Technology for Boomers

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Comment by Muriel Connell on October 2, 2009 at 7:57pm

I set up a Ning page in 20 minutes. It was so simple do after waiting for 2 years for my son to alter my web page.

Comment by Nerina on October 2, 2009 at 7:26pm

I often need help with power point presentations, e.g. how to insert a presentation from a service provider that is e.g. on PDF and need to put in page by page. also need advice on how to do YouTube, etc. Nerina

Comment by Lynda Smith on February 24, 2009 at 10:29pm

See the video I have loaded called TWITTER if you want to understand how this works.

Comment by Muriel Connell on January 27, 2009 at 7:35pm

I have a web page www.lifejourneys.co.za but it is totally ineffective and I need it to something more, I am planning Conversation Workshops from April onwards in the Western Cape and need more interaction. I have my son sitting in Scotland who is a computer fundi with the best of intentions but not able to assist me. I need to get my business up and running, can anyone help. I am off to Australia this weekend and will still be contactable via email

Comment by Alan de Kock on January 27, 2009 at 6:59pm

Hi Maree

You have explained what ADSL isin a very simple way, Maree. ADSL and Telkom can be problems. An ADSL actually uses your existing telephone line to work on and both can work at the same time. If anyone has any problems with ADSL or the installation, I can help to get it running.

Comment by Maree Clarkson on January 13, 2009 at 10:45am

WHAT IS ADSL?

ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) is a super-fast technology that turns an ordinary telephone line into a multitasking access tool. ADSL provides data transmission at significantly higher speeds than an ordinary dial-up or ISDN service, while maintaining the existing telephone service.

ADSL = TELKOM LINE COST + INTERNET BANDWIDTH CHARGE

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ADSL?

* Speed
* It's a permanent connection
* Cost - Capped Telkom and internet bill – no more unpredictable phone accounts .
* Multi-purpose business tool – you can talk, surf the internet and fax simultaneously

WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS OF ADSL?
ADSL users cannot be more than 3 - 5km from the exchange they are connecting to.

An ADSL is limited to traditional copper telephone lines, quality of the copper connection may influence the quality of the connection. Your exchange will need to support ADSL and ports have to be available.

ADSL MODEM REQUIREMENTS
If you choose to have a “home” user ADSL installed (installed to a single PC), than you require a USB modem which we can supply to you for R599, or rent to you for R60 per month (subject to a 12 month contract). If you choose to have an “SME” ADSL installed (for more than one PC), you require an Ethernet modem , which we can supply to you for R1299, or rent to you for R125 per month (subject to a 12 month contract).

ADSL HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
To derive the maximum from an ADSL connection, I recommend that the user's PC meets these minimum requirements:

* Windows 2000
* Pentium II
* Minimum 166 MHz processor speed
* 128 MB of Ram
* 100 MB storage
* CD Rom drive

Comment by Maree Clarkson on January 10, 2009 at 9:43am

Hi all! If anybody is interested in starting and setting up their own website, feel free to contact me for any info or help you might need in getting started - besides contacting me personally, you can have a look at my website http://icreateonline.co.za to see what is on offer - a website is for sharing with the world! and can be business orientated or purely personal - I have created a couple of websites for people purely to display and talk about their pets!

Start out on a new project and fire up your passion! A website really is a great way to get your stuff out there in the most enjoyable way possible!

Comment by Lynda Smith on December 6, 2008 at 5:42pm

Thanks for the great comment here, Maree. Many Boomers may not have had the opportunity to practice and work in depth on computers and fear the unknown. As Maree has said the thing getting in the way is FEAR. I want to encourage you that it is never too late to learn and part of what I want to achieve on this site is to get more Boomers into technology and expose them to a world that will open many new doors for them.

Comment by Maree Clarkson on December 6, 2008 at 7:38am

About 15 years ago I joined the PC community or revolution, as it was for me then, and from not even knowing where to switch the darned thing on, to now actually designing and hosting websites, I discovered an interesting fact - WOMEN ARE A LEADING FORCE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB!

When I started surfing the web on topics that interested me, it was quite clear that women were great at writing interesting content, great at designing their blogs or websites and seemed to have a certain talent for putting things clearly into perspective.

And I can assure you I do not necessarily surf recipes and cooking classes or dress design and information on babies. My interests expand widely into "a man's world", and subjects like 'web hosting', web design' and anything that covers topics like 'Choose an HTML Editor', 'Learn HTML', 'Learn CSS', 'HTML Tags/HTML Codes' and 'How to Build A Website' let me to WOMEN giving information on these topics!

As an over 50 "technology and gadget queen" I have found great satisfaction in making use of the vast technological advances made over the last decade and it opens up a wonderful world of instant communication (e-mail, Skype, etc), keeping in touch with friends, family and business associates via social networking communities (Facebook, LinkedIn, and now NING!), blogging on various topics (I personally have 5 blog sites!) and blogging is a great way to interact with people who have similar interests as yourself - no financial gain, pure uninhibited talking from the heart on topics of passion or general interest.

We are on the point of "re-firing, and I have also started up and built my own websites to give exposure to our business for when we move from our current home and trading premises to our 'dream' re-tyrement venue.

Having a website of your own to promote your business. Starting a website as an 'over 50' is a great way of firing up your passion again and is a great way of creating 'passive income'.

Thousands of new Websites are added to the incredibly vast catalogue of cyberspace every month. That's really amazing, especially when you consider this could literally go on forever and the Web would never get "filled up"!
 
The Web really is an unlimited opportunity for growth and expansion, whether your aims are business, charitable, or personal. However, quite sadly, for every Website that does go live, there are many hundred other people who "want to" launch their site but just can't find the confidence to do so.
 
Many people will say they "just don't have the time" or they "can't afford it right now" but the truth is these are just excuses in almost every case. Basic psychology suggests that we tend to put off, avoid, or make excuses for not doing those things we are afraid of for one reason or another.
 
The truth is, most potential website owners are simply intimidated by what they believe will be an ultra-technical process. And the great news here is that building a fabulous Website is not an overly technical process! And, as an over 50, or if you have just 're-fired', you probably have more time on your hands than what you know to do with!