OT: New definition of a job required, beyond PC support ... On-call PC operator :-(

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Tim writes

*nods*

I think in all conscience we can do that now that Macs have improved so much. But you know you'll get the "Can you move my stuff onto the Mac?" phone call.

[Stuart Noble]

The only things beginners need to know are how to back up my documents, how to boot from their recovery disk, and how to run windows update.

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Adrian C writes

*nods*

"We can't go on like this" (and no, I'm not a tory voter).

I usually end up using the analogy of, "you asked for my advice as to which car to buy, now *you want me to teach you how to drive?!* (spoken in a disbelieving tone). Sometimes it works, sometimes not. It's hard to say without sounding insulting.

I had great misgivings about my old Mum ("i must get myself one of these computery things" ) has the power to strike fear into any son) but she took to it like a duck to water. If she doesn't understand something she takes a note and asks next time I see her, or if she's online and has seen something she doesn't understand, she'll _make_a_ note_ and call or close the browser down and I look at it next time I go there for cottage pie ;)

She loves the pc for keeping up with the news and emailing her friends all over the world. It's a shame that at this stage, the tools we have to offer her are such s**te. (forget Windows vs Linux - it's more than that.)

What really gets my goat is the Office file formats thing.

Her: I can't open this file in an email from Auntie Edith Me: what is it? Her: Well, I know it's a Word document file. Me: ok (then talk her through enabling display of file suffixes) Her, Now everything's appearing with weird letters after them Me: OK, no problem. It's harmless, just get used to it. What's the suffix on the Word document from Edith? Her: .docx Me:

She has Turd 2003. It's small, quick, and I'm buggered if M$ is getting money for its bloated crap when all she wants to do is look at a letter from Aunty Edith.

It's the same with images. So many apps try and highjack the file associations that she gets completely confused when something else appears from her normal Irfanview which is the default. The worst is M$ File and Picture Viewer. Leave it alone willya, M$!

[Huge]

Try using this simple word; "No".

[Huge]

Yep. My 77 y/o Mum has just migrated to Windows 7 from XP. OK, she didn't do the actual migration herself, but she's quite capable of "having a go".

[AnthonyL]

Sounds like a good business opportunity in the offering.

I run a small computer business in a small village though I do not generally deal with the public. Of course I had become the "de facto" expert and I was getting fed up of.

One day someone down the road knocked on my door in a panic with his internet down and he "needed it" urgently. I said I would have to charge standard rates to which he agreed. Well sorted things out, gave him some advice which he took on board and presented my bill for £200.

I don't get knocks on the door any more.

[Clive George]

There's a plugin for 2003 to allow it to read docx. Get it.

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

I've been doing that (with great success) for a couple of years now. It helps that they're so damn pretty, too.

Which is, at least, a one-off. And also easy, if a bit dull - so get them to sort out a meal for you while it completes!

Cheers - Jaimie

[Tony Houghton]

Oh, you mean the Macs, not the clients. Pity, that would add a new twist to, "While you're down there..."

[ARWadsworth]

And who do you think changes the lightbulbs at my parents house for free? They cannot even be bothered to buy the f*****g lamps anymore. Oh-no it's a

15 minute phonecall disturbing me at work as they try to describe the lamp they want me to pick up for them.

But the best was when I was at the top of some high scaffolding in the rain and my Dad called to ask where the apostrophe key was on his keyboard.

Adam

[GB]

My 86 yo MIL cannot click the mouse button without moving it at the same time. She's very creative. For example, she managed with just one very long sliding click to hide all the icons in windows.

[Jules]

Hmm, I just can't use the shitty HP one on the wife's machine for the same reason - and it's because it's a quite tall, slender design with the pads underneath situated quite far 'inboard'. Pressing the mouse button invariably introduces a tilting action which the system registers as movement.

I've got a MS Intellimouse on my machine and I love it - it's about the only good thing that MS have ever made (although I'm sure they didn't actually design or make it, because they're hardly known for their innovation :-)

cheers

Jules

[Philip Herlihy]

My sister used to teach IT evening classes for beginners: "computing for the terrified" and "keyboarding skills", and so on. She often found the old dears took a great swipe at something instead of clicking on it accurately. I came up with the idea of pairing up the old dears, and having one of them

*move* the mouse and the other click the button. Problem instantly solved.

Phil, London

[Clive George]

I have heard one of the ideas behind minesweeper was to improve mouse accuracy.

[Bob Eager]

SWMBO is a Computing lecturer in an FE college. She tells me off if I try to design a database.

[Tim Watts]

Bob Eager wibbled on Friday 29 January 2010 20:00

Mine's got a PhD in CS - I still get the questions :-| But at least she can follow the answers, which are to questions more like "how do iptables work" than "how do I print", except when I broke the printer, then it really is my fault...

How are Bob - is the deed done?

[<me9]

Got a trackerball from freecycle for my 92YO father in law. He manages that much easier than a mouse. He can't write easily due to shaky hands but manages large missives on the computer including printing out envelopes.

I've friends half his age who need much more IT support, I'm trying with one to get him to sit down and fiddle, rather than writing down what needs to be done a click at a time so not actually learning how it works. Last week was how to record from records using Audacity (I'd already given him an axcellent printout from a website, and he was writing it out longhand as I described the same thing! He has succeeded since, but next week it is getting him to burn the resultant files to CD with Nero.

Then his email needs sorting, one account isn't deleting (Thunderbird). It's got me temporarily stumped, but it *wont* defeat me!

[Simon Finnigan]

Install logmein or similar, and refuse to touch any computer until and unless you can install it.

I had a few people like that, until I started telling people "Yeah, I`m busy until a week next Friday unless you want to pay the urgent rate of £35 an hour, and I`ll be there in five minutes". Now people only botherme if they really need help. or if they`re the mechanic at my local garage, who gets everything done urgently for free - and then treats my car problems with the same arrangements :-)

[Dr Zoidberg]

To be honest , if they are prepared to pay you a good enough hourly rate to do this kind of stuff , then you may as well turn up to do what they want , take the cash and leave.

There's a lot to be said for easy , well paid repeat business.

[Dai]

"Dr Zoidberg" wrote in news:hk4j7f$4fv$ [e-mail]:

Damn right.. it's working well for me..