assistive technologies

Many folks I know provide the tech support for their elderly parents -- a CEO of a very large software company in California once told me that about being sole tech support for his Florida-based father -- he made regular cross-country trips to fix this or configure that -- turns out his father only trusted him and so saved up all of his problems.

Assistive technology spans a number of devices to compensate for the inability to do a task that otherwise is difficult, including medication management, stair lifts, keyless door entry systems, etc. 

I have to admit it, but iRobot’s Roomba is just the coolest thing to watch. I love how it circles around the same location over and over, how it plays a tune “Charge!” as it heads for its charging unit, and how clean it gets the areas it tackles. Fun for me — and my geek husband — who figured out where to place the sensors so it wouldn’t crash into my grand piano. And particularly appealing to have it run around under our bed, where we never push a vacuum cleaner. And from reading the reviews, it is endlessly interesting to cats and dogs.