It's even smaller than you might think...

Here is a link that might be useful: World's smallest abacus

I hear you, moonshadow! When I go camera shopping, I go right past those tiny cameras and look for one I can get a reasonable grip on.

And cell phones? I hate my phone. I would soooo give up all the extras they throw on a cell phone in favor of better reception. Do they make cell phones with the pull-out antenna anymore? I don't need music, I don't need a camera. What I need is to hear the other person on the other end.

suero, that's so tiny it's hard to even fathom how they did it.

gw, ah, the cell phone dilemma. BTDT (again, with my mother). She doesn't need all the bells and whistles, she just needs a phone to converse on with buttons that aren't the size of pinheads and good volume (or hearing aid compatible). Nothing more. To say it was a challenge is an understatement, don't know how many we went through that didn't work. I finally found our carrier's h-aid rating chart and discovered my prior phone was top rated for h-aids (knew volume and reception were good). Gave it to her, it's perfect. (Motorola W755). DH has the same phone, works very well for him too. (I've borrowed his when we went to the country because mine was dropping calls, his was perfect.) One of my best phones was an audiovox brand, little pull up antenna. I could be in the very back of Target or HD, metal roof, thunderstorm, and get crystal clear reception. I've not had that happen with any phone since. Halfway to the back of the store, calls are cutting out. :/

Major frustrations ... and it's only going to get worse! I'll never give up a land line ... for two critical reasons. It consistently provides a good connection (have to walk out into the yard to use the cell and we're less than a mile from the nearest tower), and I can actually read the buttons on the phone without glasses.

As our population ages someone needs to take a step back and reconsider the movement to micro.

I wonder if big will be back as the Boomer generation becomes more geriatric.

In addition to the problem of unusable phones & cameras for the elderly, there are no mp3 players amenable to the visually impaired. Isn't that odd? The one device that could be so useful and entertaining for someone with little sight -- audiobooks, podcasts, radio, memo recording, and music -- is impossible to use because of the tiny buttons and small print menus.

DH & I discuss this aaaaaaaaaaaaall the time! :0) We're waiting to buy a flat screen TV until they decide what perfection is.....how long the green color will last, how light, unbreakable.....lower price. We had heard "organic" TV's were the latest thing. The screens bend. You can make one into a watch that wraps around your wrist for instance. But.....I haven't heard any more about them lately. :0) There must be something newer and better getting all the press. :0)

awm, I think it will (see my thoughts on the "need" thread on the main board), definitely. I've resisted texting because with my hard-won tile-project-derived trigger thumb, I know I'd just want to throw the phone across the room.

Yes, there is a business out there adapting technology to meet the needs of aging boomers.

Fly, I laugh because I am a groovy grammy. I text my grand kids all the time. It is instant communication. LOL! You shouldn't use your thumbs anyway. Use your pointer fingers. In no time, you will be great!

As soon as I saw how much my grands text, I knew I had to get with it. They text me all the time. I feel so included in their lives because of texting, KWIM?

Moonshadow, I agree completely. DH teases me that I have to put my reading glasses on to see the keys on my cell phone when I try to text or type in a name. If I don't have my glasses, it is a challenge to remember where each letter is, even though I can "touch-type" on a regular keyboard easily. My mother is at the point where she has trouble understanding how to use a cell phone, even when we make the call and then hand it to her. She is 90 years old - wonder how small things will be when we are that age!