New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[Bramble]

My mum is very keen to "have a go" at surfing, emailing etc and my brother and I are thinking of getting her a basic laptop for Christmas. Can anyoneon Omlepedia recommend a basic, no frills laptop to get her started, please? Then her grandchildren can teach her how to use it!!!

[donald]

We got my aunt a Dell basic functional.

 

She has been to classes(and still is) and to be honest she drives us nuts about her computer, constantly telling us it doesnt work, but we all get it going and her great nieces and nephews have all tried to no avail!. We thought it would be a fantastic way for her to keep in touch and look up all her medical ailments which she spends hours researching.

 

My blood pressure is probably higher than hers by the time we have showed her what to do However we hope one day she will master it all, I do agree with her the special language that makes computer people know something secret of higher intelligence than the rest of us, does baffle me too sometimes.

 

Perhaps my aunt is unique but we do like Dell. Pretty much all the laptops etc are fine these days, just shop around.

 

Donald

[Chucky Mama]

I think that they are all pretty much of a muchness in what they can do now really. We got one for MIL a few years ago and it has been great for her although time consuming for me when she phones with a panic. I now have the ability via some free software that I downloaded to access her computer remotely when she has problems. I would have a look around but I wouldn't advise an Acer. We have 3 in the house and none of them have been without their faults.

[Happy chickens!]

Simple Dell for Grandma here too.

 

My blood pressure is probably higher than hers by the time we have showed her what to do However we hope one day she will master it all, I do agree with her the special language that makes computer people know something secret of higher intelligence than the rest of us, does baffle me too sometimes.

 

Donald you are so right! It's a good job they live near to me now so that I can go round to show them stuff or I say 'click on the cross to close the box' and mum/dad go there's no box on there, yes there is in the top right hand corner, it's red with a white x. After several more minutes they find it! And don't get me started on attachments to e-mails..... I've now realised it's easier to log in to their account (with their permission) and open the attachment to cut and paste it back into an e-mail.

 

I'm sure she'll love being able to keep up with people once she gets the hand of it - plenty of silver surfers are 'friends' of their granchildren on fb etc!

[Bramble]

Thanks all! I'm sure my blood pressure will be going through the roof too. Having just installed a new Freeview box for Mum I know how much stress that's caused, but it's time she got on line so hopefully a simple laptop will help her. Thanks for all the tips guys, if Mum has any problems with her new toy, I shall refer her to you to help!!!!!!

[craftyhunnypie]

Get her a netbook instead. Small, compact, easy to use. She can take it with her a lot easier than a full sized laptop.

 

Emma.x

[Kirstine]

This is a tangent I know, but I was just thinking that 30 years ago most people our age (I think most are in the 30-55 age group) would have been 'past it' when dealing with technology. Our parents are having to deal with it for the first time habving effectively skipped a generation, so no wonder they struggle. I wonder what we will have to contend with when we are grandparents?

[debbier]

My dad and m-i-l both have Toshibas, and handle them fine. They both prefer an external mouse to a touchpad, though.

I use a Sony and Dell, and both are fine.

 

Far more important than the laptop, for your sanity , I'd highly recommend a remote login program called Teamviewer (www.teamviewer.com). It is free (for non-commercial use), easy to use, and lets you control their pc from yours, which is a complete godsend if you can't be with them. Trying to explain things to my Dad over a phone was driving me nuts. In fact, I'd pay for it if it wasn't free.

 

edit: I have also used a similar program called logmein, but much prefer Teamviewer.

[sjp]

which ever way you go get one with the highest spec in your price range

[Angie]

Don't get a net book...hehe...i'm a granma and i have one, drives me mad when i want to look something up ,small key pad with arthritic hands, and when i can't find my specs to read from the small screen....My Dell is now downstairs and much more in use....don't need to find my specs for it. DELL