slothrop

futurebird , 4 months ago to random

Are there therapists who specialize in helping children who are stressed out giving tech support to their parents?

My mom is a mathematician. She can program w/ punch cards. But, she & Dad just don't keep up with tech anymore. Drives me nuts.

Gave my dad an iPhone for Christmas. They HATE it. Probably would hate any phone. Now they say it's recording their conversations.🙄

Dad holds down the buttons on the side when he picks it up. Activates the voice assistant... they think it's a hacker.

slothrop , 4 months ago

@futurebird I know this isn´t any help, but my wife and I are in the same predicament with her parents.

We gave them iPhones in the hope that this would make it easier to help them with tech stuff, just walking them through it all. Turns out that both of them really missed out on careers in software QA. I hadn´t realize there were so many ways to do things wrong on an iPhone. 🙄

My father, on the other hand, just flat-out refuses to get a smartphone. It's probably for the better.

slothrop , 4 months ago

@futurebird In fairness, both Google and Apple are doing an absolutely terrible job of keeping user interfaces and workflows constant.

Slight changes to established workflows drive even me to distraction, and I consider myself a tech person.

But our parents, who never signed up for this bullshit, end up unable to perform everyday tasks after an update, just because a 20-something UX designer in California felt like "innovating".

slothrop , 4 months ago

@futurebird @kritischelezer This, and keeps the interface looking like it did at a time of the admin's choosing (default: time of activation), regardless what updates transpire beneath the surface.

futurebird , 5 months ago to random

I’m really getting in to these comically small thermoses! I didn’t expect them to really keep my little sip of tea hot — but it works surprisingly well. I love to have a hot drink but I can never drink it all and normal vacuum sealed bottles are so awkward and bulky in my bag… Anyone else enjoying this new trend?

This is the perfect way to make a rainy cold bus stop into a pleasant experience. Today’s tea is “liu an” since I’m a little hoarse from teaching.

slothrop , 5 months ago

@futurebird I’ve had a 500ml thermos for a few years now. It’s great!

I mostly use it to get my coffee fix when traveling for work.