Family, social life, belonging, love, relating to better quality life as grow older.
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
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
Peter Paul and Mary had a hit single decades ago called “Whats-her-name.” The chorus goes: “I wonder whatever happened to whatshername.” Your PC might help you find not only whatshername, but also whatshisname too. Here is how to do it.
We're now on day two of having Echo Show up and running at my home in Minnesota, and my Mom's home in Texas. Initially, I was concerned that I would have to walk my decidedly not-techie sister-in-law through setting up Alexa on someome's phone in order to take advantage of the bluetooth setup aspects. Thankfully, … Read more
As we socially distance during this time of stress, it is only natural for each of us to think about & be thankful for our true blessings, our family, friends, & the many things in the world around us that make life worth living. Some of you may write these down in a journal. About … Read more
About a year ago, my wife and I were on a Facetime call with my son and his family who are far away in Tennessee. Two grandsons crowded to be seen on the iPhone screen while the third grandson sat on his dad's lap. Due to the close quarters, when the little fellow lept up excitedly … Read more
Now that we are all “sheltering in place”, finding ways to interact virtually with people from our homes has rocketed up people’s priority list. We have had quite a few emails now from people wanting to know the best way to have video calls with their family and friends. Here are some thoughts to help … Read more
Perhaps it seems counterintuitive that an artificial intelligence(AI) might help combat loneliness and isolation. But as our Longevity Explorers evaluate the latest version of Alexa, paired with the Amazon Echo Show, which has an excellent video call capability, we are starting to see great potential for these products to do just that.
And while there are a variety of initiatives evaluating the potential of interactions between older adults and Alexa (Amazon’s artificial intelligence) as a way to reduce loneliness, we think the communication capabilities of the Echo Show may make possible deeper human to human interactions (with friends and family for example) as well.
Our Longevity Explorers have been testing the Amazon Echo Show and exploring its capabilities. With the ability to make phone calls and video calls on request, Alexa and the Amazon Echo Show have added important capabilities since our community of older adults (the Longevity Explorers) first explored Alexa back in 2017. Learn what these … Read more
Ever thought “I need to make some new friends: There should be an app for that”? A group of Longevity Explorers and design students brainstormed the features they would like to see in an “App to Make New Friends” at an intergenerational design workshop at the 2018 Stanford Centre on Longevity Design Challenge. … Read more