Whatsap

[Foo Fighter]

I am having to organise a method of communication between my elderly neighbour here and her relatives in France.

Whatsap has been suggested but frankly I get a headache reading the crap that passes for information.

The neighbour has an apple laptop to install an application on to but, what are the requirements really?

Hardware etc, how does she actually TALK to her folks.

I have asked the relatives via email but frankly all they want to suggest is a particular application rather than the hardware involved etc.

I looked at teams but it wanted a business account and payments.

As a firm member of the Trog party, I bloody hate the crap that basically promises the sky but, when you actually look at it, wants to sell shit for gold/diamonds money.

She has a little grasp on reality but is not exactly going to play support tech any time soon.

Thanks folks, sorry to be a pain.

 

[Yellow Palace]

The neighbour has an apple laptop to install an application on to but, what are the requirements really?

WhatsApp is a smartphone-based messaging service which is free to use. It does (encrypted!) text and media messages as well as audio and video calling. It's pretty much the standard messaging service in Europe, filling a similar niche to iMessage and FaceTime but without the dependence on having an Apple device. There's a browser-based version for use on desktop with no installation required, but you need to sign in from a smartphone as that's where the login comes from and where the messages 'live'.

Hardware-wise, any vaguely modern laptop will have speakers, a microphone, and a webcam, which is all you really need. I had a very cheap one which did in 2010. You can of course upgrade them all to external devices, but that's really just a nice-to-have. If your neighbour has a smartphone, it may be easiest to use WhatsApp direct from there. That's evidently what her relatives are accustomed to so there's only difficulty on one end to manage.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Thanks folks, no smartphone. What she has is a Doro and an apple laptop. No microphone or speakers on the laptop. Might have a camera I will have to check.

 

[dannydale]

WhatsApp is a smartphone-based messaging service which is free to use. It does (encrypted!) text and media messages as well as audio and video calling. It's pretty much the standard messaging service in Europe, filling a similar niche to iMessage and FaceTime but without the dependence on having an Apple device. There's a browser-based version for use on desktop with no installation required, but you need to sign in from a smartphone as that's where the login comes from and where the messages 'live'.

My understanding is you're trading dependence on Apple for dependence on Facebook when using Whatsapp.

 

[Foo Fighter]

I just need to find a way she can talk to family without paying OTT rates to do so.

 

[isayyo2]

iMessage and FaceTime should work, as long as the laptop is less than 10 years old? Only if the relatives in France also have Apple products too.

 

[Yellow Palace]

My understanding is you're trading dependence on Apple for dependence on Facebook when using Whatsapp.

Certainly. But at least Facebook doesn't tie you down to a single hardware provider. It is not possible to use iMessage or FaceTime on an Android or Windows device.

 

[BAROBA]

A modern smartphone that can run Whatsapp, costs less then 100 euros.
You could get one for free tied to a subscription ( In some countries, I don't know about France)
You need a subscription anyways, nowadays they can be quite cheap. Do a price comparison online, there are plenty of sites.
You could attach the phone to the Apple laptop ( Apple cables... Compatibility... Do some research first...) and use it as external camera and microphone. Older folks like this setup more then just carrying around a smartphone..

 

[DWG]

If you go for the smartphone option, whether Whatsapp or whatever, consider data usage and how long they're likely to be talking. If they don't have a lot of data on their phones, then talking for ages will get expensive. But if they have household internet, then as long as they're in the house then apps will use that rather than their phone data quite happily instead.

Another option would be Amazon Alexa. "Alexa call X" works no matter how hardware averse you are. (It does need a little bit of work to get that enabled, but once done it's done). And you can install Alexa on PCs, and both iOS and Android phones, not just Alexa devices.

 

[Foo Fighter]

Ta folks, seems like either way, she needs a non 2g phone.