really small and or simple computers

[greenlight]

Whenever I talk to my dad about computing the only thing he does is email and browsing and typing. I send him some pictures occasionally.

It occurs to me that he has too much computer to manage and it (windows vista OS) is an obstacle to his computer use. He's over 72 and doesn't care to learn more OSs or GUIs.

I'd like to promote him a simpler computer when he upgrades that is more portable and can hook up to different monitors if he wants to.

Unfortunately his eyesight is not as good as it once was, so a small monitor would have to be REALLY clear for him to use it. That's why I would want him to use a secondary monitor, and likely a professional keyboard for his office.

He's a retired PhD, so he's not stupid, he's just not a nerd.

I haven't been following this trend at all, so if anyone else has similar needs it would be good to know what works, or not.

 

[guyg]

What about increasing the font size? My 11 yr old uses a Dell Mini. It comes in XP only. It has an 8 inch or 12 inch screen. Dell's website has them on sale.Wal-Mart has a laptop with basic Vista for around 350. Or go with my favorite a 17 or 19 inch monitor.You can add a monitor to the Dell. Hope this helps.

 

[StarHalo]

This is actually a good time to buy a less powerful computer for a less experienced computer user, thanks to the recent glut of "Netbooks" which are now flooding the market. These are mini-notebooks with a just-average amount of processing power, ideal for e-mailing and surfing. And they're cheap too, a Windows XP-loaded Dell Mini 9 starts at $299. Connect the VGA-out port on the rear to a desktop monitor, and you've got a cheap and easy non-technical setup. See it here: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndwxa2&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

Another plus with these netbooks is that they use solid state hard drives, so they're very durable/no moving parts.

 

[greenlight]

That is probably the best bet. He's used windows XP before, so that's not a new system for him.

He could go Apple, but then he would have to learn a new OS, and that's not a high priority right now.

 

[gsxrac]

Well as far as really small and simple im actually trying out my moms new HP mini as we speak. This thing is INSANELY small and shes going to be using it strictly for typing up emails and documents and traveling and such. My only complaint so far is that it seems like every time I try to type an A I accidentley hit the S instead. But other than that it is fairly fast (for what it is) and great for what shes doing with it! And did I mention its small?

 

[mossyoak]

Apple iTouch small fast and easy to use. It's what I do everything on these days including typing this post.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

I'd suggest a dell mini, preloaded with Ubuntu. While there would be a new OS to learn, once learned, there aren't usually big changes to the user interface. There's also a considerably lighter load on the computer, so battery life tends to be longer. I've been using my Dell 1525 with Fedora Linux for about 8 months now as a media server, hooked up to my tv, and I'm not missing Vista at all.

 

[Sub_Umbra]

The Asus 'E' series comes to mind, as do the tiny ones they sell to give away to kids in the 3rd world.