Walter S. Mossberg answers readers’ tech questions for The Wall Street Journal in a feature called “Mossberg’s Mailbox.” Here’s one from yesterday:
Reader’s Question: We plan to buy a new computer running the XP version of Windows, not Vista. We are afraid to take the step to the Mac since we are in our 70s, and are just average on the computer. We rely on our children for help when we get into a jam, and they have no experience with a Mac. Would you recommend we venture into Mac land, fear and all?
Mossberg: No. While I believe Apple’s hardware is very good, and the Mac operating system is better than either version of Windows, I also believe that average users whose operating system works well for them, and who can buy new hardware that runs the same system, shouldn’t feel pressure to change. That’s especially true when they have a ready source of support.
MacDailyNews Take: A Mac would be “new hardware that runs the same system,” Windows, while also letting new-to-Mac users acclimate themselves to the vastly superior Mac OS X. It’s beyond us why Uncle Walt fails to clearly point out that buying a Mac — and only a Mac — gives users the capability to run any OS and application they desire.
Logic dictates that the correct advice for these people is:
You are planning to buy a new computer anyway, so buy a Mac. Run your familiar Windows XP and you’ll also have the Mac’s better-designed hardware and the capacity to learn the superior Mac OS X and Mac-only apps at your own pace. Buying any other PC would be a mistake as you would be needlessly limiting yourselves, regardless of your age, ability, or confidence.
More info about slumming it with Windows natively on your Mac via Mac OS X’s built-in Boot Camp can be found here. More info about fast virtualization on your Mac (have Windows side-by side with Mac OS X — it’s like Roseanne Barr standing next to Heidi Klum) via Parallels Desktop for Mac here and/or VMWare’s Fusion here.
Mossberg continues: However, that course of action will become more difficult this summer, when Microsoft plans to stop licensing Windows XP to computer makers for preloading on new machines. That will make Vista the only version of Windows available to new computer buyers. Buying a new Vista PC does require users to learn new techniques and to cope with hardware and software incompatibilities.
MacDailyNews Take: So, by this summer, according to Mossberg, even old, average, and fearful people should buy Apple Macs. As we’ve always said: Macintosh. Because life’s too short.
Mossberg answers more questions in his full feature here.
Uncle Walt dropped the ball on this one.
I’d say he dropped both balls. C’mon Walt.
When your are short sighted do not look ahead, buy Vista glasses !..
I’m 75 and this is Barbra Streisand.
I’d say he dropped both balls. C’mon Walt.
Are you sure he ever had two?
And the young and fearless buy a Linux PC, and the masochistic, too.
“Yeger”
We old geezers are jes’ fine with our old beige PC’s. Why I ‘member the good old days when we had to walk three miles in the snow to learn how to program command lines in DOS.
These young snipperwhappers can have their fast and flashy Macs with their beautiful Aqua desktops. We geezers are old and afraid. Anybody got a Commodore 64 they want to get rid of? Now THAT was a computer you could sink your teeth into. If I could just find my teeth….
I sell Macs for a living and one of the questions I get is, “how hard is it to switch to the Mac”. This question is usually easy to answer, but with older people like the ones described in Uncle Walt’s article it becomes a bit tricky. I usually tell customers that if they are pretty well versed in using a computer whether it be a Windows XP or Vista they should become pretty acclimated to the Mac in a short time. If they have quite a bit of trouble with using computers in general they are going to have a harder time understanding the Mac. Not to say that once they do understand the Mac it will be a much happier experience for them altogether. The question is how much are they using their current computer right now and is it worth the expense and time at their age.
With personal shopping assistance and one-on-one training at Apple stores, not having relatives who know Macs is not an excuse if you are anywhere near an Apple store.
As for age, My parents are mid 70’s and are in the midst of transitioning to Mac’s from many many years of windows frustrations, they are excited at the prospect. Age is not a limitation!
@Leader. The question is how much are they using their current computer right now and is it worth the expense and time at their age.
My motto is, “Do it now, you’re going to be dead a long time”.
The people are in their 70s… give ’em a break! Change is hard regardless of OS X being “easier.” I had a hard enough time teaching my mother to send email and surf the web let alone try to teach her how to change operating systems.
Hate to say it, but I’m siding with Scheduler on this one. Mossberg’s advice was sound. There is no reason why those 70-year-olds shouldn’t simply continue with what they are familiar with.
When MDN rags on schools that force Windows on students, I’m with them. We want kids to have exposure to Macs. But old dogs at the tail end of their computer using lives? Please, give them a rest.
ron, you’ve just pissed off a whole hell of a lot of zombies. You might want to stay home tonight.
Don’t blame Walt. He was probably on vacation and an intern wrote the piece.
So that’s what P.C. has always meant all this time….
Prune Cocktail….
“You might want to stay home tonight.”
yes, stay away from the malls.
Sure, Macs can run Windows. But Apple does not support it. The reader, who is in his 70’s, have children who can only help them when they are in a jam. So, who is going to install Boot Camp and Window XP for this elderly couple? So, I’ll say once again, sure, Macs can run Windows. But who will install it for them?
@ ron… I love your motto! “Get a Mac now while you still can… You’ll be dead a long time”
A while back, I had a freelance customer (an older woman) looking to replace her 7-year old Dell recently asked me if I thought she should change from Windows to Apple. Considering she was going to have to replace most of her archaic software anyway, the cost was going to be the same either way. Told her to visit an Apple store and see if the bundled apps in OSX would work for her needs (which were admittedly basic). She picked up a Macbook and, while she had some teething issues with networking and external drives, she’s adapted pretty well.
For all the oft-vaunted “intuitiveness” of OSX vis a vis Windows systems, there’s still a learning curve involved in making such a switch. As such, the curve is shorter and gentler going from XP to Vista rather than from XP to OSX. Pretending otherwise is dishonest.
Uncle Walt normally gets it right, but missed the mark on this one. I’ve seen friends buy PCs running XP that eventually have problems with spyware, viruses, etc. It gets to the point where they need a PC repair person to ” clean up ” the computer. You don’t need to do that with a Mac. As far as training is concerned, if this couple has access to an Apple Store, they can take advantage of the ” one-to-one ” training to get comfortable with the computer and the Mac OS. The best advice would have been ” Buy a Mac “.
@MDN
I’m not sure I want Roseanne Barr or Heidi Klum near my Mac. Time Machine wasn’t build to undo that sorta damage.
I agree with Walt. I discouraged my 75-year old father in law from switching. He reads every word of a simple installation dialogue box at a painfully glacial pace, and I can just imagine the panicked phone calls: “Where’s Windows Explorer? Where’s the START menu?” Feh.
Most people won’t do the work involved (Step 1: Buy a Book, Step 2: Read it, Step 3: Practice new skills) relying instead, as these geezers referred to in the article, on relatives to wipe their bums for them. No thanks.
I think Uncle Steve and Uncle Walt are headed toward a good, old fashioned smack down.
” It’s beyond us why Uncle Walt fails to clearly point out that buying a Mac — and only a Mac — gives users the capability to run any OS and application they desire.”
you don’t have relatives that age, do you? didn’t think so…..
at that age, with a computer, they will be damn lucky to turn it on 60% of the time.
To Bryan J Blumberg: “But who will install it for them?”
You can buy a Mac with Windows preloaded on it. It’s like being born addicted to crack.
My dad is 84 and only used Word and a laser printer.
It has gone slowly, but he made the transition to the iMac and Pages and now does fine. He also uses Safari some and Mail. He struggles with open/save dialog boxes, not knowing where to put stuff or find stuff.
My mom, who is 80, is now on her new iMac from her old eMac and she iChats with her grandson and blisters on email and checks her grow up town obituaries each day…it really raised my dad’s eyebrows to try the Mac after multiple data losses and tons of painful reinstallations on his old Dell.
Bryan J Blumberg,
Places like MacMall have been selling Macs with Windows pre-installed for quite some time.
The lack of objectivity displayed by MDN and some of those who post here is mind boggling. I’m a huge Mac fan and a big believer in where Apple is headed. But computers are not toasters. They require lots of loving care. No matter how much you love your Apple computer, you can’t tell me that it doesn’t require tweaking from time to time. Having someone who can provide your computer with support is one of the most important aspects to owning a computer. This would be especially true if you’re unfamiliar with computers or if you’re older. It’s hard to change when you’re 40 more less when you’re 70. Mossberg’s advice is sound even if it does conflict with your (and my) biases.
Three years ago I switched my Windows-using-father over at the tender age of 75. He started with DOS back in the 80’s but was never a techie kind of guy. Over the last 3 years he has come to me maybe a dozen times with questions. He did buy a book to help him along which he has gone to on a few occasions.
If this guy lives within a reasonable distance for support from an Apple store or another source of support there’s no reason he shouldn’t switch. My Dad would never go back to Windows!
I teach personal computing classes to older users.
There is an age cutoff – currently around 50 years old – where GENERALLY (most, not all) people just do not understand computers very well at all. They just don’t know or grasp the basic concepts (hardware, software, storage, etc.). They think linearly, not non-linearly. They come from the mechanical age, not the information age. They understand physical buttons and switches, not virtual ones.
I have found that these people, just like the rest of us who are under-50, all do much better with Macs.
Macs are just better. They are made for people not engineers.
Falkirk,
I’ll keep it simple for you, as you obviously need it that way:
Macs run Windows XP. Their kids could fix the Mac running Win XP the same as if it was a Dell.
Meanwhile the parents could progress beyond their own kids and learn Mac OS X and Mac apps on their own. If they bought a Dell instead of a a Mac, they’d be limiting themselves needlessly, as MDN points out.
MDN is so right, it hurts.
Fear Threshold.
It’s just fear, not skill, knowledge or ability, that being addressed by Walt here. Some people are crippled by their fear of switching to something new, even if “new” is just a perception, and not a reality. A Mac is just a computer, after all. Has cords and buttons just like the rest.
I’m dealing with that with two clients right now — constantly fighting with their PC shitboxes, but aren’t ready to invest in a real solution.
MDN- until the Mac runs windows out of the box with ZERO configuration these people will need to stick with windows.
They dont have the ability to install, or even understand that they can install Windows on a mac. It is much easier for them to have their family help them with a windows PC then it would be for them to get a mac and figure out how to run windows on it.
If you want to help them, and send them a free copy of how to run windows on your mac. then maybe they would have some help, but alone they shouldnt switch.
“No matter how much you love your Apple computer, you can’t tell me that it doesn’t require tweaking from time to time.”
And a Windows PC doesn’t? Which one requires more?
Who knows the cutoff age for pilots, surgeons and presidents?
I got my 85 year old aunt an iMac three months ago and she loves it. Much better than that door stop she was using.
These days, if they are in their 70’s even knowing what a computer is probably means they have another decade or two of active minds.
Give me a break, they are not old and Walt did mess this one up.
eMax,
Read the posts above, you stupid fuck:
“Places like MacMall have been selling Macs with Windows pre-installed for quite some time.”
Walt is spot on with this answer. Older people who feel the need to stay with XP should not be talked into moving to a Mac. I replaced all of the computers for my immediate family with Macs years ago but that’s because I’m there and dealt with change issues. My in-laws however, I would never switch.
@Ron:
I’d stay inside. Things have a way of falling from the sky.
a) my mother was in her 80s when she got her first computer. A blue iBook. She was closer to 90 when she upgraded to a 14″ iBook.
b) Buying a Mac to run Windows is a waste of money. If you fully intend to run only Windows, get a PC and save $500.
Many older people – I’m only 60, y’understand – have needs Windows can serve fairly well – if they can keep from getting infested. They have neither need nor desire to switch from one OS to another. Not for ANY reason. Walt is sort of right, right now the better choice may be a PC with XP. When XP is no longer an option, there’s no good reason not to switch. Well, maybe if you plan to die in the next year or two … but who plans that well?
Dave
“My in-laws however, I would never switch.”
Because you hate them?
I say that Walt Mossberg gave good advice in this case and MDN dropped the ball. The key point is that the questioners have a ready source of unlimited support for their PC. Who, pray tell, does MDN suggest these people call to set up their new Mac, install Parallels, install Windows, then teach them how to use their shiny new (and extremely unfamiliar) computer interface? Surely their PC-using children don’t stand a chance of being up to the task? Just the initial setup would cost them 4-6 hours of a paid consultant’s time. Bad advice, MDN. As much as I love Macs, there is no one solution that fits everybody’s needs.
No, Walt’s a very smart man. He doesn’t want to have to wait behind a very long line of elderly, average switchers.
alansky:
“install Parallels, install Windows”
Check out the several posts above on Macs with preinstalled Windows.
Thanks.
I think that Microsoft will stop supporting xp forcing people to go to vista. I tried vista on my dell O my god, the vista and dell are in the storage room.
I just upgraded to a new 15.4″ MacBook Pro 2.5GHz from an old 12″ PowerBook G4 867MHz. Was waiting for a good replacement for the 12″, but the MacBook Air just isn’t it for me.
This is my first Intel Mac and I decided to install Vista on it. Well, I’ve had the machine for a week now and I haven’t used Vista at all. I thought I’d use it for work, as, I’d hate to admit, I am a “dot not” developer. Nope. I just VPN into work in OS X and use MS RDC to connect to my work PC.
Vista is soon to be deleted from my Mac. Last thing I need to battle is all the spyware, viruses and the like. Oh, by the way, Vista looks and feels horrible. Not sure what all the hype is. It has a very counterintuitive and confusing interface. And this observation is coming from someone who has used macs since OS 6 and Windows since 3.1.
Lame advice.
My grandfather switched from a Tandy DOSBox to his first Mac (Bondi Blue iMac) when he was 93. He upgraded 2 years later to get an iMac with FireWire so he could edit video from his then new digital video camera.
He had a few adjustment problems at first, but he loved emailing everyone in the family and working on his videos.
My aunt recently switched from Windows 98 to a new aluminum iMac. She just turned 75.
It’s never too late.
Giving older people brain puzzles, like crossword puzzles or switching from Windows to Mac OS X, is a very good way to stave off Alzheimer’s.
Do them a favor, tell them to buy a Mac and drop Windows altogether. They will live a longer, stress free life.
alansky,
What part of the following don’t you understand?
“Places like MacMall have been selling Macs with Windows pre-installed for quite some time.”
I think he is giving good advice to WIndows users. He says upfront that Mac hardware and OSX are superior. His advice: switch to a Mac unless you have a friendly neighborhood geek who’ll give you the intense support you need. You can always put Windows on a Mac, but XP is not immortal and you might get stuck with Vista. That’s another way of saying “Vista is awful and you might as well switch to OS X now.”
If he were any more explicit, he’d sound like a fanboy.
“Vista is soon to be deleted from my Mac.”
It’s too bad you can’t get a refund.
@MDN:
So you want a 70 year old couple who admitted they are afraid to try something new try to install Parallels, install Windows XP, get all the settings correct, learn how to switch between Mac and Windows, and not expect them to have any problem?
Stupid take, MDN! These folks already admitted they are scared to change, and they basically use email, so why change? If they’re comfortable with what they’re using, even if it is Windows, then so be it. These are people who shouldn’t change to Mac, because they will feel lost and will be too afraid to try anything new.
I switched my 65+ in-laws who used PC’s for years but were afraid to click on things because it might break.
As I have found with most non-technical users, having to go more than one or two levels beyond a menu or dialog box is a daunting experience and tends to instill fear. Combine that with cryptic (and technical) dialog prompts and inconsistent behavior of applications leaves most users feeling that they are never really in control.
Now that my in laws use a Mac, they aren’t afraid to use their computer. In fact, they have many more peripherals hooked up and are doing a lot more with it. They approach the Mac as a friend instead of a loathsome enemy. And I’ve regained lost weekends not having to fix it anymore.
I would rather teach a new Mac user how to use their computer than support a familiar PC user who runs into trouble with drivers, devices, video, etc.
To each his own.
My father, who is 81, has had a computer since the TRS-80 came out. He is eager to learn new things, he is incredibly intelligent, but somehow the computer-stuff just doesn’t stick. He tries hard, but he doesn’t “get it.” My mother, who is 79, says that from overhearing me teach my father, she’s confident she could use the computer, but she doesn’t want to show up Dad.
I don’t think my father could switch, but his computing needs are minimal. So I leave well enough alone.
It’s no problem for me because I’m “in the younger generation that ‘gets’ computers.” I’m 56.
I think Walt’s readers may not be as average as they think they are, given the way they contacted him and asked the question. They are probably dealing with subtle FUD from their children. I say ditch the children and get a Mac.
But, fear is tough. I’d love to free my in-laws from the daily dose of spyware and virus alerts foisted on them by AOL, but that would mean telling them about the real internet (not AOL) and moving them to a Mac. But, then any problem they had would be “that damned Mac”. That would come from my sister-in-law, who knows far less than she thinks, but is willing to share her ignorance with her folks. (her approach to unscrewing her Windows machine is to take another $500 to Wal-Mart and buy a different one) Just can’t bring myself to go to that place.
My parents migrated to the mac a couple years ago. I made them do it
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Walt is right, but OTOH, I don’t give a damn about my relatives computer issues, any of them. The only peron I care about is me, and I will NOT support their stupid PC boxes. My time and efforts are far too valuable to waste on a PC.
If they want my help with a computer issue, I’ll bend over backwards if they listened to me and got a Mac. (most have) If its Windows box of any flavor, talk to the booty cause the hand is off duty. Aint going to happen.
bizlaw:
“install Parallels, install Windows XP”
Check out the several posts above on Macs with preinstalled Windows.
Thanks.
Who’s next?
{Commodore_64}
Why, ya young whippah snappahs! Ya don’ know nothin’ ’bout no fancy ‘operatin’ systems’ that makes a stink a’ difference anyhoo! Why, back in mah day, we didn’t have no fancy ‘PCI slots’ or ‘USB hubs’ or no dad gum ‘802.11.n wireless networking protocols’. We just had a simple, sleek, grey keyboa’d AND WE WERE THANKFUL. Can you plug in a game cartridge to the Windows EX-PEE box? DIDN’T THINK SO, ya lollygaggin’ so-and-sos. Take ya’ fancy graphical UI and stick it up ya’ slot-loading optical drive!!!
{/Commodore_64}
You know, you people are being awfully hard on a guy who didn’t try to up-sell a Mac to people who are just about to die. Can’t we be happy about the college numbers and leave the nearly-underground to their comfort zones?
C1, you rock. Hands down the most insightful and accurate comment on the subject.
Come on! Be serious! I’m also a Mac fan, but it is easy to understand that an old person has a real hard time to lurn lots of new stuff in a snap. Some simply get lost when in front of a new UI. For them OS X or Vista are just the same aliens, period.
The beauty of this article, as MDN’s title suggests, is that Windows is for the old, average, and fearful.
This is spot-on propaganda.
As a reader, who would you identify with? The old folks who can’t make the switch, even though The Moss clearly says that Mac is superior?
This is a nice piece. Subtle.
Well I say that because I do some Mac tutoring on the side, and one of my clients is an 84 year old woman who basically just need to know how to scan her pictures and send them to her friends, do her online banking, and a few other simple tasks. It’s really rather ludicrous to get into the subtleties of operating systems to someone like that. Once they figure out how to do something, the DO NOT want to learn it again. Now, my friend already has a Mac, so good show there. But if she didn’t, I would not dream of suggesting she change platforms if she didn’t have to.
Now, that said, if hypothetical old folks wanted a little bit more out of their computers and were willing to learn, and they didn’t have the option of buying an XP machine one more time, then OF COURSE, I’d suggest a Mac.
Now you be nice to Uncle Walt, MDN. Or I’ll sick C_64 on you again.
so did Uncle Walt ever score with Katie or has he stopped talking about her…..Walt gets distracted from time to time…
Here’s my computer advice for Windows users:
Step 1: Buy a Mac.
There’s no Step 2.
” . . . is that Windows is for the old, average, and fearful.”
That explains a lot about our current government.
Nope, he is right. Unless any of you volunteer for the job of aiding these folks, they should stick with the familiar XP. People on their 70 simply do not have the inclination to learn a new OS, heck, they have enough problems running an old OS.
I give support to people that are scratching their 70′. They are familiar with OS X, and they still have a plethora of problems. One lady deleted her system, folder by folder because she thought she had duplicate copies. It was a nightmare to restore, how do you boot a system that is technically in the trash, how do you access the trash if the system is with in it? I was able to fix it. But believe me, if she could do it, and she has been using a Mac for more then 8 years, just imagine someone with 0 experience. I am with Walt on this one.
Mossberg works for Rupert Murdoch now. Murdoch makes Conrad Black look like Mother Theresa.
Follow the Microsoft money.
he should have recommended they visit an Apple retailer to get a hands on… they would’ve jumped…
Yo. Old people. Stick with what you know. Get a lot of help from younger, wiser kids, many of whom are now using Macintoshes but REALLY don’t want to invest in an EXTRAVAGANT amount of time teaching you BRAND NEW WAYS of doing things YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO…
Some folks should NOT switch. I mean, after they slowly, painfully learn a new OS, then they DIE. Ouch.
Not helpful.
Not useful.
Not rational.
To paraphrase Pink Floyd, “Leave them geezers alone!”
They took a friggin’ decade to learn email, surf and print photos using shitty Windows – just because the Macintosh is easier, they’ll STILL take 5 years to re-learn this stuff!
Leave ’em alone!
Mossberg is the rare tech-savvy geezer. He knows where-of he speaks.
Life is too short not to use a Mac.
I too disagree with Walt.
Suggesting old people should not bother learning anything new is shows a little disrespect. It is actually very healthy to keep the brain ocupied when you get older. I don’t care what kind of operating system they are considering. But if they care enough to ask about the Mac given, that their children even won’t be able to support them, they deserve to be encouraged and offered the resources that are available.
In the least, Walt should have recommended they go to the Apple store, and take some one-on-one sessions and then decide for themselves.
are in their 70’s, and they are hardly ‘old, average, and fearful.’ They love their iMac.
My mom didn’t start using a computer until she was 75, and she does fine with her Mac.
Uncle Walt’s advice is sound enough. These peopled admitted that they were fearful of the proposed change and of losing computer support from their offspring. To suggest, as MDN does, that they should take on two operating systems, using one, while learning the other, doesn’t really make sense.
I support my parents and my mother-in-law (all in their 80s) on Macs. The one factor I’ve noted is that the current computing paradigm simply alludes them. They’re all reasonably sharp, but can’t grasp concepts such as overlapping windows. Everything has to be done by rote. Because they all live hours away, Leopard’s screen sharing ability has been great.
But again, I agree with Walt. His correspondents should stick with what they know until forced to change. Then maybe, make a change for the better.
If John McCain can do it…oh wait, his Alzheimers has already kicked in. He needs Lieberman (!) to whisper in his ear when he gets his facts wrong.
McCain is so old, when he went to school there was no history class.
McCain is so old, he took his driving test on a dinosaur.
The only problem with your take, (and at the risk of being flamed) is that Apple will not preload Windoze on their machines. Requiring yet another purchase of a boxed version of Windoze to put on the nice new (and defintely better) Mac.
THAT would be tough for the free tech support challenged grandkids.
John
North Pole AK
To Boyarsky:
“Requiring yet another purchase of a boxed version of Windoze to put on the nice new (and defintely better) Mac. THAT would be tough for the free tech support challenged grandkids.”
Check out the numerous posts above on Macs for sale with preinstalled Windows.
Thanks.
Who’s next?
To me, whether Windoze is preinstalled or has to be purchased isn’t the main issue.
Two elderly people, who admit to being fearful of computers and of change, under MDN’s proposal, would now have to alternate between two operating systems for an unspecified period. I can’t see how that’s a realistic strategy for them to switch to a Mac.
I think Uncle Walt’s suggestion is better.
PS: And that should be “people” in my last post.
I agree with Walt to a point. They’re old and scared and what they have works for them. However, if they live close to an apple store I think they should head in side. These people were smart enough to consider buying a mac. I bet with the help of the local apple store they could make it work.
And “eludes”, not “alludes”. Jeez, a bit slow this morning (well, it’s morning here).
Someday, Apple will reward those behind MDN for their brilliance.
What is this bullshit about being afraid to learn? At max you spend 1 minute figuring out that Command key is the Control key, but then there is no learning required, the shortcut is right there on the menu. Classic situation- the old coot settles for an old system instead of getting something newer and easier. Fsck him
“Mossberg: If you’re old, average, and fearful, stick with Microsoft’s Windows until this summer,” is one of the most brilliant headlines ever written.
I hope Walt is appropriately chastened.
Walt is dead on right! If your used to a Windows PC, and like what it provides a Mac is not the way to go!
Skeeter,
I am conducting research on the severely mentally retarded. You’re a perfect candidate for my work.
Basically, I just need to know what part of the following you can’t understand:
Logic dictates that the correct advice for these people is:
You are planning to buy a new computer anyway, so buy a Mac. Run your familiar Windows XP and you’ll also have the Mac’s better-designed hardware and the capacity to learn the superior Mac OS X and Mac-only apps at your own pace. Buying any other PC would be a mistake as you would be needlessly limiting yourselves, regardless of your age, ability, or confidence.
Thanks in advance.
Your drool cup is in the mail.
are EXACTLY the people I would NEVER consider Windows for. Not even if they have tolerated it in the past.
On a Mac they’d learn to do their limited needs and it would be smooth sailing from then on.
Sure they’d have to learn some minor differences. But they have to learn stuff all the time on XP anyway: what to do when it all goes wrong!
He dropped the frank and beens on this one, but nice catch MDN
that’s the most mature MDN post i’ve seen in a while.
“Sure they’d have to learn some minor differences”.
If the differences were minor, there’d be no need for them to swap. However, I suspect that most MDN readers would consider that the differences between Macs and PCs are significant; that’s why we use Macs.
I shifted my parents from a PC to a Mac. Fortunately, the PC had been such a ridiculous struggle for them, that they’d failed to grasp even the basic concepts. That made my job easier.
In contrast, Walt’s correspondents are reasonably familiar with XP on their PC. Their concern is about moving to something significantly different. His suggestion is that that they wait until Windoze Viscous becomes the only supported, preloaded OS on a PC, and consider swapping to a Mac then. That still sounds reasonable advice to me.
“that’s the most mature MDN post i’ve seen in a while.”
Yeah, I was disappointed too.
I thought “learning a new OS” was one of the FUDmeister’s “myths” that had been debunked.
Learn?
C’MON!
But let’s not forget about having to pay the extra couple-hundred bucks or whatever for that stupid copy of windows to pollute their nice new Mac with. “Oh, just run Windows in Parallels..” And pay big bucks to Microsoft.
I figger they should either switch or not. And at their age, Walt’s advice is acceptable, IMHO.
Amazing how much response you have to this article. I forgot who it was I copied and pasted this from:
“The question is how much are they using their current computer right now and is it worth the expense and time at their age.”
My question is,
If they’re still going to run XP, why buy the new hardware in the first place? Why not save them time and expense and tell them to keep the hunk of junk they have now?
Seriously, I have to disagree. I have so many people that I have now converted that I am run off my feet trying to keep up. Contrary to what everyone leads you to believe, it does take people a certain amount of time (1 day to 1 month) to get the hang of a new operating system.
If someone is HIGH maintenance, I prefer them to stick with Windows and bother someone else. I don’t want to receive a call at mid-night from a frantic person saying their Mac is crap and frozen, when in reality, they tried to install bootcamp and left a 10GB partition for the Mac and used a 310GB partition for Windows.
If they are HIGH maintenance, let sleeping dogs lie.
Nah, Walt is right… if you like what you have and have a support system, why change?
Which is one of the major reasons MS screwed the pooch with Vista. MS created an OS different enough that you might as get the real thing–a mac.
I read this as an amazing dig on Vista.
Wow. MDN’s solution to Mossberg’s point is to make these elderly people who are used to windows install windows on a Mac, and get them oh so used to the idea of boot camp or virtualization. There’s no 70 year old technophobe who would have the patience.
Meanwhile, why bother getting a Mac if just to run Windows? It just wrong.
My dad won’t get near a computer. His assistant prints off all his emails for him, usually reads them over the phone and then he’ll dictate back a response. It’s quite comical. He’s 61.
My mom on the other hand is slightly under 60 and just today I picked out a nice new Mac Book Air with her. First Mac ever. Finally! Credit recent PC frustration and excellent Apple marketing. She didn’t know the “Air” by name, but she surely knew “the thin one.”
I can’t believe some of these people who seem to think 70 year-olds are some kind of decrepit retards. For Christmas, my step-sisters and I bought our 70 plus parents their very first computer – an iMac. This has been the best purchase ever. Just learning stuff and problem solving (meaning figuring out how to do things on the computer) is very mentally stimulating and rewarding for them (my mother was so proud when she figured out on her own to drag something out of Mail’s trash that she had accidentally deleted to restore it). The problem with people when they get older is that they settle into non-challeging, comfortable routines — that’s why people get dumb. Learning on a computer is a great tool for seniors to keep them sharp. And a Mac doesn’t discourage with virus problems, spyware, etc.
Mossberg is an old, average, dumbass Mactard.
well I am cool.
and what was 911 really about?
anyway…
pcssss MS and yahoo…
ha
The fact that Walt’s “pensioners” even asked about switching to a Mac suggests to me that they may well have been able to “learn” to use Mac OS X.
I also wonder whether they felt guilty about (continually?) ringing their “support” relatives?
Walt is right on this one. Macdaily’s take suggesting a Mac running windows is a better solution might be true except for the 70 year old parents factor. Apple does not support Windows on the Mac. The Windows community at large is really disorientated by Mac hardware. These folks want a Dell, or Gateway or HP machine that comes preinstalled with Windows XP. They want one number to call for help – not to companies pointing at the other when problems occur. Walt is right.
Walt is correct on this one. If you have ever tried to teach an elderly person a new operating system, you will know what I mean. Last year I bought my dad a used eMac, which is an excellent computer for his needs. He had been on a used Windows 95 machine for about five years, but this ancient computer had seen seen better days (11 years of faithful service is quite impressive for any computer). The eMac now works great, my dad doesn’t get it. Since he now lives near my sister, a Windows geek, I need to support my dad through this transition, which is well over a year in process. Now, my dad would have had to learn XP or Vista if he stayed with Windows, but at least my sister would have been there to help him. We all agree that the eMac, as good as it is, was a mistake in this case. The best advice for the elderly in most cases is to stick with the computer which affords them the best access to support.
BTW, my dad is still mentally bright and capable; he will argue politics, science and religion with the best of them. But computers are foreign to him, and he doesn’t have the incentive to invest in the knowledge. I hear similar stories from friends who have parents in their 80’s and 90’s.
“With personal shopping assistance and one-on-one training at Apple stores, not having relatives who know Macs is not an excuse if you are anywhere near an Apple store.”
Because Apple store employees will come over for dinner and fix your Mac and show you how to use it, right?
Walt’s absolutely right, Windows works just fine for 96% of the world’s computer using population. Most are not suffering in any way as Mac users deludedly believe they are. Most are doing what they need to with their PCs just fine. Most have no incentive or desire to switch to another OS. It just wouldn’t do anything better for them.
pfft…
if the older folks should switch to a Mac, YOU volunteer to do the tech support to do them. The Mac is better but it’s different, and that can be very, very frustrating to people….it’s not necessarily easier for folks to switch…
Macs suck big time but i bought a Mac Pro for christmas…can’t hack what you don’t know..Only reason you guys aren’t hacked daily is that none of the people smart enough to do it use your wares. Just heard Safari for windows can be used to take over PCs thanks to 2 more new vulnerabilities provided by the folks at apple…luvin it
@iHack:
That was incredibly insightful and informative. Thanks.
Since you own a Mac Pro aren’t you one of the people smart to hack a Mac network?
Keep “luvin” it.