Not Just For Seniors – PointerWare Addresses Vision Challenges

Last week my nine year-old daughter asked me, “Mom, are you going to use PointerWare one day?”  Just as I was about to respond with, “No honey, Mommy’s been using a computer since MS-DOS was the hot new thing so I’m probably not a good candidate for PointerWare,” an image from this summer popped into my mind. 

 There I was in my middle-aged woman, black, one-piece bathing suit and rubber flip flops, trying to read the ingredient list on a can of bug spray.  I wanted to know if it was the “Super deadly you’ll get cancer within a year if you accidentally inhale it” kind or the “Its packaging is cute and gosh it smells so pretty that it will probably attract insects rather than repel them” kind.  

To my dismay, the print seemed so much smaller than it had the previous summer.  I found myself squinting, then holding the can out further and further.  It was only after a search through the junk drawer for a pair of dollar store reading glasses that I could actually read the label.  

I’m 48 years old and like most of my peers, my eyes are starting to go.  So yeah, maybe I will use PointerWare down the road.  We often think of PointerWare as being ideal for seniors who have never used a computer before – and it is.  But PointerWare’s extra large buttons and voice recording features also make it a good solution for other populations – like people with vision issues.

 By the way, if you’re wondering, it was the “smells pretty but has enough DEET to kill a small pet” kind.

- Posted by Karen