There’s always a motive to present a thoughtful present. If you have a senior or two for your purchasing listing, how about something unique this year? Instead of yet another container of fancy cleaning soap or aftershave, don’t forget a technology gift for state-of-the-art savvy seniors.
A Web Cam Means Happy Grandchildren
Give the grandparents the gift of visual and audio interaction with their youngsters and grandchildren. If Grandma and Grandpa don’t live next door, they’ll love the possibility of peering and speaking with their grandchildren through a Webcam. Most modern-day Webcams have a built-in microphone and may be optimized to be used with Windows Messenger or a few different IM devices. With expenses (at Amazon) varying from less than $30 to almost $three hundred, there may be a cam for each price range.
Remember that while some seniors may be capable and inclined to install their cameras themselves and learn how to use them on their own, others can also require help. In the latter case, include set-up and some training as part of the present.
A Web Cam Means Peace of Mind
A wireless community digital camera may want to store the day in unique instances. For instance, Panasonic’s BL-C131A Network Camera Wireless 802. Eleven is promoted as a digicam that helps you display your pets, house, or even your youngsters while you aren’t domestic.
You can install the digicam anywhere without a nearby PC. Then, by logging on to an especially precise Internet website, you may view the room from any PC, Internet-prepared cell smartphone, or PDA. You can also regulate the digicam’s pointing course and its digital zoom through the Web browser. The digital camera has an integrated microphone and a unique nighttime-view mode.
Consider this camera’s utility in the case of a senior who lives independently and can be in frail health. If you have ever frantically phoned Granddad’s pals to delight, look at him to make certain he’s OK; you’ll recognize the peace of mind this product ought to provide. With Granddad’s permission, you can install the digicam in his domestic and go online each time you are worried that he ought to need assistance, a time when he becomes unresponsive to smartphone or e-mail messages.
At nearly $three hundred, this wi-fi digital camera is the most powerful merchandise of its kind. Rather than a Webcam, you would also not forget the QuietCare System, a fitness-care device designed to assist seniors in living independently. This gadget uses a chain of pastime sensors to learn about Granddad’s regular hobbies around his home. When the machine notes a change in the sample, it notifies a call center or sends an e-mail alert or text message to a delegated birthday celebration.
Computer Glasses Aren’t a Pain inside the Neck.
Does the laptop-savvy senior wear bifocals, trifocals, or modern-lens eyeglasses for your lifestyle? These glasses aren’t optimized for viewing a PC reveal. When carrying such glasses on the PC, Grandma has to tilt her head backward to lose consciousness on the display screen while searching through the bottom of a part of the lens. To position it mildly, this gives her a huge ache in the neck.
The good news is that it does not need to be this way. Grandma will enjoy her computer time a lot more if you spring for a set of prescription laptop glasses. Contact your friendly optometrist and ask for information. Be sure to ask your eye-care professional about glare-resistant lenses, which are also vital for computer users.
Keep Grandpa within the Loop With a DVD Player and Slide Show
Want something genuinely special for the senior within the circle of relatives who are shut-in or possibly dwelling in persevering with a care facility? How about a small, portable DVD player and a unique family slide display disc? Contact the extended family individuals and ask for digital images, vintage and new. Compile your collection; flip it into a slide display showing PowerPoint, Microsoft, and usage! SuperPack for Windows XP or some other slide display software; burn it to a DVD. (If you use PowerPoint, you may need to encompass the loose PowerPoint viewer on the DVD).
Remember to add titles and captions to each image so Grandpa knows what he’s looking at. You may also shoot a few videos, edit them, and send along a video manufacturing that your senior can watch in the privacy of their room.
Portable DVD players cost from $30 to multiple hundred bucks. It would help if you made sure that the gadget you pick can play DVD+R/RW. Otherwise, there may be the slightest unhappiness when your house-recorded DVDs don’t play.
Give your senior a microphone with a headset (starting at around $20) or a special Skype cell phone. Ensure that Grandma has assisted with the installation of the installation of the Skype software program, which may be intricate. Provided all events have a Skype account, Grandma can talk with everyone, regardless of in which they stay, freed from price, using the microphone or the Skype cell phone if she plans to phone a person who will be using a landline cellphone, buy her a Skype credit score or two costing about $14 each. Rates in step with minute vary, depending on the vicinity. For instance, a Skype call from Canada to a landline in Israel costs about $eight for thirty minutes.
Consider giving Grandpa the present of transportable music and newscasts. With an iPod or a similar tool, your senior would not need to miss their preferred newscast or show while walking across the community.
Audiobooks are especially appreciated if your senior has difficulty studying because of failing eyesight. You should possibly not forget to include a present certificate from iTunes or a service like Audible.Com, as an example, at the side of the media participant. At Audible.com, you pay $7.49 for the first three months, then $14.Ninety-five in a while. According to month, your senior receives one downloaded audio e-book selected from the searchable database of around 40,000 titles.
