1 May 2008
Microsoft UK is developing a "senior PC", which will have a simple interface and be aimed at older users.
The PC, which is being developed in partnership with the charities Help the Aged and Age Concern, will come with software and simplifies tools for day to day activities. With the aid of this machine users will be able to manage prescriptions, finances, travel planning and photos as well as the standard emailing and word processing.
The plans for the Senior PC were unveiled at the Digital Inclusion conference in London and is one of several projects that Microsoft UK is working on.
In the UK alone, some 17 million citizens are described as 'digitally excluded'. In the United States, Microsoft already offers a number of so-called senior PCs, in conjunction with HP computers. It is not clear if the UK project is identical to the one in the US.
Other projects Microsoft is working on include an ad-funded PC and one that uses what it describes as a "social software licensing model". In partnership with Milton Keynes Council, this machine will come preloaded with a "digital literacy curriculum". This a step by step guide to how to get online, be safe and perform simple computer tasks. Initially it will be given to a thousand households and this will be gradually scaled up to 10,000.
Speaking at the National Digital Inclusion Conference in London, Microsoft's head of skills and economic affairs, Stephen Uden, laid out the firm's vision for closing the digital divide:
Reaching most of the final third will mean that we have to throw out the rule book. We will only solve these issues by taking risks and trying new things.
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