Remote Tech Support: Grandpa's New Computer

The phone rings. It's your grandfather, 3000 miles away. (Or mother/father/grandparent/in-law/child). He's having a problem with his computer. Again. So you close your eyes and listen as he describes his latest dilemma...

"... How do I open this attachment?"

"... My taskbar has moved"

"... I can't find ..."

"... My printer won't work"

"... How do I upload a picture from my camera?"

His description only vaguely makes sense - until you remember that he's using an older computer, still running Windows 98. Now if only you remembered how to use FileManager... An hour later, he's frustrated, you're stymied, and you've forgotten what it was you were supposed to be doing when the phone rang.

The bottom-line? It's time to get him a new computer. Even though the one he has may be arguably adequate, the remote tech support challenges you are increasingly facing have tipped the scales in favor of getting something newer, faster, and easier to support.

SuperKids editors recently encountered this situation, and thought it might be useful to share the solutions they put together.

Next: Selecting a new computer

• Selecting a new computer
  
  
• Set up
  
  
• Usability enhancements
  
  
• Internet access
  
  
• Software
  
  
• Remote access
  
  
• Record Keeping