Simple Internet access solution for old fogies?
 

Xmas is coming and I reckon I can teach my mum how to use a PC, but my dad is another matter (sometimes he tries to change TV channel with a calculator :eek:). However it would be good for them to have e-mail and internet browsing & regular pics of their granddaughter (ahhh :)).

Is there any ‘simple’ one box solution out there? I really cant think of one, so if you have a P500 ish laptop with a built in modem to sell let me know...

D

I've got an old ibook, which I would be willing to part with :D
Don;t really know the spec, but you can plug it in to a phone line and away you go.
If you are interested I will dig it out this weekend and check the spec etc, I did upgrade RAM last year iirc, but i don't now what too :D

let me know

I did this very thing a couple of years ago. Now my father gets me to check his e-mail every time I vist. Strangely they are all from me :D

Have a look at the Amstrad eM@iler. It's a telephone that does email and web browsing. It's supposed to be very easy to use and a popular purchase for people who want to get their grandparents on the internet but not have to fix their PC on every visit :)

I recently setup a spair pc I had for my parents for the same reason :eek: (well also the fact that my dad is now working in Canada for a few months)

However after a couple of er 2 hour phone calls (my parents live at the opposite end of the country to me) and a few moments of counting to 10... my mums now getting quite good at it :D









Thank God :rolleyes:

My old man started using the net at 78 and is now 82 and a dab hand at it. Mum hasnt got much of a clue though yet but shes willing to try.

Chip

My mum now uses the internet after never owning a computer.

The things I worry about for here are:

1. Keeping up with MS bloatware security patches
2. Getting inapropriate "offers" of things via spam
3. Getting suckerd by other scams

I think I got 1 sorted but the others will always be a problem.

Just something to think about.

LOL at some of you!

Lum: that Amstrad device was great till I came to "The e-mailerplus uses an Internet browser which is specifically designed to display low graphic content sites. General web sites may also be viewed, but due to their complexity may offer limited access".

Hail: not familiar with Macs mate - pref a PC as I know them quite well (and love a right click ;)) Thanks anyway.

Might get them a toaster instead ;)

Always makes me laugh when my Dad tries to explain to my mum the porn spam he has in his inbox is nothing to do with him - yeah right :D

Two years ago my dad (he's only 47 so not old) was scared stupid of anything computer related, wouldn't touch them. So when he expressed an interest in maybe keeping in touch via e-mail, following sports results etc online I took round one of my old PCs and set it up in a completely idiot proof fashion. This included removing every icon from the start menus/control panel that he wouldn't use and just left him with an IE icon labelled "Internet", an Outlook express icon labelled "Email" and the dialup icon labelled "Connect".

Seems to have worked, I've had a few distressed phone calls when he's clicked yes to various IE plug-ins and installed search toolbars or has got e-mails which he "hasnt asked for" :D but overall he's a lot more confident than he ever was with the computer and e-mails me on a regular basis now which saves on phone bills :)

LMFAO!!! :D :D

Yeah I had a similar thing when my folks' PC ground to a halt due to mountains of spyware clogging it up a few months ago. After numerous phone calls that started to get a little *ahem* tense I went over to sort it out for them. With both my mum and dad peering over my shoulder I proceeded to unearth all manner of porn diallers and x-rated cached web files. I must admit my old man did a sterling job of acting completely baffled at how such stuff had got on there :D

All that means is it's a low resolution screen so sites that insist on having 1024x768 animated gifs on the front page wont look very good and it probably doesn't support some of the IE6-only features.

So if the site can be viewed in FireFox in a smallish window it'll be fine. Most of my browsing is done in that situation anyway and the only sites that annoy me are generally fansites for FPS games and the kind of corporate website that assumes the world has broadband and flash7

I wish I'd gotten my mum one rather than building her a PC and now having to fix the bloody thing on every visit!

Didn't Bush/Virgin do a set-top box that connected into the TV?

Bush box

Loads for sale on Ebay - cheap too!


Dan :)