To old people: Technology isn’t perfect/doesn’t last forever

[beats me]

My aunt is having issues with a 8-year-old PC. It’s a miracle it turns on at all. None of us in the family are IT experts but it seems the older generations think anybody under the age of 40 must be by default. For months she’s been reporting the same issues but to this point has refused to the one thing everybody agrees on: Buy a new damn computer. I’m sure partly it’s a financial issue but just because you can’t afford a new computer doesn’t mean the issues can be fixed until you can. In fact they will probably get worse until you can.

She’s a lovely caring person and all, but it does get old hearing about the same issues every family gathering like it was the first time she’s brought it up.

FFS

[beats me]

What issues is she having? A lot of them probably could be fixed. It depends on what she expects, and what she wants to use it for. Maybe it's time to do a full clean reinstall of Windows. However although that's quite easy, it does mean you have to reinstall all your programs.

Have you defragmented it and obvious stuff like that?

No. Just no.

Right now you’re being like the 5th level employee phone support guy who asks you to do the exact same shit the previous 4 employees asked you to do...and it didn't help the first 4 times you did it.

[TomViolenz]

My aunt is having issues with a 8-year-old PC. It’s a miracle it turns on at all. None of us in the family are IT experts but it seems the older generations think anybody under the age of 40 must be by default. For months she’s been reporting the same issues but to this point has refused to the one thing everybody agrees on: Buy a new damn computer. I’m sure partly it’s a financial issue but just because you can’t afford a new computer doesn’t mean the issues can be fixed until you can. In fact they will probably get worse until you can.

She’s a lovely caring person and all, but it does get old hearing about the same issues every family gathering like it was the first time she’s brought it up.

FFS

I heard that a long time ago it used to be common, that broken things got fixed instead of being thrown away
Barbaric, I know

[TomViolenz]

I have no idea why you are saying that. It's very rude anyway.

OMG! someone was rude on the internet

[H20nly]

I heard that a long time ago it used to be common, that broken things got fixed instead of being thrown away
Barbaric, I know

those were savage times.

[beats me]

My aunt is having issues with a 8-year-old PC. It’s a miracle it turns on at all. None of us in the family are IT experts but it seems the older generations think anybody under the age of 40 must be by default. For months she’s been reporting the same issues but to this point has refused to the one thing everybody agrees on: Buy a new damn computer. I’m sure partly it’s a financial issue but just because you can’t afford a new computer doesn’t mean the issues can be fixed until you can. In fact they will probably get worse until you can.

She’s a lovely caring person and all, but it does get old hearing about the same issues every family gathering like it was the first time she’s brought it up.

FFS

I heard that a long time ago it used to be common, that broken things got fixed instead of being thrown away
Barbaric, I know

But at some point it’s like going to a carpenter, saying “I need you to fix my chair”, and then handing them a bag of sawdust.

[H20nly]

so beats... here's you new argument/wisdom for her... if the PC is that old, it's Windows XP at best. come April of 2014 Microsoft will stop supporting XP.

what this means is that they will no longer patch the new security vulnerabilities that are found (or made), BUT... they will still publish them.

security vulnerabilities are published all the time. they become the road map for both what needs to get fixed and for aspiring haxors to try some exploiting. when an operating system is no longer supported the list still goes up that says where the flaws are, but no one does anything [helpful] about it.

so, you should tell her that it's not safe come April.

even though... most of her problem probably has to do with spyware now anyway and she probably hasn't been "safely" computing for months or even years.

[beats me]

even though... most of her problem probably has to do with spyware now anyway and she probably hasn't been "safely" computing for months or even years.

A few years ago she was actually about to Western Union somebody in Europe some money through that email scam where somebody claims to be a little known relative, drops a few key names through address book fishing to make it more believable, and asks you not to mention the money request to the relatives you are in contact with because it would be embarrassing. And of course they will pay you back asap. Good thing she mentioned it to us in passing so we could tell her it was a scam.


It was determined through concensus that an iPad would probably best suit most of her needs which oddly I was against because she'll probably want to do something old school like print or transfer photos from a standalone camera which means more purchases and another learning curve.

[Galt]

She definitely should stop surfing porn sites then.

It's not all porn sites y'know. Why just the other day I was surfing an Ableton tips site—Macableton, I believe—when a number of attacks were detected by my firewall...

[TomViolenz]

even though... most of her problem probably has to do with spyware now anyway and she probably hasn't been "safely" computing for months or even years.

A few years ago she was actually about to Western Union somebody in Europe some money through that email scam where somebody claims to be a little known relative, drops a few key names through address book fishing to make it more believable, and asks you not to mention the money request to the relatives you are in contact with because it would be embarrassing. And of course they will pay you back asap. Good thing she mentioned it to us in passing so we could tell her it was a scam.


It was determined through concensus that an iPad would probably best suit most of her needs which oddly I was against because she'll probably want to do something old school like print or transfer photos from a standalone camera which means more purchases and another learning curve.

I convinced my parents of the iPad and it has been smooth sailing ever since.
Is the computer that broken, that you could not use it for printing and file hosting at least?

[beats me]

I think my PC is more than 8 years old. It's had a few new bits of hardware, and really needs a fresh Windows reinstall, but I hardly ever use it these days so I've not got round to it. I use it to remotely view and control my Mac when doing tuition, and it seems quick enough for doing that. I think what lets it down is the USB — it is USB1, so no good for WIFI. I use ethernet over powerlines instead (Comtrend).

Some people don’t have the interest, mindset, or memory to deal with band-aid fixes or maintenance to old technology and mostly just use technology because it’s become essential to the modern world for communication if nothing else. My aunt is 76 years old. She just wants shit to work easily and as she’s always known it to work.

[H20nly]

It was determined through concensus that an iPad would probably best suit most of her needs which oddly I was against because she'll probably want to do something old school like print or transfer photos from a standalone camera which means more purchases and another learning curve.

an iPad is a lot of cool things...but a decent word processor is NOT one of them. writing emails of any length beyond a sentence or two fucking sucks. same as posting on the forum here. i wouldn't have bothered typing all that information about XP being unsupported had i had to peck it out on an iPad with it's all quirky half qwerty half shifty ergonomic nightmare of a keyboard.

[inmazevo]

I can definitely feel your pain, beats.

My mom, also 76, had a ton of issues with some 12 year old HP machine about 6 years ago. Clunker from the beginning.

She called me, and wouldn't do anything I told her to do, over the course of around 2 years.

I finally got sick of it, so I bought her a Mac Mini, thinking at least I can remember how it works (we're a Mac house).
Even though I find the differences to be minimal between OSX and Windows XP, she found it quite confusing. I'm used to multiple devices and OS; she is not.

Eventually, she lost the adapter from the goofy mac mini display port and vga (old monitor). For TWO f'ing years she wouldn't take it to the mac store to have it handed to her.

Her mini, still, is just a white brick sitting beside a monitor with only a 3 foot cable standing in the way of actually having a computer.
WTF.

I'm amazed by it.

I've finally recently decided that I'm just getting her an iMac, but then remembered that Mavericks will just freak her out.

It's not easily fixable.

[102455]

peck it out on an iPad with it's all quirky half qwerty half shifty ergonomic nightmare of a keyboard.

You can connect an external keyboard to it, y'know...

[qwerty rapper]

the iPad idea i wouldn't try
because she probably doesn't have wifi
a cheap all-in-one might be a good buy
but windows 8 would make her cry