Digital Wonders For People Who Hate Computers

My mother does not own a computer. She has made it VERY clear to all of us kids that she doesn’t WANT a computer, and that if we bring a computer into her house, she’ll sell it.

However, Mother also loves to be included. She hates being “out of the loop,” and since my siblings and I communicate mostly by e-mail these days, Mom was the last to know.

The last to know “what?” The last to know anything we knew! Mom hated being the last to know. This didn’t change her mind about owning a computer; it just made her feel left out.

Last Christmas, we all chipped in and bought Mom a Presto email printer. This is being heavily advertised as “email for old people,” but really, it’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t have a computer for whatever reason. Presto has set up its service so there can be no spam whatsoever; anyone who wishes to be able to send Mom email must be entered on an approved list. No one has access to this list except the account manager, which, in Mom’s case, is me. Nobody is on Mom’s list except her kids, grandkids, her church secretary, and two friends. There will be no email from Viagra, webcam babes, or “morttgage deals.”

I also signed Mom up for a daily crossword puzzle and word search, and a local weather report.

Mom was skeptical at first; it seemed an awful lot like a computer, but now she’s madly and passionately in love with her Presto email machine.

We can send pictures to her, too.

Presto costs a little over a hundred dollars, and the monthly fee is ten. It takes a standard HP 95/97 ink cartridge, which can be found in any K-mart or Wal-mart store; that’s important when it’s Mom trying to find one.

Mom was also skeptical about owning a digital picture frame. We wanted to get her one for Christmas, like the Kodak we bought my mother-in-law, but Mom couldn’t understand why anyone would want to see an ever-changing picture when her walls were already covered with regular framed pictures. She put her foot down: no newfangled digital picture frame for her.

Then she came over to our house and saw my Digital Spectrum MF8104.

Mom pulled up a chair and sat in front of it for two hours. She didn’t want supper and she didn’t want conversation; she just wanted to watch the slideshow. Now she wants her own digital frame.

Her birthday is this summer, and she’s going to get one.

Perhaps some people just need to see something with their own two eyes before they understand how much it could enhance their lives?