sunflower
Oregon

ConnectMyFolks simplifies electronic gadgets

Eugene, OR — Perfect for Father’s Day, a new iPad app for seniors delivers two of dads’ favorite things: technology so simple that there’s no need to ask for directions, and news from family.
ConnectMyFolks launched last month and families put it to work quickly, appreciating the senior-sensitive design and the prospect of eliminating the frustration of traditional email, computers and spam.
 

The simple home page on the iPad uses large, easy-to-read buttons and intuitive navigation.
The simple home page on the iPad uses large, easy-to-read buttons and intuitive navigation.

ConnectMyFolks was developed by In the Loop, a Eugene, Oregon, company devoted to the use of technology to solve everyday challenges faced by modern families. Learn more at www.connectmyfolks.com.
The product developers had two objectives as they designed the app. “We wanted to make it easy for the senior who might have no computer experience at all, as well as to simplify things for the younger generation, which often ends up serving as technical support for the senior.”
They appear to have hit the mark with the combination of an app that installs on an iPad for the senior’s use and an “admin dashboard” that’s web-based and allows the administrator – usually the younger generation – to designate approved senders, preferences for font sizes and even how the senior can respond to messages. The app is available on the App Store.
Knowing every situation is different prompted a feature for admins to select whether the senior can respond with a typed message, a “quick reply” that is pre-set by the admin, or a voice recording that arrives in the recipient’s email as an attachment. The senior may also be permitted to initiate an email independently, rather than simply replying to a message.
The app developers say that the simplicity and security are what’s attracting users. “Only people on the senior’s approved list can communicate through the app. That gets rid of spam, scammers and other threats. “Whether it’s a nephew who’s always asking for money or it’s a random phishing attempt, those emails won’t get through,” co-founder Steve Lee says. “It’s also impossible for the senior to break it, and that’s eliminating the fear factor.”