ABSTRACT
Introduction The internet is integrated with daily life through communication technologies such as mobile phones and digital tablets. Just a screen tap away is information ranging from local details about entertainment to general advice on healthcare for humans, pets, or plants. Many older adults nd the internet enriches daily life (Harwood 2007). Tablets, through their speed and portability, can enhance that experience. They have a screen large enough for text to be displayed in a font size that is easy to read. Their rapid onset and touchscreen interface make them seem easier to use than conventional laptop or desktop computers ( Jochems, Vetter, and Schlick 2013). Certainly some gestures feel intuitive (e.g. spreading ngers to zoom). Nevertheless it has been noted that the diversity of gestures (even a tap may be short/long, so/hard, single/double/triple) has now become so great that the di€culty facing users resembles the historic command-line interface with a great deal needing to be remembered (Norman 2014). One consequence can be that people choose to remember only a subset of the tablet’s available functions. This chapter examines whether the interfaces of tablets, and the applications running on them, could be designed so that almost no new learning was required. Making
digital devices easier to pick up and use straight away will have benets not just for older adults who may have memory issues (Maylor 2005) but for everyone who replaces their phone or tablet and nds things look and work dierently.
