macs for moms

Discussion in 'Technology' started by bfun, May 13, 2015.

  1. Naw. That big Yosemite mountain on the wallpaper just looked too good.

    I'll be honest here. OS X does make Windows 8.1 look like crap.

    And here are some questions.

    1. The sales guys said from now on we should buy all our software through the App store. True?

    2. I asked the guy to find Audible in the App store but he couldn't and that really stumped him. I also couldn't find Bejeweled. Are certain apps not in the store for the Mac even though they are there for mobile devices?

    3. Bejeweled is available directly from Popcap. Do I need to permit software installs from third party companies?
     
  2. 1. The Mac App store has the lowest risk for security problems, so I would say that's a good recommendation for your Mom, but not required. It also provides easy updates, so that's Mom friendly as well.

    2. Yes. You can't assume that Mac versions of iOS apps are going to be available, or vice versa.

    3. Check out the info on GateKeeper in OS X. It has three settings: only download from the App Store OR only download from the App Store and 3rd parties with Apple Developer IDs OR download anything. Keep in mind that the "sandboxing" design of OS X provides another layer of security beyond GateKeeper for malicious code, but I wouldn't think of it as being foolproof.
     
  3. It's a nice straightforward OS that's great for what most people do with their PCs. It's not really for PC gamers or certain kinds of power users, but for your average person it works really well. It's also very hard to break. For basic users who have a large budget (ie your typical older person), Macs are definitely the way to go. I think you'll also find that people who are hesitant to switch because they think they're familiar with Windows in reality lack even a basic understanding of how Windows works in most cases.
     
  4. Ugh. My my Mom calls me tonight. She tried to buy her first app from the app store. When the app tried to install the iMac froze. She called me after about 10 minutes. I had her do the "Command" + "Option" + "Escape" thing and she got the pop-up window saying finder was not responding. She chose to restart finder and then everything just disappeared on the screen so she couldn't do anything else. I had her hit the power button on the back and a window pop-ed up that let her reboot. She clicked reboot but then the iMac just froze again. So finally I just had her pull the plug out of the wall. It powered off then started up just fine but now she disappointed that her expensive new machine doesn't work right and she doesn't want to use the app store anymore. So I don't even know. I'm guessing the iMac is going back and I'll be buying her a PC again.
     
  5. Are you sure it froze and wasn't awaiting a password confirmation for the app store? Which SKU did you get?
     
  6. Sounds like some kind of hardware failure. Maybe take it back to the store and exchange it.
     
  7. It said Finder was no longer responding but I was on the other end of the phone so I don't know much more. I don't have the SKU.
     
  8. [quote author=bfun]I'm guessing the iMac is going back and I'll be buying her a PC again.
    [/quote]

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1D9wWxd2w
     
  9. Well, if you're screwed either way, might as well get a cheap PC. Possibly just install TeamViewer and fix stuff yourself instead of phone troubleshooting.

    I mean dual or quad core. My mom uses the i5-dualcore with 4GB ram Mini, and certain situations will jam it up for a bit.
     
  10. Oh. It's the $1099 version.

    http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/imac
     
  11. - Change your mom's user account to Standard if it's Administrator.
    - Remove or disable Java (not Javascript) if installed and enabled.
    - Remove or disable any unnecessary browser plugins (plugins, not extensions). Keep the rest (i.e. Flash Player) updated.
     
  12. If I go back to PC I'll try that but the problem is when you disable Java you can break things that you want to work and then things get complicated and I get a call. I'm thinking about trying the Firefox sandbox mods they added in January. If it's transparent to the users it might be a great idea.
     
  13. Speaking of sandboxing... before the Mac solution, I used to setup VM's for my parents.

    Powerful host PC with a locked down user account. Run Windows in a VM, if they trash it, just delete and replace with clean VM. Pretty simple, but not elegant.
     
  14. Did you do that with a Type 2 Hypervisor? I am not a fan of that solution as you use too many resources for the host OS, also what is to stop them using that host OS and not loading the VM?
     
  15. Mainly because she didn't know any better. I just maximized the VM and it became the only thing on the screen. If it crashed I would get a phone call, and yes, it is a waste of a nice computer. The Mac Mini was by far the best solution I've come across...
     
  16. Just out of curiosity, what app was it?
     
  17. Maybe get her a Thinkpad is you back to Windows PCs. My father in law really likes his. Sometimes you can catch deals where they aren't terribly expensive.
     
  18. After talking to her some more she didn't actually buy any apps. She was only browsing in the app store. I told her to give support a call and tell them what happened. Maybe she needs a patch or something. She did mention that several minutes before it froze she tried to download a Solitaire game from the store and got a numbered error message. Like error 401 or something. I had her try to download it again and this time it said she couldn't because her security settings prevented downloading 3rd party apps.
     
  19. Could it be that she isn't actually looking at the Mac App store? It doesn't really sound like it.
     
  20. Right. I totally thought that too but when she walks me through the steps it seems legit. She goes into the "system settings" somewhere to mess around with the included widgets. She sees a button that says "get even more widgets". Clicks it and then appears to be in the apple store. I mean the link comes right from OS X so I wouldn't think it'd go anywhere but Apple. She tells me the address bar at the top says apple.com. From there she clicks on games and see all the game apps. Then clicked on solitaire.