johnmarick
 
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Birthday: November 19
Gender: Male
Location:
PORTLAND
United States
Work:
Co-founder and CEO of Consumer Cellular
My Websites:
www.consumercellular.com
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Making High-Tech Gadgets Easy to Use

I was recently asked to participate in a panel about how to design and market consumer products to help seniors live better and more fulfilling lives at the UCLA Conference on Technology and Aging on October 30.

 
The panel, called “Designing for Seniors: Consumer Products for Better Living,” featured myself; Jeff Hill, president and co-founder of MyGait, LLC; and Bud Meyers, senior director of merchandising for firstSTREET for boomers and beyond. The panel was moderated by Susan Ayers Walker, managing director and founder of SmartSilvers Alliance.
 
The discussion primarily focused on how, combined with new business opportunities, social needs are creating more and better products to age gracefully. The intent is not to “dummy” down technology, but rather to make technology easier to use – a challenge companies that market senior-oriented products, and general consumer products for that matter, must overcome.
 
Seniors by and large are not afraid of technology. In fact, according to a 2008 survey by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), more than 70% of people 60+ use search engines regularly. However, according to that same survey, 64% of people aged 60+ say “too many features” is the most common reason for why consumer electronics products frustrate them.
 
Cell Phone Microscope
Recently, researchers at UCLA came up with a nifty, but easy-to-use tech gadget for the cell phone designed to diagnose various diseases through the phone. It is essentially a microscope without lenses that uses the shadows of cells to detect illnesses.
 
The patient places a small amount of blood on a simple microscope slide that is then loaded into the microscope. The phone captures the image of the cells and then sends the information wirelessly to a lab for processing. The user can then potentially be diagnosed in minutes without even actually visiting a medical lab. 
 
Now that’s some very high technology, but extremely easy to use!
 
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