4 ms·

The biggest problem we have faced, unfortunately, is the proliferation of modern security features. Chromebooks are awesome in many ways for the elderly, but t

by ISL 5y ago

The biggest problem we have faced, unfortunately, is the proliferation of modern security features. Chromebooks are awesome in many ways for the elderly, but the fact that you can't disable password entry at startup has been a dealbreaker for my aging father. He can't type easily and is beginning to struggle with passwords. Paradoxically, this means that he's still running his Ubuntu laptop (he has been using UNIX systems since a DEC Alpha) but getting left behind on a lot of accessibility features and has minimal support from nursing-home staff. Struggling with passwords has also meant that he is endlessly resetting passwords or creating new accounts, compounding confusion. It is a tricky set of problems, with no easy answers.

ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago
I have the same problem with my parents and I initially thought the Windows 10 pin screen was quite good for this. You only need 4 numbers, I set it to my birthdate and it's made things somewhat easier for them. That was until my mom phoned me telling me her keyboard was broken. Took me a while to diagnose that she was trying to enter letters into the pin-field and it gave no indication that you weren't supposed to do that, it just didn't input any characters. Also turns out the Windows account metaphor has gotten really confusing since they introduced microsoft accounts that are both local and online but don't necessarily share the same characteristics and now you have like 3 different passwords for the single "account" concept.
mtrovo 5y ago
I don't know which brand you looked at but I'm pretty sure Chromebooks support fingerprint login for some time now (check this HP support page for ChromeOS for instance [0]). But I agree with the overall tone of what you're saying and I have the same kind of problem with my parents. I think the movement away from common protocols just made it worse, before you could have a simplified client just for the elderly or any other "niche" group and it would work, now if you do something like this for Whatsapp or Instagram you would probably receive a cease and desist letter. [0] https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06917763 https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06917763
- wanderingstan 5y ago
  FWIW, fingerprint login has never worked for my elderly parents. The combination of drier skin, shaky fingers, and poorer sense of pressure means they could never get it quite right. (And on iPhone, always ended up pressing the home button.) I’ve noticed in the last decade that my fingers too have less oil and I sometimes have to wet my finger.
nicoburns 5y ago
You might want to try him with a password manager.
- boatsie 5y ago
  It seems tempting to solve technological problems with more technology, but my experience is more technology is more problems. The password manager will update/ask for updates. It will ask about auto fill or saving passwords, etc. The people with password understanding problems definitely don’t understand password management problems!
  - frereubu 5y ago
    1Password has worked well for my 90-year-old mother. I disabled the "ask to save password" option. If she needs a new account on something - which doesn't happen very often - I just use Screen Sharing (we both have Macs) and set it up for her. I also have her 1Password account syncing to mine. Although I do still get support phone calls when there's a glitch, it's worked out very well on balance, compared to the amount of support she needed before with account setup and not using the same password everywhere.
    - nicoburns 5y ago
      Syncing the passwords to your own computer so that you can set them up is a genius idea.
    - ISL 5y ago
      Unfortunately, Chromebooks also disable perpetual screen-sharing (in order to prevent very-real scam behavior), too. :-/.
kawzeg 5y ago
I know this idea is a little ridiculous, but it just popped into my head: what about using one of those rubber ducky USB keys that pretend they're a keyboard and enter certain keystrokes? You could have it enter the password when inserted. Or, perhaps a physical password manager that can store multiple passwords, with a labeled button for each?
- ISL 5y ago
  I'll have to look into that -- it might work.

by ISL 5y ago

ad404b8a372f2b9 5y ago

I have the same problem with my parents and I initially thought the Windows 10 pin screen was quite good for this. You only need 4 numbers, I set it to my birthdate and it's made things somewhat easier for them. That was until my mom phoned me telling me her keyboard was broken. Took me a while to diagnose that she was trying to enter letters into the pin-field and it gave no indication that you weren't supposed to do that, it just didn't input any characters. Also turns out the Windows account metaphor has gotten really confusing since they introduced microsoft accounts that are both local and online but don't necessarily share the same characteristics and now you have like 3 different passwords for the single "account" concept.

mtrovo 5y ago

I don't know which brand you looked at but I'm pretty sure Chromebooks support fingerprint login for some time now (check this HP support page for ChromeOS for instance [0]). But I agree with the overall tone of what you're saying and I have the same kind of problem with my parents. I think the movement away from common protocols just made it worse, before you could have a simplified client just for the elderly or any other "niche" group and it would work, now if you do something like this for Whatsapp or Instagram you would probably receive a cease and desist letter. [0] https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06917763 https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06917763

wanderingstan 5y ago
FWIW, fingerprint login has never worked for my elderly parents. The combination of drier skin, shaky fingers, and poorer sense of pressure means they could never get it quite right. (And on iPhone, always ended up pressing the home button.) I’ve noticed in the last decade that my fingers too have less oil and I sometimes have to wet my finger.

nicoburns 5y ago

You might want to try him with a password manager.

boatsie 5y ago
It seems tempting to solve technological problems with more technology, but my experience is more technology is more problems. The password manager will update/ask for updates. It will ask about auto fill or saving passwords, etc. The people with password understanding problems definitely don’t understand password management problems!
- frereubu 5y ago
  1Password has worked well for my 90-year-old mother. I disabled the "ask to save password" option. If she needs a new account on something - which doesn't happen very often - I just use Screen Sharing (we both have Macs) and set it up for her. I also have her 1Password account syncing to mine. Although I do still get support phone calls when there's a glitch, it's worked out very well on balance, compared to the amount of support she needed before with account setup and not using the same password everywhere.
  - nicoburns 5y ago
    Syncing the passwords to your own computer so that you can set them up is a genius idea.
  - ISL 5y ago
    Unfortunately, Chromebooks also disable perpetual screen-sharing (in order to prevent very-real scam behavior), too. :-/.

kawzeg 5y ago

I know this idea is a little ridiculous, but it just popped into my head: what about using one of those rubber ducky USB keys that pretend they're a keyboard and enter certain keystrokes? You could have it enter the password when inserted. Or, perhaps a physical password manager that can store multiple passwords, with a labeled button for each?

ISL 5y ago
I'll have to look into that -- it might work.