screen format displays can actually make viewing pages HARDER than "traditional" format monitors because although the screens are wider, they offer only a 'letterbox' view of a page of text when text sizes are large.
Modern operating systems (Windows 7 etc.) allow displays to be 'flipped' to portrait format. This may require a bit of ingenuity to mount the monitor on its end (a wall mount is a simple way to do this) but it gives a much more usable page display format for sight-impaired users (and even those of us that aren't).
Dual monitor setups can be configured to offer one portrait format screen for text editing while still giving the flexibility of a 'normal' display for other applications.
These tips combined with a 19" monitor make working with a computer a lot easier and more enjoyable for anyone, not just us folks with "old eyes". Don't forget about using the scroll wheel on the mouse to advance through a web page or a multi-page .pdf file instead of having to position the cursor on a windows scroll bar and dragging. Also for Firefox users, remember that you can zoom in or out to improve a web pages readability by holding down the "Ctrl" button on the keyboard as you roll the mouse scroll wheel up or down.
Post new comment