Articles
CBS, NEW YORK The Early Show:
Smoothing Out Aging's Rough Edges
September 20, 2005
(CBS) Aging baby boomers are now the most financially influential
group in the United States. Consumer product manufacturers realize
this and know many boomers, still wanting to believe they're young,
are refusing to slow down and admit many things aren't what they
used to be - such as performing once-routine tasks.
But Best magazine Senior Editor David Gregg brought several devices
to The Early Show set that are designed to enable older people to do
things just as well as they used to.
Among them:
(CBS) BIGKEYS LX COMPUTER KEYBOARD The purpose of this keyboard is
obvious from the start; no subtlety here. The keys are almost four
times bigger than the normal ones. The size of the keys seems to
make the keyboard itself look larger than a standard one, but that's
only an illusion. It's a full size keyboard, 7 inches by 18 inches,
with 60 oversized keys. Every key is an extra large 1 inch square
button with easy to read labels in large block print on bright white
keys. The lettering itself is a half-inch tall. BigKeys is perfect
for people challenged by dexterity, vision and arthritis-related
problems. Cost $167
Transcript of Interview:
Hannah Storm:
It's no secret that you might lose a little bit on your fast ball as
you get older, maybe lose a few steps.
But today's Trend Report has some very cool new gadgets to help you
get your groove back. Like computer keyboards with extra-large keys.
Hannah:
Well, growing older is an inevitable part of life, and unfortunately
some really simple tasks that we used to take for granted can become
more difficult as we age.
So David Gregg, Senior Editor at Best Magazine, has some great
gadgets designed to make life easier for older people.
Hannah:
These are fabulous, these huge keyboards. You imagine someone with
arthritis, maybe, writing at a PC.
David Gregg, Best Magazine:
Yup, the BigKeys keyboard. Two different configurations: this is
QWERTY for a person who knows how to type, this is alphabetic, so
ABCDEFG, for a person just getting used to typing, or getting on to
the internet, or sending e-mail.
Very easy to see, great for a person with arthritis or dexterity
issues.
Priced at about $167.00, but a real godsend for a person that
doesn't necessarily know how to navigate on the internet.
Hannah:
A lot of older people like to spend time on the computer and stay in
touch with grandchildren and stuff like that.
Hannah:
OK, there's a big market for these products now, right?, with the
baby boomers aging.
David:
Absolutely. With the 50-plus crew getting older, and that's the
biggest aging segment in America, these are going to get more and
more popular and you'll see more and more options out there.
Hannah:
That's us! This is for us.
