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badidea
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Hamburg
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Nov 12, 2007, 09:05 AM
 
A while ago my mom was ready for a new computer because her PC notebook was way too slow and too old.
Since she always used to call me for support I made her buy a MacBook.
She's 59 years old.

About half a year later I also convinced my father to replace his 10+ year old Win95 PC with a MacBook - he loves it!
He's 67 years old.

And now a friend of my father also wants me to get him a MacBook.
He's 83 years old.


How old is the oldest Mac user you know?
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dcmacdaddy
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Nov 12, 2007, 11:09 AM
 
87.

He is my best friend's grandfather. Grandad has sleeping problems so he messes around on the computers at night time. I gave him an old iMac G3/400MHz which, while terminally slow for me, suits him just fine. He browses the web doing genealogy research, puts the data into Reunion (Mac genealogy software), and does some image scanning. I am trying to get him to upgrade to an eMac G4/1.0GHz that I have but he is oddly resistant, saying it would be too fast for him.

He also has a low-low-end Dell PC given to him by his son-in-law but he hardly ever uses that except to run a typing program. I am going to visit around Thanksgiving so I might just take him the eMac and make him upgrade. I know he'll appreciate the bigger screen and faster processing speed once he gets his hands on it; It's always the "change" part that is tough for him. And at 87 years old, who can blame him.


PS: My dad is 70 and a cautious PC user. My Mom is 69 and a fearless Mac and PC user. My Mom never touched a computer until about 12 years ago whereas my Dad oversaw the first deployment of desktop PCs to the government agency he worked at before retiring. I never expected it would be my Mom to always call me with the "How do I do this?" questions; She is WAY more "adventurous" than my Dad when it comes to computer usage. He is afraid of it.
One should never stop striving for clarity of thought and precision of expression.
I would prefer my humanity sullied with the tarnish of science rather than the gloss of religion.
     
Railroader
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Nov 12, 2007, 04:38 PM
 
I saw a VERY eldery person (probably 80+) have a beyond-middle-age person (probably 50+) carry their bondi iMac into an Apple Store for them today. i hope it was for a new recycling program that has started.
     
Faust
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Nov 12, 2007, 04:41 PM
 
I don't know many Mac users. My mother is going to get a Mac next month though. She is 60 and loves my Macs and can better handle those than she could my previous PCs. She finds them easier and more convenient to use.
     
kc311v2
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Nov 12, 2007, 04:48 PM
 
Back in July 2001 before my grandfather passed, he was an avid Mac User (LC Performa) and he was 93.
     
imitchellg5
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Nov 12, 2007, 08:46 PM
 
I saw a probably 80 year old lady take in a MacBook Pro to the Genius Bar last time I was at the Apple Store. I've also seen a guy in his 70's leave an Apple Store followed by an employee carting a Power Mac G5 and 30" Cinema Display (back when G5's were the best, ha ha).
     
smacintush
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Nov 12, 2007, 09:18 PM
 
My mother's parents-in-law are both on there early 80's.

Of course they only use a Mac because their son bought it for them, I don't think they really care one way or the other.
Being in debt and celebrating a lower deficit is like being on a diet and celebrating the fact you gained two pounds this week instead of five.
     
Person Man
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Nov 12, 2007, 09:24 PM
 
I had a friend in high school whose 95 year old great grandfather was a Mac user. He would have absolutely loved OS X.
     
Sage
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Nov 12, 2007, 09:42 PM
 
My 67 year-old dad won’t take the age award, but he primarily uses his iMac G5 for Photoshop (he’s a graphics designer), which I think is pretty impressive for his age (and he’s really really really good with it).
     
ghporter
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Nov 12, 2007, 09:58 PM
 
Probably my dad, at 75, but only when his current PC craps out. In other words, I'm working on switching him. No more of this "I had to spend time talking to tech support to get X working, so I didn't get to..." for him!

By the way, with these "aged" folks using Macs, or computers in general, when did your "oldest Mac user" start using computers at all? For my dad it was about 6 or 7 years ago. He took an "adult education" course to get up to speed, and wound up helping the instructor. That's my dad for you.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Sherman Homan
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Nov 12, 2007, 10:44 PM
 
There are pre-teens who can have 9 IM sessions going at once (OMG!) who know nothing about DHCP. On the other hand there are great-grandmothers who can zip iPhoto pictures to sneak under the 15 meg file size limit their ISP requires.
Age ain't got nothing to do with it!
     
badidea  (op)
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Nov 13, 2007, 04:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
By the way, with these "aged" folks using Macs, or computers in general, when did your "oldest Mac user" start using computers at all?
Good question!
This will be the first computer for my father's 83 year old friend!
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MacosNerd
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Nov 13, 2007, 01:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by Railroader View Post
I saw a VERY eldery person (probably 80+) have a beyond-middle-age person (probably 50+) carry their bondi iMac into an Apple Store for them today. i hope it was for a new recycling program that has started.
The Mac or the old person
     
olePigeon
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Nov 13, 2007, 02:21 PM
 
Originally Posted by MacosNerd View Post
The Mac or the old person
The Mac is a lie!
"…I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than
you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods,
you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
     
Nivag
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:42 PM
 
My dad is 93 and is on his third Mac since buying a G3/233 when they got released.
     
Mithras
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Nov 13, 2007, 08:31 PM
 
Where's KarlG? jk
     
zipperzap
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Nov 13, 2007, 08:58 PM
 
I am, at 62.

'Been a user' since 1978 or 1979.
Scott
     
OldManMac
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Nov 13, 2007, 09:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by Mithras View Post
Where's KarlG? jk
I'm still kicking, and I've sold plenty of Macs to people in their 80s recently.
Why is there always money for war, but none for education?
     
Shaddim
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Nov 14, 2007, 02:56 AM
 
I have a 91 y/o neighbor who buys a new Mac every 3-4 years, he says it keeps him young. Every time he does, I go and help him migrate his data and he pays me in pipe tobacco. Currently he's using a 2 y/o 20" iMac.

He's a really cool guy, uses it mainly for organizing his pipe collection, genealogy, and surfing for porn.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
badidea  (op)
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Nov 14, 2007, 03:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by Shaddim View Post
I have a 91 y/o neighbor ........ and surfing for porn.
So all his pipes are still working? Good to hear!

Makes me wonder what I will do with "computers" when I'm 90 years old...

My father doesn't know very much about his MacBook but he sure knows how to delete Safari's history.
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