Annual Tech Support Call

Part of my trip back east every year is also to check in on my Dad's set up and see how things are faring - kind of an annual tech support call. He has signed up for broadband Internet in the past year, which is a big step up.

This year I brought some goodies - Microsoft LifeCam and a copy of Windows Vista. The plan was to take advantage of the broadband by adding the video camera, with the handy call button on top and do a general upgrade, mainly due to Vista's vastly improved photo handling and easier methods to find stuff.

Problem #1 was that the system, although it had plenty of horsepower, had only 512Mb RAM. Yes, Vista would run, but it wouldn't be great, so I suggested an upgrade to add two more 512Mb sticks to the system at some point.

I set him up with a LiveID and installed the LifeCam (why not LiveCam?). Worked well and he has the latest Messenger on there now as well.

I also simplified the set up by taking two logins and making them one, eliminating the login screen and consolidating the Documents and Pictures folders into one. Much easier. I also added IE7 and Windows Media Player 11.

The IE7 upgrade was problematic. It all worked fine and I even set up a simple live.com homepage for him (which seems to handle RSS feeds much better than mymsn). However, IE7 had a problem printing a Northwest boarding pass for my brother and printing AOL emails in a tiny font. That last one required my Dad to install Firefox and I had to talk him through that on the phone - bummer!

Other tech support items includes a wireless router, which will enable him to use his huge Toshiba schleptop around the house, a new 2.4Ghz phone system (snagged this one from Amazon and I hear it works well!), and finally his Sony multi-CD player is on the fritz - better to just a buy a new one.

Whew.

Comments

[Todd]

Pete--

This soon to be digital dad (or post-luddite dad, or something)is wondering whether you have an opinion on baby monitors. Can you suggest a favored model? Do you think video capability is necessary? Also, I've heard that one should buy a digital rather than an analog monitor. I'd appreciate the benefit of your experience and wisdom.

Best,

Todd