When my Mom went into a care home earlier this year, she still had a desire to have her computer available. But she really couldn’t sit up for very long. So, I looked into ways she could have a computer still.

First, let me say, a laptop was a no-go. None of them had screens big enough for her to be able to read the text and still be usable. A track pad is functionally useless for someone who has lost the feeling in her fingertips. And she had a lot of stuff on her old Mac Mini that she didn’t want to part with. So, we needed a bigger screen, and to keep her trackball since it clicks well, and try to retain her keyboard which had the big chonky clicky keys. Keep it to what she’s used to.

So what was my solution? Well, it was rather neat, really. So I’m sharing it. If you follow the links, no, I won’t get any money. It’s not about that.

First, we needed a platform, something that can be positioned over her bed when she’s sitting up. Hospitals solved this a long time ago with overbed tables that have wheels. Ideal! However, most of these are pretty small, so now we need to get the footprint of the computer down to size.

I started with the monitor. My Uncle expressed an interest in doing Zoom calls with her, since she was in AZ and he was in NY. So, something with a camera built in would be great. I went with an Asus monitor. Now, there are plenty of monitors with cameras out there, but this one had one extra feature: it came with the MKT02 VESA mount. I wasn’t mounting the monitor to the table, but, I did want to mount the Mac Mini to the monitor! I accomplished that with a wall mount that let me attach her original Mac Mini to this new monitor. That means no additional steps of having to move her data around. It’s just the same Mac with the same setup she’s already used to.

So now that the computer was handled, what next? Well, she already had a trackball she liked. It’s the Kensington Orbit, and she’d been using one of these for years. I did get her a new one, since the old one was starting to fall apart, but, blessings on Kensington, they still make this same trackball after many many years.

Her keyboard, though, turned out to be a problem. Even with the smaller footprint of the new setup, there wasn’t much space left on the table. We needed a keyboard without a numeric keypad, but we wanted to keep it chonky, and with some heft to it so it wouldn’t slide around. This is where I got extremely lucky. Macally makes a perfect one. Or made, I guess I should say. It’s discontinued (a scant few months after I got one, which is odd), but it was mighty fine, and fit the available space. (I still have this keyboard, if anyone is interested.)

OK! Now our setup is complete. Almost.

See, we don’t want wires everywhere, we want a single power line running to the table. I solved that with a fantastic power strip, which screwed easily on to the bottom of the table, providing a single long power line, and allowing the table to still be mobile. If Mom got better and could sit up, we could roll it to her at her chair, or in her bed, or wherever.

Cable management on the computer itself was accomplished with a bunch of Velcro cable ties, and the whole thing was strapped to the table with tie down straps.

We ended up with a very stable setup that the nurses could easily move out of the way, and that Mom could use when she wanted to.

I have to say, though, she never actually used it. She passed about three months later. We donated the table to the care home, since it was barely used, and only had four small holes in the bottom. The computer setup is now on it’s way to a friend’s mom, who could use a simple computer. The nice thing about the Mac Mini setup is that the chassis of the Mini hasn’t significantly changed in years, so if she gets a new Mac Mini later, it can just swap right in.

It was a good setup for someone bedridden, and not that expensive. Other mini computers can also be attached directly to the VESA mount I posted, so the setup is pretty flexible. I just figured I’d share. Maybe it’ll help someone.