well, sort of. There is no way that she will ever use a computer, but I thought it would be fun for her to receive instant pictures, messages when we can't call (working, traveling)...

What do you think of this new service/printer? I love the idea of Mom just picking up an incoming email on paper, enjoying the picture, message, then picking up the phone.

I still have time to cancel the order....

That actually sounds quite interesting. Hmmm, maybe I should get this for my grandparents.

But will she use it? Will she remember to buy new ink cartridges and refill the printer?

Isn't this just faxing?

I like the idea, but $100 a year seems like a lot for a glorified fax machine. Might be worth it since I recently taught my grandma to use a computer, and thought I'd pull my hair out before it was over.

This is a prime example of repackaging and advertising as new and amazing something that already is widely used. Good marketing but..

This Is a better buy at $46 and incorperates a phone as well.

The advantage of the color fax is that it doesn't cost $9.99 per month or $99 for the year to use like the Presto system you're thinking about buying.

They are selling you a printer for $149 plus $99 or $9.99 p.m when you could just get a color fax machine + phone for a quarter of the price and no monthly/yearly pay out.

Hope this helps a bit. :D

The best thing about it is that she can't answer, or initiate conversation.

I briefly thought about getting getting an IM account for my Mom, but eventually, I was scared of the idea of being available all the time. It's one of the reasons why I don't have voicemail activated, too.

Downvote for such an unhelpful comment. Suebe's trying to get some help here and all your doing is making smart-assed remarks. Shame on you sueckersklub!

Oh and my Grandma can't reply to anything because she's passed away! Way to go and open up old wounds. Nice one

;)

Upvoted for adding some humor to the thread. We can't take everything 100% serious can we? It's not like suebe was having a serious crisis or anything.

Suebe, I like it. While it may be little more than a fax machine, I think your mom might like it. Plus you can send e-mail to this fax machine, so it's not precisely the same thing.

I like the concept but I'm wondering if there's other cheaper alternatives. $150 plus $10 per month for service is quite a bit to just have emails printed out.

Just a quickie point. I was joking in my comment to Suekersklub and the sly dog added the rest of his comment aboot 30 mins after I commented.

Didn't want anyone think I was been anymore of an asshat than normal. ;)

About the email thing, with a color fax machine you can just type whatever you wanted to you mum/dad/nan/gramps with say, Notepad on your PC and just send it straight to the recipients fax machine, so for ease of use it's pretty much on a par with this Presto system.

This is what struck me as being a bit crap, you can get internet access for the same amount, seems like a rip-off to me.

You gotta consider the age of the woman and her liklihood to use internet or even a computer. (just realized I have no idea how to spell likelyhood)

It's definitely different from a fax. I have a fax I could give her, but it wouldn't help getting emails or cell phone pictures from her grandchildren and other relatives overseas.

I like the idea of her 7 grandchildren, some of whom are out of state, sending her surprise photos, the small ones their drawings, quick "Hi Mormor/Farmor, guess what I'm doing" messages when they can't call.

As for maintenance...I'm putting my 15 year old niece in charge of that - her family lives in the same complex and she's there all the time. Who better than to change an ink cartridge than a 15 year old.

Mom would never touch a computer. All the years there were pcs in her house, she never wanted to try it. I offered her my desktop last month and she emphatically said no thank you.

Here she can pick up a piece of paper, then the phone.

Still open to other ideas and your thoughts(like I said, I can still cancel the order, up to 60 days after delivery). $99/year seems pretty cheap for the service, IMHO.

Mom is 76. She could get DSL for about $12.99/month, but then she would need a pc, somewhere to put it, and would have to learn how to use it. No way is that happening.

Edited to add: It's "likelihood "
/end of spelling break.

I'm wondering that too...

Is there a cheaper deal when you sign up for the full year or something because as far as I can tell it would add up to $120 a year. Anyways, it definitely seems like the easiest choice, so I say go for it.

Yes, for 12 months (no contract either) it's $99.

Gotcha, I guess I didn't catch that part. :)

I wasn't saying that she should get teh internetz I was just pointing out that the price was a bit steep considering the price of full blown internet.

...

My mom called me when she opened her first file, not a couple years ago...

I immediately thought of my Mom when I saw this. (This is the woman that refused to use ATM machines when they first came out.)

Did some searching trying to find the hardware cheaper and stumbled across MyCelery. It can be used with an existing fax machine, and allows responses with handwritten notes. The pricing is split between color or BW, a bit more expensive than Presto for color service.