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#1569808
I'm looking to buy a laptop for my mother, who is in her early eighties and is becoming slightly forgetful.

She wants to be able to use Google to search for things, be able to go on to her favourite gardening website and send/receive emails to keep in touch with family and friends - perhaps also to Skype. She does not want to do any online shopping as she is worried about giving any financial details/card info etc. She will not need to do spreadsheets or PowerPoint presentations and is not a gamer!

A touch screen is a no no, as she has arthritic and slightly shaky fingers, but she can use a traditional 'big' keyboard. It needs to be mobile, so a laptop and not a desktop machine. She has wifi.

Ideally the screen will be large and be easy to set the resolution so she can read the screen text easily.

I am the only family member who uses a Mac but I am not living close enough to give on the spot help, my sister and other family/grandchildren who live close by to her are not 'technical' but like other family members, use PCs. My own PC knowledge is very poor - can anyone recommend a 'simple' laptop that could fit the bill, and what email software would anyone suggest.

Many thanks in advance!
#1569813
Slight thread drift:

You may find it useful to install software like Team viewer to assist with problem solving at arms length. My mum lives over 300 miles away and Team viewer makes it so easy for me to assist with her computer woes . I’m not particularly techie , but it works for me!
Regards
Dave
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1569817
Mr Bags wrote:A touch screen is a no no, as she has arthritic and slightly shaky fingers, but she can use a traditional 'big' keyboard. It needs to be mobile, so a laptop and not a desktop machine. She has wifi.


Contrary to what you have just said above, ISTR that actually large touch screens can be better for older people with arthritis if the screen is set up correctly from the beginning... might be worth looking at a bigger screen for this reason.

Regards, SD..
#1569826
Not a cheap solution, but an iPad Pro with keyboard/cover sounds like it would suit.
#1569853
My mother drives me nuts with her PC......she always seems to have something wrong with it. In contrast, the iPad is much more robust. I have a monster Pro, which has a large keyboard in synch with the screen size. Or the addon keyboards are a good size.
Email is almost impossible to screw up and Facetime is a free, easy communication device.
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By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1569905
Me, too, though it's early days yet, but I really get fed up with this Ipad gestures thing, that senses a passing finger and spontaneously does it's own thing, yet when I do tap something, it won't acknowledge a tap, has to feel me poking my fingertip right through it........oh, and it doesn't like Linux PC either........I will tame it, eventually, i'm sure
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1569997
ah, Thanks, FD. I like the concept, it's the execution that's lacking., as with the apparent difficulty it has "speaking "with other formats and needing a "special" plug on a USB lead. (although I recognise it will connect by Wi Fi, where it exists.