[X4U] Advice sought on a Mac book for an elderly beginner-level user.

Bernard Munter bmunter at netspace.net.au
Fri May 2 15:29:35 PDT 2008


On 3/05/08 003322, "Jamie Kahn Genet" <lists at wizardling.geek.nz> wrote:

> Heh, yeah I reckon :-) Thanks everyone for all the good suggestions, BTW. I'm
> a fan of The Missing Manuals, but they're too heavy going for my target
> audience. I like the sound of something highly visual that desribes in text
> and then shows in pictures what's going on. Are those "A visual guide to..."
> and Visual Quickstart guides in colour? They both sound about what I want.
> 
> Cheers,
>  Jamie Kahn Genet
 
>>> Sounds like me and my mother...
>>> 
>>> David
>>> 
>>> On May 1, 2008, at 9:37 PM, Jamie Kahn Genet wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> I like them, but showing the same stuff over and over and not getting
>>>> compensated for doing so is wearying. Perhaps you'd like to volunteer?
>>>> ;-)

All depressingly like my 61yo sister. Bookmarks scrawled on scraps of paper
which she keys in over and overŠ

Said she needed a textbook on the Mac. Suggested one of the Robin Williams
titles. Did nothing, no interest. Had one shipped to her from Amazon.
Thrilled to receive it - hasn't even opened the thing!

She wanted to organize her email into folders. Showed her how to create
folders and move messages in/out. Has done nothing since. All mail still in
the inbox.

I showed her how to organize her music into playlists and folders. Still
can't do it by herself _and_ can't make the connection between that and
organising the Finder, email, bookmarks etc.

Says she still needs me to show her how to copy/paste.

Bought her an iPod for Thanksgiving - engraved and gift-wrapped. Intimidated
by the packaging! After a lot of cajoling and scolding (her word for it) she
got around to using it by late February.

Sorry to vent, but I feel your woe. She loves her computer, an indigo iMac
her son gave her. I sometimes wonder that, like the iPod, it might have been
more kind _not_ to have given it to her.

-- 





More information about the X4U mailing list