computing is an activity suitable for people of all ages, whether at work or play; but as the years take their inevitable toll it may be that eyes get weaker, hands get shakier and it's necessary to crank up the volume of the speakers in order to get the best out of Bruce Springsteen in concert on Youtube. Most of us who have age-related ailments and minor physical complaints can carry on computing by tweaking a few settings in Windows XP and Vista and making careful decisions about the way we want to get things done. Here's how.

There's an amazing array of specialist input and output devices that help users with chronic physical and cognitive impairments to use computers (check out Microsoft's list of assistive technology products In this article we are going to concentrate on the enhancements within Windows that can help anybody who has a temporary physical infirmity or age-related condition to carry on computing by making a few minor tweaks.