Computer named: The WOW computer is this a good computer for senior citizens

My dad asked me about this computer too. Here's my reply to him.

Even though the touch-screen sounds cool and easy to use it’s still different from what most folks have used and would require learning. This might be ok for someone how has absolutely never used a computer before at all but for anyone with any experience (with Windows, Mac or otherwise) it's going to be another system to learn.

It’s Unix based, not Windows.

If you have any existing (Windows) software it won't work on it.

Same for your existing hardware (and any new hardware you might to add later). Things like external hard drives, printers, scanners, etc. might not work with it (you would need Unix drivers (software) which are not nearly as common as Windows drivers and they come in many different 'flavors' and are hard to install).

Since it's Unix based most PC literate people would be challenged to fix it when something goes wrong (which it will, no computer is completely immune to occasional problems). (Ask your friends who you consider to be computer "experts" if they would be able to help you with a Unix based PC.)

It’s expensive

At $999.00 it’s on the upper end of PC prices (but it’s not comparable on specs). A quick check at BestBuy.com found more powerful, Windows based “All-In-One” computers with touch-screen monitors starting at hundreds of dollars less.

It's AMD® Dual-Core E-350 (1.6GHz) processor (the "brain" of the computer) is pretty low end.

The 2 Gigabytes (GBs) of RAM it has is pretty minimal (vs the 4 to 6 GBs that are standard on most of today's PCs).

The 500 GB hard drive is still found on some computers these days but in my opinion is somewhat minimal. A lot of computers come with 1 Terabyte (TB) (1000 GBs) drives or larger these days.

The company selling it is not a computer company

I’d be concerned about technical support, warranty service, security patching and software upgrades. Despite their claims about not having to worry about things like viruses, spams or computer freezing up these are things that all software has to deal with. The only computer that doesn't have to worry about these things is a computer that's locked away in a vault with no connection to the outside world and that's never turned on.

Do not buy this computer. This is a scam on senior's. The hard drive will not last a year. It is a piece of junk and computer support is a joke! Also on most of the products they have are way over priced. All this company wants is your money and to prey on senior's. Go some place else stay clear of this computer!

Thanks, My dad has never used a computer and I have to agree w/ the replies yours giving the needed details, that even for someone who has no experience would be better off in getting a basic computer that would cost half as much and would be able to add software along w/ external hard drives, printers and ect.

Thanks for the needed opinions and details

I am taking this opportunity to advise those seniors, who, like me, do not want to expend too much time learning any new operating system.  I tried a great new, fast HP computer designed for Win 8.1 and brought it back and exchanged it for a less fast but still good for streaming movies running Windows 7. 

I AM HEREBY SUGGESTING THAT MSN MIGHT WANT TO DO A MARKETING STUDY AND FIND OUT IF THEY COULD ADVERTISE WIN 7 FOR EXPERIENCED OLDSTERS WHO WANT A GOOD MACHINE BUT DO NOT HAVE THE TIME OR INTEREST IN LEARNING THE LATEST WHIZ-BANG TABLET TYPE OF "INTEGRATED" COMPUTING.  I THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE A REAL WINNER TO GIVE THE "WOW" A REAL RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.

Sincerely,

A moderately experienced techie.

P.S. two of the neighbors on my very short block in this over 55 community said they also were sticking with Windows 7.