Daily Granny Gram:ALTAZ Internet Clock-Radio With Photo Display & MP3

ALTAZ, a respected Silicon Valley personal consumer electronics manufacturer has teamed up with America's top electronics distribution firm, D&H Distributing, to launch the Altaz Internet Clock Radio Weather Station MP3 Player.

Any kiddos reading this? This makes the perfect Christmas present for Grandma-- maybe a little less intimidating than the I-Pad, and a whole lot less expensive (at under $100). Mind you, she won't be walking around with this, I don't think, so you might want to explain those limitations while you are setting it up and configuring the various internet functions. It is my goal to link the Great Silver Wave with the new wave of electronic gadgets-- here is what she will get:

Internet Clock Radio: not your usual clock-radio-alarm-clock... this 3 1/2 inch touch screen links up with 1000s of radio stations around the world. No more 'old school' band fuzz-- Grandma can wake up with favourite Filipino músika streaming right from Manila or the nearest oldie-moldie-goldie goodies station. Better clear off the dance floor!

Weather When You Need It: With built-in WiFi support Grandma can be apprized of the weather in town and the weather wherever her extended family and friends are living or traveling. She can plan better what to take to wear on her own vacations.... right on her bedside table when she wakes up.

Digital Framing of All the Smiling Faces: Digital Photo Displays were really made with the older generation in mind-- we have accumulated so many photos of loved ones over the years, not to mention the thousands of digital pictures we snap every time we go anywhere on a sunny day. We don't have enough counter space. Many of us live in apartments with landlords who frown upon more than X number of nail-holes in the wall. And how nice to wake up to all those loved ones smiling in graduation gear or exchanging their wedding vows (over and over and over) on a Jamaican beach or in Antarctica or wherever. There is a lot of fun to be had here: you can have any music you like playing in the background, and you can use a remote control to zoom in or out or shuffle the order of the slideshow. Photos are downloaded from your SD/MS/MMC memory card (to enhance the 128 mb of space and "Home" digital movies can be played from the same memory card.)

The Alarm Clock might not be a function that Grandma has much desire to use, unless she is still getting up for variable work shifts and the like. On the other hand, if Grandma is getting a little forgetful, you could bring in the android voices of her own parents or teachers and supply instructions from the alarm clock program much as these young college-age lads have facilitated:

Now, I am a grandma myself, and actually took a 6-week class at the local Elder College called "Demystifying MP3s". It was interesting that about 1/4 of the class wanted to listen to music on their IPods and about 3/4 of the class wanted to have access to 'spoken word books' and downloaded podcasts they could listen to while they walked and did other outdoor activities. As you might expect, there was not a lot of interest in the latest music MP3s. Given that scenario, here are some free audiobook sites Grandma might want to go to to acquire some MP3s to load into her player:

• LibriVox LibriVox provides free audiobooks from the public domain. ... All you need is a computer, some freerecording software, and your own voice. ... librivox.org/
• Free Audio books Online Free audiobook downloads and Ebooks Online Download Books on line Download E-books,Cliff Notes,Educational,Parenting,Sci-fi,Business, dozens of Subjects, ... www.ebooksonus.com/
• Free Audio Books - The Best Sites for FreeAudio Books If you're looking for free audio books, the web is the best place to find them. ... a collection of stories and poems in audio book format. ... Gutenberg Audio Books Project - About Web Search Best Free Download · Read Books Online ... websearch.about.com/od/.../a/free-audiobooks.htm -

• Free Audio Books - Download an audio book in mp3 or iPod format today!

  Books Should Be Free · Free Audio Books from the public domain · Download a free audio book in mp3, iPod, or iTunes format today ...
  Top 100 - Children - Mystery - Fictionwww.booksshouldbefree.com/

The video player plays the most popular video formats: AVI, MPEG 1/2/4, and DVIX.  DVD Menu Navigation is supported (unlike old tech small DVD players).  Again, I don't imagine that Grandma will want to watch too many movies on the 3 1/2 inch screen, but one never knows I guess.

All in all, this is the kind of Christmas present I would be most thrilled to receive.  An internet clock- weather reports- radio from everywhere- my dear ones' pictures- "War and Peace" to listen to as I drift off to sleep- is this not the ultimate gadget we boomers all dreamed of thirty years ago?