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Personal computing for Pensioners
As a pensioner it is very likely that you will have to make your own arrangements about your computer and communications facilities, rather that having use of corporate services. You will also want your PC to fit into your home environment. This section is intended to give guidance and share experience from the pensioner community, and is aimed at non-expert users (there is plenty published elsewhere for those who might be experts). First some general information, followed by Guidance and FAQs. How do Pensioners keep up to date? Some would say why worry, but wake up – the technology moves on and enables you to do more than you might think, or even imagine. So think about how modern systems might be useful to you, then ask around. This website will enable you to contact other ICL Group Pensioners – there is lots of expertise in the ICL pensioner community – use the member contact facilities to ask around. Specifically take a positive attitude to moving your own systems forward – and consider a bit of technology refresh! You may want facilities that involve using your PC for interests, hobbies, or home entertainment. PC technology and products keep moving forward, and systems that would have been advanced a few years ago are now standard – and they are easier to use (but there may be some debate about that). Technology Refresh is a bit of jargon for replacing older PC systems with new and more cost effective ones. Do you put it off until faced with some failure or do you take it as an opportunity to get a system to do more on? The industry will refer to us a `Home or Home Office’ user. To read about the latest products, click here to view the Fujitsu Siemens website. PC systems for pensioners - getting a Fujitsu PC First let’s explain what the Fujitsu Group offers – then more guidance information on what to look for. The Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) company is a major European manufacturer and supplier of PC systems. Most are manufactured in a modern world class factory in Germany . There are ranges of PC’s and laptops for the `Home’ and the `Professional’ markets. For the UK home (and home office) marketplace Fujitsu Siemens work through dealers and specialist retailers. Details of current PC products from FSC for the home user can be found on the FSC website - to view click here. A FSC dealer who may be known to former ICL staff is PC Interworks Ltd. They are the UK channel for `grade 2’ PC’s (slightly used new units) from FSC, and they also supply new products from the FSC range. To look at their website for consumer sales click here. Also see the members area about offers to registered members from PC Interworks. Here are a few questions and answers – help improving the answers is welcome. Getting support and training This is probably the area where the pensioner community can help each other – having both people who are up to date and can help, and people who may be in an earlier personal computing time warp and need help. Where can I get online training? A range of FREE online training can be found on the following websites: How best help get non users started? Pensioners who are not PC and Internet users and who want to get started will usually need locally provided hands on practice. Your Local Authority or local library may be able to give advice about local courses for older people on using PCs. Also the Government sponsored Learndirect scheme has a range of courses, including practical training on Home and Office IT. These are available at centres throughout the country; for more details visit the LearnDirect website. Should I get a PC package? Yes - unless you really want to build your own system, you should look for a package, with ready installed software, warranty, and some supporting services. Most packages these days fully support home internet and mail use, and include Microsoft system and office software. Is there any `staff purchase ‘ scheme of benefit to ICL Group pensioners? For those of you who remember company staff purchase schemes – the world has moved on, and currently there are no company `staff purchase’ arrangements. Technology is delivering more for less cost than in previous years, and the margins on hardware are low. Also service and support, and ongoing network costs are factors to consider. There are many places to look for PC’s – either national suppliers or local suppliers – and at any time there may be deals and special offers on Fujitsu Siemens PC’s. To look at the current consumer offers from PC Interworks Ltd click here . Does the Government backed Home Computing Initiative (HCI) apply to pensioners? No – that was a scheme for employees, which has been discontinued by the government. Laptop or Desktop for home use? The large consumer marketplace has driven down prices, along with increased specification and facilities. Laptop prices have come down more, so there is now less of a differential from a desktop PC. Where space is limited, or a more compact system is wanted, you should consider a Laptop for home use. Several pensioners have `upgraded’ their existing system to a Laptop - effectively buying a laptop computer to provide an upgrade path, and at the same time reducing the required “real-estate” needed to house the computer. Pensioners who have followed this upgrade path almost all use the laptop as a straight replacement for their “old” desktop, and never move it to any other location. Most Desktop systems for the home consumer market are in tower format, and offered with a flat panel LCD display. If you want TV on the LCD as well – look for a LCD-TV – prices of these are coming down. Is there a target standard PC configuration for pensioners when buying a PC? A suggested minimum configuration to look for is: Celeron 2.0GHz, with 40Gb disk, 256MB RAM, 15inch flat screen, three (or more!) USB connectors, Firewire, built-in analogue modem, built-in LAN, combo DVD reader/CD Writer, (DVD/CD writers are really now the norm!) The latest products are offering more at much the same price or less that last years products typically:
How long should I expect to go on using Windows 98 on a classic PC for Internet and Mail? For use on an existing PC – either laptop or desktop, you can continue to use Windows 98 as long as it continues to provide the facilities that you need. However, if you find new devices that you wish to add to your system, you may discover that Windows 98 doesn’t support them, and no additional hardware drivers are available from the manufacturers of this new hardware. This is happening more and more. The answer is therefore, “if it does what you want, then there is no reason to change to anything else” If you are looking for additional software packages, there is a wealth of ready-made software available. Also, do use the Microsoft on line updating service to keep up to date with critical and security updates. New PC’s systems (both laptops and desktops) now come with Windows XP, usually factory installed. Can I get security software for my existing PC (virus checking, firewall, and spyware)? A good virus checker is the AVG product, available from http://www.grisoft.com. A free version is available for home users. Do keep your virus checker up to date, by updating over the Internet. Do use an anti spy tool. Your Internet Service Provider may provide one, and additional free products are available on the internet (one such is Spybot). If you do not already have a firewall, a free product for home users is available at http://www.zonealarm.com Questions for which more information would be welcome Here are a few further questions – help providing answers is requested. If you have relevant experience and can help please contact the Pensioner Topics editor in the first instance. Wherever possible, please include links to any sensible and well written material already on the web. What about other Operating systems? Unless you are expert, if your aim is to access the internet and run `home office’ type applications – go with the flow for the home user - Microsoft XP home edition. More could be said on this subject; if you have positive experience relevant to the ICL pensioner community, do contact us about writing that up. Where to look about upgrading existing PC’s? This is quite difficult to answer – not because of any shortage of information on what’s available (there is much on the internet), but because the answer depends on what the owner wishes to do. The best advice in this scenario is to consider very carefully, just what is required in functional terms. A few pointers for guidance, are as follows:
More could be said on this subject; if you have positive experience relevant to the ICL pensioner community, do contact us about writing that up. Where can I get the most capacity Broadband at the best price? This is a moving marketplace, characterised by `marketing packages’, which are based on underlying high capacity technology. More information is sought. My household has several PC’s – how should I connect them to one broadband connection? Use local Wi-Fi. Routers are available from broadband suppliers, and from other suppliers. |
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