One thing you can very easily (and reversibly) experiment with is changing the resolution of the entire screen. A screen size of 1024 x 769 pixels might help. It is also usually just a question of right-click on the desktop, select properties, then the tab 'settings' has a screen-resolution pull-bar taking you from 800x 600 up to the maximum the video card can handle.
Somewhere in that range should prove a good compromise for aged eyes and shaky hands. Obviously it is a compromise between what area you see all in one screen and how big it looks (and hence the size of capture areas for the mouse).
I sincerely hope you are not talking about a portable here - I cannot imaging anything worse to work with when you are 'getting on a bit' !! A small desktop PC with a big monitor is the best answer.
On the question of mice, I am not aware of any mice being 'better' than others, and you have already taken one step (speed) that might help. I would add the great importance of the 'right' screen pointer. It is possible to download many different pointers, such as mice with tails, ghosts, you name it. All are equally stupid when what your Dad needs is a big, sharp, arrow-head, where there is no ambiguity whatever about which part of the screen pointer is the active bit. XP has a set of possible pointers, of which I use the one labelled 'Windows Standard (large) (system screen)". I am not sure if that is normally available in all XP versions, but I am certain it will be a free download if you need to look for it.
Thanks much!
I have changed the pointer to one of the larger ones, with a black outline. That seems to help. I believe the monitor is already set to 1024 X 768. A larger monitor with a digital interface would be nice, but to do that I would need to replace the entire system, as his does not have a DVI output; only analog.
My dad has asked me several times whether upgrading to a later version of MS Word would help, but having Office 2010 installed on my own system, I dread having to teach my dad how to go from 2000 to 2010. And I don't think that the upgrade would solve his problem.
There are a number of "laser" mice on the market. I am lead to believe that these mice have a higher resolution, and thus would allow for more precision in positioning the cursor. That said, higher resolution means that you have to move the mouse a greater distance to cross the screen, and that would be pretty much the same effect as lowering the mouse speed. My dad didn't like the slower speed, so I had to return it to where it had been, which is only two tics from the lowest setting anyway.
But with a higher precision mouse, AND the right software driver, one should be able to move the mouse quickly across the screen while at the same time have more control over the exact cursor position.
I use an Evoluent vertical mouse, which I have come to love. It is a high precision mouse which allows the hand to rest in a more natural position on the mouse. But this mouse cost me $70, and I don't think my dad wants to spend that much on a mouse.
Another thing that came up was that the mouse pad was very dirty. I found that placing the mouse directly on the desktop improved the response. After washing the mouse pad thoroughly, it seems to be working better.
I'll keep working on this as I come up with new ideas, and maybe, eventually, we will have an optimal setup.
FW
