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My name is Keith Paterson. If you have any questions related to computer
problems or this website please email by clicking
Here
Although I will do what I can to help, I give no guarantees and stress
that you must take responsibility for changes you make to your
computer
Silverhairs is a site dedicated to help older people with their computing, whether it is problems with their software (programs) or hardware (the computer itself). The site has developed over the last 9 years and is an accumulation of all the things that I have found useful or investigated on behalf of other silver surfers.
So why do I do it ? Well it is a great hobby for a 78 year old but it is wonderful to get messages from people who I have pointed in the right direction with a serious computer problem.
I am an approved volunteer in the British Computer Society
IT Can Help program which
offers free computer help in the home to people with disabilities
In 2010 I received a prize from
www.laterlife.com for my work on this
website
If you are a Terry Wogan fan just watch his plea to increase the number of older people who are on line Click HERE (May 2010)
And here is a message an 83 year old wrote to DigitalUnite, one of the main supporters of training for older people
"Are you bored, lonely, and unable to get out and about much? Maybe
you should consider getting a computer, I did, and now I can communicate
with people all over the world, get my shopping delivered whenever I choose,
go into to a chat room where it doesn’t matter if you are a bit deaf
(you don’t have to keep saying ‘pardon’ ).I bought most of
my Christmas presents on-line, mostly cheaper than in the shops and delivered
within a few days, (no heavy shopping to carry).
If you have a digital camera you can transfer your photos and print them
or save them to a disc, you can even look at them on TV. If you have friends
or relatives abroad you can chat to them face to face and send them photos
within a few minutes of taking them, and if you are really keen on photography
you can edit your photos, make calendars and even make your own videos.
Personally the part I enjoy most is chatting to my friends on-line, I have
friends all over the UK, as well as in Spain, America, Australia and in fact
all over the world, we exchange views on different subjects and are there
for each other through the bad and the good times, I had a fantastic 80th
birthday party down in Paignton with about 20 of my friends from all over
the country, its amazing how you feel you have known them for years once
you meet up. We exchange news and ideas on craft materials as a few of us
like to make greeting cards, (we can make the inserts or even the whole card
on our computers) we talk about our families and our problems, its absolutely
great being there for each other.
If you prefer sending letters rather than e mails (electronic mail) you can
type them and print them out, very handy if your handwriting has deteriorated
over the years.
These are just a few of the things you can do,. You will find other things
as you go along, its never ending, you can even play games on your
computer.
Oh, I almost forgot, if I want information about anything, I just go to Google,
type in a keyword, (health, travel, gardening) anything at all and there
you are, all there at your fingertips, brilliant!
I also attended classes up to last August when I passed the ECDL exam, not
bad at 83 years old".
GRANTS. Grants are available for community projects (Feb
2010)
a) The Media Trust
Community Voices (England) programme is looking for 26 community projects
that help to address issues of isolation and disadvantage with the help of
digital media. Each will receive funding of either GBP1,500, 7,000 or 14,000,
as well as support from digital mentors to help them make a difference in
their community. You can read a Help Guide and apply online at
http://bit.ly/communitygrants
b) NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education - England and Wales) has recently announced a new funding opportunity to set up Community Learning Champion initiatives in targeted areas of need. Grants of up to GBP25,000 are available. There is more information at http://bit.ly/niaceclc
" The Oldest Twitter in Town " is Ivy Bean, who started to use the 'chat' site Twitter at the age of 103 ! She became bored with Facebook, having accumulated 4,800 friends !
Age Concern (Now
Age UK) (click on it) produce various
books such as "How to be a Silver Surfer", "Computing for Beginners",
"Everyday Computing" as well as a number of other useful publications.
And a new site (2009) to help beginners is at
http://learning.digitalunite.com/
An Ofcom report says that those "Silver Surfers" who are connected to the net are spending an average of 43 hours per month on it compared with 37.9 hours for the 18 - 24 year old age group. The over 50s accounted for 25% of UK internet users (up 158%b since 2002) although only 16 % of over 65s said they had used it at home in the month of the report.. Although over half of the 25 - 49 group were women but 80% of the over 65s were men. But the Office for National Statistics report suggests there are still a lot of over 50s who do not use the internet. The main reasons given are lack of interest, not having a connection and lack of knowledge or confidence
If you want some training phone 0800 77 1234 to book an Internet starter session with the government sponsored courses. Click http://www.ukonlinecentres.com/ and enter your postcode to locate local courses. If you have a disability or are restricted in any way some organisations will give free training in the home See ITCANHELP
One disabled person wrote "When I use my computer, I can forget my disabilities and concentrate solely on my capabilities. Instead of staring out of the window watching the world go by without me, I can travel, shop and go to the cinema all in the same day. Now that's what I call progress."
Yes, indeed. The development of the human species depends on knowledge. Books have been a tremendous help for the last 2000 years and the burning of the great library in Alexandria set us back years. But now, with the Internet, I can find out almost anything I want to know when I want to know it. I don't get information overload by having to read for hours. All I have to do is put a word or two into a Google Search (see top of this page), whether it is a medical question, or a musical one, a matter of history or one of science. It is all there in one gigantic index which is updated every day. When I discovered an IBM PC in 1982 I thought, then, that it had great potential. But I did not realise that it would be such a powerful influence for enlightenment for people from Alaska to Zanzibar regardless of language barriers.
These days (regrettably) a computer connection is becoming indispensable. The other day I taxed my car via the net, booked a coach ticket and even searched for and found exactly the car I was looking to buy. Now, I hear that almost every airline is dispensing with tickets sent to your home. You get a reference number and a small printout, which you present at the check-in. You can even give them most of your details via the net, beforehand.
***************
http://www.bbc.co.uk/accessibility/bbc/partnership.shtml is a BBC site in cooperation with Ability.net and shows how to get the best out of the net, even for the disabled. For instance it allows people with motor impairments to read broadsheet-quality news on news.bbc.co.uk without having to turn broadsheet pages, allows visually impaired people to access Delia Smith's recipes in big print on bbc.co.uk/food , allows Deaf and hard of hearing people to "listen" to the Archers via transcripts on bbc.co.uk/archers
For a good article on getting a new computer I have written a page on buying a computer if you click Here
But the reasons for setting up this site are :
Since the Internet really got underway in 1994 the number using it worldwide has risen to over 1000 million!
In a survey by Age Concern and Microsoft most over 50's said that the Internet had made a positive difference to their lives, with e-mail being voted the most important function by 90 percent of the group. 45% said health sites were important. Check out the Health Site Page page for health site links. Another survey showed that 62% of the over 55's surveyed used e-mail to keep in touch with their children or as they say "money isn't everything but it keeps you in touch with your children ! " See more like this on the Jokes page.
So, if you have a computer problem, do not hesitate to let me know. If
I do not have an answer I may very well know someone who has, or I will search
the net for you. Usually an answer can be found. So read on! And, if
you want to get in touch click
Here
There are many magazines that help with computing problems these days. One of the best is Computer Active which, if you subscribe, is only just over £1 a copy, delivered.
The Google Pack allows you to choose any or all of the following important software : Picasa 3 (Photo Organiser); Mozilla Firefox (free Internet Explorer alternative - internet Browser); Spyware Doctor (free antispyware) Adobe PDF file reader; Real Player (Music and video player); Skype (Free voice and video calls); Norton Security Scan, Open Office (free alternative to Microsoft Office ) or try IBM Lotus Symphony, Google Earth (see your own house from satellite) Google Talk (chat to others), Google Desktop - (fast searching of your hard disk) plus some great art work and screen savers. You can even get a link which enables you to check for the latest versions. n.b. some of these are BIG downloads which, without Broadband, would take a long time.
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