Free Tech Support: For Life

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4156333.stm' target='_blank'>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4156333.stm</a><br /><br /></div><i>"You're wedded to a computer screen for much of the day, you e-mail and browse the web without a second thought and texting, well, it's just part of everyday life. To your peers, you're no more technologically savvy than the next person, but to your parents you are Bill Gates, Albert Einstein and Mr Clippy rolled into one. Of those who returned to the family roost for Christmas, many will have found the normal festive activities peppered with a rather less traditional commitment: fixing mum or dad's computer."</i><br /><br />How true, how very, very true! For me, this BBC news story hits the nail on the head. Your folks give you the gift of life and you give them free tech support for life. Anyone else have the feeling that when you go round to relatives that you may end up seeing more of their computer than the people you went to see? :helpme: And how do you like being compared to Clippy? :wink:

[tourdewolf]

True - soooo true.

This Christmas it was a format and reinstall all Mom's apps (outlook express inbox had 3000+ emails) 8 hours total - Happy Holidays? :roll:

Does anyone else find themselves avoiding like the plague "technology" discussions with family members.

[guinness]

Yeah, but when it happens to me, I usually get a $20 for my troubles (or my relatives troubles, depends on the POV). And given the choice to meet some relatives I haven't seen for many a few years, or ones I barely know, it's not that bad.

[griph]

Anyone else have the feeling that when you go round to relatives that you may end up seeing more of their computer than the people you went to see? :helpme: And how do you like being compared to Clippy? :wink:
Very true. My parents live in Bristol - 150 miles from my home. XP and Remote Assistance lets me sort out their minor problems from here. But I usually end up spending several hours 'cleaning' up the computer when visiting. Only this Christmas I ended up sorting out their computer, and .... then sorting out the next door neighbour's computer too! 8O Blimey! I'm going to have to start charging for this service!

[Jon Westfall]

8O Blimey! I'm going to have to start charging for this service!

This is always the hardest part for me - take money or not to take money. My problem thickens as when i'm at work I'm also the techie (you'd be amazed how uncomputer savvy some psychology professors &amp; students are (and equally amazed at how savvy a few are)). But the worst is fixing the parents, and future in-laws, and friends, computers... I'm going to just start telling new people I meet that I have no idea what this computer thing is they speak of.

[jlp]

That's soooooo very true.

In fact that's one of the reasons that make me think to find a way to live in my mother's close neighborhood (or her to mine). She's widowed, becoming more and more challenged with her movements, and I'm her only family left. So she's close to needing me for more than just computer matters alone.

Every now and then (a few times a year) I have to take about a whole day to go to her (different city) and repair something, install another (even clearly written manuals are a challenge), etc. And I can't do it when it's needed I have to find a whole day for this.

[capo]

I learned the hard way and just flat out refuse to do friends and family tech support anymore. The last straw was a few years ago - a friend of mine needed a computer to keep track of her real estate business. I found a good deal on a reasonable machine, upgraded the hard drive and RAM, reinstalled the OS, drivers and software she needed, delivered it to her house, set it up, explained everything to her and made sure it was all working okay. (this was after work one evening - I went directly to her house after work, no dinner, nothing.) I got her all the parts at dealer cost and didn't make a cent on anything or charge for labor. 4 hours later I said good evening and went home tired but feeling like I'd done a good deed. Before I'd even had a chance to reheat my cold dinner and say hello to my wife, this friend was on the phone complaining and telling me I *had* to come back because "it wasn't working." None too happy, I did go back. Come to find out, her non technical teenage son had descended on the PC as I was walking out the door - he tried (unsuccessfully) to install a bunch of software on it and managed to get it messed up in no time. I spent another 45 minutes fixing everything he had messed up and told my friend she was on her own. My stock answer these days to the "Hey, you work with computers, don't you?" is "No, I'm a network admin. I don't know anything about fixing computers."

[whydidnt]

Ahh, so I'm not the only one, huh? :wink:

I spent about 3 hours Christmas Eve, installing Windows XP, Mozilla, Ad-Aware, Spy-Bot, etc. on my Mom's computer. She has this nasty habit of hanging out in "free" game rooms that love to dump crap on her hard drive. I've explained after several other cleanings that she should stop, but the reality is she that's about all she enjoys on the dang thing. Anyway, I talked to her last night and she said the computer is still running great, no pop-ups or anything, so hopefully, I've immunized her a little. :D

Part of the reason I put XP on (at my expense) is so I can have access to Remote Desktop assistant. My parents live about 1 1/2 hours away and it's not always easy getting there to fix things.

I've built several computers for freinds and relatives and am always amazed how they think because I built it for them it grants them unlimited tech support for life, as if the build quality is somehow now responsible for the fact it takes 20 minutes to boot up because their teenage kid has managed to install every conceivable version of "Cool Web" there is out there!. I used to do house calls, but now I tell them to drop it buy and I'll work on it in my spare time. That's slowed them down a little, since they may be without the machine for a week or two.

[SteveHoward999]

My ex-girlfriend's brother will absolutely never be computer literate. He just does not have the genes. He used to call and ask the same things over and over, and have me repeat instructions a zillion times.

I'd be lying on the floor, with the phone at my ear, beating the floor with my feet like a toddler having a major paddy, desperately trying not to tell him to f*** off and die!!!

[Ecks]

oh man....this is so true....infact...its almost a monthly thing!!! I'm actually glad to do it since i'm in second yr of college in an IT program and even though its basic, its all good.
Ecks

[Darius Wey]

You're wedded to a computer screen for much of the day, you e-mail and browse the web without a second thought and texting, well, it's just part of everyday life.

It's so true it's scary. In fact, I hate leaving my computer for more than 24-48 hours due to the influx of new messages that pop in. I can either clear them out while I'm away (which doesn't really constitute a holiday), or clear them when I get back (which itself is an arduous task). Decisions, decisions, decisions... :|

[milo]

I am a mechanical engineer myself and friends are forever asking me to design stuff for them or get council approval for mods to their house. My best friend is a mechanic and mates are always asking him to have a look at their cars. It's not just computers, people always seem to prey upon friends for a bit of technical help. Whenever I do the drawings up for someone's house extensions, I always charge a carton of beer or a bottle of whisky. Next time they ask you, just tell thim it will cost them a carton.

[buss]

No doubt this is true for most of us, but sometimes is can be a self-inflicted problem.

Last year I visited my parents for a weekend (they are in North America and I am in Asia). My mother was on-line and I need to check something really quick (did not want to breakout the laptop) I got on the computer and found it was infested with spyware, leftovers from old programs, temp files, you name it they had it!

I explained to her that it was a horrible situation and need attention. She told me to go ahead and fix it. The next morning I explained to my parents what I had done and showed them how the computer was now operating better and how not to get themselves in the same situation again.

I then called my sister and asked her why she has never look at thier computer (since she lived a heck of a lot closer than Asia). She told me that she has many times and that mom and dad end back up in the same boat.

Bottom line, my parents were happy, it was working, the computer did what they wanted it to do. I was just the computer perfectionist geek who could not stand to see a computer in that kind of a mess.

Yes, I did it to myself.

[SteveHoward999]

After three hours of trying to figure out which of the nasty infections was stopping me from installing Spy-Bot Search And Destry I finally gave up and washed my hands of the little idiot. He seems to be more than happy with all the iExplorer 'enhancements' that he had installed (including the permanent porno-link home page :$), so good luck to him!

[felixdd]

What drives me most insane is the fact that people don't put effort in looking for a solution to their problem before asking others. I've been asked many inane questions about technology too -- and I always answer a question with a question: have you googled?

Thing is...I don't see why I should help others if they don't spend any effort in helping themselves. Nothing is free in life -- and if you don't try to help yourself, why should I try to help you? My mother always ask me questions about word, or excel, or outlook -- and I ask whether or not she's read the "help" menu yet.

Sounds greedy, but I'm in no way computer savvy. Everything I've learned, I've learned through reading and experimenting. And if both fails, then I ask the questions. If this system worked for me it should work for others as well. And even today I continue to use the help menu in Excel for looking up various formulae, or help in Word to see how to insert some sort of formatting. I think it's healthy to teach others how to help themselves. After all, teaching a man to fish is better than fishing for him....

[Rob Alexander]

I learned the hard way that I have to limit friends and siblings to casual advice, but I've always felt responsible for my mother's computer. When she first started using one about 15 years ago, she came over to our house and stayed for about a month while I tried to teach her how to use it. That was a struggle, but we got through it well enough that she could do the basics.

After that, I just always considered it a given that I would clean up her computer any time I visited. She could do her emails and look around the web, but actual maintenance was just beyond her. Sure it was a pain sometimes when she'd call me with some obscure problem and expect me to solve it over the phone with a vague description like "it's just not acting right", but it was also her major means of communication with life-long friends and more distant family members that she never got close to until they all got email. A bit of my time was a small price to pay for all the pleasure she got out of it.

She passed away recently at a very respectable age of 83 and now I'm very glad I never told her I was too busy to help (even though I usually was).

[lpret42]

As someone else mentioned, we do this to other people. I ask my roommate about car stuff all the time. Granted, he doesn't go digging into my engine to find the problem, but he at least suggests some ideas and a good place to go.

This Christmas, my mom's computer was absolutely trashed. It took nearly 20 minutes to boot and IE had 4 toolbars that were completely unnecessary. I made a list of what my mom did online and the sites she regularly visited. I then installed linux and she uses that now. Firefox is her browser of choice and I have an aggressive adblock filter so she doesn't get many ads to click on :) She called me once with a problem in the past two weeks but it was a problem with her digital camera not syncing -- it wasn't turned on!

I've been very impressed with how it all worked out and my mom does her email, browsing, IM without any threats. I know it's kind of a cheap way out, but it means I'll probably never have to fix adware on her machine ever again.

For everyone else, I clean with Spybot and Adaware, run both again in safe mode, install Firefox, make it the default browser, and tell them only to use IE if they absolutely must and that each time they use it is like driving a car without a seatbelt.

[R K]

She passed away recently at a very respectable age of 83 and now I'm very glad I never told her I was too busy to help (even though I usually was).

Awesome story man.

[szamot]

well to some it is a chore to some bread on the table. I am like a drug dealer, first one is on the house, then pay up sucker. I understand that most people are trying to save money, well, I am trying to feed my family, it all balances out in the end.

[dorelse]

Well, I do help my parents on their PC quite a bit. The basic stuff frustrates me...virus's, etc. Dad just can't resist opening every email...regardless.

My solution will be to get them a Mac....because, I'm the PC guy, my brother's the Mac guy...its HIS turn for a while. (Hmm...wonder what would happen if I 'accidentally' knocked over their computer (its an Gateway Profile III), and its a good 3 feet to the floor!)

:jawdrop:
Oops! Sorry Mom &amp; Dad.

[DVallot]

It is for this reason and this reason alone I have fallen in love with the free service part of logmein.com. Just a few days before Christmas in fact I popped onto my parents computer from a local coffeehouse (yay HX4705) and downloaded a few apps to prep for my visit and its inevitable "exorcism of the demons" on their comptuer.

[Tierran]

Its nonstop for me. If I'm not visiting them, my phone is ringing. During the course of a given week I'm asked to solve problems on somene's computer. Dad's PDA, Mom's PC, Grandma's PC, Brother's PC. Usually they're doing something I already told them NOT to do and now they come calling and want to know how to fix it. :roll:

And do they ever listen still? No, of course not..

[Jonathon Watkins]

After all, teaching a man to fish is better than fishing for him....

.... while slapping him in the face with the fish means he won't bother you again! :lol: :wink:

I'm not at that stage yet, but agreed, folks should at least try looking at the issue before calling. On the other hand, have you seen the mess computers can get into if they do try to fix it themselves? A little knowledge...... :worried:

[Jonathon Watkins]

Usually they're doing something I already told them NOT to do and now they come calling and want to know how to fix it. :roll:

And do they ever listen still? No, of course not..

That's the hard part. I also hate it when folks just buy something inappropriate or expensive and then ask you to get it working. If they had asked *first* Usually I could have saved them money and got something much better. That's a case when a few minutes of my time could have saved hours of my (and thier) time later. :?

[Albegor]

That's the hard part. I also hate it when folks just buy something inappropriate or expensive and then ask you to get it working. If they had asked *first*...

:lol:
That's the fate of the computer geek of the family... "Oh, let's buy it no matter what, there's HIM to help us later!" :roll:
It actually happened to me this Christmas and I'm generally glad to help when I get to visit relatives, but I must say I'm getting more and more intolerant if they install or use pirated software.
Educate them when they're beginners and they'll soon learn a bit of respect for the work of software developers. :wink:

[rhmorrison]

Usually they're doing something I already told them NOT to do and now they come calling and want to know how to fix it. :roll:

And do they ever listen still? No, of course not..

That's the hard part. I also hate it when folks just buy something inappropriate or expensive and then ask you to get it working. If they had asked *first* Usually I could have saved them money and got something much better. That's a case when a few minutes of my time could have saved hours of my (and thier) time later. :?
AMEN to that!

[Deslock]

I've been the family computer guy for almost 10 years, and it can be infuriating at times (especially when I'm explaining directory hierarchy for the nth time). But we computer-savvy types ought to keep in mind that computers can be intimidating and unintuitive... don't turn into Nick Burns (http://mrt300.ods.org/snl/view.php?computerguy).

Also, as much as I do to shore-up Windows (install FireFox/hide IE, put machine behind a NAT router, install spyware-removers, install virus scanners, write step-by-step guides for users, etc), I've found that the best way to help most users is to steer them towards the MAC. It's always had a simple GUI, but OSX is now also stable and secure (System9 and older was crap). Most importantly, the user can't screw it up as easily as they can Windows, which is absurdly susceptible to not only spyware and viruses, but being mistakenly crippled by the user.

I'm not trying to start a MAC vs Windows flamewar here... the MAC isn't perfect and when I suggest it to friends/relatives, I mention its disadvantages (smaller user base = less developers = less software availability, business world runs on Windows, poor gaming platform, etc) and go over the latest Dell deals at techbargains.com/slickdeals.net.

But so far everyone I know who's switched is happy they did and (more to the point with this thread) doesn't need my help anymore. Also FYI, the cost difference isn't significant, depending on what you buy. The iBook is under $1000 (most &lt;5 pounds XP-Pro laptops are in that range or higher), the eMac is $599 (with Educational discount), and rumor has it that today Apple will announce a sub-$500 headless iMac.

[rmasinag]

Hey guys,

I wore this shirt for the chritmas holidays and family/friends/relative supports came down by 20%

:D

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/frustrations/388b/

[Ryan Joseph]

Dude, I just can't help it. I see a computer struggling for breath under a a heap of pop-ups and search bars, and weather bugs, I can't help fixing it.

I was over at a friend's appartment the other day and she asked me to install Office 2003 on her laptop. When I saw the thing and what bad shape it was in, I just had to help it out. I feel sorry for technology that's fighting for life.

Even if I'm not asked to help, I can't avoid it. :wink:

[Jonathon Watkins]

Even if I'm not asked to help, I can't avoid it. :wink:

Yup - we often don't help ourselves in this matter. :wink:

[Darius Wey]

That's the hard part. I also hate it when folks just buy something inappropriate or expensive and then ask you to get it working. If they had asked *first* Usually I could have saved them money and got something much better. That's a case when a few minutes of my time could have saved hours of my (and thier) time later. :?

Agreed. Another thing that's quite funny is when they refuse to read the manual, because they know you can figure it all out without using the manual, and then wait patiently for you to provide one-on-one lessons on how to use it. :roll: