Tech tips for Mother's DayAnswered May 12, 2012In honor of Mother's Day, this would be a good day to make sure you're returning some of the favors Mom has shown to you over the years. Most of us learned much from our parents, because age and wisdom give a person a big advantage in terms of life experience. But many moms and grandmothers could stand to learn a lot from their offspring about technology. First and foremost, does your mom have a working computer? Does she know about some of the essential steps to good computer housekeeping -- like running a backup regularly, and browsing from a limited-access account? Is her computer protected by a good antivirus program? If the answer is "no", or if you don't know for sure, who would be better to help her out than you? Second, does your mother know some of the basic rules for online safety? Does she know better than to use 1-2-3-4-5 as her password? Is she careful about what personal information she shares on sites like Facebook? Does she know about e-mail scams like the Nigerian bank fraud? If you're not helping her learn about ways to stay safe on the Internet, who is? Finally, have you shared your knowledge about something new that could make her life easier or more interesting? Would she be excited to have a digital picture frame rotating through hundreds of family photos? Could she be getting more out of her phone by learning to text or download music? Are there exciting ideas on sites like Pinterest that could be enriching her life? Who knows better than you about what might make Mom happy, and who would be better to introduce her to something new? |