This note addresses the ways to set up a Windows 95/98-run computer for use by someone whose body no longer works quite in the same way as the 20-somethings that designed the fool thing.
Fortunately some of those folks are really quite clever and have built in a variety of helpful adjustments - but the computer does not necessarily come optimally adjusted.
Vision and Glasses
When we get to a certain age, our eyes don’t adjust for distance as well as they used to. So we have one pair of glasses for driving and another for reading, or we have bifocals with both choices built in. We are starting to think about trifocals. (Some folks have continuous focus - I haven’t tried those - I don’t know how well they work with computers. I suspect one still has to tilt the head back.)
Unfortunately, most computers are at neither reading distance nor driving distance. The reading glasses work best, but not very well. Not only do we have to get too close to the screen to see, but if we are wearing bifocals we have to tilt our heads way back to see the screen through the lower part. What we really want is mild, full-size reading glasses.
I have found two practical solutions to the problem. The best,
but not-so-cheap solution is to get the doctor to prescribe a set of glasses
set to work best at 24” to 36” - that’s what someone who works with a computer
screen a lot should do. I have less expensive solutions in mind for
the occasional user. One requires a certain pack-rat nature; if you
have some reading glasses that worked well 20 years ago, but aren’t strong
enough now, but you couldn’t bring yourself to throw them out - that’s
the pair you want to try with your computer. If you are intrinsically
too well organized to ever let yourself get in that situation, look for
a pair of cheap reading glasses in the drugstore or Staples or such.
You want a pair that you can wear in addition to the glasses you use for
distance. These glasses come in different strengths - about 1.5 diopters
might work. That’s what it will say on the tag - less is weaker and
works best further away - more is stronger and works best at a closer distance.
If you are in a place where you can try them, try reading something from
about 2 to 3 feet away - maybe a little over arm’s length. What you
are reading should look best at the distance you are from the screen when
you use a computer. If you can hold something and read it comfortably,
the glasses are too strong; look for something weaker. If you don’t
need glasses for distance work, you can look for a pair that fits.
Otherwise, make sure to get a pair that will fit over your distance glasses.
Don’t worry about style (just be sure not to get a web-cam), but if you
need a bigger nose, I can’t help you - I’m attached to mine.
Where are the Computer Settings?
This is one area where Windows 98 has a significant edge over Windows
95. In Start / Programs / Accessories / Accessibility is an Accessibility
Wizard. You can start it and it will help you make some of the adjustments
described below. If you are using a public machine and this option
is available, it is the quickest way to get the machine set up in a good
way for you. This choice also provides for making part of the screen
a magnifier. The magnifier stays in the same place on the screen,
but the region it shows is the region surrounding the mouse pointer.
All of the settings in both Windows 95 and 98 are available in the
Control Panel. The Control Panel is available in Start / Settings
or from the My Computer window. Some adjustments are in the Display
icon. Other useful adjustments are in Keyboard and Mouse icons.
Some of the display, keyboard and mouse settings have been collected with
some other useful settings and placed in Accessibility Options. The
display settings are also conveniently available by right-clicking on the
Desktop and choosing Properties.
Display - How Much vs. How Big
There are lots of different computer monitors (screens). Some are bigger, some are smaller. Some make very sharp images, some not so sharp. Generally the bigger ones cost more and the sharper ones cost more.
As we get older, often we can’t see detail as well even with proper glasses. This is one place where we can benefit from that fact - we don’t have to spend money for a very sharp image. If you have a choice when you are obtaining a computer, try to get a large monitor (if you can get someone else to move it for you), but you don’t have to get the best (i.e. the sharpest image) large monitor - you won’t have it on its most-detailed setting when you use it.
Some of those clever people mentioned at the start put in many adjustments to help you set up the computer to use the monitor in a way that will suit you best. You can tell that it was more than one clever person because these adjustments are in about four different places.
There are two types of adjustments. One type makes things bigger or smaller on the screen. The other changes the colors used to help you see things best.
If you make things bigger, you can see them better. If you make them smaller, you can get more things on the screen at once. Having more things on the screen is often helpful for consulting nearby work when you are doing something. You can have more of what you have written while you are writing. You can see more of the email page when you are getting or sending email. It is easier to find obscure buttons if they aren’t scrolled off the screen - but it isn’t easy to find them if they are so small you can’t tell what they are.
As with other things in life, we have to make a choice of what is best for us. We should try to choose the smallest size that we can still read well. Fortunately many of these changes are easy when we have done them a few times. If we have to, we can change the settings when we do different things.
Display Settings
The Display settings are in the Display icon in the Control Panel or right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties.
Reasonably enough, an important adjustment is under the tab Settings; it is near the bottom right and is called Screen Area. There is a little sliding bar that moves from Less on the left to More on the right. As the label says, this refers to the area, or the number of things you see at once on the screen. So you see More of smaller things and Less of bigger things. If the slider is not all the way to the left, and you want things on the screen to be bigger, move the slider more to the left, towards Less. (The slider will only stop in certain places, according to what the hardware is designed to do.)
If things are still not large enough, more help is available under the Appearance tab. The main function of this tab is to choose the standard colors that are used for various things. These choices are made from a standard list in the Scheme line, about half way down on the left. Squirreled away in these color choices are some choices that affect the size of some things. They are (whatever) (large) and (whatever) (extra large). The (whatever) can be Windows Standard or some High Contrast choices. Unfortunately, these only affect some of the things you have to work with. Not only that, but some programs may behave oddly in some cases because the programmers did not take into account the possibility of these changes. These Appearance adjustments are also available in the Display tab of the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel.
(While you are in the Display Properties, take a look at some of the other tabs. For example, the Background tab is where you go to make your favorite digital picture show up as your desktop.)
Mouse - My how the little beastie scampers!
The mouse is a great invention. Fifteen years ago, when I first started using one, I was convinced I would hate it. I came to find that there were many things I could do more easily and more quickly with a mouse. But, at times, I still hate it. When I try to double-click, the mouse moves a bit and nothing happens. When I poise the mouse over something to click-and-drag, the process of clicking moves the mouse and something quite other than what I intended happens. Sometimes my finger rests on a button too heavily, and it clicks, again causing something to happen that I didn’t want. At times, instead of saving time, the mouse costs time and aggravation. My blood pressure is high enough already - it doesn’t need any assistance from cyber-rodent.
There are many things one can do to make this contraption easier to live with.
First, we can make sure that we, ourselves, are doing our best. We can practice on things that aren’t serious. That’s what the games are for. (And you thought they were put in there to help office workers waste time.) Windows provides three card games and a tile game (Minesweeper) that are designed to provide exercise for mouse movements. Try them. They will help you get better. Try the adjustments below and play the games some more. As you get better, you can change some settings to make your work easier.
Mouse Settings
Mouse settings are in the Mouse icon in the Control Panel.
Unfortunately what comes up here varies from computer to computer. You will have to look to see what can be changed and where to change it.
Usually you can change how fast you have to repeat click to double-click. You can change how fast the pointer moves when you move the mouse. There should be one tab that shows what pictures are used for the pointer in different situations.
An alternative to using the mouse is available under the Mouse tab in the Accessibility Options icon in the Control Panel. There is a box that says “Use Mouse Keys if you want to control the pointer with the numeric keypad on your computer.” This is a great option for fine control of the mouse. The mouse itself still works. But while this option is active, the arrow pointers on the numeric keypad also move the mouse. Moreover, the 5 key and the + key act like left buttons. Sort of. You cannot click and drag with Mouse Keys. But you can use them to accurately position the mouse and then single-click or double-click.
Keyboard Settings
Keyboard settings are in the Keyboard icon in the Control Panel.
One feature of a keyboard is the auto-repeat. If you press a key and hold it down, it starts firing itself off like a machine gun. There are two adjustments that affect this. One, the Repeat Delay, is how long a key has to be held down to start up this feature. For many of us, it is best to make this a long time, or turn it off altogether (you may not be able to). We’ll leave the short times to those who still have a quick reaction time. Another related adjustment, the Repeat Rate, affects how fast the repeats occur. This should be set toward Slow.
Further adjustment is available under the Keyboard tab in Accessibility Options in the Control Panel. The Filter Keys option allows more control over repeat keys and keys accidentally hit twice. If you are still having trouble after using the settings in the previous paragraph, try using these.
Accessibility Options -- Sound
There are additional adjustments that can be made in Accessibility Options
in the Control Panel. Another problem that many of us have is reduced
hearing ability. This hasn’t been much of a problem in computers
until recently - most computer output communication was designed to be
visual. As the new computers come out with fancy sound packages and
Surround Sound, many of the new “gee whiz” features use sounds as important
parts of communication. Some web sites are starting to do this.
The Sound tab in Accessibility Options gives some control over alternatives
to audible signals.