[rms]

Imagine you are 50 years old and have never before used a computer. It is impossible to use without extensive training; someone of that age can't figure it out on their own. Making it intuitive is a design problem but it's not as impossible as you'd think. And while they're at it, Parakey is uniting the web and the desktop.

[JMiao]

Interesting. I have much respect for Blake and Joe's efforts with Parakey, so my question revolves around the sustainability of building a business around making computers easier to use -- there's GOT to be more to this!

In other words, how critical is the problem of computer usability amongst 50 year olds when children today are being "organically" raised in basic computer literacy?

[blakeross]

Making computers easier to use is not our business model, so I'm not sure what it has to do with sustainability. And there's unique technology underpinning our efforts, of course. But I can't imagine what could be more central to a company than trying to create user satisfaction; why do we need more than that?

Second, I was raised on computers. Just because I know how to use them doesn't mean I like using them. In fact, I generally find computers to be a pain in the ass.

Finally, I suspect the problem of usability amongst 50 year olds is a very critical problem amongst 50 year olds :)

[JMiao]

Hey, Blake! My previous post was more in response to rms. When I said "There's GOT to be more to this!", what I was really meaning to say is that I'm sure you and Joe have a very good plan for carrying your mission out. Something the general public isn't quite privy to at the moment. :)

I would agree that the problem of usability amongst 50 year olds is very critical to 50 years olds. However, I'm interested in how Parakey plans to deliver their product message (and distribution!) to a mostly uneducated web demographic -- especially a group with a more narrow use case when browsing the web.

It's awesome to see you on here, Blake. :)

[rms]

I imagine they'll get the message out in the traditional ways: advertising and PR. As far as distribution, I assume long term plans involve customized hardware that would provide for an optimal Parakey experience.

[JMiao]

Advertising and PR will not be enough (and just saying these will solve your problem doesn't work either) -- Apple's "Switch" campaign is largely based around the fun, out-of-the-box experience and ease of use. All of that work and they still have a way to go in converting people (especially non-college aged folk).

As far as distribution, a customized hardware solution that will deliver Parakey's software experience doesn't really address the distribution problem. How do you get the mythical machines distribution themselves? Besides, hardware is a very different business with different metrics than the software game...attacking both at the same time would be extremely difficult.

So my question still stands at how would you get the software out to the mainstream, especially those who aren't very web-literate to begin with? I'm thinking about people like my parents who only use their browser to check Hotmail, read reviews, and maybe do some basic shopping. They would certainly adopt a new computing platform that was more intuitive, but how do you get them to do this? The same folks who would greatly benefit from Parakey's work is the same demographic that still uses Internet Explorer.

[rms]

I'm not sure what Parakey's doing, but my idea is to use financial incentives to encourage viral distribution. Install Granmos for your parents, your grandparents, the local senior center, and nursing homes. Then, you get a percentage of advertising revenue from all the new users of Granmos that you're helping.

[rms]

Even if the initial market goes away once the older generations start disappearing, there is still an enormous market _today_. For their product to catch on, they'll have to design an all around better interface than the current desktop metaphor. For Parakey to succeed in the long run, they need to appeal to power/traditional computer users as well.

I applied to Y Combinator with a very similar idea to Parakey, only entirely web-based. I got an interview last funding round, but PG and company weren't convinced we had solved the design problem.

You can see a quick design demo at www.granmos.com/420 (best viewed in full screen in Firefox). If nothing else, I think it shows how easy it can be to provide a compelling, intuitive experience to an older computer novice. I'm very excited to see what Parakey actually looks like, I see the design as much more important to their success than their cross-platorm development technology.

Blake, one thing that is necessary for you to succeed with people older than 70 is to provide alternatives to the mouse. People over a certain age just don't get it; it's too hard cognitively to translate movement on the horizontal plane to motion on a vertical screen. Touch screens are ideal but expensive. Track balls are better, because they more concretely separate the action of clicking and moving.