I’ve just come across an email system that sounds terrific for those older members of the family that want to keep in touch by email, but are intimidated by all the options available. I remember when I was hesitant to hit the wrong button in case I lost all of my writing, or even worse, my pictures.

Anyway, this program is called pawpaw mail, named after the first elderly gentlemen who used it. I haven’t had a reason to use it yet myself, but the interface seems very easy to use and the price sounds more than reasonable, especially if it allows everyone in the family to keep in touch, no matter what their age or technical ability. I’m thinking about getting it for my grandson once he starts school so that he can practice his reading and writing.

Please let me know if you try the program and what you think of it.

Technorati Tags: email, keeping in touch with older people, paw paw mail

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My daughter says I am a computer junkie. That may be, but this time it was for my grandaughter. She is in second year university and needs a good laptop. I saw a newspaper ad for the Acer Aspire One for a great price of only $399. So of course I had to go check it out. That model weighs less than 3 pounds and has an 8.9 inch screen, but I thought it might be okay for her.

The store ended up being sold out but there was a comparable style available for me to check the size. I realized that the screen was too small for a student to use as her main computer. I almost needed my magnifying glass to see the icons on the desktop.

The best laptop buy ended up being an Acer Aspire. With instant savings of $200, the laptop only cost me $599 plus tax. Since my grandaughter is in an arts program, a mac computer would probably have been the best one for her, but it was way more than my budget allowed. The Acer laptop has 3 G of memory and a 250 GB hard drive, so it should meet her needs for school. And it looks nice too, even has a built-in webcam – a nice plus since I see her in person so seldom.

Bottom line: grandaughter is all excited about her new laptop, I’m in her good books, saved some money, and I got to feed my computer addiction all in one shot. Not bad.

Technorati Tags: Acer Aspire laptop, student computer

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I recently purchased a digital camera for my grandkids to use. Called “Kids Cam Digital Camera”, it’s advertised for ages six and up, but my three-year-old grandson was using it and had no problems at all. The camera supposedly takes 152 pictures , but that must be if you purchase a memory card or something. I’m one of those ‘hate to read instructions’ people, so I’ve only been able to take 20 photos at a time and then you have to download them to your computer so you can take more. Downloading the pictures was quite easy and the camera comes with software that allows you to edit and print your pictures using templates provided. There are also activities provided in the software package: a story maker, an edit center, a game center and a slideshow maker. There is also a Web camera program.

The photo activity software is quite good and the camera itself takes good pictures when used outside. There is no flash, so indoor pictures tend to be very dark. Since this kids’ digital camera only cost me $19, I can’t expect too much.

The main thing that I don’t really like about the camera is the fact that you can’t preview the pictures. There is no lens view or anything like that, so the pictures have to be uploaded to your computer before you can see them.

For a young child, it’s the perfect little camera. The one I have is gray with dark red trim. There were a few different colors, and the case is plastic, so it’s a fairly sturdy little unit for child.

According to the information on the package, the edit center allows you to add effects, distort the pictures and tweak them with 18 different editing tools. You can also add captions and use the painting tools that are included. The slideshow maker allows you to produce, direct and star in your own megahit. Now, I haven’t tried either one of those programs yet, although I imagine they’re fairly easy.

The camera and the software were quite simple to install. Although not useful for any serious photo taking, the Kids Cam is an inexpensive introduction to an exciting hobby.

Technorati Tags: digital camera, kids camera, photo editing

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I have become the proud owner of a cute and cuddly, 9 inch tall, huggable speaker bear. He looks like your regular teddy, except that the soles of his feet are speakers. He has a connection wire on his back to plug an mp3 player into.

He’s light enough to carry from room to room, the sound is pretty good (better than I thought it would be) and if I record my voice and have it play, I can entertain my two-year old granddaughter for at least ten minutes – okay, maybe five.

Here is a picture of my cute little iBear:

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 Some of these ideas are easy enough for an older child to do, or you and your child could do them together. Don’t disregard an idea as being too difficult, there is probably a software program out there that can help you with it. 

• Make  bookmarks decorated with photos and laminated
• Create custom crosswords
• Type manuscripts for aspiring authors 
• Scan memorabilia and create personal certificates
• Provide  Internet research for hard to find books
• Create  business cards and personal calling cards
• Make photo buttons and stickers for children
• Create calendars and sell on cafepress.com
• Use a calligraphy font to design invitations and cards
• Scan photos and save them as a slide show on a cd
• Personalize letterhead and matching envelopes for a child
• Write and illustrate children’s stories
• Scan a family crest, add information and create a certificate
• Create a family tree
• Design gift cards for florists
• Search  for genealogy information
• Create greeting cards
• Do income tax and bookkeeping
• Create photo jigsaw puzzles
• Write or edit letters for new Canadians
• Provide translation services
• Draw and paint
• Make name tags
• Create pet birth certificates
• Write resumes
• Write letters to children
• Buy and sell for people on eBay

I would love to hear your ideas, so please add them to the list. And any success stories will be a big encouragement to all of us.

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