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Jul - Computers and Technology - Your parents and computers/Internet New poll - New thread - New reply
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Taryn

Passed away.

Thanks for being a part of us, even if it wasn't always on the best of terms.

1987-2014


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Since: 09-01-09

From: Seattle

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Posted on 09-09-10 08:00:41 AM Link | Quote
How comfortable are your parents/guardians and other people of older generations on your family with computers?

My dad was one of the earlier people to own a computer, back in the early-mid 1980s, so he's been using computers for quite a while. Both of my parents were computer and video game addicts pretty much since before I was born Today, my mom uses AIM, but she's not interested in boards. My dad barely communicates on the computer at all, just sometimes with E-mail.

None of my grandparents ever operated a computer, AFAIK. Of course, my youngest grandparent was born in 1927, so it could just be an age/generational thing.

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TKB Super Mario Bros. • TKB Super Mario Bros., Volume II
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Since: 01-13-09

From: Puerto Rico

Since last post: 10.3 years
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Posted on 09-09-10 02:03:35 PM Link | Quote
My dad is an older fellow so he doesn't use computers. Never has, never will. (He is 80 yrs old)

My mom is an okay user on the pc. She checks the web, uses aim at times, maybe skype, and that stuff. Actually, my mom and my fiancée are the same. They can do the basic stuff but nothing more. My mom can follow instructions better so it is easier to help her.

I wouldn't trust them using my computer though.

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Peardian

  
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From: Isle Delfino

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Posted on 09-09-10 02:16:19 PM Link | Quote
My mom and dad both have an adequate knowledge of Office and how to use a web browser, with my father also knowing how to code and work programs like AutoCAD. But both of them used Microsoft Word to send screenshots through email until very recently.

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-Peardian-


"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." -Mark Twain


Zero One
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Since: 05-24-10

From: Delta Quadrant

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Posted on 09-09-10 03:06:06 PM Link | Quote
My dad knows the most about computers out of the three of us and my mum knows the least. Then again, she's half-blind, so that doesn't help

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Lyskar
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Posted on 09-09-10 03:24:43 PM Link | Quote
Stats
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Metal_Man88's Post
My Grandpa helped build the Viking Lander, so he definitely had contact with them, although he refused to touch PCs.

My Dad used mainframes in the day and had all the latest computer stuff before anyone else (mostly). I picked up where he left off.

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Post 19329/23359
Posted on 09-09-10 04:30:50 PM Link | Quote
My dad doesn't even have a computer.

I took him to Best Buy for the first time about two years ago. He loved it.

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Bagel

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Since: 03-30-09

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Posted on 09-09-10 06:43:14 PM (last edited by Bagel at 09-11-10 12:38 PM) Link | Quote
My father went to college where they had access to a PLATO system, which at the time was incredibly advanced and introduced a lot of concepts like instant messaging, multi-user games, and limited graphical interfaces. When things like X or the Macintosh or Windows arrived he was a quick study really, even though most of his time up to that point had been spent working on unix systems. He's not so adept with a modern system running something newer like OS X or Windows Server 200x but is still better with them than your average user is going to be. The guy develops code for a living so he has to be familiar with the platforms available to a reasonable degree.

My mother also went to the same college. But she was never as fascinated by computers as my father was, and still occasionally needs help figuring out certain more advanced things, but she also is used to both OS X and Windows at least. She's good at using things like Office and iTunes but might struggle with actually customizing the OS since she tends to just live with the default settings most of the time.

When it comes to modern hardware and software though I have them both beat by a huge margin.

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Shadic
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Posted on 09-10-10 02:03:49 PM Link | Quote
Gabu

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Since: 08-10-09

Pronouns: they/them, she/her
From: Santa Cruisin' USA

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Posted on 09-10-10 04:26:49 PM Link | Quote
My dad has had a lot of experience with computers, to the point where he was pursuing a computer programming degree back in the 70's. No idea why he dropped out when he could have been really, really good at it, but he got a computer back in the mid 80's and did some minor programming and major RAM upgrading with it (from 128 to 640 KB), though his methods when going inside a computer make me cringe a little. Doesn't ground himself, uses compressed air cans upside down, touching components that would equal a dead machine pretty haphazardly. I don't trust him near my computer hardware, even though that was a computer he bought for the family in late '04. Now he uses his older daughter's old college computer to play Caesar III when he gets home. That literally all he does with computers now, and it makes the geek inside me cry.

My mom knows insanely less, though, and for a while clicked on ad banners. I guess my dad saw what she was doing and gave her a stern lecture about it, since I haven't seen her do it in a long time. She has good knowledge in Excel, though she doesn't really use the more advanced features.

None of them really use the Internet to talk to other people, though my mom does for strictly business purposes.

So I guess if something broke down in the house, I might as well be the one who fixes it, if dad really has no idea how to.

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Orlandu


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Since: 01-12-10

From: Las Vegas, NV

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Posted on 09-10-10 05:04:51 PM Link | Quote
Originally posted by Shadic
Both my parents and both my step-parents know how to make a computer work. My Mom is depressingly good at making it not work, sometimes though.


Pretty much the exact same thing. My step-dad is fairly computer literate. He may not be quite as well versed as my brother and I, but he knows enough about a computer that when we have to explain detailed instructions on installing drivers or changing system settings, he knows how to get around. He actually got his BA in computer science back in the 1970's! He had a job at a NASA data center where they used punch card computers.

My mother on the other hand, well lets just say the "Internet for Dummies" book was written for her. She's gotten a lot better, but for a while it was every 1-2 months I had to fix her PC from some virus or malware.

My real dad worked in electrical engineering for 30 years. He knows enough to get around but not the technical side like network settings, drivers, etc.

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Leroy
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Posted on 09-10-10 07:49:21 PM Link | Quote
Both my parents are quite skilled with the computer, in terms of usage. My father even knows his fair share about hardware. Saves me a lot of time.

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Leroy and Dunja are going down under! =)
Rick
M'Lord, there's a knife in your head!
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Since: 02-15-10

From: Maine

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Posted on 09-12-10 07:01:45 PM Link | Quote
I'm the expert. My grandfather uses it occasionally.

That's it. No one else in the family uses it.

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— BlackRose —
Transforming cats into robots since 1989!
Posted on 09-12-10 09:45:32 PM Link | Quote
 
My mother and father are comfortable enough on the internet/with computers that they can go and easily search up things on Google, check up on Facebook, and also check my Twitter. That's right. Also, they don't care about what I see on the internet, just as long as it's not illegal (which I never do anyway.)

My grandparents on the other hand, are the opposite, for the most part. My grandfather cannot use the computer because he is legally blind (I know, contrast stuff and whatnot, but he doesn't have a reason to use it anyway,) and my grandmother just generally uses it for Facebook.

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— Bloodstar —
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Post 6697/11363

Joined 07-06-07
Active 1 day ago
Posted on 09-13-10 12:17:40 AM Link | Quote
My mother's more of a DOS user - she knows her way around that.

She does fine in Windows, too, but I think she slips up a bit sometimes. I've had to fix a lot of shit on her computer. She insists on using AOL as her web browser and email client.

...I installed Firefox and Thunderbird for her, and offered a gmail invite. She didn't take the invite, and FF/Chrome are broken... possibly due to missing / damaged files. I think being on XP SP2 has something to do with it... and I'd update her, except Windows Update was thrashed.

She won't let me install, either, irritatingly, because "I don't want to lose my stuff". Sigh.

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paulguy

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Posted on 09-13-10 08:37:12 AM (last edited by paulguy at 09-13-10 05:38 AM) Link | Quote
Paulguy's Post configuration
Well, I don't have parents, so I'll use the people in this house.

My sister is alright at computers. Just average, I suppose. She knows not to click on ads, most of the time, I guess, though whenever I use her computer, I'm frustrated that it's rather slow, so I figure there is a good bit of shit on it.

My cousin is much better, but not really far beyond using it and whatnot, but he has much better common sense and intuition for things than her.

EDIT: Also, when I see that layout of yours, bloodstar, I mix up your gender...

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Midiman

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Posted on 09-13-10 09:18:59 PM Link | Quote
My grandparents, whom I live with, know nothing about the internet..

and im glad they don't

they don't have to deal with the silly crap everyone does everywhere, including fake sites and scams. sure that means I have to hold her hand through the process of ordering online, but that's just how it is.

My siblings however are all proficient with computers except for one.. who causes the most problems and blames everyone else.

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Hi
— Bloodstar —
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Post 6718/11363

Joined 07-06-07
Active 1 day ago
Posted on 09-13-10 09:44:48 PM Link | Quote
Originally posted by paulguy
EDIT: Also, when I see that layout of yours, bloodstar, I mix up your gender...




Maybe I overestimated her a bit. I was running a few different things on her machine to try to clear malware and such, since she's adamant that I don't install for whatever stupid reason, as I mentioned...

...Woke up to find she turned it off while defragging. Sigh.

Whenever she gets money to buy parts for her machine (I'll just reuse old shit from mine), I'll outfit it with Linux if I possibly can. Getting tired of her not wanting me to fix the broken XP install. What she doesn't realize is that it's probably more risky to leave things as is than to let me reinstall!

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Gabu

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Since: 08-10-09

Pronouns: they/them, she/her
From: Santa Cruisin' USA

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Posted on 09-13-10 10:28:52 PM Link | Quote
Originally posted by Bloodstar
...Woke up to find she turned it off while defragging. Sigh.


Wh... what?

/facepalm

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Acey

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From: meme jail

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Posted on 09-13-10 10:58:04 PM Link | Quote

Mom uses several forums for subjects I have no interest in.

Dad is a computer programmer who occasionally makes joke posts on said forums.

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Peardian

  
Magikoopa

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From: Isle Delfino

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Posted on 09-14-10 12:06:38 AM Link | Quote
I always make sure to leave a sticky note on the computer if I leave it on doing something important. Even though my mom would never turn it off if it looks like it's doing something, but I don't want to be woken up at 7 AM by mom asking worriedly "what's the computer doing?" I recommend using multiple notes if the family members in question are particularly unobservant.

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-Peardian-


"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." -Mark Twain


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