I wouldn't say that, Tichy. If people buy a computer for their homes, they are motivated to learn new things. If it doesn't work out for them, they certainly could manage with more motivation.

But so could anyone achieve a BSc. Everyone with a BSc could have an MSc. All having a MSc should be working on their PHD. You get the idea. If you can go one step, you _could_ always take two.

Sometimes you don't want to go that extra step, because there's not enough ROI. And sometimes you don't need to, because it was a design flaw.

Or you don't need to because you have a son you can ask for help instead...

Maybe it is one of the few excuses to get in touch. So the iPad will lead to more loneliness in the lives of old people, because suddenly they don't know what to ask anymore :-)

Or they could for instance share pictures they took of their beautiful summer garden instantly with their grandchildren - including an invitation for dinner on the weekends.

As a techie, I want to believe that technology enables communication sometimes. Especially for edge cases like older folks.

I'm only available on the phone, and she usually suffers with something for a while before asking me. She's good about that. Also, the questions have become less and less frequent every year as she adds to her repertoire of concrete know-how.

Didn't mean it in a bad way - just some people don't know what they are missing if they don't use computers, so they don't make that much of an effort.