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

Sun May 17 15:46:34 UTC 2009

Sherri, this is wonderful news for our seniors! I can't wait to see how much 
we will have available to us when we reach the senior citizenship age group! 
KH

Kirk Harmon
1031 Lenmore Ct.
Orlando, FL. 32812

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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sherri" <flmom2006 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 10:17 PM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Fw: [vipnews] Invention helps move senior citizens 
intodigital age

> 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
>>
>>
>>
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