Grandma doesn't get technology.

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Remember the gu that played Marcus Welby MD?

sold him a huge 43" tube in the late 80's and it had two remotes -

The full one and the one that looked like a big pen with 2 rocker switches and a power button on it.

He couldn't figure out the one that looked like a pen.

UD
 
I had the same issue with my dad when he was 83. The other aspect of the elderly is they can't push multiple buttons fast enough for the remotes to work correctly. You'd think the makers would allow you to select a speed of sequential button pushing to accommodate those who have been dragged - kicking & screaming - into the age of technology.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Someday you will be in that position.


It will all be voice activated or self-driving by then.
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BTW, I did something similar for my grandmother... Worked great!
 
I sympathise, used to be you just turned on the TV and selected channels (very few of them) and we got sme of the best TV entertainment we have ever had.

Now if the remote falls on the floor we get some cyptic message on the screen and it my take me 4-5 minutes pressing buttons te resume viewing.

I have pretty much given up watching TV, not just because of the programing, but because of the un-user friendly interface.

It just is not appealing to me to learn something that is far more complex than it need be.
 
When I drop my remote the battery door comes off and one batteries I swear is Kenyan and takes off under the couch so fast I didn't see it get there.
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It's still not that hard if you don't have cable. There is nothing complicated about using the tv's remote to watch regular tv channels.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
Someday you will be in that position.


No. Not really. Age is a convenient excuse, though. I learned computer programming from a 70 year old.
 
That's a whole lot of remotes. Looks like a perfect opportunity to buy grandma a 'super remote' and set it up to do those things.

Reminds me of when the Emperor lectured Japanese manufacturers about the need to simplify controls. Sounds like he was really annoyed at them.

Many things are too hard to use. We need to use the manual to set the digital clock on our Honda Accord. Yes we can set it, but only if we use the manual. So it almost always displays the wrong time. It would be better if I could just turn off the display. In contrast the clock on our '81 Celica had 1 (or possibly 2) well labelled buttons. That clock was useful; it always showed the right time (because if it didn't I reset it).

Our coffee maker has a digital clock that I never set. So it's never right. Why does it even have a clock?
 
My mother in law who died in her mid 90's five years ago always did what her husband (who died in the late eighties) told her to do:

He told her to buy "baloon tires" (probably told to him a hundred years ago from some old codger who didn't appreciate hard rubber tires or wooden buckboard wheels) so she had radials removed from her car and replaced with old tires with inner tubes.

He told her to never look at channels above 13. Probably because he was too cheap to pay the extra $2 for UHF rabbit ears in 1954. She was enjoying something unknowingly on channel 46, asked my daughter what channel it was and cried and cried as she honored her husband's wishes by switching to an infomertial on channel 12.

She adjusted to color TV, since he was still alive and apparently approved of it, but always refused to even glance at LED screens, if it wasn't a CRT tube she'd advert her eyes. Had to search long and hard for a tube tv to give her. Also, when she was living alone, she'd call in a "TV repairman" to hook it up-- probably for more money than the TV cost. Guy was still in business a decade ago, probably serving only octogenarians and up.

I'm in my seventies and spend my time porting Ubuntu Mate to old Windows computers. Now I have to ask myself if I'm becoming a Luddite for not simply accepting Win 10.
 
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Originally Posted By: Uregina09
I can't believe you people sit in front of the idiot box.
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With over 16,000 posts on BITOG and a 7 year break during that time as well, you know I spend more time on the internet obsessing about oil than I do watching TV.
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During your absence Pop would consistently express disgust that anyone would actually sit in front of the "idiot box" as he called it. Many folks were chastised severely.

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: Uregina09
I can't believe you people sit in front of the idiot box.
whistle.gif



With over 16,000 posts on BITOG and a 7 year break during that time as well, you know I spend more time on the internet obsessing about oil than I do watching TV.
lol.gif
 
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Grandma will now get in her car and drive on the freeway.so her TV problem is really, No problem.
 
I keep coming back here to read about people who are too poor to change their oil.So many seem very obsessed with long oil change intervals. myself? I am more obsessed with filtering oil.Actually every fluid in my vehicle.
 
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