As technology rapidly advances and daily life moves forward, many seniors are becoming disconnected. To stop the widening information gap, the University of Miami’s Center of Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) is conducting a study to introduce seniors to the digital age. >>> Read more . . .

The percentage of people who work and people who want to work has increased markedly in both the 65-and-older and 75-and-older groups

Purrfect Pet. The PARO therapeutic robot is a pretty darn cool contraption. Shaped like a stuffed furry baby seal, it has five kinds of sensors built into itself: tactile, light, sound, temperature and posture. PARO’s sensors can “feel” being stroked or being held. It can also recognize the direction of voice and words such as its name. It moves, looks at you, blinks and closes its eyes, purrs and other pet-like actions and it is supposed to learn your desires and behave appropriately over time. >>> Read more . . .

Are seniors missing the tablet and e-Reader boomlet? Las Vegas can rest now. It has been left to its own devices, so to speak, now that CES has left town for another year. Exhibitors, never original, seized on swipe and touch trends started by Apple -- reports from the show noted that 'Android tablets have sprung up around CES like worms after a rainstorm' and how many types will be sitting in stores in 2012. So why don't seniors want to buy them? Pew Research published a glowingly titled doc recently titled Tablets and e-Reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period and headlined that 'overall at least 29% of Americans own at least one of them.'  And the 50-64 year-olds did show a significant increase in tablet ownership from December 2011-2012 -- from 8-15%. But as the Pew data shows, the 65+ are not flocking to the store to pick up a tablet-- a mere increase from 5 to 7%. Maritz did some profiling the younger folk: the average tablet buyer is aged 38-41, with an income of approximately $70K, tablet buyers are likely to be male. Older women seem to like the e-Reader more, with ownership jumping from 8-12% year over year, average e-book buying woman is aged 44. So what's the, er, story here? >>> Read more . . .

The WSJ article is a deep dive into the working lives of the oldest.

Everybody wants to save paper -- but for some, it's optional.  My long-time love-it, hate-it bank enables those online to replace printed statements with statements that are viewable.  They encourage online access, but don't require it. In fact, many make quite an effort to save our governments from printing too much, and many more are on a mission to save those trees and be oh-so-green ('paperless at home' and Save Our Trees). So what other organizations will follow the examples of the Social Security Administration and most recently the Treasury Department? Financial services and banks have been pushing the go-paperless rock up hill for years, but it is always optional for the consumer. There has been some success (possibly due to the economy): paper consumption has, in fact, fallen a bit from 2010 to 2011. But the Treasury's mandate that Savings Bonds can only be purchased online is an ominous warning to the sizable senior population that still is not using the Internet - 42% of the 65+ are online, according to Pew Research, but only 30% of the 'GI Generation', those aged 74+, are online. No savings bond buying for them. >>> Read more . . .

Surge in the 90+ population and other items.

Wonder about a distributed time bank across geographies for tasks that do not require being in person?

Business ideas sound good -- but are they sustainable? The world's most tech-hopeful event kicks off this week -- that would be CES, for those not in the industry. As a tech veteran, I have been to so many of these types of shows over the years, where the floor is chock full of caffeine and confidence, clever demos, looping videos, bubbling marketers and blaring televisions. But with 149,000 attendees and multiple shows within a show, I am again reminded that in the world of startups, even those launching from inside giant companies, that 90% will eventually fail. >>> Read more . . .

Includes Meals on Wheels, Ombudsman programs.