Computing For Senior Citizens

The fastest growing group of new computer users is senior citizens, often referred to as 'silver surfers'. If you fit into this group you have probably watched your children or grandchildren doing all sorts of amazing things with their computers and you have decided to take the plunge. If so, this article, the first in a series, will advise you how to choose your first computer.

The first decision to make is whether to buy a PC (personal computer) or a laptop. The PC is the one that has a 'tower' which holds most of the bits that make the thing work; it has a separate screen and a mouse. The laptop on the other hand has all its bits in one box which is the size of a large book. Notebooks and netbooks are just smaller versions of the laptop.

Unless portability is important to you I would advise you opt for a PC. Not only is the screen larger and usually easier to read, and using a mouse to move your cursor around the screen is less fiddly than a tracking
pad; but a PC is cheaper too.

Having decided on the hardware (the bits you can see and touch), the next choice is the software (the code that makes the machine work). Here the choice is between two contenders: Microsoft's Windows and a Mac. Most computers come with a Windows operating system already installed and, whilst the market leader is necessarily automatically the best, a computer running Windows should be cheaper to buy than a Mac.

If you have opted for the Windows system there are further decisions still to be made. Windows 7 is the latest offering from Microsoft and this replaces Windows Vista. Windows & is an improvement on the OS it replaces, so let's assume you opt for that. However, Windows 7 itself comes in several versions but unless you are using your new computer for business choose the Home Premium. This will enable you to send and receive emails, to shop on the Internet, write letters, use a spreadsheet to help you to control the family budget, watch and record your favourite TV program, and to create DVDs of you camcorder footage and photographs.

Future articles in the series will show you how to get the best out of your new computer.