Ask HN: How to make computer elderly proof

[morbicer]

Hi HN

I have a grandma that uses her computer for two things: Skype and checking emails.

As her age progresses her ability to use the PC degrades, she forgets how to do things etc. I have a remote desktop so I can help if I can connect. Which is the biggest hurdle as she somehow often turns the laptop's airplane mode.

She's on Windows now as that's the OS she's most familiar with (I forced the Win10 to somehow look like WinXP). I am fine with switching to Linux if there is some distro that will allow me to do what I want.

So what I am interested in:

- preventing her to turn on airplane mode

- preventing her to launch anything apart from Skype and Firefox

- block any updates which confuse her greatly

- keeping the remote desktop running

I expect a recommendation to buy her tablet but she will freak out "learning" something new. Kiosk mode sounds interesting but it usually locks down to single app and I need her to switch between two.

I will be grateful for any tips

[austinjp]

I'm going to pour a smidge of cold water on this, but you're welcome to ignore it of course.

I've briefly seen researchers present their efforts at deploying safety and/or entertainment devices in the residences of older people. Each and every single device was MacGyvered in ways that were completely unanticipated. Safety cords were tied up and tucked away to prevent them being accidentally pulled. Ditto emergency buttons, covered in cardboard, plastic cups, duct-tape, all to prevent accidental triggering. Batteries were taken out of devices for fear they'd leak and damage the nice expensive device. Devices were unplugged and put in cupboards with the intention they'd be taken out, plugged in, and used when needed (similar to a mobile phone kept turned off and in a drawer because it's "expensive" and only to be used when needed).

These were not people with dementia, or complicated devices. They included TV remotes, single-button pendants, etc etc.

So -- whatever you do, expect the unexpected :) That isn't to say you shouldn't do it. Far from it. Just don't be surprised to find your device covered in duct-tape, unplugged, and filed neatly in a cupboard.

I wonder why she uses Skype and email? It seems obvious, but perhaps it's not. She might use them because that's what everyone expects from her. Instead of email, letters and postcards might be really nice for her to receive. Not sure about Skype, though, since I do think that video-calls can be great and don't have an analogue with past alternatives.

[roosgit]

More than a few years ago I set up an old PC as a Skype machine for my folks. At a certain hour, on Sunday they would press the power button and the PC would boot Linux Mint. Skype would run on startup together with TeamViewer. I would initiate a call and they would click(the hardest task for them) on the green button. At the end of the conversation all they had to do is press the power button again which was programmed to initiate a shutdown. Linux Mint never installed any updates without asking and you could disable even the asking part, which I did.

This smooth process lasted a few years until Skype stopped supporting 32-bit processors. After that, I would log in remotely with TeamViewer, start Firefox and would begin a Google Hangouts call. Being an old PC, this wasn't as a good experience as it was with Skype.

A year or so later I bought them an iPad and started using FaceTime. This worked fine until Apple changed something on their servers and call notifications stopped working. Then, six months later, Apple logged out my folks from their account. After a 15 minute phone call I managed to guide them to enter a username and password somewhere in Settings. A week later they were logged out again, but this time after entering the username and password their account was locked. Luckily, I also installed Skype on their iPad, so now we use Skype again.

My ideal solution would still be a PC/laptop with Linux on it, that has updates disabled and can be remotely controlled. Unfortunately, Skype with its forced update behavior is the problem. It can stop working at any point or introduce UI changes that are confusing.

[thesuperbigfrog]

I would recommend looking into a Chromebook / Chromebox or an iPad for her.

Both have different advantages / disadvantages and offer some levels of either parental controls or group policies that can be used to restrict what can be done and offer some remote administration capabilities.

[adamhearn]

Not sure why people are only recommending a tablet or iPad. Most parental control software should be able to do most of what you want. Blocking updates would probably require a bit of hackery.

[fullstop → adamhearn]

I've tried both, and the iPad was a far more simple solution. It has great accessibility features for people with poor eyesight, and they can talk to it in order to initiate a video call, etc.

It's very old-person friendly -- the UI is simple and the lack of customization is a huge benefit here. I personally love how much I can customize my Android phone and my Linux PC, but that's a huge can of worms for an elderly person.

[slovette]

Apple is perfectly suited for this with the iPad. But if you’ve ever set an iPad up for a toddler.... you’ll know the nightmare of Apple ID, numerous repetitive authentication issues and their terrible “screentime” UI/functions.

It has completely fudged any hope I have in them doing it with any sort of ease.

What you need, is a device that does literally nothing else but a video call over WiFi. May take some hacking, but may be possible with some effort.

[twobitshifter]

A multi app kiosk is possible in windows 10

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/lock-...

[focom]

I think a pc is not suited for this. I would try to see if an ipad is of any interest to them.

[fullstop → focom]

My grandmother, when she was alive, would not use a PC. She had one, and DSL, but just wouldn't use it. An iPad worked wonderfully for her, especially once we showed her that she could play solitaire on it.

Even with the iPad there was some technical support needed. It wasn't responding to touches once, so I jokingly asked her to use her "good thumb" and it worked. She had been holding the tablet and her "good thumb" was touching the edge of the screen, which caused her taps to be interpreted as a two-finger pinch.

I don't think that a PC is a good choice here, personally. From talking to others, it seems like the elderly are generally unwilling to learn something new and see it as a roadblock.. until you find something that they like and hook them that way. For my grandmother, it was solitare and other card games. She was blown away that she could play all of her favorite card games on one device and that she didn't have to shuffle cards or anything like that.

Old people and toddlers are very similar and if you make learning fun they're so busy enjoying themselves that they've not realized that they are learning at the same time.

Best of luck, OP!

[swiley → fullstop]

As much as I really hate iPads this is one situation where they do work very well. That makes sense because everything in the OS seems to be designed for exactly this.

[morbicer → fullstop]

Thanks, maybe I will give the tablet chance after all. She's familiar with keyboard & mouse as she used to do translations around retirement time. But now when she's close to 90 she don't write anymore so the missing keyboard might not be a problem.

I am little bit sceptical about iPad, I find modern iOS hard to use with all the gesture magic. Also there are less customization options. I can find a way how to remove Airplane button on Android, not sure about iOS.

[Spooky23]

Get her on an iPad. It’s easier to use and isn’t as vulnerable to the nasty scams that target seniors.