computer 4 grandparents

[alienkid]

today its unusual to not have a computer. and my grandparents dont own one and i want to get them one. my father's grandparents alreasy have two, and i think they (mom's side) are really missing out. but these people dont really mix well with technology. they are afraid of the dvd player. well maybe not afraid(just dont use it very much), they have a big screen hdtv, digital cable, but no Home theater. but i think they should try a computer. now, they are technologically illiterate and so i was thinking maybe an apple b/c i think windows would overwhelm themlike an eMac or new mini ?

 

[tami]

eh. my grandfather wanted to try a computer and he didn't fare well with one. he tossed it after we gave him one of our old ones

 

[Klandestine]

if they get the mini make sure you get 512mb of ram or else the world will end.

 

[DougK62]

Mini!

 

[Cobalt]

Go mini.

 

[alienkid]

well i was thinking eMac only because its really really easy
with the mini id have to get a monitor also

 

[chuckywang]

eMac's cost 500 dollars more. Monitor+keyboard+mouse is not worth 500 dollars.

 

[Nohr]

WebTV.

 

[sixone]

Are you prepared to be 24/7 tech support?

I don't want to discourage you from doing something so clearly well-intentioned on your part, just think twice. If they aren't comfortable with the computer, they will panic at the slightest things - like those ads: "You have a message" or "Security Alert!" They may not be able to tell you what error message they saw, so that you can figure out what happened. You won't be needed until you're overwhelmed with the other things life throws at you.

If you're really ready, go for it, and good luck.

 

[OverVolt]

give them a dvd player.






its not like they'll be able to tell the difference.

 

[Mr N8]

Computer for grandparents = Dell.

I bought both of my Granparents a Dell, gave them the tech support number, and they've been very happy.

 

[Transition]

Originally posted by: sixone
Are you prepared to be 24/7 tech support?

I don't want to discourage you from doing something so clearly well-intentioned on your part, just think twice. If they aren't comfortable with the computer, they will panic at the slightest things - like those ads: "You have a message" or "Security Alert!" They may not be able to tell you what error message they saw, so that you can figure out what happened. You won't be needed until you're overwhelmed with the other things life throws at you.

If you're really ready, go for it, and good luck.

"I got this window open that says 'Click OK to Continue'. What do i do now?"

 

[drum]

i built my grandma a PC for christmas with a sempron
she does pretty well i must say.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Dude, get them a Dell.

- M4H

 

[sixone]

Originally posted by: Transition

Originally posted by: sixone
Are you prepared to be 24/7 tech support?

I don't want to discourage you from doing something so clearly well-intentioned on your part, just think twice. If they aren't comfortable with the computer, they will panic at the slightest things - like those ads: "You have a message" or "Security Alert!" They may not be able to tell you what error message they saw, so that you can figure out what happened. You won't be needed until you're overwhelmed with the other things life throws at you.

If you're really ready, go for it, and good luck.

"I got this window open that says 'Click OK to Continue'. What do i do now?"

Click to continue. LMK what happens.

 

[Klandestine]

radio shack color computer!

 

[Savarak]

TRS-80!!

 

[PanzerIV]

Get 'em a Leap Frog. If five year olds can use it so can they!

 

[DaveSimmons]

There are some great Windows laptop hot deals for $600-700, and walmart.com has a decent laptop for under $600 every day.

The nice thing about a laptop is they can put it on a table they use for other things (breakfast nook, dining table, office desk) and there are a couple fewer cables for them to deal with.

But a mac might be a good idea, since there won't ever be nearly as much spyware / adware / virii / trojans for mac OSX as for Windows.

 

[Shawn]

If they don't have a computer already just forget it. My grandfather had a computer since the 80s so he was ok when we gave him a windows pc. Took him a while to get used to the mouse and the graphical interface but he got the hang of it. Now that he's figured out how to manage all his money online and get the news we can't get him away from it. lol.

 

[jagec]

$350 Dell deal.

 

[ViRGE]

Mini. Impervious to: spyware, Windows exploits that try to install spyware anyhow, a greater degree of pop-ups(again, it's not IE, so it won't fall to IE exploits to bypass pop-up blocker), and a one-button mouse will probably be a benefit to someone in the older demographic. Besides, OSX has some really good features for helping the disabled still use a computer; if their eyesight goes south, it's pretty easy to get OSX to talk to them, bump up the visual contrast and font size, etc.