Experiences with non-techies

[Donut417]

19 minutes ago, IPD said:

Still don't think someone who is tech illiterate should have the benefit of using tech (games, etc), but anyways....

 

Just get a $500 POS from last generation, and tell him up front that you will be ghosting it every 6 months or less.  Nothing will be saved.  Nothing will be permanent.  All the data will be wiped.  And if he wants things to be "saved", then by god he's gonna have to learn to use stuff.

OR I buy a Chromebook and never have to touch it. Cause I literally never touched his Chromebook he has had for 5+ years. The only reason we want to replace it is due to the face its no longer getting security updates and for the fact that I might be able to get him something with Android App support. All my dad wants is Solitaire and simple games like that. Plus Chromebook's are a lot cheaper than a Windows Machine (Or at least a Windows machine that will run well). 

 

OR we buy and iPad and its literally the exact same interface as he has on his iPhone and he knows how to use that pretty well. 

[IPD]

yeah, apps for the tablet are probably the way to go

[whm1974]

5 hours ago, IPD said:

yeah, apps for the tablet are probably the way to go

If it runs actual Linux. And no Android doesn't count.

 

As long as PCs and Internet been around, shouldn't the Common Man know the basics of Computing? 

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, whm1974 said:

If it runs actual Linux. And no Android doesn't count.

 

As long as PCs and Internet been around, shouldn't the Common Man know the basics of Computing? 

Up til recently he never needed a computer. He works as a tool and die maker, no computer needed. None of his hobbies revolves around tech. He did all banking at the bank, anything purchased online is thru my Amazon account. He didn’t have a smart phone till like 6 years ago. He manages pretty ok in iOS and ChromeOS. Windows is just too advanced for him. 

[whm1974]

6 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Up til recently he never needed a computer. He works as a tool and die maker, no computer needed. None of his hobbies revolves around tech. He did all banking at the bank, anything purchased online is thru my Amazon account. He didn’t have a smart phone till like 6 years ago. He manages pretty ok in iOS and ChromeOS. Windows is just too advanced for him. 

Windows is to advanced for Him??? I recently informed a lady old enough to be my mother that just because she is old doesn't mean she learn new things.

[Donut417]

2 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Windows is to advanced for Him??? I recently informed a lady old enough to be my mother that just because she is old doesn't mean she learn new things.

He doesnt want to learn. I dont want to have to fix it every 10 seconds. Why does he need Windows if iOS and ChromeOS does what he needs? Windows also runs like shit on the priced machines he would purchase anyway. 

 

Are you going to have a stroke if I told you he didnt have a Facebook account till like a year ago or even less? He doesn't see the value in tech, he's old school, nothing wrong with that. He can do shit I cant do, I cant build shit, I cant add and divide fractions in my head. I cant look at a bolt and have an idea what size it is. I can barely use a drill. We all have our skills, his is not tech and mine is not being mechanically inclined. 

[IPD]

FB account is not the hallmark of tech savvy.  It's practically antithetical to it at this point.

[XLer8or]

Just Tech wanna-bes.  Terrible....

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, IPD said:

FB account is not the hallmark of tech savvy.  It's practically antithetical to it at this point.

You missed the point. He doesn't look at tech and thinks he needs it. His job doesnt use it. He had almost no reason to need a computer. He has to use one now due to Medicare and Social Security and all of that being online. But he doesnt do banking online, he doesnt purchase stuff online unless its me doing the purchasing, and he doesnt make money with the computer. All he needs is basic access, ChromeOS gives that, without the extra bullshit that Windows provides. 

 

Saying he needs a Windows computer is utter stupidity. Saying he should have basic skills is also utter stupidity. I know a lot of people who can barely use a computer, hell some of them are in their 30s like me. Not everyone sees the benefit of a computer running a full desktop OS. I know people who only use their phones and thats all they know. I work with a guy in his late 60s early 70s and has no clue how to use one, he can barely use his phone. When he needs access to Paycom (how we take time off at work) or needs access to other things he comes to me and I help him figure it out, he also pays me in Venison so there is that. 

[Bitter]

56 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

You missed the point. He doesn't look at tech and thinks he needs it. His job doesnt use it. He had almost no reason to need a computer. He has to use one now due to Medicare and Social Security and all of that being online. But he doesnt do banking online, he doesnt purchase stuff online unless its me doing the purchasing, and he doesnt make money with the computer. All he needs is basic access, ChromeOS gives that, without the extra bullshit that Windows provides. 

 

Saying he needs a Windows computer is utter stupidity. Saying he should have basic skills is also utter stupidity. I know a lot of people who can barely use a computer, hell some of them are in their 30s like me. Not everyone sees the benefit of a computer running a full desktop OS. I know people who only use their phones and thats all they know. I work with a guy in his late 60s early 70s and has no clue how to use one, he can barely use his phone. When he needs access to Paycom (how we take time off at work) or needs access to other things he comes to me and I help him figure it out, he also pays me in Venison so there is that. 

I should point out that I highly doubt that anyone here proclaiming he needs to have a Windows PC and know how to use one proficiently likely are unable to produce their own tools and dies, so how will they ever be able to say they have any ability to use anything with threads? If you aren't proficient with tool and die making you shouldn't be allowed to use nuts and bolts at all, it's really just bad if you're that age and can't do that.

 

That's what you all sound like. Not everyone is, will be, or needs to be proficient in 'windows pc use' or any other skill. I'm sure there's plenty of things that @whm1974 and @IPD use a version of regularly that's a simplified equivalent of a more advanced device and would be lost using the more advanced version of. It's like saying you're not allowed to drive a car unless you learned to drive a 1923 Dusenberg because that's the basis of the modern car and if you can't operate that how on earth can you claim to know how to drive a 2012 Honda Accord.

[GeorgeMKane]

19 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Today my dad pulled out his Chromebook. He doesn't use it often, to be honest its no longer supported by Google. But he just checks his email and does some surfing. Today he asks about installing games. He thought the machine ran Windows. My dad it ignorant when its comes to tech. Thats the reason he has a Chromebook because I dont want to fix his computer every other week. Funny enough we were talking about buying him a new computer for his retirement gift. So I might do some research on what Chromebook's run Android apps, and see about getting one of those so he can install a few simple games like Solitaire. OR I might look in to getting him a iPad with a keyboard. 

There are games on both, but I think you can add a microSD card to most chromebooks, so you can have more storage for games. If you're trying to make sure games run flawlessly, then go for the ipad (more storage option) with keyboard, yeah.

[Donut417]

2 hours ago, GeorgeMKane said:

There are games on both, but I think you can add a microSD card to most chromebooks, so you can have more storage for games. If you're trying to make sure games run flawlessly, then go for the ipad (more storage option) with keyboard, yeah.

That only applies to ones you can install Android Apps on . His is like the first gen ones. They dont run Android Apps. 

[IPD]

6 hours ago, Bitter said:

I should point out that I highly doubt that anyone here proclaiming he needs to have a Windows PC and know how to use one proficiently likely are unable to produce their own tools and dies, so how will they ever be able to say they have any ability to use anything with threads? If you aren't proficient with tool and die making you shouldn't be allowed to use nuts and bolts at all, it's really just bad if you're that age and can't do that.

 

That's what you all sound like. Not everyone is, will be, or needs to be proficient in 'windows pc use' or any other skill. I'm sure there's plenty of things that @whm1974 and @IPD use a version of regularly that's a simplified equivalent of a more advanced device and would be lost using the more advanced version of. It's like saying you're not allowed to drive a car unless you learned to drive a 1923 Dusenberg because that's the basis of the modern car and if you can't operate that how on earth can you claim to know how to drive a 2012 Honda Accord.

Do not follow your logic at all.  If he needs a car to get from A to B, then learn to use a car to get from A to B.  If you don't need to use a car to get from A to B, then don't own one, and nobody will care if you learn to use one.

 

Nobody cares if you use a desktop PC and windows.  It's the litmus test of "do you need this to get along?"  If you can do all your banking on your phone; more power to you.  If you can handle all your retirement funds and investments with face to face talks to your broker--go for it.

 

Medicare & SS are online?  Well I guess if you care about medicare & SS, you'd better freaking learn.

[EricW]

My relatives: Don’t have a clue they have online accounts

 

My mom: don’t know how to search stuff herself 

 

My brother: calls SoundCloud Spotify premium with ads

 

My cousin: Doesn’t know what a usbc port is

My dad: can use tech

 

Me: Senior year in high school planning to major in computer science 

[da na]

When you ask someone to attach a GPU-Z log and instead of just attaching the text file they copy and paste the whole thing into their post

[da na]

Showed my friend my black and white 3rd monitor, he told one of his friends, who asked me if I could "take a screenshot of games on it and send it to me"

He didn't mean a picture of the screen, he meant windows+prtscrn. I guess he was thinking that the computer would recognize the EDID information that's totally sent over analogue and know the monitor was black and white so convert everything sent to it to monochrome/greyscale? 

[Bitter]

On 12/13/2021 at 8:30 AM, Mel0nMan said:

When you ask someone to attach a GPU-Z log and instead of just attaching the text file they copy and paste the whole thing into their post

Lucky they didn't go outside and take a picture of a log.

[CommanderAlex]

1 minute ago, Bitter said:

Lucky they didn't go outside and take a picture of a log.

Or specifically, a graphics card on top of a log. 

[CT854]

4 hours ago, CommanderAlex said:

Or specifically, a graphics card on top of a log. 

Me: "Graphics cards don't grow on trees, they're valuable in this market."
Them, with 300 IQ: a graphics card on top of a log.

[CommanderAlex]

3 minutes ago, CT854 said:

Me: "Graphics cards don't grow on trees, they're valuable in this market."
Them, with 300 IQ: a graphics card on top of a log.

Hey! You never know how inexperienced some people are with tech. 

[Bitter]

I tried to find a picture of a log with like mouse and keyboard but it was too niche for image search.

[pythonmegapixel]

I saw someone opposite me on the train the other day using the bottom chunk of their laptop, next to the trackpad, as a plate to put their cheese sandwich on. I bet their keyboard is absolutely full of crumbs!

[Bitter]

1 hour ago, pythonmegapixel said:

I saw someone opposite me on the train the other day using the bottom chunk of their laptop, next to the trackpad, as a plate to put their cheese sandwich on. I bet their keyboard is absolutely full of crumbs!

I bet some of the keys don't work right.

[pythonmegapixel]

2 hours ago, Bitter said:

I bet some of the keys don't work right.

It actually looked like a couple of the key caps had fallen off and you could see the little rubber domes underneath

 

[da na]

1 minute ago, pythonmegapixel said:

It actually looked like a couple of the key caps had fallen off and you could see the little rubber domes underneath

 

Reminds me of this slider phone I have, I intend to disassemble it and clean the keyboard because there's just so much grime under some keys they won't even register