Future coming to Lancaster & WV

Two invaluable public services are about to come to Lancaster, one already starting.

Uber brings transportation at any time of day cheaply. Pick up your phone and transportation is moments away.

AND Lancaster City public WiFi will replace old patched together systems which have limited reliability and speed.

The latter will give fiber optics based reliable access in place of satellite, old cabling, and overcrowded spectrum.

Although most would question it, yet the day will come sooner than expected when driverless cars will become available for residents any time of day.

Driving that development is the huge economic pressure for it, and more safety for all of us.

What once took decades from notion to reality now just takes months.

It is services like these which will assure a steady of flow of seniors into Lancaster's  senior care industry.

Ordering Eyeglasses or Frames Online

Here is helpful info from a user on ordering glasses online from Zenni and others:

1. Reading your eye glass prescription http://www.allaboutvision.com/eyeglasses/eyeglass-prescription.htm

What is PD-Pupil distance   Where to get it or measure it.

Miller Optical had this measure for me.

2. Converting the prescription to reading glasses (Zenni had instructions for this) 

My prescription for example:

Using sphere reading:

OD -1.00  add the ADD reading 1.75= OD .75

OS -0.25  add the ADD reading  1.75= OS 1.50

PD # less 3 if PD for reading glasses.

3. Reading the eyeglass frame numbers from a current pair of glasses.  http://www.selectspecs.com/info/frame-measurements/

4. Comparison of Online Eyeglasses companies.

Paul & I spent a lot of time finding this information . And I spent hours going through frame sizes until I found one that closely matched my current frames.  My frame # is 51019140  That translates into

Lens width 51

Bridge width 19

Temple Length  140

Windows Sea Change

Lilliputing online magazine reports that Windows 10 will be out this summer free and configured to work with older computers back through Windows 7 even without licenses.

For some computers it will come out as a normal update and for others as a downloadable installation ISO.

So, if you used Windows in the past, but had strayed away from it, you may want to try it again.

Keep it Simple

I do what I can to help seniors keep computing simple and therefore avoid complexity and ongoing trouble.

(It should not be necessary for every senior to go through all the hurdles to get on track to keep comfortably connected.)

I talk to a lot of users and work with many and I have experience with every imaginable type of equipment.

Here are some simple guidelines.

If you're at all uneasy about computers, get an iPad and avail yourself of all the help available for it.

If you are very comfortable with computers, you are probably already doing most of your work on a smartphone, as surprising as that might be to many.

Smartphones, and plans, are cheap now.

Despite the glitter of other equipment, the device I use most is my Moto G Republic smartphone. Such phones start at about $100 with plans at $10 a month.

Nicer to use is a tablet and the tablet of choice is the book sized Nexus 7. This becomes your computerized book.

As for phones, Windows 10 on a Windows phone is also impressive.

It is now time to move to Windows. Microsoft is making great strides in making it better, and it is worthwhile to spend a few minutes simply learning the few new navigation commands, which consist of touch swipes and equivalent mouse actions.

Get accustomed to frequent use of the Windows key and swiping down from the top of the screen to the bottom in order to close out applications after you are finished with them.

In the Modern or tiles screen you simply start typing in order to search without further ado.

It is now easy to make backup, recovery, and restore media and avoid patching up things when they go shower by simply reinstalling.

So it is easy now to switch to the newest version of Windows as tablets and laptops are available at under $200. Get rid of that old equipment.

As more and more seniors have more and more devices they need printers to work with them.

That requires Cloud Print, which works in 3 ways.

Cloud Print is an application which works from internet to connect your devices with your printers. The Cloud Print site will find your printers and set them up.

Here is how it works.

An old printer will work but only if attached to a Windows computer. A newer wifi printer can work if set up on a Windows computer for wireless.

Better, a newer Cloud Print printer will work independently of any device. These run as low as $50.

Setting up Cloud Print simply require going to the internet site and following instructions.

Just as important as printing is connecting your device to your TV.

I have all the dongles but recommend the Chromecast dongle for most as a starter. It is cheap.

Headphones are also needed. I use a simple Bluetooth or wireless set. I am evaluating a $7 headset from China which looks good.

Once settled on a device or devices, don't forget to use them to keep learning and connected and informed.

Then make use of the many tools to get information. They are vast.

Let your browser answer your questions. Use Open Library to find books. Use the Internet Archive. Use your local library via Overdrive. If you read a lot of books, be sure to use the Calibre application to access the world of books and publications automatically and in an organized way.

Did I mention using your voice as opposed to typing? Do it. Windows 10 on a smartphone phone is geared to voice interaction with the device.