Posted by Janis at Paladin at 5/6/08 11:59 a.m.

I was a cofounder of BigScreenLive and saw first hand how seniors don't want to be left out of the kids and grandkids digital lives. No one sends photos anymore, they send links to photos. No one sends gift lists, they send digital wishlists. Many investors think this problem won't exist they get old because they are computer literate already. What we heard and believe is that we are more dependent on computers and email as a baby boomer demographic but will have same infirmities as our parents (dementia, arthritis, lack of ability to multitask, etc.) and therefore need BigScreenLive even more! It's fabulous to see how connecting seniors to their families for online games, photosharing/scrapbooking/emailing enhances the lonely life of our senior population.

Spread the word to people you know who have this need!

Posted by Debra Sinick at 5/6/08 3:18 p.m.

I think this is a great product. I advocate for seniors as a volunteer on the Kirkland Senior Council so I am actively involved with seniors.

So many seniors have family members spread out all over the country and Big Screen would make it so much easier for people to keep in touch via photos and email. It would help all the generations in a family be connected and involved.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/8/08 6:12 p.m.

way cool, it might help me; i'm 57

way to go cacey

Posted by shangrilacottage at 8/13/08 6:26 p.m.

I got online at age 63 with the I-Opener...anyone remember that one? They had large ads in the Sunday mag section of the P-I/Times in 1999. One day I called the 1-800 number and talked to a sales rep.

I think I paid $99 and what arrived by mail a couple weeks later was a 7" screen, connected to a basic keyboard. There was a key in the upper right and upper left corners that worked like a "mouse" and keys above the number keys for NEWS, SPORTS, MAIL, WEATHER, etc. Or you could "click on" one of those words on the satellite screen when you first turned it on.

I-Opener was the ISP and they (and the guts, processor, etc) were located in Texas. I think the monthly fee was $21.95. You could access most anything on the internet...although several years later, it got more and more difficult (slower and slower) to access many web sites. Just not enough power AND they never bothered to update the system. Eventually they sold out to Earthlink (who also neglected to update the system).

I had bought a Canon 2000 printer (also $99 and the only printers that would work with the I-Ope) so that I could copy most anything from the internet. I keyed letters to my pen pal and then printed them for mailing as she did not have a PC.

It was a wonderful thing to have the I-Opener and learn to use the internet. Very easy to use. But by 2005 the system was so slow that I bought a desktop PC from BestBuy and never looked back.

I started out using AOL as my ISP, which came one-month-free with the PC. If you are looking for EASY, I recommend AOL because they make everything simple for their users. The senior chat rooms are great fun, too...and I've gotten lots of helpful hints from some of the more PC-literate members.

I have Broadstripe broadband now that it is available where I live, but I still use AOL to chat, shop and email, too. Broadstripe is quick...lots quicker than dial-up AND basic-cable-TV comes with it (whether you want it or not), lol.

I do love using the internet...I turn on my PC first thing in the morning. I can watch live videos and even live movies from Netflix.com online. It is quite the thing and I recommend it to everyone.

Janet