Hurricane_Chris
DDK
On my last visit back home to see my mother I did my 6-month computer inspection/repair. The 2.4GHZ E-machine I got her a while back is holding up well hardware wise and I managed to upgrade it to SP2 but I noticed it was totally riddled with spyware/adware and had several virii on it.
I'm getting pretty tired of coming back home and seeing the computer in that type of shape. She doesn't really keep up with windows updates and often leaves the computer on. On this trip I switched the default browser from IE to Firefox and I also siwtched the default MailReader away from Outlook Express. I'm sure that'll help things. Hoever, I was wondering should I take more drastic measures.
I currently own several computer platforms and use them daily. The one platform that I deal with the least "updates, making sure it's secure , etc" seems to by my Mac machines. Of course I get a criticl software update every now and then but nowhere the frequenvy that I do with Windoze, Linux , BSD, or Solaris...Maybe it's because Apple slacks and is slow , I dunno but even installing said patches is pretty easy and worry free on the Mac.
Also she's on dialup so the frequency of Microsoft's critical updates is killer. Just waiting for them to download is a serious chore.
I was thinking since the Mac Mini is out and is relatively cheap that I'd try to transition my mom to a Mac and OSX. I'd get a Mac mini and install 1GB of Ram in it myself and set it up for her.
Has anyone tried transitioning their parents like this? In my mind going from one OS to another isn't a big deal. I think as long as she can view web pages, use office, send email , and chat with me online she'll be happy. However, I'm slightly worried and was wondering if you guys had any experiences transitioning your parents from Windows to OSX....
Another question is , should I even be moving from Windows? Is there cheaper/more hassle free solution out there that I haven't considered that I should consider?
I'm getting pretty tired of coming back home and seeing the computer in that type of shape. She doesn't really keep up with windows updates and often leaves the computer on. On this trip I switched the default browser from IE to Firefox and I also siwtched the default MailReader away from Outlook Express. I'm sure that'll help things. Hoever, I was wondering should I take more drastic measures.
I currently own several computer platforms and use them daily. The one platform that I deal with the least "updates, making sure it's secure , etc" seems to by my Mac machines. Of course I get a criticl software update every now and then but nowhere the frequenvy that I do with Windoze, Linux , BSD, or Solaris...Maybe it's because Apple slacks and is slow , I dunno but even installing said patches is pretty easy and worry free on the Mac.
Also she's on dialup so the frequency of Microsoft's critical updates is killer. Just waiting for them to download is a serious chore.
I was thinking since the Mac Mini is out and is relatively cheap that I'd try to transition my mom to a Mac and OSX. I'd get a Mac mini and install 1GB of Ram in it myself and set it up for her.
Has anyone tried transitioning their parents like this? In my mind going from one OS to another isn't a big deal. I think as long as she can view web pages, use office, send email , and chat with me online she'll be happy. However, I'm slightly worried and was wondering if you guys had any experiences transitioning your parents from Windows to OSX....
Another question is , should I even be moving from Windows? Is there cheaper/more hassle free solution out there that I haven't considered that I should consider?
