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Yayagram

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Re: Yayagram

#111

Post by sethammons »

Ashanmaril wrote: post #87
khazhoux wrote: post #71

I only wish it weren't named Yaya, as I hate promoting the idea that old women are the pinnacle of technological ineptness. I know that wasn't the intent, but still. It's unfortunately a common expression to say "This product is so easy, even your grandmother can use it!" As if the only group more incompetent than old people, is old women (or, if you prefer, the only group more incompetent than women are old women).…

"Gram" also means grandma. The full English translation of this name is "Gramgram"

> Gramgram

which also means grandma :)

Re: Yayagram

#112

Post by jdgoesmarching »

chobytes wrote: post #73
Thorentis wrote: post #68

This is brilliant. A single device that does one thing, and does it (hopefully) really well. It is a much needed antidote to the "all in one" apps we are seeing more and more of. Touchscreens really embody the "all in one" design pattern, and lend themselves to those types of apps. That's after all what they're intended for: interchangeable interfaces. Nice to see a modern service being used with an analog interface.

Bothers me to no end how many once simple devices have gone this way. I feel like I would be willing to pay more for simpler appliances at this point.

Touchscreens and tiny computers are cheap and getting cheaper. It’s easier than manufacturing specific components for “simpler” devices. I just wish companies would stop pretending like it’s an advanced feature rather than a cost-cutting measure.

Re: Yayagram

#113

Post by beachy »

There are so many beautiful UI hints with this.

1) The shape of the microphone positively urges the user to lean forward and talk into it. Compare to a modern smartphone where it's not at all obvious where the microphone is.

2) The giant red button next to the microphone positively scream "press me to talk", and it's obvious that the red LED will light up when the button is pressed. Removes any "is this thing on"? thoughts.

3) The patch panel is quite genius, it's obvious how to target the desired recipient. One might quibble with the plug systenm, but using the large style plugs is a great choice for unsteady hands. These plugs have more leeway if not plugged all the way in than micro style plugs.

4) The recipients are all in a line, and due to the design, one of them is always selected. That removes any "did I select someone", sa I sometimes experience when sharing on my phone to some social network.

5) What's more, the last selected recipient is persistent, even in the event of a power cut.

6) Thermal printer is genius. Yaya can tear off important messages and carry them with her.

Re: Yayagram

#114

Post by OJFord »

Naracion wrote: post #100
mdtusz wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It appears to be using an 1/4" patch cord, not an XLR cable! XLR is the cable (and connector) with 3 pins as is used with microphones and carries a balanced signal - 1 leg is ground, then the other two are inverted signals to minimize noise.

A single 3 pin XLR will only carry balanced signal for a single channel (which this might as well be). For stereo you either need two 3 pin XLR (as is the case for interconnects in high end or pro audio) or a single 4 pin XLR (as is found in high end headphones). The way it works is so simple yet genius. Say the main signal is +x. Then one of the pins will carry -x. At the end, the receiving end will invert -x and ad…

Brilliant yes, but lest anyone think it's XLR-specific:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_signaling

I assume it's also the reason for 'bi-wire' speakers, while we're on audio gear.

Re: Yayagram

#115

Post by chrisweekly »

This is so great. I'm really moved by the author's empathy and love. Those of you who are lucky enough to still have grandparents (or parents for that matter), please take inspiration to connect with them while you still can. Life is short, and nothing in the world can take the place of family.

Re: Yayagram

#116

Post by punnerud »

FredPret wrote: post #94
roamingryan wrote: post #83

I built out a simple "technology access" solution for my late grandma about five years ago. It was just some simple scripts running on a raspberry pi. The scripts would fetch emails from a gmail account, extract the attachments, and display them on loop. The subject line of the email, sender and the date were overlayed on the image. The advantage over those IoT picture frame products was that I could use any display…

I wish I could buy and ship this to my mom. Don’t have the time to set it up and she lives far away.

I have bought this for my grandma that live on a senior home: https://www.noisolation.com/global/komp

Just one knob to turn it on and adjust the sound.

My other grandma have an iPhone that she barely know how to use (she still have the old one on the wall she love). I first call her, than tell her to tap the green button if she she want to use camera (switch to FaceTime).

This works great for us to keep contact.

Though both of this is solutions only allow us to initiate the contact. Here the Yayagram is brilliant!

Re: Yayagram

#117

Post by kawzeg »

ISL wrote: post #22
sdflhasjd wrote: post #11

When I'm asked to find some phone or other technology for an elderly relative, I'm always concerned about the usability of devices. A lot of companies and people don't realy appreciate how much training is really needed to operate even the simplest of mobile phones. I've not really seen any solutions other than making buttons bigger and reducing menu options, I'm sure these are great for those with deteriorating eyes…

The biggest problem we have faced, unfortunately, is the proliferation of modern security features. Chromebooks are awesome in many ways for the elderly, but the fact that you can't disable password entry at startup has been a dealbreaker for my aging father. He can't type easily and is beginning to struggle with passwords. Paradoxically, this means that he's still running his Ubuntu laptop (he has been using UNIX sy…

I know this idea is a little ridiculous, but it just popped into my head: what about using one of those rubber ducky USB keys that pretend they're a keyboard and enter certain keystrokes? You could have it enter the password when inserted.

Or, perhaps a physical password manager that can store multiple passwords, with a labeled button for each?

Re: Yayagram

#118

Post by cellularmitosis »

beachy wrote: post #113

There are so many beautiful UI hints with this. 1) The shape of the microphone positively urges the user to lean forward and talk into it. Compare to a modern smartphone where it's not at all obvious where the microphone is. 2) The giant red button next to the microphone positively scream "press me to talk", and it's obvious that the red LED will light up when the button is pressed. Removes any "is this thing on"? th…

> These plugs have more leeway if not plugged all the way in than micro style plugs

Oh, that's a great point! You could route a simple on/off signal across only the sleeve, and not even use the tip at all. Even if it were only half-way inserted, it would still work.

Edit: looking more closely at the photos, it appears that's exactly what he's doing, neat!

Re: Yayagram

#119

Post by throwaway316943 »

aimor wrote: post #57

This is really neat. It has me thinking about my own grandma who loves getting pictures on her phone, but is that the best interface for her? What if I could send pictures and they'd automatically print out, I think she'd like that even more. I think it's funny because that's a pretty easy thing to set up, but I never considered it until now.

Combine this with the email based picture display and you’re set. Just an rPi and an inkjet.

Re: Yayagram

#120

Post by randomdrake »

For folks interested in technology that helps to keep our less-technological relatives connected, I highly recommend NanaGram[0].

I’ve been a paid user since the early days and it’s an absolute delight to my grandmother every single time it shows up during the month.

1. Register and get a unique phone number to text

2. Start sending photos to that number via SMS

3. Share the phone number with other relatives and tell them to do the same

4. Grandparent gets envelope of printed photos just like the ones filling their old albums on the shelves

It really is that easy. It’s affordable. And the founder is very responsive to any support inquiries.

It was a service I always wanted to build myself but never had the time. I’m very grateful for it.

[0] - https://nanagram.co/

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