Glad I'm not alone on this then, I thought it was just me... The only downside to sitting like that is it gives me lower back pains after extended periods.
You've just got to find the right metaphors for the person. For my parents, relating things to folders and TV/radio stations broadcasting and phone networks, etc. really helped. Since they lived through the arcade craze in the 1980s(and both loved Pac-Man etc. when I was small), the mouse I just talked about like a joystick that's flat with the buttons built in. For my Dad, a lifelong mechanic/trucker, "IRC is like CB radio, only you type everything, and people have all their own unique slang just like people on the CB do" is my favourite so far. For most people now living, TV that you can interact with, and not just watch type metaphors usually work because TV is so second nature. Likewise, talking about mp3 only helped my father so much, but sitting him down and opening winamp, and saying "see, the same buttons as your stereos" immediately made sense to him, and since the knows the music in a stereo has to be stored somewhere(on a record, tape, disc, etc) telling him it's kept in a certain folder or on a memory card is also very easy to explain.
"Mom, this is spam. Spam is just like all the heaps of junk mail you get in your snail mail box. Pay attention to e-mails you actually signed up for, and pay attention to the headers to see where they come from, and if you're worried, always call the bank first, or Google it to see if it's a commonly known prank." There, that's all it took for my Mom.
wilhoitmMay 16, 2009
You forgot the oatmeal!
robotbuddhaMay 16, 2009
I liked how the printer "just worked" in 1995. I was half expecting error messages when she hit print.
cyrixMay 17, 2009
Glad I'm not alone on this then, I thought it was just me... The only downside to sitting like that is it gives me lower back pains after extended periods.
pivovyMay 17, 2009
embroidery
someologyMay 18, 2009
You've just got to find the right metaphors for the person. For my parents, relating things to folders and TV/radio stations broadcasting and phone networks, etc. really helped. Since they lived through the arcade craze in the 1980s(and both loved Pac-Man etc. when I was small), the mouse I just talked about like a joystick that's flat with the buttons built in. For my Dad, a lifelong mechanic/trucker, "IRC is like CB radio, only you type everything, and people have all their own unique slang just like people on the CB do" is my favourite so far. For most people now living, TV that you can interact with, and not just watch type metaphors usually work because TV is so second nature. Likewise, talking about mp3 only helped my father so much, but sitting him down and opening winamp, and saying "see, the same buttons as your stereos" immediately made sense to him, and since the knows the music in a stereo has to be stored somewhere(on a record, tape, disc, etc) telling him it's kept in a certain folder or on a memory card is also very easy to explain.
someologyMay 18, 2009
"Mom, this is spam. Spam is just like all the heaps of junk mail you get in your snail mail box. Pay attention to e-mails you actually signed up for, and pay attention to the headers to see where they come from, and if you're worried, always call the bank first, or Google it to see if it's a commonly known prank." There, that's all it took for my Mom.
drastic8May 18, 2009
Dr. Pepper comes out better.