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Ask Slashdot: Good Subscription-Based Solution For PC Tech Support?
New submitter byrddtrader writes: My parents are getting close to the their 70s and neither one of them is particularly tech savvy. Since my teenage years I have been tech support for the family, but now that I am older I can not be at their beck and call every time they inadvertently download something they should not, or the printer stops working. Given the amount of time that I have worked with them I don't feel that it is realistic that I will be able to convey the information they need to become self-sufficient. What I am looking for is a service that will be able to assist with any software PC related issues, viruses, printers and the like. Currently they are using a tech firm out of India (iYogi) that does unlimited support for a few hundred per year per machine -- which is fine, though they are big on the up-sell. They tend to push their own virus protection software, and attempted to sell my Dad, who has 500Mb of documents, a 3Tb external hard drive because they said he needed it. Currently the computers they use are ones I have built. Maybe the best solution would be store-bought PCs that offer additional tech support at a price. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Look in your local yellow pages or equivalent. I live in a small metropolitan area and know of three or four local firms here that I would consider reputable.
And "a few hundred per year per machine" would cover a lot of local support.
"Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it." - George Santayana
Best money I ever spent on my parents (and me). Apple handles EVERYTHING -- their tech support is amazing for people. Don't subject your elderly parents to a Windows PC offshore tech support experience where they play the blame game (MS says call manufacturer, and then manufacturer says call MS). Or better yet, just get then iPads...
Just get them an iMac or MacBook and be done.
my thoughts: don't do it. don't get a service. you are their service. you are their health-care. you are their lawyer. yeah, it's like that. it's YOU.
I offer free service to many older folks in my community (56 years in the business; you do the math), and don't charge them for calls less than 30 minutes. 80% of the time it's helping them figure out what to do, not fix something like a broken drive. The other day, a friend (a year older than me) asked for help, I started CHKDSK, he bought me lunch, and we had a great time. I DO charge for heavier stuff (like people who consistently do the same dumb thing...like acting as if they understand what an "Active partition" is, for example, and try to make every partition "Active"), and for initially configuring a new computer so it will remain reliable for a long time.
These off-shore services always break something that will force a new, billable call in a few weeks, so they can boost revenue. I've NEVER known any reliable, phone-support, reputable organization, unless you have an annual contract.
Kudos to you for taking care of your elders; so many adults don't.
Setup remote desktop so that you don't have to explain fixes to them, you can just fix it yourself...
and realize that when it comes to computer literacy (not downloading viruses or buying hardware they don't need is still probably going to rely on you - nature of the family tech support beast).
For me the calls from mom didn't stop until I got her a Chromebook and an iPad to help her dump the virus-ridden PC.
Install Ubuntu and Teamviewer on their computers and give yourself access. Ubuntu should take care of most of the problems and you can remote in for the odd problem that comes up.
You'd never find techs willing to subject themselves to the 24x7 aarp crowd, nothing more frustrating than trying to support gomers over the phone, trust me. That said, +1 for anyone that is saying local support, many shops have a yearly support plan, the one I used to run charged $165 per year per pc for anti-virus, yearly tuneu (clean temps, startups, dust the interior, etc), and 10% off any additional services needed throughout the year.
Personally I'd rather have my idiots at home glued to the TV than out doing idiotic things
I just use team viewer. I live 150 miles from my parents, but make trips to visit about once a month. Both in their 80's. If it isn't something I can fix via RDT, then it waits til I get there. I don't want ANYONE touching their computers.
try chat.hostgator.com. free online live support for a variety of technical issues. no upsell.
i'll probably get modded down for this, but whatever...
get them an iPad or a new iPad pro. stay within the ecosystem, also get an apple wifi point and a printer that supports AirPrint. they'll be delighted and their calls to you will drop 90%. easiest purchase ever, trust me. Note you can set up the apple wifi directly from the iPad, you don't need to deal with a pc or mac.
I have five for my family. I do zero maintenance. The only thing that I still need to do occasionally is mess with the printer (I had to do this more frequently with windows). Chromebooks can only print over cloudprint. If the maker of the printer stops supporting the protocol (such as Canon did for several printer models), it can get messed up. If you have a printer that can print in many ways (mail, usb key, cloudprint etc.) there are more options.
I told my mom that if her next computer wasn't a Mac I wouldn't provide computer support any more. So she bought a Mac. She hasn't needed my help since, and has 3 in the house now (her desktop, her husband's desktop, and a laptop for the motorhome).
Buy them a chromebook, or a chromebox. There is pretty much no maintenance; recovery is power-wash.
I've been wrestling with the same thing. Neverware is a USB boot Chromebook solution that works with older legacy hardware. You can try going Chrome without changing out their OS and still boot to the old OS by removing the USB stick if they need something that way. ChromeOS is updated automatically and has AntiVirus.. so it might be an option.
You might even think of transitioning to a Full Chromebook if they like the Chromebook and can live with Office 365 and Gdrive. My Mom regularly asks why her desktop doesn't sync everywhere.. Chromebook can do this. And at this point the only "apps" she really uses are Cloud Apps.. like Banking software or TurboTax.
The rest she either watches in a Browser Video player or goes to the DMV through a browser.. not much need to downloading a Windows 32 bit app anymore.
Right now she is using a Feature Phone, but I can see the day of a SmartPhone is coming.. If she likes ChromeOS.. a Nexus device without all that insane Vendor Add-on crap will make things really easy.. it will sync with her desktop. She'll also have a compaion to talk to (Google Now) a built-in GPS (Google Maps) and a Google Finder (Android Find my Device).
I thought iPhone.. but Apple has really gone nuts since Steve Jobs has left and catering more to fashion models and tweens.. which if the medium age of the country is drifting upwards.. really seems crazy for a company to do.
I know you're asking to pay to offload this duty, but I have a suggestion that perhaps you should consider. I would encourage you to consider keeping those duties for yourself, and add a new application to help protect them all the way around.
Deep Freeze by Faronics - http://www.faronics.com/produc...
This product will let you create the perfect configuration for your parents, then 'freeze' it in place. They can have places for documents to go that you can edit and change and so forth. But, if you get infected with something, or an application installs something extra you didn't want, or your browser gets fouled up, you reboot your computer and Deep Freeze makes your system revert back to what it was before those changes took place.
If they aren't changing or updating their system regularly, they just wait until you can do that for them, on your schedule. If they have problems, they reboot and get a working computer back. You'll still want to backup their documents, but you can use a cloud solution for that, so it'll be set-it and forget-it, except when it's time to pay the yearly bill.
It's juts something to consider. Again, I know it's not the hands off solution you're thinking about, but as your parents get older, they'll appreciate your help all the more. It lets you still use this to be connected to them, and feel more like you're taking care of them than pushing that duty off on someone else. Your time is worth way more than the money you spend on them.
Awk! Pieces of eight. Pieces of eight. Pieces of seven... ERROR: General Protection Fault. [Paroty Error.]
Why not get an iPad? They don't have to worry about viruses, or system corruption.
Create a new account for them which doesn't have admin access, and then change the admin password. Even if you give them the admin password, at least they will think twice before installing malware
Wow.. you know some people actually want the best for their parents.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
My 84 year old father uses Mint Linux. So does my 67 year old mother-in-law. There are several advantages:
#1 Neither has ever had virus issues
#2 "Windows" support scams do not work on them
#3 They don't screw up the OS
#4 Everything pretty much just works (printers, cameras, etc.)
It has been this way for many years. They rarely have any issues.
Yes it can be annoying to have to deal with their constant tech troubles, but you probably owe them (I have 3 young kids, and they definitely owe me big time). Let's face it, while people are still very active in their late 60's, you should enjoy it while it lasts because most people will really start to slow down in their early to mid 70's. As people age they become much more susceptible to scams (as you've noticed), so the only person you can really trust is you (or your siblings). I think that in 5 or 10 years you might have wished you could have spent more time with them.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
Typical distortion-field bullshit. For a decade Apple says that PowerPC is better than Intel, then as soon as they switch all of a sudden it was never about the hardware.
Its what I use for my parents. I can't drive over there but I can remote into their computers.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
why not just get a chrome book? They'll have email, netflix, Word processors, etc and if it breaks the OS is in ROM. Hit a few buttons and it's back to normal. Just make sure they're using cloud storage and their set.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I'm a retired computer guy (71), and I do a ton of work for my senior citizen neighbors. I suggest a $20/hr "donation" to the R&R fund for me and my wife, for an hour or two of services that would cost them $80-$150 at any computer shop. If the person is really poor, or doesn't tumble that I accept "donations", then I just do the work for free. I go to their homes, and fix their problems (all over the map :). I am viewed as a local treasure by all the old folks I know, as most of them haven't a clue how to fix their problems. I don't advertise because I get enough by word-of-mouth to keep me as busy as I care to be, as I do other things too :). But if your parents have a retired computer guy in their neighborhood, perhaps they can establish a relationship with him/her. I would work for free, as I don't really need the money, but on the other hand, it gets old, and the $20 helps pay for a dinner out or a movie for me and my wife. She used to complain about my being gone, so I came up with the brilliant idea, I split the money with her. So if I'm gone for a 2 hour computer call, and I come home with $40, she gets half. Now when someone calls for help, she smiles and says, "off you go". Bottom line, a little bit of money makes everyone happy :).
Plus several of my helpless friends. Once I did that, my phone stopped ringing every damn day, and now it's only about once a month.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Buy a new PC every 6 months, It's cheaper than paying for tech support.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
The AARP crowd can vary: (1) A previously competent individual whose mind has deteriorated and now needs help.
(2) An older person that never used computers, and now that he is retired he wants to get on the scene; and
(3) An elder that used computers for a long time, but never mastered them, and has needed help all his life. (4) Someone
that knows how to use computers, but needs handholding from time to time.
These are all distinct types, the first three types are difficult and frustrating because things will never get better with
them.
Only twice in 10 years have I encountered people who didn't have the money to pay for service, elderly/retirees included. One, a small rural shop that would have required a 40-minute drive was surprised that I wanted $95/hour, and the other actually called back after ringing around for a cheaper rate/faster service. I even get the followup calls from customers of another guy who charges almost half my rate, but can't cope beyond a GUI.
My experience is that retirees/elderly are more than happy to pay for a house call - just like it was half a century (or more) ago. They don't like burrowing under desks to unplug or re-plug cables, and they see value in service at their home. They also have a network and I get lots of work by referral. When they ask for 2 or 3 of my business cards, I know I'll see some new customers within a week or two.
Ask your parents to ask their friends who looks after their computers, then pick the one with the best reputation, and don't try to beat down his/her hourly rate.
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
My situation is exactly the same. My parents are also retirement age, and have no IT knowledge; and I am an IT professional with a demanding, full time job.
I solved the same problem in a much simpler way. I am always happy to help them with some stupid IT-related problem, any time, day or night. Even though they live several hours away, I will get into the car at a moment's call, and come on over, if it becomes necessary.
It's the least I could do. I could never hope to repay them for giving me the gift of life, and for all the love they raised me, from birth to adulthood. I consider helping them, with some stupid computer issue, the least I could do.
Typical distortion-field bullshit. For a decade Apple says that PowerPC is better than Intel, then as soon as they switch all of a sudden it was never about the hardware.
Insightful?
Siddown, and le Uncle Ol give ya some learnin' Cuz you got yerself a mighty fine distortin' field going yourself, if I do say so.
The PowerPC was a mighty fine piece of CPU. But there was one really big problem with it. 'n it were a doozie.
It was too damn big. I had me a dual core G5 Powermac back in th' 2 ought ought 5 day, and the heat sink and the CPU were around the size of a Mac mini.
It generated a lot of heat too, I had 4 fans in the damn thing, and when I was doing 3-D rendering, it was like a Thunderscreech takin' off. Okay, I exaggerate, a 707.
But it was a fine piece of computin' at the time.
But those honkin' CPU's were hell to fit inside a Macbook - they were a nuisance inside a G5 iMac as well, generatin' plenty of heat. And IBM never ever came up with a small enough PowerPC CPU. Even if they could stuff one in a happy, jus imagine all that heat a-crispin yer testicles up. Yowee!
Soooo, old Apple, they just figgerd that rather than fall behind in the pony power department in it's laptops, and that IBM was never gonna smallify them G5 chips enough - they done went Intel, and they done went to Unix.
Shore made Uncle Ol happy when they done did that.
And now you know.........The rest of the story. - Apologies to Paul Harvey.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
I'm sure your parents were busy when you were growing up, yet they still made time to feed you, cloth you, and teach you how to use simple technology. Your parents taught you how to use a toilet, and you can't make time to help them? Image if they took the same model as you are now? We don't have time to potty train our kid, lets outsource it to some strangers.
That's a fine piece of spinning y'all got down there. That's almost good enough to convince a retarded prairie dog.
Find the local nerd kid, give him a part time job as computer fixer. Shouldn't be that hard to find.
They are your parents. They aren't going to be around forever. I know you've heard that already. Here's my true story. My father never took to computers. My mother had been around them for decades. When the home PC craze started in the 90s I started getting her a new machine every year or so. Tried all kinds of things to simplify support - OS/2 instead of Windows 95, auto dialers to initiate connections. I was doing it all myself and it was frustrating at times. Remote access software made things easier as I was living about four hours away.
So once I updated something on my mother's computer - browser I believe - and she couldn't figure out how to print since the UI had changed. She called me on a Friday and I meant to call her back over the weekend but didn't get around to it. That Monday she got in her car to go somewhere and had a massive heart attack in the car in the driveway. She made it to the hospital but not much more than an hour maybe beyond that. I've always hated that I never called her back even though it was for something so small. I still feel a bit disappointed in myself now almost five years later.
The bottom line is you never know when, but at some moment everything is going to change. For your own sake I suggest you do whatever you need to but take the time to support them yourself. Most parents would,care less their computer is fixed and more that they are spending time with their child.
http://www.onesupport.com/ is a service that started in the last year or two. $15/month plus a $50 sign up fee, or no sign up fee if they pay a year in advance. (Disclaimer, I am partially associated with them. Never worked for them, but worked with their techs in the past). They do phone/remote access troubleshooting/virus removal/tuneups/basic software support/printers/networking. They always seemed fairly competent from the chats I had with them.
Also most ISP's, or at least the 4 or 5 that I've worked for or subscribed to, offer some kind of premium support for $10-$20/month. Worth looking into.
"Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
I have no idea what you can expect from big box phone support, or if "good" phone support even exists. There are a bunch of things you can do to make tech support easier, however, if you haven't done them already.
The best thing you can do (again, if you haven't already) is take away the Administrator account. I used to get weekly calls about my grandparents' PC, which saw a lot of use by relatives and grandchildren, until I did that. Suddenly, all the toolbars, viruses, Bonzi Buddies, random driver issues, and how-does-that-even-break issues just stopped. The occasional call to go type in the password and install something was much quicker than the frequent calls to uninstall something added by a well-meaning uncle or a young cousin.
Yes, some people were angry that they couldn't install things any more. But, they didn't want to take the support phone calls, so they didn't get the admin password. Everyone else was happy that the communal PC was suddenly much more likely to work when they wanted to check e-mail or play Facebook games.
If you have more hardware issues ("the printer stopped working"), think about getting new hardware. I have a Phaser 6125N, for example, which is overkill for most anything, really, but toner lasts forever and the drivers are completely free of crapware--you just plug in an Ethernet cable and forget about it. If their printer frequently causes issues, weigh the cost of a newer, more enterprise-y printer with the time saved by not having to fuck with it every week.
Ditto for modems, routers, whatever. If you have to walk them through rebooting their router every week, weigh the cost of a more reliable router over the time saved helping them turn it off and back on again.
Finally, work on your phone support. If you ask someone if the network cable is plugged in, they'll always say "yes," especially if they're a professor too proud to crawl underneath his desk and check for a lowly IT monkey.
Instead, ask them if it's plugged in the right way, because Ethernet cables are directional, you see. Make them flip it around (which, coincidentally, verifies a solid connection at both the wall and the PC). If that fixed the issue, they'll forever believe that Ethernet cables actually are directional, but it'll save you the trip to push a cable that last 1/8" into the jack.
This is necessary because most people--even family--are loathe to actually check e.g. what color some lights are, especially if checking involves some modicum of effort. While most people won't outright lie, they'll give you whatever they think is correct, or whatever answer sounds good off the top of their head, which is especially easy to do for yes/no questions.
So, never ask "is it plugged in"--the answer's always "yes," because of COURSE they plugged it in they're not an idiot and checking is effort. Ask them to switch the cable around. Don't ask if the lights are on--ask what color they are. Don't ask them to reboot their computer--ask them if their computer makes a noise when they hold the power switch for ten seconds.
...But, yanking a
DATABASE WOW WOW
To the geek who can't resist the suggestion that the right solution in this situation is to migrate Mom & Dad to Linux, the Chromebook or Apple:
a reminder that Windows 95 launched 20 years ago.
Long enough for even the least tech-savvy of users to become comfortable with a broad range of skills, programs and services that are not easily transferable to other platforms.
It is a subscription service, only costs an arm and a leg every few years ...
Apple's phone support & in-store support is excellent, and there is mountains of evidence over a long period of time that they have a lower support call rate in general (e.g. the recent IBM comments about Mac users calling the helpdesk about 1/8th the frequency of Windows users.)
...no really. Teach a man to fish and all that. Some of the best resources can be found at the local library for learning this stuff, as well as community colleges. On one hand, it helps that they are willing to learn this stuff - but on the other hand, it helps that they understand that you're not necessarily going to be available 24/7 for their needs.
This sig no verb.
I guess if your perfect customer is an idiot who doesn't understand what "upsell" means and thinks that these guys sound smart. You know, maybe you have a point there...I guess if you actually want idiot customers...maybe this is the perfect ad.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
It could not possibly be that the relative merits of PowerPC and X86 changed over time.
I'm a senior also, but had a leg up on computer technology, and so that's one of the things I do now -- serve the senior community (in addition to small businesses). I provide a range of tech support contracts, as well. I'm sure there must be many others out there that do the same. The key is to find someone to do onsite support. Another option is senior centers, where there is often a significant range of computer courses and information available for free. And as you might have noted from some of the more juvenile comments here, there is generally a more harmonious outcome when it's senior on senior, rather than a twenty-something eager to impress with technobabble.
You may be kidding, but I have had customers that couldn't go 3 months without rendering a Windows PC unbootable with malware, that ended up being happy with a Mac....
My father, always a smart man, wanted to go into computing in his late 60s, dropping hints he was not keeping up with ages. I was an expat at the time, gave in my old PowerBook (old Mac). He learned to use it on his own. Later he got an old MacBook Pro, and last year I have him a brand new iPad. Support calls are far and between, how do I do this and that, and the upgrades when I visit. Nothing draining. Sis also has an iPad nowadays, in the Mac era they were pretty clueless how to help him too. Has for family members or wife friends, the motto is "I do not use Windows and do not know how to use it"; bring it over and it will get Linux. 5 machines in Linux so far. After this windows 10 fiasco, also trying to convert Wife to Linux...but I suspect she is after my Mac.
Not a big fan of tech support, the ones who are good at what they do tend to move on or move up wry quickly.
I have no idea what the Windows equivalent is like (sccm or something). But I have used Casper from Jamf software to manage several Macs, and it's a pretty cool tool. They also have a simpler option called Bushel, with a free option for three devices, which I haven't tried. Install either, lock down their Macs, and manage their machines with a remote management tool, which also lets you get some learning in. You could even keep your Mac synced with your parents'. They need something installed, you do it for them remotely. The same for patches, OS updates etc. Also, if you build a system from scratch using one of these tools with no manual messing around and if you have the necessary user backups, you can rebuild a machine.
The sheer amount of time spent fixing unknown environments ( where you don't know all the things done in the past to a system ) is never worth it and it's a game you can't win.
Manage system state and configs, automate, take backups, rebuild from scratch if needed.
Casper has a tool called composer, which takes before and after system snapshots for an installation and gives you a reusable package.
My feeling was a similar approach is harder in the Windows world. The UNIX 'everything is a file' advantage, no registry, saner installation paths all help.
Seriously, if the only problem you have with your parents getting older is their IT support, then you're unbelievably lucky.
OMFG! The woman pushed you out of her feckin womb and you cant do a bit of tech support? Kids these days!
Get them Chromebooks. When you have just a browser, it's much harder to f*ck things up.
And heck, if you buy a cheap one, you can get them free tech support every year or two by buying a new one every year or two! I got mine for $149 refurb'd, and it was the best piece of simplicity you can get. Updates automatically, too, so you don't even need to do that for them.
Nothing like simplicity for older folks.
PPC was better, until two things happened. One, the G5 replaced the G4 (way too big and hot because IBM designed it for minicomputers), and two, the Core series (Core Duo and Core 2 Duo, later i3/i5/i7) replaced the Pentium 4, also hurting AMD.
Though, to be fair, even the G4 wasn't all that great after a while, because Motorola wanted to make chips for the high end of the embedded market, and only Apple was using it for the desktop market. Embedded CPUs were okay for laptops because low power, but not for desktops, and the front-side bus was just too slow. (Amiga was out there too, but with production in the thousands, not millions.)
Basically, Motorola and IBM were the only sources of PPC chips, and each went in a direction that was not good for desktop use.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
Mine is the same story as the others, but a bit further down the line...
When my parents were in their seventies, I had bodged together various Windows PCs for them, but they never were stable. My Mum wanted a new computer, so I suggested they got a Mac, and that is the one she learned to use. This was good for me because I also worked on a Mac, so I could replicate what they were doing. It has had a repair - the modem blew when the house was struck by lightning - and I probably will not be able to update the operating system much longer, but is still going after more than 15 years.
My mum is now 95. She uses the computer for e-mail. I doubt if she would adapt to a new computer now, but her fingers remember how to use the important bits. She also wanted some button that she could poke once a day to let people know she was OK as she lives alone. She does not want a camera looking at her, though. I found an old PowerPC laptop at work without a power supply, and with no camera, and they let me take home. I got a replacement power supply on Ebay, and wrote an AppleScript. When she presses the start button, it powers up, checks the network is up, sends me an e-mail, and then turns itself off. Because it looks like the other computer, she can also use it for her other stuff (she doesn't, but she could).
Once a day, I get this automatic e-mail. If it hasn't arrived by noon, I ring up. Once or twice we have had problems with the network. One problem was the cleaner unplugging the server to plug in the hoover (cured by using a less convenient socket), and once because the server was acting strange (flashing newer firmware cured that). I would do more if she wanted it, but she does not want the fuss.
In one of my jobs I saw one of these in the field. It's completely locked down; the user doesn't have root privileges. I don't know how much they cost though: http://www.mywowcomputer.com/
Less than most PCs. Based on my experiences with my own parents, most support issues are malware related and Macs tend to have fewer issues with Malware.
I'll go ahead and answer. Since I can remember Slashdot has featured "Ask Slashdot" articles where a user asks the community a question that's relevant to "nerds" or some subset thereof. Given many in the community have probably had to provide tech support to their parents or other less tech-savvy friends and relatives this question is "relevant".
Giving birth to you entitles your mother to lifetime tech support. That's just the way it is.
Feel free to guide them to a Mac or an iPad or a chrome book, or whatever both meets their needs and lessens this burden. But you need to be there for the if they need you, on this and other things too.
Alright Slashdot, don't have a conniption, but isn't this precisely the purpose of Best Buy's Geek Squad?
Yes, they'll over pay. But, if they have a problem, they march it down to Best Buy or call Geek Squad and done.
That is the answer right there, we local PC shop guys have to deal with old folks all the time and have no problem with helping them when they need it, be it a yearly plan or pay as you go. I have several customers in their 70s and frankly have no issues with them, in fact they are generally less of an issue than the "know enough to be dangerous" younger types in that they actually listen to what you tell them. Finally what good is that support gonna do if the issue is with the network? A local shop guy can just go out there and fix it, that Indian phone guy is gonna be worthless.
So talk to the local shops, I'm sure you can find one that has good rates and is willing to take the load off of you.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
The simplest solution is to create a customized full system restore DVD. All they have to do is insert DVD and reboot the machine. For hardware related problems they can take it back to the shop.
Get them Chromebooks, Google handle pretty much all the maintenance , and they are more than adequate for most people's day to day use...
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
I've come to depend on teamviewer for my aging parents and inlaws
no matter how good it is, it is human nature always wants to make things better
For the most part they don't, but their users still do.
My 72-year-old mom also switched to Mac n my recmmendation. She is now 94, and inherits each one if my hand-me-downs.
There's something else that as yet hasn't been mentioned. You can fix up elderly[1] clients who don't have a lot of money (most of us, I think) with a cast-off, older machine that you might be able to get for free. For basic browsing needs, as long as you have about 2 GB of memory (so that videos run without stutter), you don't need much of a machine. Linux is fabulous for older machines now considered low-spec[2].
When you fix up an elderly client on a limited income with a free computer that does what they need with little fuss or hassle, I think you're doing quite a commendable thing.
[1] I qualify as elderly myself but I've kept up with technology over the years.
[2] Like my 6+ year old Acer netbook, with 2 GB of memory, which does browsing, videos, etc., just fine on Mint 17. Okay, it takes 60 seconds to boot ....
How much does being a shill on /. with throwaway company mention pay? Is it better than doing "Instance Panda" comment spam on political websites?
Ah, the "make money at home on your computer" lifestyle.
Insurance Panda. Farking autocorrect. Though instantiating a panda would be nice. Avoid all those "will they or won't they" panda zoo sex concerns.
Aihh ... then we're all in 'grement, too be sure.
Disclaimer: I own the company I'm promoting here.
Based in Canada, so no NSL/NSA/FBI crap to deal with, either.
If Dear Leader Harper is re-elected you might discover NSL/CSEC/CSIS/RCMP/CBS knocking on your company door.
Well, two things:
1. Dear Leader Harper was pretty well trounced. Whether frat-boy Trudeau will be an improvement or not remains to be seen.
2. Customer data is not stored on the C-Box hardware, other than a list of computers and hardware/software installed. While an "anti-terrorism/anti-dissent" law could certainly legally (illegally?) require me to provide data stored on my computers to the authorities, there is no way at all that a law requiring me to help said authorities break into a third party computer would ever pass. Customer data is only stored on the customer's machine. I don't own that computer, and cannot be required to provide access to it.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......