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The topic of simplified browsing targeted solely to old people comes up all the time with my parents and friends' parents. From what I've collected, old people

The topic of simplified browsing targeted solely to old people comes up all the time with my parents and friends' parents. From what I've collected, old people say they want easier this and that, but when it comes down to it, the individuals that continue to experience difficulty either do not take the time to learn new technology or are hindered by a disability. If easier means different, how can you expect them to take the time to learn your new approach when they don't take the time to learn something as simple as Google search? Google search is just one huge text box in the middle of the display. It doesn't get much more straightforward. You type what you want to find and then sift through the results. My mom is the biggest noob when it comes to computers. She doesn't see or expect buttons when she looks at a UI. My mom didn't grow up with GUI's for cable, video games, or computers like I did, but she has been practicing on her computer for the last year or two and is finally getting the hang of it just fine. I think no matter what you do, a person not used to using computers isn't going to understand without first taking the time to learn the basics. There is definitely room for improvement though, just don't target any particular age demographic. Someone will come up with something that will make web browsing easier and more efficient for everyone.

dkasper 18y ago
Yep, those sound like the kind of users Seth Godin would call "laggards", and trying to build a business around them is usually not the best idea.
nazgulnarsil 18y ago
understanding the 3d elements of computers such as raised buttons and stacks of tabs or folders seems to be a big tripping point. They aren't sure what they can click on and are afraid to just start clicking because they think it will break something. For them "break something" means when the computer does anything that they haven't seen it do before. Simplified web for old people would probably work as just the same browser but with big instruction boxes popping up everywhere. Google would look the same, but with a box and big arrow pointing and saying "type what you want then click here!" basically someone should make the paper clip of microsoft office for firefox. It would intelligently identify common tasks and offer suggestions.
kleneway 18y ago
Very good points, thanks for the feedback. I spent a year teaching computer classes for middle school kids, and it really was an eye-opening experience. The basic concepts we take for granted (clicking the mouse button, refining a bad search query) are skills that need to be learned. But once they are, watch out. You add together hormones and Google and these guys are suddenly little Mitnicks hacking their way around all the filters we had in place.

dkasper 18y ago

Yep, those sound like the kind of users Seth Godin would call "laggards", and trying to build a business around them is usually not the best idea.

nazgulnarsil 18y ago

understanding the 3d elements of computers such as raised buttons and stacks of tabs or folders seems to be a big tripping point. They aren't sure what they can click on and are afraid to just start clicking because they think it will break something. For them "break something" means when the computer does anything that they haven't seen it do before. Simplified web for old people would probably work as just the same browser but with big instruction boxes popping up everywhere. Google would look the same, but with a box and big arrow pointing and saying "type what you want then click here!" basically someone should make the paper clip of microsoft office for firefox. It would intelligently identify common tasks and offer suggestions.

kleneway 18y ago

Very good points, thanks for the feedback. I spent a year teaching computer classes for middle school kids, and it really was an eye-opening experience. The basic concepts we take for granted (clicking the mouse button, refining a bad search query) are skills that need to be learned. But once they are, watch out. You add together hormones and Google and these guys are suddenly little Mitnicks hacking their way around all the filters we had in place.