Inventive Grandson Builds Telegram Messaging Machine For 96-Year-Old Grandmother (theverge.com) 36
Twitter user @mrcatacroquer, Manual Lucio Dallo, built the Yayagram -- a DIY project that makes sending and receiving voice and text messages over Telegram a physical process just like using an old-fashioned phone switchboard. Speaking to The Verge, Dallo says he built the machine to help stay in touch with his 96-year-old grandmother. From the report: To send a message, the user physically plugs in a cable next to the recipient's name. They then press and hold a button to record audio and speak into the integrated microphone. The message then appears on the recipient's phone like a regular voice note. And when the operator of the Yayagram receives a text message, it's printed off using a built-in thermal printer.
Dallo, who's a senior engineer for software firm Plastic SCM, goes into some detail about how the device was made in this Twitter thread. It's powered by a Raspberry Pi 4, runs on Python, and uses several third-party software libraries to tie everything together. The microphone is a cheap USB one and the printer similar to those used in cashier tills. He notes that he chose to use Telegram rather than WhatsApp or another messaging service as it's more open (and he doesn't like Facebook).
Dallo, who's a senior engineer for software firm Plastic SCM, goes into some detail about how the device was made in this Twitter thread. It's powered by a Raspberry Pi 4, runs on Python, and uses several third-party software libraries to tie everything together. The microphone is a cheap USB one and the printer similar to those used in cashier tills. He notes that he chose to use Telegram rather than WhatsApp or another messaging service as it's more open (and he doesn't like Facebook).
Simplification (Score:2)
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Look at the pictures. Plug is selection. There is one big red button to record.
Okay, now (Score:1, Redundant)
how about a Commoder-64 interface so we boomers feel at home. We could make our own phone interface in BASIC!
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An interesting hack, but come on (Score:4, Interesting)
Does grandma not know how to use the telephone? Or is grandson the problem?
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you clearly did not read the article
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you clearly did not read the article
Dude, this is Slashdot.
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Declining motor skills (Score:4, Informative)
Does grandma not know how to use the telephone?
Knows? Yes.
But...
Physically able?
That's the whole point of this inventor:
declining motor skill with age making it complex to interact with tiny GUI elements,
fingers that aren't recognized by touch screens,
bad eyesight making it difficult to see the tiny screen,
all these are problem that can get in the way of a senior sending messages to family and reading the answers.
Or is grandson the problem?
also partially true: all the grandsons and granddaughters insist all on using smartphone apps (here: telegram) to communicate asynchronously, thus increasing the barrier for grandmas to participate.
(As opposed to using, well, classic phones and synchronous communication, where the grandma could participate with a simple POTS phone and speed dial. So the grandson had to replicate the accessibility of that experience but over Telegram).
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Age (Score:2)
Hmm, bear in mind that grandma's generation invented cardex, computers, rockets and nuclear reactors,
That matches the CV of my 75 y.o. mother (Dropped out of a PhD un nuclear physics, went on to work in computer science).
Still at her age she has fingers which aren't recognized as easily by touch screens any more.
In her case, though that's the only age-related problem she has. Fine motor skills are still spot on, eyesight is now even better since her cataract surgery and hearing is good enough.
So she basically solved all her problems with just a capacitive stylus.
That's not the case of all "70 plus" senior
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What? (Score:1)
Grandson?? That's a fully grown man, not a grandson.
The title is misleading. Had me thinking "that's crazy, a kid could build something like that?"
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You can be both a fully-grown man and a grandson, you know.
* brain explodes *
Re:What? (Score:4, Informative)
His grandma's 96. With 20 year generations, he could easily be a grandson and grandfather at the same time. English does not distinguish 'son' and 'daughter' attributes by age.
Re: What? (Score:1)
But in common speech, an adult male is referred to as a "man." Thus,
"Man builds gizmo for grandmother"
conveys that he is an adult...and implies that the grandmother is rather advanced in age.
"Grandson builds gizmo for grandmother"
on the other hand implies that he is a child or teenager. Though more likely the former than the latter, since
"teen builds gizmo for grandmother"
would convey that unambiguously.
I must say I find the choice of the "grandson" phrasing to sound an awful lot like the "Comrade Ogilvy" s
Re: What? (Score:1)
Re: What? (Score:2)
The sum total of intellectual defaults is what defines a common language.
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If you're the only one doing it, it's not a default.
Re: What? (Score:2)
Clearly I'm not the only one doing it.
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Grandson?? That's a fully grown man, not a grandson.
The title is misleading. Had me thinking "that's crazy, a kid could build something like that?"
Do you suddenly not become a grandson when you reach a certain age?
Is English a second language to you or something?
Re: What? (Score:2)
Nah, it's my third language and, frankly, this is the same in almost any language on the planet.
He's just... you know... *laughs like the doctor in Idiocracy*...
MANUEL (Score:1)
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I'd assume it was an automatic spell checker.
When we get this old... (Score:5, Funny)
Then again it's Telegram. (Score:2)
Unencrypted isnecure mess that only got popular because ... bling-bling.
It's like WhatsApp, with Facebook replaced by a Russian company. Like that makes a fucking difference.
Interesting patch-synth i/f (Score:3)
She has arthritis and hearing difficulty so smartphones are out. I was interested that to dial someone you actually plug the audio cable into that person's input jack like in a patch synth [youtube.com]. All that great tactile interaction with fitting a cable into the hole is apparently easier for someone in their 90s to use, than say selecting a button and confirming that it lights up. I racked my brain to think of things I could build my Dad when he was in his 80s but this is pretty awesome. Also his grandmother sounds pretty cool. I'm impressed there is no visual acuity issue with reading the thermal printing or the labels on the patch inputs (using old school embossing tape [wikipedia.org]!).
Manual? (Score:2)
Super Cool Dude (Score:2)
I am impressed. I mean, a lot of engineering folk are busy-bodies, but this was a pretty darn cool project for the older generation. Wish I had something so cool I've done for one of the ones in my family. ...
Leans head back, scratches cleavage... (Score:2)
"Is this the person to whom I yam speaking?"
Thermal paper is TOXIC! (Score:1)