Christmas is upon us, which means many of us will be headed back to our older relatives homes for a visit, right?
Now, perhaps your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or loved ones have their finger on the pulse when it comes to the internet, gadgets & mobiles. In which case, this article might be a bit irrelevant to you, my friend. This is for folks who've got parents or relatives like mine: they're desperately behind the times when it comes to everything tech. My mum still considers her bloody Motorola Razr flip phone, circa 2003, to be the height of fashion! My mothers house is a land where Windows XP, Internet Explorer 6 and sometimes even VHS players are still regularly used. Personally, I think it's our duty as loving daughters & sons bring our family into 2012 with a bang, don't you?!
With that, I give you, my top 5 techie ways to help your loved ones this Christmas!
1) Upgrade Their Operating System & Browser!
For the love of god, people, this is a big one! Web designers the world over will be queuing up at your door to kiss you on the mouth if you follow through with this one.
First, check to see if their system if capable of running a newer operating system, and if it is, either download it or get them to buy it. Friends don't let friends run outdated versions of Windows. Same goes for Mac users! Once you've made sure they've got the best OS, then make sure they've got a good browser. Chrome, Firefox or Safari are best. Outdated versions of Internet Explorer won't display most websites correctly anymore, and some web designers disregard support for them completely.
2) Aggregate all of Their Email into One Inbox!
Does your loved one, for whatever reason, have multiple email accounts? Do you wonder why they've got AOL, Hotmail, their work email & Gmail all open in different tabs?
This may seem like the tiniest of tasks, but there are a ton of people out there who don't know how to forward email. It's as simple as clicking a button, but it'll make your loved ones email a whole lot easier to wrangle.
3) Get 'em a Smartphone!
Maybe your mum's addicted to her Blackberry, or maybe Grandpa's got an iPhone, but personally, most of my relatives are still living in the early noughties with their uber-basic mobile phones. I'll often get the old “I don't need anything fancy!” response, but this year, I'm insisting.
In 2011, we're lucky enough to live in age where smartphones can seriously enrich our lives, and make everyday tasks just a little bit more convenient. It's more affordable than ever to get a basic smartphone, too. Your loved one might be eligible for a free upgrade on their current contract, or perhaps you've got an older one lying around?
Show them the basics first: email, Google Maps, & social networking. Once he or she is comfortable with that, then they've got an endless list of other apps and experiences at their finger tips! I guarantee you that a month from now, they'll wonder how they ever lived without it.
4) Clean up Their Computer!
My mother's computer desktop looks like her closet does: insane. Bring a little zen organization to Mum & Dad's computer by getting rid of the unnecessary files & organising the rest. Help them determine a simple maintenance routine as well. Not only will the hard drive be happy about the little spring cleaning, but now your loved one won't have to spend 20 minutes of your time trying find that hilarious picture of your Uncle Joe on holiday. Hurrah!
5) Simplify Everything
If there is something else that you think will simplify or add to your loved ones life, then show them! Walk them through it. Whether it be cloud storage, Google's calendar app, LinkedIn, Netflix, LoveFilm or something as obvious as Skype video-calling, take the time to introduce these things to them.
It's important not to overwhelm people, so make sure that you're walking him or her through any changes you're making and how it'll improve their experience. Remember not to bombard your loved with with all the changes at once. Be patient! Giving the gift of a little techie one-on-one time this Christmas might just be the best thing they get this decade.
Image via Easterbilby's Flickr