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Impact Theme: Using Technology

Modern technologies like smartphones, computers, wearables, and the internet can be used in many ways that are very relevant for older adults. But they frequently are looking for help and advice on how to use the technology, how to choose it, and how to get it supported.Below you can hear our discussions, and share what we are learning about these topics.NOTE: Discussions about specific topics like Alexa or Apple Watch are found in other areas. Look under "Recommendations" in the top, main menu for things like Smarthome, Robotics and AI, or Medical Alerts, or if you are interested in video interactions you would look under Social isolation and Loneliness..

Surf the Web Like a Pro

There is an infinite cache of brilliant essays, news articles, scientific reports, and books available on the Internet, but you cannot access much of it without giving the website owners something of value in return, unless you master a few simple “surfing techniques”.

This installment of “An Internet Enabled Life” will tell you how to quickly hack through the annoying jungle of subscription nags and popup-n-pop-downs and advertisements to get at the actual content you care about.

Internet Feeds: How to Set Them Up & Use Them

This page contains some detailed instructions for how to set up Internet feeds so they stream useful articles and other content to the home page of your browser — so you don’t have to go searching for them.

This continues the article “Surf the Web Like a Pro“, in which you can read more — including what exactly “Feeds” are and why you might want them, and is part of the series “An Internet Enabled Life“.

My Favorite Browser Extensions

I find having the right “Browser Extensions” installed on my browser makes a huge different to how easily I can surf the web, and avoid popups and paywalls, and find what I want to read easily and quickly.

Here is the list of my personal “Favorite Browser Extensions”.

Virtual Connections to the Tech-Challenged

Photo credit: Pavan Trikutam How do you have rich and engaging interactions with your parent who you can’t visit in person? Especially if they cannot, or will not, adopt mainstream consumer technologies. That’s the challenge we are exploring in this article. After months of enforced isolation during COVID, video calling as a solution … Read more

How to Set Up Alexa Calling for a Loved One

Are you looking for a way to setup video chats with your loved one who lives independently or in a facility? This article tells you how to do that, using the Echo Show, without requiring your loved one to do any of the “setting up”. New to This Topic? This is a Deep-dive … Read more

Magic Carpet Apps for That

As I mentioned in the introduction to “My Internet Enabled Life, you can see the world while sitting at your PC in your own house or apartment. Here is a list of websites that offer an amazing assortment of places to visit, theater performances to watch, TV series, and movies.

The Email

For as long as I can remember, my late mom, who passed away at 96, used to call the PC that sat on their desk “The Email.” This segment of “My Internet enabled Life” talks about “The Email”.

Staying in Touch: Parents in Lockdown

It's a pretty common scenario at present. Your elderly parent, who lives at home — or in a nice senior living facility — is under "lockdown" for the foreseeable future. You can't visit. They are not super tech-savvy and don't regularly use Facetime, or Skype, or Zoom. And you are wondering what you can do to … Read more

The Internet

This segment of “My Internet Enabled Life” talks about the evolution of the Internet and about how it works.