assistive technologies

For those of you still staring at your computer screen in 2009, I just have one (!) more thing to say. Okay, well maybe 10 things. Here are my wishes for the tech market that has, but has not yet fully realized, the potential to better serve baby boomers and seniors in 2010.

There are multiple ways to view the technology market for aging in place -- in the 2009 Market Overview, relevance is described as matching stages of frailty, and products are categorized by role in successful aging.

As we celebrate our holidays (or don't) -- maybe surrounded by our aging parents (or maybe not) -- let's give some thought to how older people connect with others, stay safe and well, and keep on contributing to the world around them. Here are five reminders about care about our older relatives, things we can all initiate, that have some technology elements. This advice is, of course, easier to give than it is to follow.

This is a rant. I am tired of youth-oriented tech vendors with their back-to-school laptops.  I am tired of how clumsy and non-intuitive most computing technologies are -- especially home networks. I am convinced that vendors like Apple, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel, and Microsoft must be populated with thirty-somethings who design products for themselves and their inner geek. (Gee, why have a device that can be plugged in and just works? Instead, why don't we just add these 14 configuration steps?).

Not long ago I gave a presentation to a group of seniors about technology for aging in place. One question made me pause: "Why can't clothing help seniors be safer and more independent?"  Good question. And asked by many in university and corporate research programs. Let's pick a few -- and I am inviting comment posts with additional examples: