How come my dad is soooo bad at computers?

[TripleJ]

I mean, about once a week he comes to me with something he did wrong or couldn't figure out. Just the other day he managed to try a save a word document but somehow lost that sessions work. He often just clicks on the save icon from an email attachment without realising it isn't in his own file. Just clicking save and assuming the computer knows what you're thinking isn't too smart. Just a little common sense and using some brain matter to figure out what you are doing is actually doing, if you get what I mean.

I don't wanna harp on about it, but I it's just a little annoying having to retrieve files and figure out his mess often.

If I can do it quite easily, why can't he? I haven't had any education on using computers, and lets face it, why would you need to for simple stuff?

Are most parents like this?

 

[Ns1]

rofl you have no idea!!


my dad is A+ certified, MCSE certified, AND MCP certified

he asked me today "how do i install these video card drivers"

 

[notfred]

Yes, msot parents are like that. You can't learn as easily when you're 40 as you can when you're 20.

 

[monto]

<< rofl you have no idea!!


my dad is A+ certified, MCSE certified, AND MCP certified

he asked me today "how do i install these video card drivers" >>

almost exact situations here...

 

[axelfox]

My dad has gone through 2 Palm Pilots: Palm 3 that he spilled Pepto Bismol all over the screen and a Palm 7 that I don't think he ever uses.

 

[datalink7]

My dad is really smart. Taught himself a bunch of stuff. He can build a computer, and when dos was around he was able to edit the autoexe.bat and config.sys like a champ to get that extra memory needed to play games. And when I show him my programming stuff that I am learning, he picks it up pretty quick.

 

[boyRacer]

i'm glad my dad doesn't know his way around computers... otherwise he'll find all my por...

 

[Ns1]

lol @boyracer

 

[sohcrates]

This is my conversation with my dad LAST NIGHT

I was trying to get him to file share a folder upstairs so he could access it downstairs (this was over the phone)

ME: Ok, right click on the folder and you'll see a menu pop up

DAD: All i see is what's in the folder

ME: RIGHT CLICK

DAD: Same thing

*repeat this about 5 more times*

DAD: OOOOOHHH.. RIIIGHT click

ME: grrrrrr

Funny thing is , both him and my mom have been using computers at work for at least 7 years, yet when it comes to anything besides what they use everyday at work, they lose all sense.

Here's how i see it:

When there's a computer problem, my parents tell me "the computer's broke"

when i see a computer problem, i say "let's troubleshoot this and narrow down the problem"

I wish i HADN'T saved them all that money by building them a computer..that way DELL could handle their tech support! heheh

 

[MaxDSP]

<< i'm glad my dad doesn't know his way around computers... otherwise he'll find all my por... >>



my sentiments exactly

 

[MrDingleDangle]

<< i'm glad my dad doesn't know his way around computers... otherwise he'll find all my por... >>



haha too bad my father does knows more about computers then me...worked at IBM the last 32 years...and when i was a freshman in high school he did find all my stuff...but that was back in the day of d/l with a 2400 modem off of a local BBS...

20 minutes a pictures, no way i was just gonna erase it

 

[trmiv]

My dad is like that too, but he's getting a lot better. It's just because he didn't grow up using a computer like I did. I am very comfortable with computers, and new computer related tasks just come easily to me because I have been using them since I was like 8. I'm sure if my dad did grow up with computers, he would know them inside and out. Instead he grew up working on cars, and knows cars inside and out. My dad is an awesome mechanic, and can diagnose and have a problem fixed before most mechanics would even know what the problem was.

 

[savoyl1]

Maybe most of his brain matter got used up trying to find ways to get you every little thing your heart desires. Give him a break. You've got his DNA so you will probably be worse than him when you get to his age.

 

[TripleJ]

<<Maybe most of his brain matter got used up trying to find ways to get you every little thing your heart desires. Give him a break. You've got his DNA so you will probably be worse than him when you get to his age.>>


Ouch. But, yeah, he does work his booty off for us. I help him out whenever he wants, without fuss.

Hehe, that reminds me of when Bart Simpson tried explain to Homer why he was such a loser.
"Your grandad was a loser, your dad was a loser, it's genetic man...DOH!"

 

[kpxgq]

<<

I wish i HADN'T saved them all that money by building them a computer..that way DELL could handle their tech support! heheh >>



working at dell tech support for 6 months made me go into nervous convulsions....

 

[RC159]

My dad and I have a good deal. I take care of all his computer problems and he helps me out with all my plumbing, electrical , etc. problems around my house. Its saves both of us money.

 

[ace31216]

The funny thing about my dad is that he has a very tough time double clicking on an icon. I guess we just take these simple things for granted since we grew up with computers and using them has been second nature for us.

 

[RossGr]

ME, steps cautiously into the room, no indruder alarms! I am Dad!

My oldest son litteraly cut his teeth on computers, when he was about 2yr old got ahold of one of my 5 1/4" floppy disks and munched on it! leaving teeth marks and trashing the disk! Hey those things cost $2.60 each in 1980! He is now 23 and a recent graduate of CMUs CE program, made his dad proud! His younger brother will be completing a BS in CS at Lehigh this spring, so I guess I passed on some pretty good jeans! They got some nice pants, not sure where they got the brains!

Meanwhile, I build a mean system myself (check my systems!), and am gearing myself up to jump on the Linux bandwagon, so not ALL dads fit in the "don't know sh!t about computers" box!

Some of us old timers have kept up with the times!

 

[TripleJ]

Another thing. His computer has only a P200MMX in it so it can take a while to open files/programs up while he is used to the P3 600 he has at work. So he goes and double-clicks on a file and nothing seems to happens so he tries again and again. He often ends up with 3 or 4 of the same email open at the same time and then types in one of them, looks at something else then opens up another window of the same file and wonders what's happened to what he wrote.