Technololgy Companies. We Hate You. | Hacker News Reader

Technololgy Companies. We Hate You.

whattofix.com

18 pointsDanielBMarkham26 comments

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What!?

Alternative: Go to the Apple store and buy a MacBook. Turn it on. You're done.

Wait, doesn't the macbook cost the same amount of money for what he just went through?

macbook $ = Articles $.

Hmm. How much is your time worth....

Regardless, even if the MacBook cost more, at least you don't have the do the following:

- Install Norton, or any sort of anti-malware anti-spyware crap. A stock machine out of the box will work and be reasonably secure for the home user.

- No need to image the HDD before giving the machine to the user... Because unless your grandma suddenly learned how to sudo, the odds of them crapping up their partition is really low.

- No need to order instructional material on Amazon. Apple's website provides a large number of introductory videos that show a user how to use MacOS X.

My mother still hasn't quite learned how to use a computer. My hope is to get her a Mac in the next year and maybe finally she can check her own email :)

My mother still hasn't quite learned how to use a computer. My hope is to get her a Mac in the next year and maybe finally she can check her own email :)

When I used Windows I never used Outlook. I didn't actually think other people ever used it. Even though it was built-in, I just assumed that Windows pre-installed software was roundly worthless.

OS X does the opposite: they really place emphasis on their built-in programs. As a result, I tried every program they gave me, and found myself liking almost all of them. I don't think I could switch back from Mail to Gmail. Perhaps I'd have liked Outlook, too, but Microsoft didn't give me that same incentive to switch.

> When I used Windows I never used Outlook. I didn't actually think other people ever used it. Even though it was built-in, I just assumed that Windows pre-installed software was roundly worthless.

You're confusing Outlook with Outlook Express. Outlook does not come with Windows, only with the Office suite.

edit: although fwiw, outlook express is worse than worthless.

Aha, gotcha. So I guess I wasn't missing out on much? (In any event, I think now if I had a Windows machine I'd get Thunderbird, which never struck me as a useful idea last time around.)

My time is worth a shitload, pardon my French. I will pay for things that prevent me from wasting time. In general that's the only thing I'll pay for.

If the guy's mum needs that much help with using a computer - assuming she has zero knowledge on computing at all - buying a Mac isn't going to get her any further along.

I found the last bullet really interesting. At first I thought "wait, UPS isn't a tech company" but when you think about it, any time you buy something on the internet, you're giving money to UPS (or a competitor).

Actually, interesting anecdote... my former roommate once had to ship a load of stuff (100+ lbs) from the US to Canada via DHL. DHL quoted him about $1000 for the whole thing.

Then we went through our employer, who had a deal with DHL... $70 and change.

A friend of mine used to ship things to his office for much the same reason, it was cheaper to ship a large load to a business address (something to do with rates for freight). Once he ordered ten huge CRT monitors, and then sold nine of them to his friends. Ended up both getting a new monitor and making a profit.

I noticed he didn't bother to cancel is wacko internet account.

And he wonders why things are so bad...

"he" is stuck with wacko internet account because he lives in a place where you have 2 options: dial-up, or wacko.

Heh, didn't notice you were also the submitter. Sorry. I feel for you, but seriously, no other options? Wow.

Could I ask then why you bought Norton? I've installed avast on my mother's machine and haven't heard from her since, and it was free.

Also, as much as I hate the phrase "buy a mac", I'm convinced that all non-tech users should be using one of these machines.

Macs are cool, and if the old folks in the park where mom lived all had Macs, I'd be buying her one. I'm hoping that she'll get a lot of support from her peers - especially since I'm 1200 miles away.

Norton was probably the worst choice on my part, and it came from habit. I've used Norton for a long time, and it has a good reputation. But you're right: there are much better options for security software.

Can you return it?

I gave my mom a Macbook 5 years ago and she's never had to ask anyone for support.

Probably not. I spent all day "configuring" it -- resizing the icons and text size, doing all that install stuff, imaging the drive, etc. Plus it's shipped.

How old was your mom when you got it for her? Did she have previous computer experience?

She was 55 and uses a PC at work.

I think that's a little different. My mom is 75 and the last keyboard she used was a selectric typewriter sometime around 1990.

So we're starting completely from zero.

Ditto this. I got tired of constantly tech supporting my mom on her Dell, and gave her my old MBP. Spent 30 minutes walking her through the OS X differences, and really haven't heard from her since. She uses it all the time now to create and give presentations, along with the standard e-mail/web/etc...

I concur.

He was ranting about Apple even though he didn't use any of their services or products? And I'm quite sure doing so would've saved him a lot of time and trouble.

I use Windows as well as OS X, and, knowing both sides, OS X is just so much more comfortable to use. Especially for people without previous knowledge, such as my mom or my sister. I did install OS X on my sister's Eee PC a while back and it runs great, she's never had any trouble with it. I'm confident it would've worked with his mother too. (Though buying a MacBook is much less trouble than hacking OS X on any other system)

I know the suffering of dial-up (dirty phone lines in rural areas) or other means (e.g. GRPS) - it is awful.

Isn't there an EDGE or 3G network available? Maybe something like CDMA2000?

His current options are dialup or satellite and you're thinking there's maybe a 3G infrastructure in his area? I'm thinking maybe Verizon and AT&T haven't gotten around to his area yet.

Maybe. I am guessing that most of the USA has cell phone coverage (and some would either have EDGE or 3G depending on the provider). The costs differ though (from a mild raping to worst).

There are also independent service providers (regional providers).

I've got regular cell service.

I have a cell modem, but it's just getting dial-up speed. No new towers yet.

I keep looking into other internet options. Verizon has a web page where you can see if you can get DSL. But until they get around to upgrading the local switch, high-speed ain't happening.

There was also a rumor that some provider was putting in WiMax, but that didn't cover where I am.

I'm telling you guys, living in the boonies really sucks. I love the area, but internet service is probably as critical as power service for somebody in technology.

As a side note, I was actually was one of first ones in my area to get a T-1 several years ago. I had to rent the line. I think at first it was running around $2K per month.

simple solution: go out of your way to use and promote smaller/better companies wherever possible.

i go out of my way to avoid giving money to best buy, norton, microsoft, etc..

these companies won't get better if you complain about them but continue to give them money. feed their competitors and you might see change.

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