<div> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I just got my XO last night. The keys on the keyboard are small, as they're designed for children's hands. That might make the XO keyboard hard to use for a person with dexterity issues.<br>
<br>
However, there are USB keyboards that probably could be attached to the XO that he would be able to use instead. I've even seen things like keyboards with large print on the keys, for low-vision users.<br>
<br>
Where are you located? You might be able to hook up with some of the people who've already received their XOs, and experiment with an XO in person.<br>
<br>
I'm in Philadelphia, PA, btw. :)<br>
<br>
Donna<br>
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Visit http://gabey8.blogspot.com today. :-)</div>
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-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Paula Gordon <dbaPlanB@dca.net><br>
To: accessibility@lists.laptop.org<br>
Sent: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:45 pm<br>
Subject: [laptop-accessibility] neophyte with an interest in accessibility for old folks<br>
<br>
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<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt>Greetings,<br>
I just ordered an XO this evening (G1G1), and started looking around this<br>
site and the support wiki. I'm a layman in terms of computers and<br>
networking, and have no formal education or experience with the disabled. My<br>
informal experience is that I care for my elderly parents and have been<br>
educating myself online about mental decline and physical accessibility<br>
issues and have subsequently done quite a few adaptations in their home.<br>
<br>
My big idea for the XO is to give my father access to the Internet. He's 81,<br>
mobility impaired, has decreased manual dexterity and some short-term memory<br>
loss. His cognitive function is still good, though, so I am hoping that he<br>
will be able to operate a laptop that has intuitive controls even if he's<br>
not able to remember how it works. Essentially, he'll have to figure out how<br>
to use it each time, until the knowledge seeps into his long-term memory. He<br>
has been using computers for years, at work and at home since the early<br>
1980s, but he hasn't been able to sit at a desk or follow multistep command<br>
paths for about 10 years.<br>
<br>
Is this an area of interest for developers and users here? Using the XO<br>
laptop to improve quality of life for the elderly population? If so, and if<br>
there's anything specific you'd like me to keep track of, please let me<br>
know. I'll be learning how to use the laptop along with him.<br>
<br>
Now I'll go back to lurking.<br>
Regards,<br>
Paula<br>
<br>
Paula Gordon<br>
Wilmington, DE<br>
<br>
<br>
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</tt></pre>
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