| My father just turned 90, and my mother is 85. They both have Macs, as well as iPhones. No landline phones at all. They've had a Mac since around 1990 when I gave them my old Mac 128 that I'd upgraded to 512. They LOVE the Internet. This morning I helped my dad install an antenna for a HAM radio, and he needed to terminate some coax cables, so found a YouTube video on how to do it. We watched it together and then did the cable. My mom's an avid old time fiddling (violin but not classical) musician, and likes to find videos, recordings, and music online. Also a lot of things about knitting, plus finding podcasts to listen to. That said, I worry about them. My father specifically. He's starting to have cognitive problems, and his long standing (and good in the past) habit of installing and trying things is starting to hurt his experience and his computer. First, I keep finding extensions in Safari that are injecting ads into his web browsing - not sure where they come from. Then the other day we found out Chrome and Firefox was completely uninstalled, and Chromium was installed. My guess is he downloaded some "bundle" that had it. Then when his computer started getting slow, he found some "speed up your computer" thing for just $70 - that ended up being Linux on a thumb drive, and the idea was you boot from it, and your computer is now "faster". I tossed it before he ever tried it. So right now, I'm thinking of installing a limited (can't install things) account for him on his Mac. Or turn on child protection settings. So basically, his curiosity that's had him using a Mac since 1990 is his very downfall with the computer now that he's having cognitive decline. Ironic in a way. Honestly it would be nice if someone like MS or Apple would make an "Elderly Parent" mode to go along with Child Mode. Similar idea, but different needs. |
(I know it's not the same as a Mac, even if you try hard, which nobody should. However, the very things that make iOS more secure for some users are what sets it apart from macOS, making it less flexible but more resilient.)