mom's computer

[low_delta]

I was over at my mom's on Monday, helping her with her computer. She was annoyed because she lost her homepage (Google). And also because her browser was different - and annoying. Turns out she was running Chrome, and it's obnoxious Ask Toolbar, and its annoying default menus/toolbars/etc. So I uninstalled Chrome. Then some toolbars. It wouldn't let me uninstall the Ask Toolbar Updater. Bastards.

When I was done with the uninstallations, I found that IE wasn't working right. I must have deleted one toolbar too many. If she clicked on a link in e-mail, it would open up a new Window of IE to her homepage. Not the page that the link intended. Just her homepage. Grr. I messed around for a while, but couldn't figure anything out.

I went back tonight. I started out with a Google search, but couldn't find much. That is a tough search. Most of them deal with links that just plain don't work. The closest I could get was links that open up blank pages. All of the solutions there dealt with reinstalling IE and/or somethingsomething the registry, or things that made even less sense to me.

I was trying to read through all this and make sense of it, when my mom got home. She came in and sat down to talk. Every time she started talking, I let go of the mouse and turned towards her. After she was done, I'd get about two sentences in before she started the next topic of discussion. After a while I decided I'd ignore her completely. This didn't stop her. Then she mentioned that she wanted me to help her with her DVR. I just told her it was the Program button she needed to press. That kept her occupied long enough for me to install Firefox.

Comments

[mummm.livejournal.com]

I would say that she is lonely.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'm sure she wanted to talk, but I had just been over there a couple of days before. It just seemed like she felt the need to keep me company while I was there, and since I wasn't talking, she had to think of all the converstaion. Sometimes I'll talk while I'm puttering on her computer, but this time it required concentration.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

A couple of days before? You are her son. I still detect "lonely".

Why didn't you just say "I need some quiet time to fix this mom" or something instead of being annoyed?

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Because I'm her son and she's lonely?

[mellary4.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Sounds really frustrating. I really dislike Chrome and IE. And I hate all those toolbars! Especially the sneaky ones that won't go away.

[rivendweller.livejournal.com]

My son does that stuff for a living. He has it down to a science. The best part is that he knows when to give up.

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

Good to know I've never gotten into Chrome.

mda's mom would never stop talking. It meant it was easy to be the "good" pseudo-DIL, because I'd ask her a question and she would talk for 20 minutes. But I had to let go of the thought that I would do anything I *had* to do.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Chrome is fine if you know how to keep it in its place. I saw that one of our IT managers had it on his ocmputer, and I thought that he should know better. Then I realized he probably has the know-how to keep it customized properly.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

How frustrating!
It sounds like your mom really had a need to talk...

you were a good son.
:)

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Not that good, if part of my tactic included ignoring her. ;-)

I'm sure she wanted to talk, but I had just been over there a couple of days before. It just seemed like she felt the need to keep me company while I was there, and since I wasn't talking, she had to think of all the converstaion. Sometimes I'll talk while I'm puttering on her computer, but this time it required concentration.

[roadskoller.livejournal.com]

I went through that whole Chrome debacle myself. What I did? deleted everything and started out like brand new.
It didn't get rid of the Ask Toolbar either, but finally the computer just plain died and I got a new computer.
And I hate to admit this, but when Stan's trying to get his log book done or calculating other math sorts of things, I suddenly think of things I need to talk about.
I need to check that.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Her computer is too new to hope for a new one.

[sirreal13.livejournal.com]

Firefox solved most of our browsing traumas. IE couldn't animate the Doppler weather anymore with our satellite Internet connection, but Firefox even worked before we upgraded to Exede.