The problem was that they were so ingrained with the Windows experience that they were resistant to change. They had their way of doing things and whenever I presented them with alternatives they would refuse to change, no matter how I presented it. Textbook examples were things like switching from Internet Explorer 6 to Firefox. They just would refuse to adapt.
When I switched them over to Mac they treated it like a newborn baby. They wanted my input on everything. They were so much more receptive to change because they had never used a Mac before.
Human beings are just so resistant to change and when they were learning how to use a computer in the 90s the user experience could be really grating. It seems like they just latched onto what worked and refused to let go.
Whoever introduced computers to these folks probably wasn't careful to tell them what to be careful about. As long as people mess with the local computer, it's possible to recover (in most cases) But being on the internet is whole other thing.
I wouldn't necessarily blame Microsoft here. If anything, I feel much more comfortable letting my dad use windows 7. Microsoft massively improved their Security record after a few embarrassing incidents with Windows XP.
My only message to my dad was: as long as you don't download anything, it's relatively easy to stay away from viruses.
When I switched them over to Mac they treated it like a newborn baby. They wanted my input on everything. They were so much more receptive to change because they had never used a Mac before.
Human beings are just so resistant to change and when they were learning how to use a computer in the 90s the user experience could be really grating. It seems like they just latched onto what worked and refused to let go.