Grandparents and the MacBook

After many years of being tech support for my family, I decided to try a new tack. Grandpa Dave asked me about a computer. Of course, being a Mac head, I recommended a Mac. I made the switch almost 2 years ago and I still love my Mac. No security headaches, no spyware, viruses or anything. The only glitches I have had is with Parallels and BootCamp on the Windows side.

So, yesterday after a nice lunch at Mimi’s off we went to BestBuy, CompUSA and ultimately the Apple store where we bought a shiny new MacBook (white). They opted for a year of one on one training (a bargain at $99) where they can come in weekly for one year for one hour one on one sessions. I am hoping that they stick with it and complete the course, they will learn a lot and make my job easier. :-)

Last night I set it up for them and all went well except for wireless issues not related to the Mac. The many intervening walls in their house weakened the signal. So, after about an hour of fussing with things and an extended phone call with my brother in law who is a DSL installer we got it to work where they wanted it to, albeit with lower signal strength than I would like.

I installed NeoOffice for the Mac, a great freeware program for word processing, presentations and spreadsheets. I also installed some games because Nana is addicted to Mahjongg and Solitaire. All was working when I left late last night so we shall see how they adapt to the Mac. I am curious because simplicity and ease of use are hallmarks of Apple. This will be an acid test for Leopard. If they can use it productively and quickly, I will be eternally grateful to the guys who designed it. I am worried about that wireless connection, though......