Experiences of your parents FIRST computer?

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

Gimpymoo

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Now, I am not sure if I have done the right thing or not but I have convinced my mother who is in her 60's to purchase her first computer.

It seemed a great idea at the time, being able to share family photos with her, the social aspect for herself and the thought she may join a beginners "silver surfers" course at the local college. It all seemed great. Then it hit me.

What happens when it all goes wrong?

My question to the forum is in 3 parts

1. When your parents got their first computer, were it a pleasent experience for yourself?

2. Did they give up on it and leave it in the corner to gather dust or did they perservere?

3. If they persevered, how long did it take them to become confident when using the computer?

Thanks all.

Wish me luck for the next year.. it will not be pretty :(
 
If they're not savy like some here, then you're constantly going to get questions akin to those that work on help desks get. And little ones ontop of that. It's also hard because they sometimes won't know the lingo to make appropriate questions.

Do you live with them?

1. Not really, I found that they didn't understand what most basic warnings and error messages meant, and I was always on the phone to them repeating the same things again and again.

2.No

3.They're still not.

But you should remember it does confer other advantages. E.g. you can just email them from time to time when your busy and can't speak.
 
Get them to keep a notebook of things to do/avoid doing.. this way they'll remember that they have the means to answer a question they have already come across before..and they'll feel more independent doing so?
 
Gimpymoo said:
Now, I am not sure if I have done the right thing or not but I have convinced my mother who is in her 60's to purchase her first computer.

It seemed a great idea at the time, being able to share family photos with her, the social aspect for herself and the thought she may join a beginners "silver surfers" course at the local college. It all seemed great. Then it hit me.

What happens when it all goes wrong?

My question to the forum is in 3 parts

1. When your parents got their first computer, were it a pleasent experience for yourself?

2. Did they give up on it and leave it in the corner to gather dust or did they perservere?

3. If they persevered, how long did it take them to become confident when using the computer?

Thanks all.

Wish me luck for the next year.. it will not be pretty :(
Click to expand...

1. It was a windows 3.11 PC It had no games, I was very young, but I enjoyed playing with paint. It helped me become familiar with Windows, progman etc.

2. No, my father worked in IT. He played solitaire a lot, they used wordperfect and Supercalc a lot.

3. They were when they got it.
 
Welcome to becoming home tech support!!

1) Terrible, explaining every single thing three times, only to be asked "Where was the on button again?"

2) Still using it, unfortunately :rolleyes:

3) Still not, never will be, and I'll probably get a call in the next 10 mins!!
 
Thankfully my dad was the guy who taught me everything i needed to know about computers so he is completely set :)

I do a lot of tech support though, and there is this old lady i help sometimes, and she is absolutely the best organized of anyone i help, she always has all passwords, emails, anything i might need ready to go.
 
My parents have had a PC for years (their first one was when I still lived with them, a 133MHz Pentium) but they still phone me up asking for tech support. :rolleyes: The lastest was 'I've got a browser virus', which it turns out was just the 'do you want to continue running scripts from this page?' message.

Although about a year ago, after a bit of coaching from me, which involved taking my brother's PC apart and showing her what to do, she bought and fitted a new HD. I was so proud... :D
 
My parents first computer was a Pentium 2 (It wasn't even fast enough to play Half-Life 1 on medium), we got it off my mothers ex-husband.

Before he gave it to us he happened to of attempted to upgrade the HardDrive, so as a result we got the Blue-Screen of death every 5minutes.
Now my mother is a gamer (even if it is only Quake 3 and Doom 3).

I guess for your problem, can anyone be confused by Windows Vista?
 
It is absolute hell, especially if you build a computer for your parents like I did. Any time something happens that they should easily be able to sort out I get a phone call asking me what to do.

It is even worse when, like my dad, they think they are great with computers when really they don't understand them at all!
 
My parent's first computer was a BBC-B back in the day.

That was an amazing machine for the time. Repton was my all time favourite at the time. My dad is still keen on computers to this day. Must be where I get it from.

It must have been around 1984. I think he's still fairly proficient using technology. Even though he now ends up with my PC cast offs.
 
The problem with parents, well I know MY parents and some of my mates is that if they don't know something, you tell them and after they have done it they forget it IMMEDIATELY. Like shutting down a computer, it's 2 clicks away how can you forget it. It's like they DON'T want to learn... They have a USB stick and I have to plug it in because they don't know where to plug it in... JUST LOOK AT THE PORTS FOR GODS SAKE, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR EYES. Makes me so ****** :( And at work they do stuff 100 times as difficult without problem.
 
Vir said:
The problem with parents, well I know MY parents and some of my mates is that if they don't know something, you tell them and after they have done it they forget it IMMEDIATELY. Like shutting down a computer, it's 2 clicks away how can you forget it. It's like they DON'T want to learn... They have a USB stick and I have to plug it in because they don't know where to plug it in... JUST LOOK AT THE PORTS FOR GODS SAKE, IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR EYES. Makes me so ****** :( And at work they do stuff 100 times as difficult without problem.
Click to expand...

I've shown my mother how to load up a favourite before, so I let her try...so she did...

Then we closed IE down...So I said, go on then you try...She responds:

Mother: "Wheres the favourites button???"

Me: You have to open Ie first mother...

Mother: Oh yes! oh...I can't see it...

Me: Top left mum :rolleyes:

Mother: Oh yeaaaaaah! One more time

Me: Ugh!
 
Maybe get them laptop? smaller and more easily used in a way? 15-17" screen I'd guess.

I'd imagine mine sitting in their armchairs typing away more than I could sitting a at a great big 'hulk' of a desktop gathering dust in the corner?

But mine are both pretty nifty, apart from calling the monitor a 'screen' and navigating the web in the sloooooooooooooooooowest way possible, use tabs is what I keep telling them, and press minimise to desktop more! I put it on quicklaunch for a reason, it's the best windows button!
 
My parents aren't as bad as most I've got my little brother and sister trained so I don't have to answer too many q's. Is really annoying being home tech support especially when you're telling them one thing and they don't believe you drives me insane!
 
My dad is the one who taught me about computers, he did cybernetics or somthing.

My mother on the other hand has only just got into them in the last 5 years or so. Now she does shopping online, e-mail and can look stuff up as well as play peggle (she loves that game). Can be a long process and I would definatly advise getting a laptop oppose to a desktop
 
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