3028 Macsimum News's Dennis Sellers noted in a report this week that: "Those who think there's little room for personal computer - and other technology - growth in the U.S. should think again. There seems to be plenty of growth - and plenty of opportunity for Apple."

Dennis notes that somewhat amazingly, roughly one-fifth of all U.S. heads-of-household have never used e-mail, according to National Technology Scan, a forthcoming study from the Parks Associates research firm. This annual phone survey of U.S. households found 20 million households are without Internet access, approximately 18 percent of all U.S. households, while one-half of persons who have never used e-mail are over 65, and 56 percent had no schooling beyond high school.

However, it's not just older folks with lower education achievement. One of my next-door neighbors, an octogenarian retired civil engineer who is not technically inept by any means, found himself stymied by computers even after his son bought him a Mac. He gave it a try, but for some reason the essential concept of pointing with a mouse didn't click, so to speak. He kept wanting to life the mouse off the mouse pad to move it around. This guy's brother, a couple of years younger and formerly a civil servant who retired just as computers were coming on the scene has likewise found the transition difficult. He's even taken a computer course at the library, but didn't make any breakthrough.

It's not just elderly people who for whatever reason have difficulty mastering the techniques and getting a handle on the GUI metaphor either. Another friend of mine, who headed a national religious organization before he retired and did use computers and the internet during his last years in that position (albeit only for word processing and email), completely shook the dust of the computer world off his feet so to speak upon retirement. He refuses to own a computer or to communicate by email now that he has a choice.

At least he knows what he's missing, sort of, although he only ever used Windows machines and I don't think he ever gave tools like search engines a chance to grow on him.

Still, he's definitely not alone among his generational peers. I have several other senior citizen friends and acquaintances who resolutely and almost phobically refuse to have anything to do with computers - including people who I think would really get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of the world of information access and communications freedom the Internet opens up.

On the other hand I also know lots of senior citizens who have embraced computers and the Internet, seems to have no cognitive or conceptual issues in mastering the techniques, and have found that the technology has enriched their lives immensely.

Consequently, I don't think it's an age thing, per se. Not that I'm any spring's chicken myself at 56. It's more attitude and perhaps fear of making mistakes. Another friend of mine, about my age, used to rail against what he perceived as the negative influence of the emergence of computers in our culture. That is until someone gave him a computer, and virtually overnight he morphed into an Internet junkie.

So like Dennis, I think there's plenty of growth potential in this market of hitherto technophobe holdouts, and the Mac's "just works" user-friendliness should logically give Apple a big leg up in that sector. Perhaps it's a marketing angle Apple should address pro-actively.

Charles W. Moore

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