4 ms·

Serious question, for people this old is there a reason not to set them up with a very locked down Linux OS? Not like they need photoshop…

INTPenis 3y ago
Valid point, in a logical world. But some 80 year olds are just so hard headed that instead of calling one of their THREE children who work in IT they just head into the closest electronics store and buy the laptop recommended by their favorite sales rep. And then they call us to complain about it. He would scoff at my suggestion to install anything other than what he's known for 30+ years.
- aaomidi 3y ago
  > He would scoff at my suggestion to install anything other than what he's known for 30+ years. Very fair. I've started earlier, but I've been trying to remind my parents that if they want to have a good relationship with their, non-existent as of yet, grandkids - they need to have a good relationship with new tech. That's what the grandkids are going to want from them. Somehow that convinced them.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
    This is an excellent point, actually
peatmoss 3y ago
I did this for my elderly dad, and told him to contact me if anything was amiss. He had some hardware issue with a cheap USB mouse and told my mom about it. My mom promptly took the whole thing to some box office store tech support place. They told her they couldn’t install the drivers for the new mouse she bought, and their proposed remedy was to charge her to wipe the laptop with Windows. She did so “as to not trouble me.”
- QuantumGood 3y ago
  Everyone with the potential to cause you trouble if they don't contact you soon enough, must be told repeatedly to contact you as soon as possible. I emphasize this repeatedly with clients and family. It's enlightened self-interest, and I emphasize that it will be faster for me and much faster for them to involve me sooner.

4 ms·

Serious question, for people this old is there a reason not to set them up with a very locked down Linux OS? Not like they need photoshop…

by aaomidi 3y ago

INTPenis 3y ago
Valid point, in a logical world. But some 80 year olds are just so hard headed that instead of calling one of their THREE children who work in IT they just head into the closest electronics store and buy the laptop recommended by their favorite sales rep. And then they call us to complain about it. He would scoff at my suggestion to install anything other than what he's known for 30+ years.
- aaomidi 3y ago
  > He would scoff at my suggestion to install anything other than what he's known for 30+ years. Very fair. I've started earlier, but I've been trying to remind my parents that if they want to have a good relationship with their, non-existent as of yet, grandkids - they need to have a good relationship with new tech. That's what the grandkids are going to want from them. Somehow that convinced them.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
    This is an excellent point, actually
peatmoss 3y ago
I did this for my elderly dad, and told him to contact me if anything was amiss. He had some hardware issue with a cheap USB mouse and told my mom about it. My mom promptly took the whole thing to some box office store tech support place. They told her they couldn’t install the drivers for the new mouse she bought, and their proposed remedy was to charge her to wipe the laptop with Windows. She did so “as to not trouble me.”
- QuantumGood 3y ago
  Everyone with the potential to cause you trouble if they don't contact you soon enough, must be told repeatedly to contact you as soon as possible. I emphasize this repeatedly with clients and family. It's enlightened self-interest, and I emphasize that it will be faster for me and much faster for them to involve me sooner.