Five Tips For Tapping Technology For Lasting Memories (NAPSA)—Although memories, even pictures, may fade, many of today’s savvy senior citizens have an information-age solution: they create digital family archives. PC ownership among the 65and-older set has increased by 145 percent since 1996, and by 86 percent for 55 to 64 year olds. Americans 55 and older are the fastest growing group of home computer owners. Seniors spend more time per month online (38 hours) than any other age group, with more than 83 percent making daily visits to the Internet. “Many seniors are using computers to write their memoirs so their stories will live on forever,” said Helen Hasketh, of SeniorNet, the premier technology trainer and online community for adults over 50. “Computers make this easier than ever.” “Lots of seniors receive comput- ers as gifts from their children and don’t know how to get started,” Hasketh added. “Senior- Net helps them learn the basics.” Sometips: Cameras are key. Whether grandchildren use a digital video camera to interview grandparents or grandma snaps and scans photos, movies and pictures breathe life into memories. Flatbed scanners are best for archival pictures. Combination printers and scanners can wrinkle, chip or ruin photographs and jam the scanner. The right software matters. SeniorNet uses Microsoft Works Suite for many ofits classes. This gives seniors Microsoft Word for writing personal stories, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Standard to Older Americans are using the latest technology to preserve memories for future generations. research information to bolster those memoirs, Microsoft Picture It! Photo to share or archive photos, and some of the 300 templates in Works Task Launcher to complete a family tree or create a scrapbook. The software also features Microsoft Money 2003 Standard and Microsoft Streets & Trips to make managing finances and planningtravel easier. External storage is worth the investment. Digital files can take up a lot of space on a computer. Scan and save newspaper clippings, grandchildren’s drawings and old letters to enhancethe scrapbook. “The biggest misconception seniors have is that they need to become ‘techies’ to use a computer,” Hasketh said. “That just isn’t true. Software like Works Suite has everything they need to start. It is designed to be easy to learn and use so it doesn’t intimidate our students.” To find the nearest SeniorNet training center, visit http://www. seniornet.org.
