4 ms·

This. I can tell several stories of trying to set things up for my parents, only to have to call them/wait until I fly home next to fix something. Lessons have

This. I can tell several stories of trying to set things up for my parents, only to have to call them/wait until I fly home next to fix something. Lessons have been learned the hard way on dumb email chains/anti-virus software, but trying to give them a list of browser settings (among other things) to do is getting to be too much. So, now what?

Luyt 12y ago
Use some software with which you can do remote maintenance on your parents' computer(s). Or, introduce them to more stable OSses, like Ubuntu instead of Windows. That worked for my neighbours ;-)
- remarkEon 12y ago
  I've thought about Ubuntu...but it's a comfort thing. I'm afraid that telling my parents "hey so this new thing is more stable...." and it'll just trail off after that. For now, I'm afraid, I'll just keep fighting the good fight. Remote maintenance is probably something I should look more into.
  - SquareWheel 12y ago
    TeamViewer is a godsend for remote assistance. Free for personal use, paid for business. Though I admit I am starting to worry about the program itself as it's now warning about "missing antivirus" and such, but it's not gone over the deep end just yet.
    - ptaipale 12y ago
      Agreed, but on the other hand, TeamViewer is a man-in-the-middle by definition, and a definite no-no for the seriously security-conscious. For maintaining your mother-in-law's computer it's perfect.
  - joshuapants 12y ago
    Personal experience: my mother runs a Thinkpad T400 with Lubuntu and manages just fine. For many people, the look of the operating system doesn't matter much. As long as she knows where to open the browser and the email client, she's good.
busterarm 12y ago
I'm in this situation too. We're at an impasse now too where my mom wants a new laptop. She doesn't want to learn anything new (Mac OS) and both she and I don't want to deal with Windows 8+. I'm skeptical about just installing Windows 7 on a newer laptop (...driver/hardware support). If I could get her to switch to Mac (she's in her 70s), I could set her up with a non-admin user account and set it up easily so that I can securely do remote support. The funny thing is that she would probably do it if not for my brother, who does support for a living and doesn't want to learn to fix Macs...smh
- ptaipale 12y ago
  Windows 7 is going to be absolutely fine. If it's what she's used to, and you have the license and media, just go ahead. And something like TeamViewer does the remote support nicely. I'm all for Linux otherwise, but in this use case I'd let old people use whatever keeps them going.
  - busterarm 12y ago
    Yeah, it's just an insecure mess. She always makes a mess of Windows machines. If her first instinct weren't always to call my older brother for help, I'd have gotten her the Mac ages ago.
    - ptaipale 12y ago
      Well, perhaps it would be good to give her a non-admin account to Windows? The same approach you'd do with a Mac, but leaving her with a familiar UI.
      - busterarm 12y ago
        Privilege escalation, even with UAC at its strictest, is trivial on Windows with the malware that's floating around these days. I worked full time for 5 of the last 6 years on Windows malware research. Windows is a swiss-cheese joke of an operating system that won't progress because of a(n at this point pathological) need for 20 years of backwards compatibility. Microsoft: make use of that XP mode VM and extend that trend forwards, you fools.

Luyt 12y ago

Use some software with which you can do remote maintenance on your parents' computer(s). Or, introduce them to more stable OSses, like Ubuntu instead of Windows. That worked for my neighbours ;-)

remarkEon 12y ago
I've thought about Ubuntu...but it's a comfort thing. I'm afraid that telling my parents "hey so this new thing is more stable...." and it'll just trail off after that. For now, I'm afraid, I'll just keep fighting the good fight. Remote maintenance is probably something I should look more into.
- SquareWheel 12y ago
  TeamViewer is a godsend for remote assistance. Free for personal use, paid for business. Though I admit I am starting to worry about the program itself as it's now warning about "missing antivirus" and such, but it's not gone over the deep end just yet.
  - ptaipale 12y ago
    Agreed, but on the other hand, TeamViewer is a man-in-the-middle by definition, and a definite no-no for the seriously security-conscious. For maintaining your mother-in-law's computer it's perfect.
- joshuapants 12y ago
  Personal experience: my mother runs a Thinkpad T400 with Lubuntu and manages just fine. For many people, the look of the operating system doesn't matter much. As long as she knows where to open the browser and the email client, she's good.

busterarm 12y ago

I'm in this situation too. We're at an impasse now too where my mom wants a new laptop. She doesn't want to learn anything new (Mac OS) and both she and I don't want to deal with Windows 8+. I'm skeptical about just installing Windows 7 on a newer laptop (...driver/hardware support). If I could get her to switch to Mac (she's in her 70s), I could set her up with a non-admin user account and set it up easily so that I can securely do remote support. The funny thing is that she would probably do it if not for my brother, who does support for a living and doesn't want to learn to fix Macs...smh

ptaipale 12y ago
Windows 7 is going to be absolutely fine. If it's what she's used to, and you have the license and media, just go ahead. And something like TeamViewer does the remote support nicely. I'm all for Linux otherwise, but in this use case I'd let old people use whatever keeps them going.
- busterarm 12y ago
  Yeah, it's just an insecure mess. She always makes a mess of Windows machines. If her first instinct weren't always to call my older brother for help, I'd have gotten her the Mac ages ago.
  - ptaipale 12y ago
    Well, perhaps it would be good to give her a non-admin account to Windows? The same approach you'd do with a Mac, but leaving her with a familiar UI.
    - busterarm 12y ago
      Privilege escalation, even with UAC at its strictest, is trivial on Windows with the malware that's floating around these days. I worked full time for 5 of the last 6 years on Windows malware research. Windows is a swiss-cheese joke of an operating system that won't progress because of a(n at this point pathological) need for 20 years of backwards compatibility. Microsoft: make use of that XP mode VM and extend that trend forwards, you fools.