The happy story of my father and his iPad

Last October we gave my father an iPad, for his birthday. Now my father is a somewhat older than the fathers I know: he's 70. And while I remember (when I was a little boy) that he was still aboard the tech train in the 80's, (ZX spectrum) and even the early 90s (interactive CDs, dialup internet) the rapid acceleration and miniaturization of technology in the late 90s (second and third mouse button, broadband speeds, usb sticks) tossed him overboard and that's when he lost the train. Lately he was, like John McCain, "aware of the internet".

Before last October, the two button mouse was a mystery and any key not specific for writing was useless. He couldn't find a youtube video if you gave him the link, let alone the title. Also he would sometimes have his email printed out for him, even though he was (and is) quite proficient with a BlackBerry. By the way, he hates this BlackBerry with a vengeance. You think I don't like BBs? You ain't seen nothin'.

So we give him the thing. It wasn't an immediate success, I must say, mostly because of that first stage where you have to set all the accounts and logins, and credit cards and so on. But my father took his new toy very seriously and he would list all doubts and difficulties he had for when I came over and then we would have a lesson of sorts where he would sit next to me, pull up the "cheat sheet" with all the things he couldn't do the days before and then dutifully take notes on my answers. If your singing "It's The Circle Of Life" in your head, you're not the only one.

We had exactly three of these lessons, with each lasting about an hour. That's all it took. Steve Jobs, I've got a hand it to you: you are a master of the art of the interface. As I write this, my father has just returned from visiting family abroad, from where he would send me regular email. With attachments! Using apps he himself installed, he now checks the weather, the latest news, his flights status, his favorite TV shows, books, skype...I could go on, trust me. In two weeks my father went from being almost info-illiterate (well...by my standards) to being a connected citizen of the tech world. It's a radical change that I totally did not expect and that surpassed the best hopes I had back in October. All it took was the right gadget.

I'll just mention my favorite episode: The other day he was running google maps over Bali, Indonesia. He zooms the map over an area and says to me: "This is where the Portuguese settled, during the Discoveries. But I'm thinking here would be better". And then he effortlessly and instantly zooms out and shifts the map into context to give me a wider perspective of the area. "Here would be better, though. Because of this passage here, see?". I was speechless. I still am.

Click here if you think the iPad is perfect for senior citizens!