Daddy tech support

[MurphCID]

The upshot is when I got home, the Wife was annoyed, the Mac was showing movies, my oldest fixed the issue, telling me she would rather use the Mac than do anything on my Linux laptop. *sigh*

Thats funny...lol...Today i just built and helped a couple in their 70s, a linux computer tower and taught them the basics how to use it etc...They were amazed that it could startup and be completely usable in 15 seconds and beat the snot out of their three year old Mac...lol

Mac is supposed to give a very smooth user experience.Thats how they justify the high price and that's also the reason so many users buy them. I never used a Mac so was just wondering.

I bought the darn thing years ago as this model was discontinued, and it is great as long as you ONLY do those things that Apple approves of, but the minute you attempt to make it work like you think a normal computer would, you get burned. Right clicks are maybe it will work, maybe it won't. Drag and drop sucks. But mention Linux to my wife and oldest and they start hissing and looking for holy water..... Plus my wife does this thing where no matter how often you show her how to do something, she forgets how to do it. She wants her computer to work...like an appliance such as the stove, toaster, TV, etc.

[deepakdeshp]

I bought the darn thing years ago as this model was discontinued, and it is great as long as you ONLY do those things that Apple approves of, but the minute you attempt to make it work like you think a normal computer would, you get burned. Right clicks are maybe it will work, maybe it won't. Drag and drop sucks. But mention Linux to my wife and oldest and they start hissing and looking for holy water..... Plus my wife does this thing where no matter how often you show her how to do something, she forgets how to do it. She wants her computer to work...like an appliance such as the stove, toaster, TV, etc.

Apple wants you to confine yourself to what IT thinks you should be able to do, looks like. But I wonder what makes millions to purchase Apple machines in spite of the high cost. May be a status symbol? To boast that they own a Mac?

No wonder your better half hisses at your Mint machine. Isn't it an appliance after all like the TV? Doesn't it plug in the socket just like the microwave? ,
Try making a n SOP , standard operating procedure for the wife. And then a trouble shooting guide. If this happens press this key and so on. That may make your life easier and will have less calls to the Daddy Tech support.But then the SOP says to press 1 , I pressed 2, now what?

[DAMIEN1307]

No. It wouldn't accept the usual drag & drop

Heheheheheh...That was one of the chief gripes the elderly couple had about the Mac that got replaced by the linux one i built for them...They couldnt do a simple drag and drop from USBs...Thanx Rollyshed for letting me know that...I thought that was just "them" not understanding how to do it with a Mac...They loved how easy it was with a linux based system...lol...DAMIEN

[majpooper]

Thats funny...lol...Today i just built and helped a couple in their 70s, a linux computer tower and taught them the basics how to use it etc...They were amazed that it could startup and be completely usable in 15 seconds and beat the snot out of their three year old Mac...lol

My experience with all the folks that I have installed linux for is similar in "how easy to use" Typically they want to be able to just point and click on an icon and open the particular app they want to use. For most of them I put soft links (is that the right term? shortcuts) on the desktop for their bank, email, facebook, I re-word Writer or Abiword as Word (and make .docx the defualt file extension) and actually use an MS Word icon on the desktop and so on. The other day one of these folks wanted to show be a document on their laptop - I thought they would go to the menu and open the Documents folder - no, they clicked on the "Word" icon and somehow got to the document that way which I didn't even know was possible. All they know and use are what is on the desktop - nothing else exists in their world.

[MurphCID]

Now the youngest wants a desktop (All-in-One) for her dorm. I have looked at HP (we use HP here, I have had great luck with them), and so I am looking for an el-cheapo AIO computer. I figure by July I will have enough money saved up to get her one. I am thinking of Mint since she will be six hours away at College. However I don't think that the University supports Linux only Windows and MAC OS.

On the other hand, have you ever spoken with someone, and walked away thinking to yourself; "I just lost IQ points dealing with "X", I have fewer brain cells after that conversation. I have been interviewing inmates lately who have complaints that they are being mistreated. One told me that he was being abused because he only got one piece of cake (they only get one), and he thought he deserved two pieces. Another told me that the reason she punched a Detention Officer in the face, was because she was mad that the Judge refused to reduce her bond. Yet another told me that the reason he assaulted the Detention Officers was because he was mad he got arrested, and if he beat up enough of them, we would let him out of jail for being "mental" since in San Antonio they let him out of jail when he does that.

Lord, I JUST WANT TO RETIRE! And the wife wonders why I am grumpy....

[MurphCID]

I come home from a grueling day at work, to find the youngest stressed out:

Her; "DADDY!" (for some reason she talks in all caps)
Me: Yes?
Her: "Daddy, I can't fit my laptop in this laptop sleeve!"
Me: Oh? It should fit it is for your laptop.
Her: "WELL it doesn't!"
Me: Let me see the sleeve. "Inserts laptop with no issue after removing the mouse dongle". Sweetie, it fits fine...
Her: "No it doesn't, I can't get my mouse and external drive to fit in there as well..."
Me: It only holds the laptop, you have to put the other stuff in your backpack...
Her: "Well I WANT IT TO FIT!"
Me: (*)!&$*!!!

[DAMIEN1307]

"Well I WANT IT TO FIT!"

When i was a wee boy and said "I WANT!"...My mother always replied, "Isn't it nice to want"...lol...This was my mothers way of telling me that the world does not revolve around me, and did not want me being a spoiled brat...lol...DAMIEN

Ps...Mick Jager of the Rolling Stones once said in a song, "You Can't Always Get What You Want"

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I come home from a grueling day at work, to find the youngest stressed out:

Her; "DADDY!" (for some reason she talks in all caps)
Me: Yes?
Her: "Daddy, I can't fit my laptop in this laptop sleeve!"
Me: Oh? It should fit it is for your laptop.
Her: "WELL it doesn't!"
Me: Let me see the sleeve. "Inserts laptop with no issue after removing the mouse dongle". Sweetie, it fits fine...
Her: "No it doesn't, I can't get my mouse and external drive to fit in there as well..."
Me: It only holds the laptop, you have to put the other stuff in your backpack...
Her: "Well I WANT IT TO FIT!"
Me: (*)!&$*!!!

Tell her that what she needs to do is buy a laptop case that has a side pocket that will hold, a mouse, dongle, and anything else she needs or wants. Note that I said SHE needs to buy it.

[DAMIEN1307]

Note that I said SHE needs to buy it.

And the next verse from Mick was..."And if you try sometimes, (meaning, she), you might find, You'll get what you need"...lol...DAMIEN

[MurphCID]

We came up to Nacogdoches, Texas last night (a six hour trip, arriving at midnight), and the daughter decided that she wanted to drive. Well it was raining hard as we started out so I drive, but once we got to Bastrop, Texas (Buckee's- cleanest bathrooms in Texas), I let her drive:

Her: "WHY IS THIS GUY GOING SO SLOW!"
Me: He is in no hurry. Just Chill.
Her: "HE NEEDS TO DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT!!!!!"
Me: Chill
Her: "I WANT TO GET TO NACOGDOCHES! I WANT TO SEE SFA!"
Me: We will get in at midnight no matter what you do.
Her: "How do you know that?"
Me: Simple, it is solving for the variable.
Her: "What?"
Me: If you know your distance, and assume an average speed of 60 miles per hour, you can then calculate time.
Her: (after some practice) "Why did they never teach me that at school!? That is so neat! Wow Dad, you are SMART!
Me: I learned it in school, but I guess they have other things to teach these days.
Her: "Yeah nothing practical."

We made it in within 20 minutes of my estimate based on time/distance/speed. And my daughter learned something practical. Old Dad isn't so useless after all.

[Pierre]

when they are still an teenager .. Dad knows nothin . .

when they are in their mid twenties .. Dad suddenly knows a lot.

[MurphCID]

when they are still an teenager .. Dad knows nothin . .

when they are in their mid twenties .. Dad suddenly knows a lot.

So true, so very True.

[AZgl1800]

from many years of driving, if it is over 300 miles, divide the distance by 55 mph and that will be within 15 minutes of your arrival time.

I have my GPS set to show Time of Arrival and then I start out, I set the Cruise control at posted speed plus +3 or +4 and let the Speed Demons go around me.

I always see those guys at least 3 or 4 more times, they have to stop for gas, dump liquor out of their system, placate the women, etc.... and then they hit the road again, and we all pile up at the same stop lights.

and for me? I can sometimes, arrive 10 minutes earlier that ETA, but more normally, 15 minutes after my ETA.

It just is not worth it, to take the risk of wasting money on speeding tickets, increasing your insurance premiums, et all.

I just sit back and let the world go by.

My Suburban can go twice as long as my bladder can before a stop is needed.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...My Suburban can go twice as long as my bladder can before a stop is needed.

My F150 can go around three times longer than my bladder. I have IBBS (Itty Bitty Bladder Syndrome). On a 400 mile drive to CA, I have to stop for a bladder break twice. My first pit stop is to both to empty my bladder and to get the last cheaper gas before leaving AZ. Also, don't come between me and a restroom when I reach my destination; it will not end well for either of us. At my age, I've learned to never pass up a perfectly good restroom, whether I think I need it or not (that's one heck of a way to feel like a little kid again).

[MurphCID]

I let her drive up there and back for part of the trip. She later told me that it was rough, she was so tired. I told her now she knows why I am exhausted after the end of the six hour drive up. Doing it twice in two days is rougher now than it was 10 years ago....

[majpooper]

My wife and I make a 10 hour (should be 8 but add in lunch and pit stops and avoid I95 makes it's 10) trip from NC to Philly. We switch off about every 2 hours which is really a nice break and makes the diving much easier.
Also set the cruise for the speed limit - less stressful and no blue lights.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

When I drive out to CA to visit friends, it takes 7-8 (depending on traffic) to drive 400 miles with only two restroom breaks, one also including gassing up (and, the way I'm aging, I may have to add an additional restroom break before long, possibly the next time, hopefully later this, year since I haven't traveled in a year and a half due to the pandemic). My friends have moved since the last time I was out there so I'll have to drive an additional 30 miles.

A friend and I used to drive once a year from the Phoenix area to Southwest Wyoming so she could see to legal and health issues for her mother (we did this for five years, the last trip being to finish up legal matters, visit friends we made up there, do some sight seeing we hadn't been able to do before, and to scatter her mother's ashes). We took turns driving. Usually, she would drive the first and last third and I would spell her for the middle third. We usually stopped for breakfast, lunch, and supper plus additional rest room stops. It made for a long day, roughly 17-18 hours.

[RollyShed]

In my 20s and 30s, I'd do a drive of about 270 miles a few times a year. Most will take 6+ hours, possibly 7 hours as the road is two lane and very windy. Parts of it were gravel. All of this in an under powered car I could do it in 5-1/2 hours as what I was driving handled very well. BUT you had to be able to drive, no cruise control, manual shift, under 1000cc engine.

The secret was knowing the road, knowing every corner, how to enter it, how to leave it. I used to stop just over half way, pull a 4 gallon can out, refuel and carry on. A 5 minute break.

When I mentioned 6 - 7 hours for most, I mean today with a lot of road improvements and lots of bits straightened out.

[MurphCID]

Well it is back to Nacogdoches next Thursday, since she has to register on Friday. I suspect I will do ALL the driving this time. I get out of class, dash home, change, get on the road and will will get in at midnight and have to be at the University at 0800 hours Friday. Then after I suspect I will drive home while the wife and daughter sleep (and snore) the whole trip.

[AZgl1800]

Well it is back to Nacogdoches next Thursday, since she has to register on Friday. I suspect I will do ALL the driving this time. I get out of class, dash home, change, get on the road and will will get in at midnight and have to be at the University at 0800 hours Friday. Then after I suspect I will drive home while the wife and daughter sleep (and snore) the whole trip.

doncha just love being the chauffeur all the time?