RECEIVE EMAIL WITHOUT A COMPUTER
Most every family has one or two and you
know who they are. They are the technologically impaired. Now I'm
not one for stereotypes so if I hit a nerve, there must be something
to this. Usually it's one of the older members of your family. You
know, the one who was around during Alexander Graham Bell's
formative years, or waxes nostalgic about the good old days of
kerosene lamps. OK, so maybe they're not THAT old but they may be
the children of the black and white TV era or can still remember as
a child when the family sat around listening to the radio. Look, the
children of the late 80's, 90's and beyond didn't suffer from
technology depravation so they've embrace it as part of their own.
Yes I'm sure that if you look hard enough you'll find some kids that
wouldn't know a computer if they tripped over one but you're going
to have to look really hard to find them. But whomever the
technologically challenged members of your family are, there are
ways for them to participate without them having to learn how to use
a computer.
Let's look at email for example. You would like to correspond via
email but they don't have a computer. You'd love to send some of
those digital photos you took on your recent vacation attached to an
email but without a computer, email just wasn't an option. But
that's changed.
An interesting solution lies within the HP Printing Mailbox coupled
with a service caller Presto. The concept is a pretty simple one. If
grandma doesn't have to do anything but look over and check to see
if there are any documents sitting in the HP Printing Mailbox's
paper tray, then you're going to get her to use the thing. Here's
how it works.
You buy the TCP (technologically challenged person) the HP Printing
Mailbox ($99.99) and subscribe to the Presto Service on the monthly
($9.00) or annual ($99) plan. The HP Printing Mailbox simply plugs
into any electrical outlet and connects via any ordinary telephone
line. Once that's setup, you're ready to bring the TCP into the 21st
Century. Now when you want to send an email to your loving TCP, you
use your existing email client but address your message to their
special email address which is usually their name@presto.com. If
it's a straight text message, it will be delivered to the stand
alone HP Printing Mailbox which automatically check for emails.
You can choose the times the HP Printing Mailbox print out email, up
to five times a day.
Now you can send the TCP ordinary, text email message but you also
have the option to make it look visually appealing. Using a series
of easy to use printing styles known as Presto Styles, you can have
the Presto Service automatically reconfigure your message with
color, expressive fonts and stylized lettering. Any images you have
attached will be positioned correctly and print out on the HP
Printing Mailbox in full color as well.
For example, let's say you want to send an email with Mother's Day
wishes. In the Subject line, you'd just type "We Love You,
Mom! [Presto Mom]." The TCP would see the colorful page with a big
pink heart with those words printer out at the top center of the
email. Any attached photos would be properly displayed on the HP
Printing Mailbox's page output. To see many more template examples
and how all of this works, just visit the Presto website at
www.presto.com.
So there you have it. Your TCP doesn't have to know anything about
TCP/IP or any other computer acronym. They may never lay a hand on a
computer. But giving them the ability to see and share your digital
world without having to learn all about computers may be the best
gift of all.
www.presto.com
| Craig Crossman is
a McClatchy-Tribune newspaper columnist writing about computers and
technology. He also hosts the nation's longest running nationally syndicated radio talk show on
computers and technology, Computer America, heard on both the Business TalkRadio
Network® and the Lifestyle TalkRadio Network®, weeknights at 10PM Eastern
time. Visit his website at http://www.computeramerica.com |
Jump to:
[ Index of Craig's Columns | Main
Columns Page | Computer America Home Page ]
|