37 
Truly! There is absolutely no age cut-off for learning a new technology. I mean, if a four-year-old can operate an iPad, there is absolutely no reason why that infant’s grandmother or grandfather shouldn’t be able to as well. After all, most if not all of our grandparents have used a typewriter at one point or another. And that’s already a step above the kind of hands-on life experience a pre-schooler is working with.
My grandmother got her first computer eight years ago. A big Dell desktop, which she’s used for mostly email and basic Web browsing. Sure, back in 2004, this might have been fine for her. But that machine is truly on its last legs — in need of repairs too costly to justify, especially for a hulking monitor-and-tower combo that can’t be easily brought anywhere.
Today I took my *grandmother to the Apple Store, to help her choose the right new machine on which to do her very basic computing. She was reluctant, to be sure.
“I don’t know” she said to me over the phone. “I’d really rather read some consumer reports at the library before I make any big purchases.” Then I reminded her where I work and told her to meet me at The Grove in an hour.
Why Apple?
This has nothing to do with Apple elitism or favouritism or whatever else you’re already thinking. Apple’s One-to-One program is an absolute bargain. Switching operating systems can be confusing enough when you’ve grown up using a computer; for someone my grandmother’s age—85!—the ability to pop in to the Apple Store for a 30-minute or hour-long lesson on using some feature or another on her new machine is seemingly invaluable.
Ultimately, we walked away with a new MacBook Air, a new printer (because her eight-year-old printer is also on its last legs and isn’t wireless), One-to-One, and Apple Care (because it’s always better to splurge on AppleCare than to pay big for repairs after your 1-year warranty runs out).
The MBA is light and super portable, perfect for someone who plans to take advantage of One-to-One. Sure, if you’re only sending email and getting MapQuest directions, the entry-level 11″ MBA is a perfectly adequate machine. But let’s not forget that ageing eyes require bigger fonts, bigger everything really—the price discrepancy between the basic 11″ and the basic 13″ was a justifiable expense, in this case, just for those two extra diagonal inches alone.
Really, if my 85-year-old grandmother can learn how to wrangle Wi-Fi and adjust to the modern convenience that is the trackpad (and Gestures!), nobody has any excuse not to learn a new technology.
Image via sima/Shutterstock
*Actual grandmother not pictured
You Will Never Be Too Old For Your Own Personal Swing Chair
Prince Harry Getting Snapped In the Buff Shows Celebrities Never Learn
Graphene Circuits Printed With Old Inkjet Technology
my dad hes 72 has been using a computer for about 5yrs now and i get more calls from him with problems than i do from my mom (i wont give her age away as i am to scared too) who has only used one for less than a year and she can google and use facebook,
my dad has no idea how to use much to do with the internet, however he can use word lol
hahaha I liked the bit in the article
‘But that machine is truly on its last legs — in need of repairs too costly to justify’
and then proceeds to buy:
a new MacBook Air 13″, a new printer, One-to-One, and Apple Care
That woman isn’t happy that she’s using a computer, she’s happy that she remembered to wear her adult nappy today.
What a relief!
A poor and expensive choice in my opinion. At first when you mentioned Apple, I thought okay, definite iPad. But you went with a MacBook Air?? Seriously? Surely something that was touch based like a tablet and very simple to navigate and operate like iOS would of been a far better choice.
My Nan / Grandma will be getting her first “computer” soon, and I’m just deciding whether it will be an iPad or a Surface. Probably an iPad as they are incredibly easy to use, if she wants to do something on the screen, she can just tap on it… easy.
have to agree with you there sounds like an iPad would have been much better?
We got my Grandma an iPad for Christmas and it’s perfect for her! She was always scared of touching my Grandad’s computer in case she broke something (though he manages to break it regularly himself, despite being the ‘computer literate’ one). The iPad has given my grandma a new lease of life, an emancipation of sorts, she can Skype family when she wants, she sends huge emails to her brother, and she looks up shops and even her utilities online. Best of all its very hard for her to change a setting that I can’t diagnose and instruct her to correct over the phone (in fact I could even instruct her how to configure it down the phone, and neither of those things can be said for my grandad’s PC). She gets on very well with the intuitive interface and has often managed to teach herself new features.
So yes, iPad for pensioners, the perfect form factor for the novice silver surfer!
She had a printer that’s lasted 8 years & you made her bin it?
Are you mental?
Christ, solder a serial port into the ipad if you must.
Or airpuck Umad or whatever the hell you overpaid for.
Definitely never too old. My 92 year old grandmother pre-ordered her iPad 2 (yep, she went back to work after retiring because “she was bored”) so she could “use Skype and read the paper” on it. I used to occasionally get email from her too. She’d hardly used a computer until around 10 years ago but her work (she worked in patient records) went computerised, and she learnt her way around it. I was envious of her for ages as she had better broadband at her house (for her iPad only) than we did at our house for 4 machines (and paying less for it!). Sadly she had a stroke and passed away at the end of last year, but last time I spoke to her was a video call via Skype the day before the stroke…! Good on you Molly! (though I do agree with the other comments that an iOS device may have been better in this instance – cheaper and could probably still do everything needed)
Or you could’ve got something for half the price which would be more sensible for most pensioners.
Your lucky you didn’t give the poor woman a heart attack when she saw the prices.
Surely you forgot to include the “Sponsored By Apple” text in this article? It’s an advert for how simple Apple is to use, not how great old people are.
Four year old?? My daughter’s a month away from her second birthday and she can swipe to unlock, open her folder, run her apps, use the home key to exit the apps and then open up another one!