Computer is easy to use
Anybody can use a computer - no age bar.
Here is the scene - Dad in the US and mom sitting in India.
They need to talk now. Talking over phone is routine - 'usmein kya hai?' (what is the big deal). So, I put a small twist to the tale to make them use the net for communication.
Here comes my expert techie dad and novice techie mom. Why did I mention 'techie' to them? Yeah, they are techies now after having started to use PC.
The PC back in India is disconnected from power and other wires. Why? Because, anytime, there could be extra super power voltage and destroy the system why nobody is at home for 2-3 months. First task of techie dad is to make mom connect them and Switch ON the computer. We are almost there! Switched ON the power. On this end, techie dad is like expert customer support guy who sits somewhere on the globe almost like blindfolded and tells the customer on phone to do 'that'/'this' etc etc.
Mom: "hmmm, Something is displayed on the screen - "Display device not found".
Dad (just confused, as he hasn't seen such a error before) - Oh.. check the wires and all connections. Check phone connection and modem and all. See for blinking lights in the right box, left top box. ....
Just then..., something happened on the other end and computer did start. Dad is happy as he solved the first problem.
Now, mom has to login to gmail account and come for chat. She can also use googletalk. But, techie dad suggests the former method.
Dad: See for a small picture with a blue 'e' and double click on that real quick.
Mom searching searching... yet to find that. Just then, I see 'dad online' in the yahoo messenger status. Meaning..., dad's yahoo messenger got logged in automatically on mom's side when the computer got started. Now, I say, "hi" in my dad's messenger box which is now being used by my mom. Dad, who is next to me, is stunned! His question - How did I come online without me actually doing it? I gave him the answer and dad is satisfied.
Next minute, dad is green on googletalk too. How??? Auto sign-in set in that home PC where mom is sitting. I say 'hello' there. Mom replies 'hi sunny'. ha ha ha. Next is to make mom pick the call when I dial for a voice-chat. I tried 2-3 times and told her to click on "Answer". She was able to do that. Yahoooooooo! Mom and dad can now do voice-chat. What a moment to watch them chat online :). Both feeling successful- mom was, because she was able to connect and do all things; dad was, because, he was able to make mom follow his instructions and guide her through the setup.
Unfortunately, volume from mom's side was weak. She needs to change microphone volume. Dad's instructions started - 'Click on Start -- Control Panel ... Sound... ' etc etc. Mom was perfect to follow the guide. Very soon, volume was also set.
Next, baatein started. Right from, "what did you do today...?" ... to "what did you eat?....I had made super lunch" etc etc.
Wait wait wait. As I had told earlier, mom was using dad's ID (because of that auto sign-up), and dad here was talking through my IDs. Next day, I was out at office. Mom is online! Dad??? he has to go online now. How??? He had created an ID for mom couple of months ago. He uses mom's ID to login and go online. That was 'adhalu badhalu' (exchange) ... mom as dad, and dad as mom :D. ha ha ha.
Here is the scene - Dad in the US and mom sitting in India.
They need to talk now. Talking over phone is routine - 'usmein kya hai?' (what is the big deal). So, I put a small twist to the tale to make them use the net for communication.
Here comes my expert techie dad and novice techie mom. Why did I mention 'techie' to them? Yeah, they are techies now after having started to use PC.
The PC back in India is disconnected from power and other wires. Why? Because, anytime, there could be extra super power voltage and destroy the system why nobody is at home for 2-3 months. First task of techie dad is to make mom connect them and Switch ON the computer. We are almost there! Switched ON the power. On this end, techie dad is like expert customer support guy who sits somewhere on the globe almost like blindfolded and tells the customer on phone to do 'that'/'this' etc etc.
Mom: "hmmm, Something is displayed on the screen - "Display device not found".
Dad (just confused, as he hasn't seen such a error before) - Oh.. check the wires and all connections. Check phone connection and modem and all. See for blinking lights in the right box, left top box. ....
Just then..., something happened on the other end and computer did start. Dad is happy as he solved the first problem.
Now, mom has to login to gmail account and come for chat. She can also use googletalk. But, techie dad suggests the former method.
Dad: See for a small picture with a blue 'e' and double click on that real quick.
Mom searching searching... yet to find that. Just then, I see 'dad online' in the yahoo messenger status. Meaning..., dad's yahoo messenger got logged in automatically on mom's side when the computer got started. Now, I say, "hi" in my dad's messenger box which is now being used by my mom. Dad, who is next to me, is stunned! His question - How did I come online without me actually doing it? I gave him the answer and dad is satisfied.
Next minute, dad is green on googletalk too. How??? Auto sign-in set in that home PC where mom is sitting. I say 'hello' there. Mom replies 'hi sunny'. ha ha ha. Next is to make mom pick the call when I dial for a voice-chat. I tried 2-3 times and told her to click on "Answer". She was able to do that. Yahoooooooo! Mom and dad can now do voice-chat. What a moment to watch them chat online :). Both feeling successful- mom was, because she was able to connect and do all things; dad was, because, he was able to make mom follow his instructions and guide her through the setup.
Unfortunately, volume from mom's side was weak. She needs to change microphone volume. Dad's instructions started - 'Click on Start -- Control Panel ... Sound... ' etc etc. Mom was perfect to follow the guide. Very soon, volume was also set.
Next, baatein started. Right from, "what did you do today...?" ... to "what did you eat?....I had made super lunch" etc etc.
Wait wait wait. As I had told earlier, mom was using dad's ID (because of that auto sign-up), and dad here was talking through my IDs. Next day, I was out at office. Mom is online! Dad??? he has to go online now. How??? He had created an ID for mom couple of months ago. He uses mom's ID to login and go online. That was 'adhalu badhalu' (exchange) ... mom as dad, and dad as mom :D. ha ha ha.
Comments
Good writeup...