I can't imagine what my mom will do without spider solitaire

[cosmolinguist]

What a week for my parents. Everything from serious illness in close relatives to feeling like old friendships aren't withstanding the hardships in their friends' lives to having to upgrade their computer to Windows 8 (my mom doesn't like the new printer they had to get, my dad resents Quicken 2014 for not being like Quicken 2005, there's no spider solitaire...).

I just want to give them hugs and fix their computer and be a good daughter.

Comments

[softfruit.livejournal.com]

You probably found this already but

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-gaming/is-spider-solitaire-included-in-windows-8-i-cant/815838f9-f8d2-4e70-87cb-76bf3439b317

[cosmolinguist]

Thanks. I hadn't, actually, just because the thought of doing tech support from a distance of 4000 miles to people who don't like computers for an OS I haven't used in a dozen years (though apparently Windows 8 is such a sea change that nothing I know would be of any use anyway!) was such a grim prospect I figured I'd tackle it in the morning and went to open a beer instead. :)

Now I'll just have to figure out how to change the screen resolution, because it sounds like the teenager who set up their computer did so to his own GET MAXIMUM USE OUT OF EVERY PIXEL! preferences; both my parents' first comment on the new computer was "but everything is so tiny..." Poor things.

[barakta]

Arg to twats who set up the res wrong! And don't tell people about the "enbiggen just the fonts" options.

I went round work and upped everyone who wanted their "text bigger" to 125% and one colleague to 143% cos she has eye issues and we trialled and errored some sizes. Fuck IT who left the res set wrong so it was all blocky and fuck our database admin wanker who won't make the text on our DB bigger "cos someone might be using a low res *eyeroll*" cos he doesn't understand that I can fix low res with enbiggened text and about 70% of us can't use the database cos we can't SEE it.

Windows 8 is horrid. I saw it for the first time last week, mousing causes it to pop up shit at you like a nasty touchscreen OS, I did not approve and the student using it constantly had to undo all this unwanted popups cos she can't mouse accurately on a trackpad *scowl*. I think I'll add Win 8 to the list of shit I don't support like Vista which was also a steaming pile of poo.

[softfruit.livejournal.com]

Was this 8 or 8.1? I read 8.1 restores enough Behaving Like Proper Windows that it might be more friendly for the crowd of XP refugees like minnesattva's parents and (some time soon) me...

[cosmolinguist]

Yes, you can imagine how unimpressed I am with people who make stuff too small to be seen. :) And I didn't even know the text could be enbiggened until I'd just about stopped using Windows.

The only problem is, even if it's possible and even if I find out how to do this and tell them, they still might not actually do it because messing with anything is intimidating to them. If I was there and could just do it, great, but if I have to tell them "go here, click on this," whatever, it's a distinct possibility that they won't. My dad started getting all "well, I guess it doesn't really matter...don't use it that much..." But I guess in that case, it can't be bothering them all that badly. :)

[uglybuffy.livejournal.com]

How to cheer up your parents: next time you visit, bring Sarah as designated driver. Sarah will charm your parents with stories of Ireland and by enthusing about the US. And then drive you anywhere you want to go in fabulous car.

It was worth a try.

[cosmolinguist]

Sounds like a plan to me!

But I hope you wouldn't be too disappointed that it's not much like the Deep South bits of America you've been to.