Anyone else have relatives "off the grid?"

[MichaelD]

Like most of you, I live in a "digitial world." I take my pics with a digicam. I take videos with a DV Cam. I communicate via email. I pay my bills, do my banking and investing on the web. I travel a lot b/c of work. When I travel, I shoot video and take massive pics. I put them out on FTP for all to download. I send out emails with links to said downloadable goodies.

But half my family is elderly; they are not "Inside the internet" as they like to say. I have ONE Aunt that has a WebTV...most of you probably have never heard of a "Web Appliance." They were really popular about 10 years ago. You can get email with small .jpeg attachments. That's IT. Limited surfing too. Oh yeah; and it's dial-up. :Q

So my Mom and one Aunt go to the Aunt with the internet's house and they crowd around the tiny TV and wait for my already downsized to "only" 175KB" pics (from like 2MB) to download...forever. And they see maybe one pic before they get bored.

Then they say I don't share with them. "You never send us pictures!" Sorry, but to print in color even half the pics I take would leave me broke!! I am trying...but it's not my fault you won't go online! What average person these days still gets pics developed on film?

Anyone else in this situation? HOW do you deal with it?

 

[K1052]

just mail them a cd or dvd

 

[DeadByDawn]

"Off the grid" to me is no electricity or telephones.

 

[Goosemaster]

That's why I bought them a computer

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: K1052
just mail them a cd or dvd

They don't have PCs!!! That's the point. AT least if they had some old crappy K6 pc running Win98, they could look at a CD. Every once in awhile I'll print out some black and white pics on the LaserJet at work...but it's just not the same.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

My grandmother is 84, gets emails from my cousin about pictures, logs onto snapfish/kodak/etc., sends the pics to Target, checks out. Then goes to the store and picks them up

But she refuses to use anything other than regular cable. No box. She just wants to be able to go up and down channels, that's it

 

[Lola]

YES YES YES!
My dearest grandmother and great aunts. They ask for photos but when we bring our laptop to show them... they cannot see them.
It is very difficult and they complain about it alot.
I deal by printing off a few of my favorites... or ones i would think they would like and give them to them.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
My grandmother is 84, gets emails from my cousin about pictures, logs onto snapfish/kodak/etc., sends the pics to Target, checks out. Then goes to the store and picks them up

But she refuses to use anything other than regular cable. No box. She just wants to be able to go up and down channels, that's it

My Mom is 10 years younger and she's still afraid of the VCR. She wont' let me buy her a DVD player b/c she doesn't understand how to load "the dishes" into it. :roll:

Your Grandma's a gem. :thumbsup:

 

[herbiehancock]

Well, some older people cannot deal with technology, some can. My mother got her first computer 4 years ago at the age of 73. She's had two minor upgrades since then and a complete computer upgrade last December and still complains it's not fast enough. (A64 X2 4400+ cpu, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA hd). Loves the computer and and can't get enough of it at all!

Not everyone over the age of 60 is completely hopeless.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
What average person these days still gets pics developed on film?

Do slides count?

ZV

 

[Rubycon]

Yeah they're off the grid.

They're dead.

 

[thomsbrain]

i built my grandpa a computer but he only learned to do the most basic of basics. and he gets so much spam that he feels overwhelmed and won't check his email anymore. so i just print him a few choice pics now and then and mail them to him.

 

[SsupernovaE]

My grandmother is 74 years old and taught herself to use the computer.

 

[WW]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: K1052
just mail them a cd or dvd

They don't have PCs!!! That's the point. AT least if they had some old crappy K6 pc running Win98, they could look at a CD. Every once in awhile I'll print out some black and white pics on the LaserJet at work...but it's just not the same.

Do they have a dvd player? if not, buy them one for $35 or whatever.

Then make a slideshow dvd (proshow is a good program, lots of others), and send them a dvd with hours of photos....and background music, etc.

Or prints are 12 cents at walmart....print them out and mail them or have the photo place mail them....easy. I do that with relatives overseas....if you want to send a note with the photo order, just type a message up and make it a 4x6 photo that is printed along with the photos