Got My Dad to Switch!

[SLCentral]

Well, he's been using Windows since the Apple II he had broke way back when, and as of last Monday, he's maccy :). I convinced him to get an Apple laptop for his desktop replacement after both his desktop PC and his Dell laptop completely broke (strangely, within two days of eachother).

We decided on the low-end iBook, since we're a bit tight on money, but I got extra RAM (third-party, of course), to make it a total of 768MB. He loves it, and I was afraid the screen was going to be a bit too small for his eyes (He's 62 now), he says its perfect. Most of the time the system is connected to his 21" CRT, and his external keyboard and mouse.

We've also managed to get rid of cable clutter. Before, we didn't know what we were going to do about the lack of more then two USB ports on the iBook (he needs one for a printer, Palm, keyboard/mouse, and digital camera), so we got one USB hub and put it on the ground, therefore there are only three cables going up to the desk, the single USB cable, the VGA cable, and the speaker cable. Of course, there's the power cable but thats a given.

He's managed to learn OS X pretty well, except he's still confused about the whole Apple-Q to quit, and not by pressing the little red button. Oh, damn Windows!

He's finally gotten rid of all his PC's, as we've adapted all his applications to work on the Mac. Albeit, we did need to install Virtual PC for Microsoft Money, but thats just a minor setback!

Bottom-line, we have a new member of the Mac family, and he loves it :).

[munkle]

I got my Dad to switch too...be prepared for a constant barrage of questions and having to repeat yourself over and over again! My Dad loves his iMac now and the phone calls have changed to him bragging about what he's just done! :p

[iGary]

My dad was very intrigued when I had to have my office ship me my G5 iMac on vacation (an emergency deadline), and he really likes my iBook.

Haven't started to push yet, but I will. :)

[leekohler]

I got my Dad to switch too...be prepared for a constant barrage of questions and having to repeat yourself over and over again! My Dad loves his iMac now and the phone calls have changed to him bragging about what he's just done! :p

Ha-ha! I just got another friend to switch this past week. I spent an evening at his house helping him set up his new iBook. The cool thing is-he didn't need too much help at all. Not too many questions-as soon as he'd ask one he'd answer it. He was amazed at how easy everything was! And I got the typical, "I'll never own a PC again". This is the third switcher in my group of friends. :)

[stubeeef]

cool, cool, cool!

[sethwerkheiser]

yup. I got my parents to switch after they couldn't find a decent place to buy an HP (ack!). OfficeMax for a computer? No thanks. Sooo they bought an eMac. Then my sister got one. And now two of my dads co-workers have bought Macs (a Powerbook and Mac Mini)! So with including my "circle of friends" I'd say almost 10 have switched or will be switching after they get their tax refund checks... hehe...

[Italiano]

Since Apple refuses to advertise their computers we are the best advertising... they do advertise their Ipods but at 52 I could care less about them - my friends are the same way - the only way to attract the Over 50 crowd to Macs is ADVERTISING Apple!

[virividox]

congrats among my family its only my mom and sister who i got to switch, my dad is still using widnows, cuz the office gave him a pc

[tfh1013]

In the Hot News section of the Apple website, it says apple is looking for switcher stories like these... Anyway, I got a whole family to switch. They have had so many problems with bad pop-ups, and browser hijacking... They are soon to get an iMac, Powerbook, and an iBook (or 2). :D

[russed]

thats cool, the more converts the better! i have just persuaded my parents to get a mac mini so i will be ordering that in the next few days! i cant wait!!!

[kretzy]

Well done!

As soon as i get my powerbook i'll begin converting the rest of my family and eventually move onto friends and anyone else who is sick of PC's!

[h0e0h]

I've won my mom over... and i'm working on my brother. My dad, on the other hand, will probably never switch. "those aren't computers... they don't have solitare". That made me and mom mad so i put an apple sticker on his truck and coincidentally he decided to trade it in for a new one 2 days later...

[munkle]

My dad, on the other hand, will probably never switch. "those aren't computers... they don't have solitare". .

One of the first things I did for my Dad was download Solitaire XL (http://lavacat.com/) for him! ;) :p

[ravenvii]

One of the first things I did for my Dad was download Solitaire XL (http://lavacat.com/) for him! ;) :p

Wow. I've been using MacSolitaire, but that one is so sweet! So much better looking. And you can put any image as a card back! Nice!

[Ryan1524]

yep, my dad is now a full-time user of an iBook G4 as well. so far i haven't been getting even a fraction of the complains compared to when he was on his PC notebook. :p

[mad jew]

Glad to hear you showed your Dad what computers are REALLY capable of.

I reckon my Dad's one of the biggest Mac advocates in the world! He's an old-school fan from pre OS 6 days which is pretty cool IMO. My brother got a PC for gaming and Dad had one of the most disappointing looks on his face I've ever seen.

[krollster]

My Dad's about to switch back (again). He's been waiting years for the old PC to pack it in so he could justify the purchase, and it looks like the Mac Mini is just the machine to push him over the edge. I just hope it works with his existing PC monitor (Sony E200 17-inch CRT) or all the good work Apple have done over the years will be wasted. Incidentally, any switchers using that hardware combo?

[SLCentral]

Yeah, he's been asking questions (the same questions, at that) continuously about the Mac, but its alright, as long as I don't have to deal with formatting his PC every month because of some new problem.

[BigDogg]

I have also talked to my dad about Macs. He is now saying that he will get one when Tiger is released.
:eek:

[Ryan1524]

i showed my dad the Tiger videos yesterday, and he likes it. i'm so glad my dad is not a dummy in technology. he embraces these sort of things and KNOWS how to use a computer - except when it does something weird like windows. :p

on top of this, i've convinced over 3 people to get macs, two powerbooks, and an iMac G5. one of them i helped guide through the entire purchase process. woohoo! and on campus, everybody who's ever been to my dorm has complimented my powerbook, and a bunch of people, including my roommate has sworn they're getting a mac next time. :D