Absolutely agree with the need for early user feedback in the development cycle. This is basic to all good system design, and much more with older people. I have been involved with system design most of my working life, and look at the current mobile phone interface as a nightmare for many older people. Touch the wrong part of the screen and you are taken to an unknown website. The scrolling is often problematic. The volume control may or may not work. I have recently helped a friend (100+ years old!) to downgrade to a "dumb" cellphone because of these issues. She uses the Internet on her Linux PC - no problem. But the mobile was just not suitable. The advanced voice recognition we have today could be a marvellous help for older people in many ways. But security, ease of use, legal liability issues, maintenance and physical setup requirements would all pose challenges that would be barriers to their use. And for no good reason. Money would be saved, quality life would be enhanced, safety improved. People like CREATE are totally invaluable in their contribution to progress.
Absolutely agree with the need for early user feedback in the development cycle. This is basic to all good system design, and much more with older people. I have been involved with system design most of my working life, and look at the current mobile phone interface as a nightmare for many older people. Touch the wrong part of the screen and you are taken to an unknown website. The scrolling is often problematic. The volume control may or may not work. I have recently helped a friend (100+ years old!) to downgrade to a "dumb" cellphone because of these issues. She uses the Internet on her Linux PC - no problem. But the mobile was just not suitable.
The advanced voice recognition we have today could be a marvellous help for older people in many ways. But security, ease of use, legal liability issues, maintenance and physical setup requirements would all pose challenges that would be barriers to their use. And for no good reason. Money would be saved, quality life would be enhanced, safety improved. People like CREATE are totally invaluable in their contribution to progress.