The Tech Support Generation

prostoalex writes "Newsweek technology columnist Brad Stone is looking forward to the Thanksgiving dinner with his family next week, spending time in candle-lit rooms, preparing holiday shopping lists and... let's admit it - fixing the folks' computer. 'We are the Tech-Support Generation. Our job is to troubleshoot the complex but imperfect technology that befuddle mom and dad, veterans of the rotary phone, the record player and the black-and-white cabinet television set. Next week, on our annual pilgrimage home, we'll turn our Web-trained minds and joystick-conditioned fingers to the task of rescuing our parents from bleeding-edge technology on the blink', Brad Stone writes. In related news, what other products besides Google Desktop Search, Spybot Search & Destroy, Google Toolbar and Service Pack 2 are Slashdotters installing on their parents' Windows machines?"

Firefox & Thunderbird

[Anonymous Coward]

Firefox & Thunderbird. Saves you lots of trouble.

Re:Surely?

[Codename_V]

I went with Xandros. It's like Debian with a Windows front end. And I gotta say, my mom loves it. She can even run Quicken. And I love it because months later everything still works exactly the way I set it up to work.

Not the toolbar!

[mallardtheduck]

Google Toolbar
I dont install that on anything. Not because there is anything bad about it, but because then you can't disable "Third party browser enhancements" in IE... Which means that it's even easier for spyware to get in. (Yes I know this doesn't disable BHOs...)

I usually get flamed for this

[baryon351]

I usually get flamed for this, but I just do NOT do family tech support any more. The appreciation doesn't always exist for the work put in, the expectations are as high as any job I've had, and it just...never...stops... I've been through the worst of it, not having a free weekend with my friends for weeks at a time, having weeknights with my partner disturbed constantly, and feeling like I'm moving from 9 to 5 work just to come 'home' and face more of the same.

Maybe it comes from having a really large extended family of people who just don't want to know how computers should/shouldn't work, but it's just too much sometimes. Strictly my mother and sister now, nobody else.

Ignorance of Windows is the Best Defense :)

[hagbard5235]

I've found that near complete ignorance of Windows is my best defense. I've not been a serious Windows user since 1994. So when someone asks me for assistance with their Windows problem I can quite truthfully say:

"I'm sorry, I don't know how that works."

Don't get me wrong, I make my living in tech. I code in between 8 and 12 languages (depending on how good my memory is that day), can play a medium grade Linux/Solaris guru when necessary, write web apps, architect large distributed systems, operate a wide variety of service provider and enterprise networking equipment, etc. I also like helping people who are having technical problems. But there's a big difference between being the IM of last resort for various Linux/Python,etc problems and having to deal with Windows users.

Re:Firefox & Thunderbird

[iezhy]

Simply installing those two doesnt help much. You should also remove IE ant Outlook express shortcuts from desktop, quick launch bar and start menu. :-)

Your a idiot if you don't install SP2 on WinXP.

[Anonymous Coward]

Basicly, that.

You HAVE to install SP2. You have no choice. Over the years WinXP has exposed serious flaws in it's design and implimentation and SP2 is a partial fix.

But a partial fix is better then a no-fix.

Your better off trying to install SP2 and blowing your system away, then not installing SP2.

There are several very serious exploits that can be used on IE and WinXP that require no user intervention. If somebody trusts you to keep them safe and you refuse to install SP2 for them, then your screwing them over potentially.

I don't like it, but then again I don't use crappy software either.

Erm... do what?

[chman]

I know there's all the Windows hating going on here, and I think it's adorable sometimes, but there's a lot going for Windows that means I won't be giving my parents some flavour of Linux for a while. I know, I know, "an unpatched Winblows box will be hax0red in 30 seconds!!!111", but the fact is it won't be unpatched because of the auto-updates. I stuck it behind a Netgear Router/ADSL modem/WAP/Firewall and put some AV software on there. There's been no problems. They don't even get spam, and I don't mean they don't get it after going through Bayesian-Freudian-Pseudomatronic filtering, I mean they just don't get it. Unless the occasional monkey-drinking-own-urine email from an acquaintance is considered spam, and I like to think it is.
Even if they need to do something really difficult, like install new drivers, it's just a double click on the setup file. I tried installing ATI drivers in Mandrake a few months ago. I'll let you all know how it went when I figure out how to get X working again. I can't even get my parents off IE and onto something much better, like Firefox, because it's still not quite there. Example: My Mum had to fill in this great big form to submit an offer to a potential client, and Firefox couldn't do it because of the javascript involved. Okay, that's probably shoddy coding on the form's part and nothing to do with Firefox, but my Mum doesn't care about who's in the wrong when she's got to do something vital for her business and it won't work. My dad has been working for what was ICL in the 70s and he's still got limited, at best, technical ability. But when he gets into Excel or Visio he knows how to do all the graphs and charts, so who am I to take that away from him? How's he going to figure out how to do an organisational chart in calm pastel management colours in something else? I know I could use Crossover Office or something, but why go to all the hassle of setting up Linux to emulate Windows, when I can just use Windows without a problem.
I don't like MS all that much, and they get up to some pretty dodgy stuff sometimes, but there's a reason why everyone keeps buying their stuff aside from the fact that they bought up all the competition. Some of it is actually fairly good.

<AOL>

[jimicus]

Back before the Internet became popular, I used to preach about backups, about how the "easy" way was to listen to me; the "hard" way was to lose something vital.

All smiles, nods, agreement. Not a single person acted on this though.

I gave up when I realised that most people simply Do Not Learn the "easy" way.

Re:they are slooow

[johannesg]

Is that all? How about this:

"So, now you are all set. Just click ok and you're off!"

...excruciating pause while hapless parent/legal guardian/alien adoption mother/other supported entity stares at the screen without any external confirmation of possible ongoing thought processes...

"Just... Click... Ok."

...another interminable pause...

"Yes, but WHY do I have to click ok? Can't it just work? I don't understand why this is so complicated."

Aarg! Or how about that situation where you are working with someone (doesn't have to be a parent, colleagues are great for this), and they keep repeating the same improbable method for doing something. For example, they are copying data from one Excel sheet to another, ONE BLOODY CELL AT A TIME, using the MOUSE AND MENU to select the copy and paste operations. But the worst of all is: for some reason between each copy and paste they let go of the mouse and reach over to the keyboard to switch between sheets. And all the cells they are copying are in the same column. And there are over 400 of them...

Re:Ignorance of Windows is the Best Defense :)

[Anonymous Coward]

I code in between 8 and 12 languages (depending on how good my memory is that day)

Try being a bit more subtle next time. Just say something like "I'm shit at all languages". People will respect you more.

If I were a carpenter..

[Kingpin]

..would people ask me to come hang up their pictures? Level their doors and floors? Build their shed?

Would they do it without offering to pay me?

MOD PARENT DOWN.

[Anonymous Coward]

How the hell is this INSIGHTFUL? There's no insight here, just parroting what's been said about 6 or 7 times above here....sheesh.

Charge them a symbolic fee,

[Anonymous Coward]

and then they will not take your expertise for granted:). After hooking up my entire close and extended family with computers for free (I usually pass my old computers (+$100 for reasonale upgrades) to them when I buy new stuff) this is what I found out:

0. Don't waste your time explainig to them what the problem is because they don't have the patience to listen to the entire explanation you are more than willing to give to them.

1. After fixing a problem you are blamed for ALL the other problems that will happen following the origial problem.

2. Unless a speed improvement is more than twice on a benchmark, people over 50 will not notice it, so don't waste time and money switching them from ATA66 to ATA133.

3. Any CPU over 1.5Ghz + 512M is an overkill.

Re:Work for an ISP

[SlamMan]

Automatic update isn't nearly as handy as having pre burnt cds when your relatives have dailup.

Ask a slightly better question...

[pla]

Rather than asking what to put on to protect them, how about "What can I put on my family's computers so they won't notice when I change the OS to Linux"?

I have my parents already running OO and Moz, and they don't really use their computer for much else.

If not for that goddamned "Chip's Challenge", I could change them over to Linux today and they wouldn't even notice.

Anyone know of a Linux port/clone of CC? A Flash or SW version would suffice...

Re:they are slooow

[Zapman]

One thing that I always have a problem with, when teaching my mom anything about the computer is to only show her one thing (or change) at a time. In your example, the FIRST thing to show them is that they can copy and paste more than one cell at a time. Tell them how to highlight all the cells, and let them copy with the menu option. Then have them paste them into the same sheet to prove to them it works. Give them several practice runs on this procedure, only letting them highlight multiple cells one way (either by click/drag, or control or shift which ever they're used to... don't show them the others)

After this, show them that they can do multiple cells between sheets, still using menu copy/paste, and still highlighting the same way, and flipping sheets the same way. Let them practice this one change a few times.

Then show them ctrl-c and ctrl-v, and let them practice several times.

Then show them other ways to highlight, and let them practice.

My problem is that I must resist taking the mouse from her. I must let her practice each thing several times so that SHE understands, and so that I don't have to do it for her every time.

We all have learning curves, and if we have good teachers, they are easier. A good example is worth infinatly more than an RTFM.

Re:tried that and Macs aren't the solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately, they still require a lot of work to support: printing has all sorts of problems, software tries to update itself and fails, Apple software tells you to buy the next version, etc.

I can't speak to your printer woes, since I've never had any, but geez, how hard is it to go into System Preferences, click on Software Update and uncheck "Check for Updates"? It sounds to me that the problem you have is not that your parents don't know enough about MacOS X, but that you know next to nothing about it.

The Macintosh UI is remarkably unintuitive unless you are a Mac-head.

Translation: "The Mac UI is unintuitive if you've been trained on a Windows-like GUI". In fact, numerous studies have shown that Macs are rather more intuitive than Windows for people who are new to the game You're just revealing a sample bias, bud.

SP2 sucks, don't go near it.

[Behrooz]

I uninstalled SP2 on my folks' computer. Software compatibility problems, general annoyance, and as the final straw SP2 was not compatible with the installer program for Microsoft's own Office 2000.

I'm reasonably happy with XP+SP1, but SP2 was a giant step backward.

My mom has a Mac

[SuperKendall]

I'm just there for the food.

Re:I usually get flamed for this

[lux55]

Ah, I remember those. The best was when I got called down to the office (I think it was grade 11) and my mom was on the phone. She told me she broke the computer. I calmly asked her "what does it say?" and she replied "I don't know, I just turned it on and it's never done this before". So I said, "well, can you read to me what it says?" so she does, and it turned out to be the Windows notification that the computer had adjusted the clock for daylight savings time. So I ask her "how many buttons do you see on the little window" and she says "one". I say "what does it say?" She says "OK".

Ended up she waited for me to come home to "fix it". It was that day I learned that timid computer users suffer not from inability but from illiteracy. They refuse to read and comprehend the text on the screen. The first instinct when something pops up or tells them something on the screen is to turn _away_ from the screen and look for an explanation elsewhere. It's willful helplessness, which I think is why it's so infuriating to problem solver types like me.

Rest assured, I'll be flying home for Christmas, but I will NOT be fixing computer problems.

Re:tried that and Macs aren't the solution

[Alcimedes]

Windows update will update 3rd party hardware drivers, but last I checked, won't update 3rd party software.

I'm surprised that someone who's ready to install Linux on a Box for "ease of use" hasn't learned just a touch more about OSX. (most linux geeks I know are computer geeks in general, and like to learn about everything they can).

I've set up numerous folks with both Windows machines and Macs. These are completely computer ignorant users. I've had far less trouble with the Mac users than the Windows users. The only Windows users I've had set up that didn't have problems were those that never went online. What a waste of a computer.

Re:tried that and Macs aren't the solution

[geg81]

I'm surprised that someone who's ready to install Linux on a Box for "ease of use" hasn't learned just a touch more about OSX.

More than what? I dug into Netinfo, have written a bunch of small Cocoa apps, written some AppleScript, dealt with forked files, installed Fink, and all that. I still can't figure out how to make software update work on one of the machines or fix sporadic printing problems on the other.

(most linux geeks I know are computer geeks in general, and like to learn about everything they can).

I did, and I'm unimpressed.

I've set up numerous folks with both Windows machines and Macs. These are completely computer ignorant users. I've had far less trouble with the Mac users than the Windows users.

Probably. But the solution isn't to replace the Mac with a Windows box, the solution is to replace the Mac with a Linux box.

Re:I usually get flamed for this

[superyooser]

The appreciation doesn't always exist for the work put in, the expectations are as high as any job I've had, and it just...never...stops

You just described parenthood.