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mrfalcon · 07-13-06, 09:01 PM

I sold my old WM2002 Ipaq to my aging Dad because I really felt it would help him remember things. It was better than a regular alarm clock because it would actually tell him what he was supposed to do in a window that fills the whole screen and demands that he choose between 2 simple options. It is simple and elegant and easily graspable, even by the elderly. Even if he gets too old to figure out the calender app, I could just enter things for him and all he would have to do is press one button or the other when the damn thing beeps.

Of course, my dad isn't just any old guy, and instead of choosing between the 2 simple options, he clicked the icon in the top-corner to close the window, causing the alarm to loop endlessly, forcing a soft reset. I used this thing for years and never had this problem. But now that we figured it out, he knows not to do it and its not a problem.

The point of this story is not to say that the old style of notifications are bad. He figured it out, and he's finding the device really useful. My point is that the new notifications are worse. Even with the super-simple format of the old-style notifications, its still possible for an inexperienced user to get confused. Now, with WM5, we have notifications that hide behind other apps and bring up tiny windows that easy to ignore. I think PocketPCs have a great potential to empower the elderly by giving them a sort of "outboard brain". It saddens me that Microsoft would take something simple and easy-to-use and make it needlessly complicated. I hope my Dad never has to upgrade.

07-13-06, 09:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
mrfalcon Aximsite Rookie DAP Freshman Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 44 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Why I Hate WM5 Notifications I sold my old WM2002 Ipaq to my aging Dad because I really felt it would help him remember things. It was better than a regular alarm clock because it would actually tell him what he was supposed to do in a window that fills the whole screen and demands that he choose between 2 simple options. It is simple and elegant and easily graspable, even by the elderly. Even if he gets too old to figure out the calender app, I could just enter things for him and all he would have to do is press one button or the other when the damn thing beeps. Of course, my dad isn't just any old guy, and instead of choosing between the 2 simple options, he clicked the icon in the top-corner to close the window, causing the alarm to loop endlessly, forcing a soft reset. I used this thing for years and never had this problem. But now that we figured it out, he knows not to do it and its not a problem. The point of this story is not to say that the old style of notifications are bad. He figured it out, and he's finding the device really useful. My point is that the new notifications are worse. Even with the super-simple format of the old-style notifications, its still possible for an inexperienced user to get confused. Now, with WM5, we have notifications that hide behind other apps and bring up tiny windows that easy to ignore. I think PocketPCs have a great potential to empower the elderly by giving them a sort of "outboard brain". It saddens me that Microsoft would take something simple and easy-to-use and make it needlessly complicated. I hope my Dad never has to upgrade. __________________ *IMO, my opinion is not humble. It kicks ass no matter how many people disagree with it :approve: :approve: Get the A12 Update! It can cure cancer and get out those tough, ground-in dirt and grass stains!