Going Digital Will Leave Poor, Elderly Without TV Signal

The U.S. government is forcing its citizens to go digital. That’s right, forcing. On Feb. 17, 2009, all existing televisions receiving channels through analog signals will shut down because all television stations will switch to digital signals. This means that the estimated 21 million homes now getting signals over the air will have to buy an analog to digital converter box or buy a new digital television.

There are 13 million households with analog TVs. That’s about 8O million sets, with most of them belonging to the elderly and low-income households. But that’s not to say that students won’t be affected. Many students, like myself, either have some hand-me-down fossil, can’t afford cable, or simply don’t want it. But even those who don’t want it won’t be able to get basic TV channels on an analog TV.

But why go digital? On its Web site, the Federal Communications Commission claims that digital television “broadcast technology is more flexible and efficient than … analog.” As an example, the FCC cites the possibilities presented by what it calls “multicasting,” a method that will allow digital television to provide both high-definition and standard-definition signals simultaneously. Finally, the conversion to digital will supposedly free up parts of the broadcast system to be used for public services like police and fire departments and emergency rescue services.
It seems to me, however, that all these reasons vaguely conceal what is really happening. The digital conversion is, ultimately, a ploy by the government to curry favor with big business. In this case, it’s the television industry. This isn’t really surprising. Governments have always had a need to please interest groups, and big business wields a big stick and doesn’t speak particularly softly.

The prospect of selling millions of new digital televisions has to put a smile on the industry’s collective face. Not to mention the reported 61 percent of those receiving over-the-air signal who say they have no idea this is happening. Many of these consumers may be people over the age of 65, who are the nation’s second largest TV viewing community. Others may be families with young children. At 40 hours per week, children are the watch TV more than any other age group.

Because of this, Feb. 17 will be a field day for the repair industry, which will only be able to tell people to get a converter box or buy a new set. And you know they will still charge for service.
Those standing to make all this money will get exactly that. But it seems as though they may be the only ones to benefit. First of all, what does a low-income family care about higher picture quality when they have to buy a $40 to $50 digital converter box for every television in their house? These converters will allow people to get reception, but will not provide the higher picture quality of digital television. So, basically, people will have to bend over backwards just to keep their old TV. Either that or buy a new one.

The government is trying to help subsidize people by giving them coupons for up to two converters. They will be available from Jan. 1, 2008 through March 31, 2009 and will probably work through rebates. But, honestly, who do you know that only has two televisions? People shouldn’t have to do this at all.

So, while big business can stay happy with itself, everybody else has to bleed his or her own resources to make this happen. And while certain public resources may be helpful, it has yet to be seen if the government will follow though on this promise. America may want to stay on top of the technological ladder, but it shouldn’t be forced upon consumers. The transition to digital media is already happening and people don’t need The Man to tell them when to take the plunge.

Maybe this is the chance of a lifetime. Maybe people should all just give up television. We’d all be better off without Flavor Flav anyway.

Source: The Golden Gate xPress

In Elder Care, Signing on Becomes a Way to Drop By

Connie Araps, 57, of Delray Beach, Fla., thought that her father, Tom Araps, 87, was managing just fine on his own. But when he came to stay with her for a few months in 2005, she found that he was skipping meals, sleeping all morning and not taking daily walks.

To satisfy her father’s desire to live alone, but to ease her mind about his safety, Ms. Araps found an apartment for him less than a mile from her home and had it equipped with QuietCare, a home health alarm system provided by ADT Security Services.

She drops by his apartment often, and logs into a Web site several times a day to check on him. Motion sensors track how often Mr. Araps opens the refrigerator, when he gets out of bed and how long he stays in the bathroom. If his normal patterns vary, the alarm company alerts her.

One day, the company called her to say that no one had entered or left the apartment all day. It turned out that a home health aide had failed to show up, and her father had not received his diabetes medication. Ms. Araps rushed over and made sure that her father took his pills.

“We are so pleased with all the technology,” she said. “I don’t think we would have let him live alone without it.” On the market since August, the QuietCare system costs $199 to install, and monitoring starts at $79.95 a month. In addition to the QuietCare system, Ms. Araps had the alarm company install video cameras showing the floors and the foot of her father’s bed, so she could see if he had fallen.

About 19 million Americans, aside from paid providers, are caring for someone over the age of 75, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. With the number of older Americans growing rapidly, products and services to help adult children care for their parents are on the rise.

Some products, like QuietCare, use existing alarm technology. Other systems collect health information like blood pressure, weight and medication use and transmit it to adult children or other care providers via the Web. In addition, the emerging profession of geriatric care management is making it possible for family members to delegate various care duties.

Nursing homes have been using health alarm systems like QuietCare for several years, and a few allow family members to view data remotely. “I have a button on my browser that says, ‘Where’s Pop,’ ” said Barry Jacobson, 61, whose 83-year-old father has Alzheimer’s disease and lives at Oatfield Estates, a retirement community in Milwaukie, Ore.

Mr. Jacobson, who lives 300 miles away on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington, can log on at any time to see his father’s whereabouts. Because all residents and staff wear badges that emit a digital signal, he can tell exactly where his father is and who else is in the room.

“My sister in San Diego logged on at midnight one night and saw he was in the kitchen,” he said. “He always was a big ice cream eater.” Elite Care, the company that owns Oatfield Estates, plans to introduce a home version of its technology this year.

Mr. Jacobson knows that a staff of care providers is monitoring his father’s data, ready to respond instantly to problems. The level of responsiveness varies, however, with home-based monitoring systems.

Potential buyers “need to do their due diligence on companies to make sure they have the capacity on the other end to respond to the information,” said Robyn I. Stone, executive director of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services, the research arm of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

QuietCare uses a 24-hour call center staffed with operators trained to help the elderly in emergencies. Family care providers define emergency situations — a parent staying in the bathroom for more than an hour, for example, or not opening the medicine cabinet all day. They instruct the system when and whom to call, or to send a text or e-mail message.

Another system, SeniorSafe@Home, to be introduced in the fall, will staff its call center with nurses who will monitor data from a combination of motion sensors, electronic medication dispensers and fall detectors.

A system called iCare Health Monitoring uses a very different model. It is not meant to serve as an emergency alarm system. Instead, it tries to prevent emergencies by allowing care providers, family members and older people themselves keep track of specific health data, like blood pressure, weight or medications use. Nurses monitor the system, but not around the clock.

Using a small electronic device with a text screen and four input buttons, the system asks a series of daily multiple-choice questions about an older person’s health. Family members or other care providers can view the answers online and look for any telltale changes in health. Available through http://www.cvs.com/ and some CVS pharmacy stores since July, the system costs $99 to install and $49.95 a month for monitoring.

Alberta Jackson, 78, of Aurora, Colo., who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, uses iCare to track her lung function every day. She spends about eight minutes a day answering questions. Once when she responded that she was not feeling well, a nurse called within minutes to check on her.

“It makes me feel like there’s somebody on my shoulder, making sure I’m O.K.,” Mrs. Jackson said.

Of course, not everyone wants someone looking over their shoulder. “There are privacy and ethical issues,” Ms. Stone said. “Where’s the line between motion sensors and Big Brother?”

Excerpt from NY Times article

Couple welcome Big Brother gadgets

A couple in their 80s are among the first in Hull to benefit from a new device which should help hundreds of older and disabled people stay at home.

Stella Prince, 88, who suffers from nocturnal epilepsy, and her husband Henry had their equipment installed yesterday.

On offer is a range of sensors – including one which alerts a central control room when the user has been out of bed too long. Others include movement, heat and door sensors.
Two years ago Mrs Prince suddenly fell ill and began to suffer from falls, and the pair seriously considered moving into a smaller home or sheltered care. The new devices promise to give them both peace of mind.

Mr Prince said: "I'm always afraid of going back to sleep in case my wife has a seizure.
"But with the sensors they are going to install in bed, if she doesn't return to bed within a certain time the alarm goes back to the control room, and they then can call me on a speaker phone to check if she's OK."

Mr Prince is also looking forward to having movement sensors installed so that he can go out safe in the knowledge that if she falls, the control room will find out about it fast.
He said: "With the sensors we can feel much more restful and a lot less stressed.
"Someone said it is Big Brother watching you – and I said it is Big Brother's friend looking after us."

"Our service users are very keen to make use of this new technology – and we are anticipating high demand."

Read the entire article on the Yorkshire Post

Cell phone designed for seniors

Samsung Jitterbug. Let us know what you think of this device.

Seinfeld "The Old Man": Try to Help the Elderly

Pretty funny ;)