New PC advice please

irishjohn

I have a friend in her 70s who is using a Windows XP desktop she bought new many many years ago. All she really does is use Windows Mail (Outlook Express style) on it.

When she changed ISP I set up a gmail account for her but she still insists on using it through Windows Mail despite my attempts to teach her how to use Gmail as Webmail.

I have tried giving her lessons to improve her use in the past, but with little success. I showed her how to save mail attachements so that she can file all the photos and pdf files she has received but that fell on deaf ears too. So today she reads a new email in her inbox, transfers it to one of many subfolders she has had set up in the Mailbox and if she wants to find any photos she has to look back through her old emails to find the photo she wants. If there were only a few it would be easy enough but she gets a lot of stuff as attachments - which is why I wanted to train her to save to documents and photos.

So - I have had an email today, She has finally listened to my advice and feels she should get a new PC or laptop, She would like me to take her to the January sales (she still believes in them) and help her pick the right system and then help her transfer everything.

I am sitting here thinking about her sitting in front of a windows 8 laptop or PC and expecting to be able to use it exactly as she uses her current XP machine.

I know I can set up Windows 8 to emulate the classic desktop she is used to but she is going to really struggle with Windows Mail as it is now on Windows 8

I really don't want to have to spend hours over the next few months hand holding her as she slowly and painfully gets to grips with the new technology. I have been very patient in the past and tried very hard to teach her some new ways of using the technology but none of it has sunk in, she will not practise the new skills and has forgottent everything I tried to show her.

Has anyone got any pearls of wisdom or experience of how I might get her moved onto new technology and remain sane?

smush

My Grandfather is 70 and on his second laptop he got his first about 5 years ago and he's become pretty good with it making purchases, booking holidays and using email and driving my grandmother insane with Candy Crush :rotfl:. Obviously I had to help him a great deal at the start but I know what you mean 1 slight change can throw them off.
The web interface for email may be better than the desktop software as what I have done for my grandfather is put a shortcut on the desktop that goes directly to his inbox (log them in and set it to remember the login info) so all they have to do is click the icon and they are in

Edit: Just remembered I also use remote access software so I can help from my own computer while speaking on the phone to guide them through problems. The software I use is TeamViewer which is free.

Download here: teamviewer.com/en/download/windows.aspx

Get the All-in-one version for yourself and the Quick Support edition for their computer.

Everyone on my end use Windows 7 have you considered using that instead of 8 with that confusing tile system/metro UI? The next edition of Windows is due out sometime 2015 too but I don't know how user friendly it will be given the mess that is Windows 8 but in the tech world there's a saying that Microsoft release one good operating system then a terrible one so going off Win 7 (Great) Win 8 (Bad) Win 10 - they are skipping the number 9 (Good)

What ever you decide perhaps consider either buying them a book for the operating system or even better and cheaper make them a personalised guide book that focuses on the things they want to use the computer for using non technical wording and screenshots as visual aids that way they can refer to that first then ask you as a second option

grumpycrab

I've had similar experiences. Best advice - let her stick with what she knows. Is there an ACTUAL problem with her XP desktop? (Unless she will happily pay you loads of money to support her;-)

brenda50

There are a number of charities which help aged people get online and provide support in their homes. AgeUK will have a list or Google.

wongataa

smush wrote: »

Everyone on my end use Windows 7 have you considered using that instead of 8 with that confusing tile system/metro UI?

You can set Windows 8 to boot into desktop mode by default. That looks very similar to the Windows 7 desktop.

esuhl

If all she wants to do is use email... does she really need a new PC? Even slow computers from the 1980s could handle email! The only issue with her current PC is that XP is more susceptible to malware than Win7/8 or Linux.

So long as she has a decent (free!) antivirus and doesn't open random attachments from people she doesn't know, I can't see what the problem is. Avira Antivirus has a useful "Mail Shield" to scan mesages opened in email clients.

If she found it hard to get her head round saving attachments and using webmail instead of an email client, is it really going to be that easy for her to switch to later version of Windows...?

aranatecharete

Agreed with esuhl. If you really want to buy her a new pc then opt for a used machine that would be ideal for installing windows 7 or any other flavor. You can also use a tablet for checking emails only. There are some decent android options available for that too.
If price is not an issue you can then opt for an ultrabook or iPad or Samsung Note Pro series etc. I bought my uncle (in is 70's) an iPad and though I had to spent a week with him, but he have now mastered it like a pro.

irishjohn

Thank you folks. She is the one who has decided to buy a new computer, and I do forsee a lot of problems. I think her current problem is the computer is taking an eternity to start up so I will try and do a bit of housekeeping and see if that may help.

I am thinking of recommending a chromebook perhaps if she is determined to change and willing to take on new skills

shortchanged_2

irishjohn wrote: »

Thank you folks. She is the one who has decided to buy a new computer, and I do forsee a lot of problems. I think her current problem is the computer is taking an eternity to start up so I will try and do a bit of housekeeping and see if that may help.

I am thinking of recommending a chromebook perhaps if she is determined to change and willing to take on new skills

In that case you want to get her a macbook pro with ssd for a super quick start up. Plus the retina display will be wonderful for her aging eyes, she'll feel like she's 20 again.
The only thing is the £1000 plus price tag, but don't worry about that, its well worth it for checking emails.

NiftyDigits

irishjohn wrote: »

Thank you folks. She is the one who has decided to buy a new computer, and I do forsee a lot of problems. I think her current problem is the computer is taking an eternity to start up so I will try and do a bit of housekeeping and see if that may help.

I am thinking of recommending a chromebook perhaps if she is determined to change and willing to take on new skills

Does her PC have a brand name and model number?

Strider590

My father has done this new PC thing twice, everytime it's because he's seen a friend using a PC much better than he can. The first time he spent £1000 on a laptop and was then disappointed to find that it was identical to his PC only smaller and more fiddly to use.
He's got a multitude of printers, because plugging in USB was too confusing and he kept breaking them by trying to pull paper through, he wanted WiFi printing instead, which he then realised was even more difficult to set up.

He's done the same with phones, i've lost count how many. He's got an iPhone 4 (*spit*) and now wants an iPhone 5 because he thinks it'll be easier to use.

He spent £700 on a DSLR camera, because he thought it would be exactly like the old cameras from his youth, without all the confusing menus/etc.

It's important they understand that nothing is going to magically make them know how to use new technology, the real block for them is fear and the only solution to that it to stop being fearful and just spend some time learning it.

I remember the first time I used a PC, I was 17m i was at college, the screen saver came on and I panicked, thought i'd broken it. I always remember that day whenever im trying to help someone who's struggling with the technology.