I Suck At Setting Up A Computer

Yesterday, Karen and I visited Karen's grandparents who live in Hanover. These grandparents are on Karen's father's side.

Anyway, Karen's grandmother has been interested in learning about computers. Particularly, she wanted to learn about the internet and surfing and all of that stuff. Her hope was that having a computer with a connection to the internet would allow her to keep in touch with all of her other friends who are spread throughout the country, as well as ease prescription ordering and all of that.

So needless to say, Karen's grandparents ordered a computer (a Dell). As it turns out, the computer and monitor arrived yesterday. As I am generally the person in the family who is contacted for technical issues concerning things like electronics and computers, (probably due to my genetic nature) Karen and I stopped on over to help set up the new computer.

Now, I suck at setting up a computer. Luckily, it's not that difficult to set up a computer. I must say though... yesterday was like Christmas... only for the elderly. Karen's grandparents were not too interested while I was actually connecting the plug to the computer, or connecting the wires from the keyboard and mouse and monitor. But when I removed the plastic covering from the monitor and computer, Karen's grandparents swarmed into the room with jubilation.

In fact, they were so excited about the computer that I did not have time to actually set up the other finer details about the computer... like the user account... the router security... etc. Once the computer was able to turn on, Karen's grandparents swarmed in and asked me to show them how to turn on the computer... how to shut off the computer... and how to get onto the internet... not necessarily in that order.

Needless to say, it was somewhat comical to watch Karen's grandparents getting a little giddy over the computer. And for anyone curious... avoid Microsoft Vista. I'm not a big fan of Microsoft as it is. Vista only reaffirms my dislike for Microsoft as the operating system is simply a memory hog.

If it were up to me, I would have ordered a Mac for Karen's grandparents because those computers are intrinsically easier to learn, especially for the elderly. But Karen's grandparents were not too keen on Macs. (I guess they do not find Justin Long cute and adorable.) But hey, I give Karen's grandparents credit for even wanting to learn about computers. I think it's cool that they are trying.

Anyway, it was an interesting experience. And now, Karen's grandmother knows how to turn the computer on, get on the internet, and shut down the computer. What else is there to know? Just kidding.