Re: Looking for system for special needs person

[Jeff Braine <jeffb@mailbox.gu.edu.au>]

On 25 Jul 2001, Wow wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> Sorry if this posting causes problem(s) for some..
> I'm looking for a computer that is good for 
> person who has special needs ( not physically though ) 
> He's about 25 years old... ( is emotionally challenged ) 
> 
> I prefer something that is very simple and maybe be able
> to hook up to a TV.. A computer where he/she can be motivated
> to become better... 
> 
> For example, those old computers Apple IIe and/or C64 
> are great because you don't have to worry about those
> .dll files or having so much "features".
> I think these machines can also hook up to a TV as well..
> 
> If anyone can suggest what machine(s) would be great for
> this person.

I'd suggest something like an Amiga 500 or 1200 - nice and easy,
nice and cheap to pick up these days, lots of good games and utils,
most of which will run simply by putting the disk in the machine
and powering up - there's some disk swapping for some games, but
usually not so frequent as to get annoying. Can run on a normal
TV (you need an adaptor for an Amiga 500, but most will probably
have them). Most I'd expect though, you'd be able to pick up
with a monitor (if you're buying from a trading post type magazine)

Once comfortable with the basic system, the potential user can
add a hard drive and install workbench - similar in some ways
to Windows, but a lot more hassle free. An A1200 can fairly easily
be connected to the internet for email/newsgroups, with a RAM expansion
web browsing is possible but a bit slow -- though there are further
add-ons you can purchase which start speeding things up further.

-- 
Jeff Braine
Senior Unix System Engineer
Griffith University, Nathan Campus