[Nfbf-l] Fw: [vipnews] Invention helps move senior citizens into digital age

[Sherri]

Interesting
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <editor at vipnews.org.uk>
To: <vipnews at googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 9:14 PM
Subject: [vipnews] Invention helps move senior citizens into digital age


>
> The Detroit News, MI, USA
>
> Invention helps move senior citizens into digital age
> Fredrick Kunkle /
> Friday, April 24, 2009
>
> Washington -- Two young inventors, with the help of hands-on testing at a 
> retirement community, have
> created a device that they say might change the way older Americans get 
> news and entertainment.
> Using modified MP3 players, computers and large touch-screen monitors in 
> high-contrast colors for
> people with impaired vision, Charles De Vilmorin and Herve Roussel have 
> created a digital kiosk that
> serves as a sort of iPod for older people.
> De Vilmorin, who came to the United States from France as part of a study 
> program, said the kiosk
> allows people to download music, news or audio entertainment from a menu 
> tailored to their
> interests. The system, produced by their start-up company, Linked Senior, 
> has been in use for about
> 1 1/2 years by residents at Vinson Hall Retirement Community in suburban 
> McLean, Va.
> Advertisement
> At the kiosk near the cafeteria in Vinson Hall, residents can download 
> big-band music, spoken
> books, audio news taken from print media such as the Economist, cooking 
> lessons with Julia Child and
> on-air dramas such as "Dragnet" that played in an era when "wireless" 
> referred generally to AM
> radio.
> Users don't have to log in, remember passwords or strain to read and type 
> on a tiny screen, De
> Vilmorin said. Instead, they receive a small MP3 player that can be 
> plugged into the kiosk, allowing
> them to choose material from a menu on a large touch-screen.
> Even the language has been modified: Instead of "download," the computer 
> program asks users whether
> they would like to "take" a selection. The system can search or browse 
> selections and make
> suggestions based on users' tastes. Other content can tie in with 
> activities in the retirement
> community: A user might download an audio guide to a museum that members 
> plan to visit, for
> instance.
> "The system is wonderful," said resident Marta Harkins, 80, who has 
> trouble reading large-print
> books. Her grandson had given her an iPod to use on a long trip, filling 
> it with the audio books she
> loves, but Harkins found the device difficult because of its tiny buttons 
> and text.
> "Believe me, when you reach this stage, you can't see anymore," she said.
> That's less true of the Linked Senior device, she said, with its 
> plug-and-play features and its
> high-contrast, flat screen, lighted in yellow and black or black and 
> white, to help visually
> impaired users. About once a week, she downloads a novel, such as E.M. 
> Forster's "Howards End," and
> drops the loaded device in her purse.
> Fred Johnson, director of programs and special events at Vinson Hall, said 
> residents helped the
> inventors tweak their product to deliver what they wanted. "The residents 
> basically dictated what
> this is," Johnson said.
> The device has been tested at Vinson Hall, an independent-living community 
> that serves military
> retirees and their families, and three other local communities. De 
> Vilmorin said the cost of the
> system is $15 to $20 per bed per month.
> De Vilmorin, 29, went to American University as part of a program with 
> Dauphine University in Paris
> six years ago. After working as a consultant, De Vilmorin began working on 
> a master's degree at
> Georgetown University in the field of communication culture and 
> technology. Influenced by French
> philosopher Michel Foucault's critical studies of closed communities, De 
> Vilmorin became interested
> in retirement communities, especially after his grandmother entered one 
> outside Paris.
> "Residents of retirement homes tend to be very secluded and cut off from 
> the world, and the quality
> of entertainment is not too great," De Vilmorin said. He and Roussel, 27, 
> started searching for ways
> to allow older people to easily tap into the digital world. Few high-tech 
> devices are designed for
> people with impairments, so they explored making universal design features 
> that make it easier to
> use for people with disabilities.
> Though many Web sites cater to young people, few exist for older people, 
> they found. To satisfy an
> older audience, De Vilmorin tapped the Library of Congress's collections 
> of old radio recordings and
> other content and made it accessible through the Linked Senior machines.
> "A lot of our users are afraid of computers. What it does is it helps 
> older people who are not
> tech-savvy," De Vilmorin said.
>
> SOURCE
>
> http://www.detnews.com/article/20090424/BIZ04/904240324/1013
>
>
>
> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
> Please note: All articles posted to this list are copyright of their 
> original publishers.
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "vipnews" group.
> To post to this group, send email to vipnews at googlegroups.com
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> vipnews+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com
> For more options, visit this group at
> http://groups.google.com/group/vipnews?hl=en?hl=en
> -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
>
>