100 Year-Old Woman’s First Computer is an iPad

By John Farrier in Blogs & Internet, Video Clips on Apr 23, 2010 at 6:06 pm

Watch this elderly (but very sharp) woman interact with a computer for the first time in her life:

We, Virginia’s family, wish to say this video was made within minutes of her receiving her iPad. ? She quickly caught on to how to read and write on it, activities which were impossible before. She cannot read large print books any longer as her glaucoma prevents this. Glasses are useless. She loves to read and is a avid poet, now writing many many limericks for fun. She does not bend over the iPad, as you see in this video, but now puts it on several pillows.

via Urlesque

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emmakate
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Good for her! I don’t even think my parents (ages 55 and 60) could do any of that! I would understand not ever having a computer since she was raised that way, so I wonder if her kids wanted her to get one?
kristyk
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:40 pm
great to see older people try new tech
Edward
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
I bought one for my 87 year old neighbor the day it came out. They work well together. Pity about the Internet connection problem.
Vonskippy
Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Shes old not dead.

Now a vid with a Zombie using a iPad, that would be Neat.
Nimrod
Apr 24th, 2010 at 12:16 am
“Where’s the porn, Sonny?”
Juice
Apr 24th, 2010 at 12:19 am
I know a great treatment for that glaucoma.
swissonian
Apr 24th, 2010 at 2:36 am
an apple ad on neatorama? :\
Miss Cellania
Apr 24th, 2010 at 2:55 am
Wonderful for her! Older people are plenty capable of learning to use new technologies. One reason they often don’t is because they don’t see a big payoff for the hassle of learning it. This lady most likely has no use for instant messaging or forums or Chatroulette, but adjustable font size helps her to do the exact things she loves and missed. This is why the Kindle is so popular with older people, and if you can learn to use a Kindle, you can learn to use a computer. I hope Virginia can write lots more poetry.
_Jane
Apr 24th, 2010 at 3:41 am
That’s awsome that she’s so open about new technology.
My grandparents don’t really like using their normal computer and it’s a pity because they could do so much with it. So many people are making fun of the iPad (which IS undestandable at some points), but I love to see how it’s actually really helping this woman =).
R2K
Apr 24th, 2010 at 10:28 am
If only PCs made touch screen tablets like this… wait they do, and have been doing so for about a decade. Yet again apple sells overpriced hardware that replicates what PCs have been doing for years, but they use marketing and misleading claims to sell to their minority of addicted base that is usually not very savy or aware.
MariJewel
Apr 24th, 2010 at 10:51 am
This is really so cool! I wonder how my grandma would use this if she own one.
SenorMysterioso
Apr 24th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
The iPad is so simple that even a grown woman with 100 years of knowledge and experience can use it. I know several elderly people that hate stories like this because it makes them seem like children. Hey look at grandpa he’s sending email good for him. The dude fought in WWII, built his home from the ground up and didnt miss a day of work in 70 years, he can handle a little two fingered typing.
Mo
Apr 24th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Apple has got to love this, first the PM of Norway shown running the country on an iPad and now on the opposite end of the spectrum, an elderly woman writing lymerics and reading again.
ted
Apr 24th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
So that’s who’s been sexting me…
dermotmoconnor
Apr 25th, 2010 at 12:29 am
Regarding the “why didn’t they give her a PC tablet” comments – the video clip would have been different:

Not “Where’s the comma?”, but “Where’s CTRL ALT and DELETE?”, and my favourite: “Why is the screen all blue with white numbers all over it?”

Think about it, won’t you?

And yes, I’m a PC user. Still think there’s a place for proportionally aware Industrial Design though.
aidanarcia
Apr 25th, 2010 at 2:01 am
I must appreciate her enthusiasm for the new technology. She has left behind her old age and has become a source of inspiration for the younger generation.
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/cho-yung-tea-review-amp-fr ee-trial-2124982.html
Chris Johnston
Apr 25th, 2010 at 5:30 am
Wow! I haven’t seen that level of sharpness in a person that age since George Burns!
CJSchmidt
Apr 25th, 2010 at 8:51 am
@R2K
Sigh. You freely admit that other companies have tried (and failed) to create a touchscreen tablet that people like… And use this fact to take a swipe at Apple? How does that even work? The iPad is succeeding because Apple created a touch-based os and believed in the device enough to market it properly (that 10 hour battery doesn’t hurt either). Put one of those pen-based toshiba tablets running windows XP in front of this lady and see what happens.
Martinez
Apr 26th, 2010 at 5:33 am
Lovely lady! Congrats to her and her family…at least she can read and write whatever she wants…
DaMamaJama
Apr 27th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Thank you Chris Johnston! Not one other person mentioned how bright and youthful she is! I’d never guess she was 100, maybe 80s. Good for her! I can only hope I’m that vital at 100 (science-willing)
ipad developers
May 6th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Thanks for the video! It’s so cute and inspiring to see how this old woman manages with such a high-tech gadget as iPad. I respect that she is so curious and lively at her 100th year. I wish all old people were so full of joy of life as Virginia.
dvr security system
Jul 5th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Is this for real! I cant even afford an ipad now! Wow lucky lady, wonder if she will use it. Should have got her an itouch instead
Faiz
Oct 3rd, 2010 at 1:11 am
now she can have a good thing to pass her time with.

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