The problem was small electronic devices

Sterlingtimes

At 60+, I have moved from full-time employment to part-time self-employment. In recent years, I have been having difficulty with many tiny electronic devices because of hand dexterity, hand pain and eyesight limitations.

I never thought that my employer really understood my difficulties.

Now that I'm an independent man so to speak, I can buy my own BIG devices. I now have a big-screen mobile phone, a big-screen computer monitor, a really big mouse, a big keyboard.

The electrician installed for me a tiny electronic timer high up on the wall. I've had to replace that with a simple mechanical timer.

Does anyone else have problems with miniature devices?

Savvy_Sue

My new hearing aid is a complete nightmare: I could switch the previous one on and off without taking it out of my ear (don't ask), but this one is just too stiff. I also haven't yet worked out how the volume control works: it only seems to go one way and I don't know if that's Up or Down!

I've started buying Big Button phones for work. :-) Partly because they usually have a volume control, and as you can tell I'm going deaf. Partly because one of my colleagues has limited sight and I think they find it easier. And partly because if we have a few of them scattered around the place, there's no particular stigma attached to having one.

I have an upright mouse. Everyone else hates it, and I have to have a 'normal' mouse plugged in as well for when I'm not there. I'd not be without it!

Sterlingtimes

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I have an upright mouse. Everyone else hates it, and I have to have a 'normal' mouse plugged in as well for when I'm not there. I'd not be without it!

A vertical mouse takes a lot of pressure off the hands. I suspect that all mice should be built in this way. I used an Evolulent for quite a number of years. I have recently migrated to a mouse called a Handshoe, and this outperforms anything else I have used. It is vital to make adjustments to avoid repetitive strain injury (RSI). Such is the damage to my fingers under excessive typing and mouse use but I now have to use voice recognition software for dictation.

Eenymeeny

Thanks for posting, I think that it's about choosing what works for you.
I also find some 'improvements' in technology to be quite the opposite. I prefer the old clamshell mobile phone to a touchpad type. (Fits easily into my pocket too) I don't use the internet when I'm out and about.
I like my laptop with keyboard and mouse, and the 'wind up' type kitchen timer is so much easier to set than the digital one on my oven. (No batteries needed either) I like my MP3 player with a dial like an Ipod. Husband curses their updated model with a touch screen as he likes to listen in bed if he can't sleep and constantly loses the station..
I don't think that I am fighting progress, I just find these gadgets easier to use and dread the day that they will no longer be available.
I also find that my mp3 player plugged into the audio input on a small speaker works better than using the Bluetooth option, which tends to go off if I'm moving around the house. (Secured together with a hair elastic!)
I'll read this thread with interest as, despite my post I am open to new ideas and suggestions!

joansgirl

Eenymeeny wrote: »

Thanks for posting, I think that it's about choosing what works for you.
I also find some 'improvements' in technology to be quite the opposite. I prefer the old clamshell mobile phone to a touchpad type. (Fits easily into my pocket too) I don't use the internet when I'm out and about.
I like my laptop with keyboard and mouse, and the 'wind up' type kitchen timer is so much easier to set than the digital one on my oven. (No batteries needed either) I like my MP3 player with a dial like an Ipod. Husband curses their updated model with a touch screen as he likes to listen in bed if he can't sleep and constantly loses the station..
I don't think that I am fighting progress, I just find these gadgets easier to use and dread the day that they will no longer be available.
I also find that my mp3 player plugged into the audio input on a small speaker works better than using the Bluetooth option, which tends to go off if I'm moving around the house. (Secured together with a hair elastic!)
I'll read this thread with interest as, despite my post I am open to new ideas and suggestions!

I'm in agreement with the mobile phone. Mine is a dumb phone, does texts and calls (can get a certain amount of internet access if required but I've not felt the need to activate it) which is what I need it for. It's also clamshell and as you said, fits in my pocket. Pointless having a phone that is too big, if I fall out of the loft or have an accident I need the phone on me, not sitting on the worktop downstairs!

I am no lover of touchscreen things despite having an ipad, I will always use laptop and mouse given the option.

And I too am finding the small tech fiddly and damned annoying.

DairyQueen

I have 'issues' with most electronics these days. Mobile 'devices', blue-ray, large TV screens, super-fast broadband - all of these, and more, are now superfluous for my lifestyle.

I have no need to run my social life on a mobile phone, am retired so being 'business-accessible' is history, and those teeny screens ensure that I don't bother with the frustration of squinting whilst struggling to access the internet on-the-move. If I'm out-and-about the last thing I want to do is go online.

My mobile contract has been replaced with PAYG on my 8-year-old phone. I use it for the occasional call and text, and for taking photos. That's it. Using 'apps' - and on that teeny screen - gives me the shudders. My landline (vastly better reception) allows me to chat as much as I like to whomever I like (and without the "I can't hear you" and "can you hear me?" shouting typical of mobile phone conversations).

I watch occasional movies on my small TV's integrated DVD player but prefer a good book (and, no, a kindle isn't the same). My home is close to the local exchange and standard broadband provides excellent speed for my type of internet use.

My one electronic 'must have' is a high quality laptop as I do so much online - but always from the comfort of my armchair.

I am not a 'geezer' nor a philistine, nor reluctant to use state-of-the-art technology. If only they would invent something that I would actually find useful.

leylie

As a few of you have commented, I recommend you check out DORO mobile phones - they do a range of clamshell designs.
It's got bigger buttons - with good colour contrast (so better for dexterity and for people with eyesight problems). It can be set up to answer and end a call by opening and closing the clamshell. You can also alter the size of the text display. It also has a button on the back which can be set to automatically dial a list of numbers when the button is held down in an emergency.
There are a range of phones in this style - depending on how many other options you want.
They've been around for a while now so well established.

(No - I don't work for DORO, but plenty of experience giving advice to visually impaired people, mostly retired)