- Joined
- Aug 30, 2009
- Messages
- 156
- Reaction score
- 12
- Points
- 18
- Location
- Anchorage, AK
- Your Mac's Specs
- 15" MacBook Pro (Late-2011), 2.4 GHz Core i7, 8GB RAM, 750GB HDD
I decided right around June of last year that I would try to get my parents to make the move to the Mac, but I wasn't going to just jump in full throttle. I need to preface this story by stating that while my mom uses PCs at work (albeit old ones still running Windows 98 or XP), my stepfather has never liked computers at all, and the only reason he would use the windows laptop they own is because I put a desktop pic of Dale Earnhardt on it. My parents are both reluctant to move to new stuff, so I had to think of a way to ease them into the Mac ecosystem. When the iPhone 4S was announced last summer, I saw an opportunity thanks to ATT not putting me on contract when I bought my iPhone 4 last March.
Knowing that I was going to be upgrading to the 4S when it was released, I started letting my parents use my iPhone when I went over to their house. My mom had already seen them at work, so she was interested in the phone, although she wasn't keen on paying $200 to get one on contract. My stepfather, who absolutely despises the windows laptop was able to start using it completely on his own after I spent less than 5 minutes showing him some basics. His ability to learn his way around the phone set the stage for the last part of my plan.
When I got my iPhone 4S, I gave the iPhone 4 to my mom, who then switched over to it from her "feature phone" - aka cheap phone - and started using it right away. I made sure to show her how to sync it to iTunes and also purchase apps/music that she was interested in. around this time my mom was thinking about getting an eReader for my stepfather. Knowing how he liked iOS, I started steering her towards an iPad 2 instead. I explained that while an eReader is good at just books, the iPad would be used more. So we bought him an iPad 2 for Christmas.
Given my stepfather's predisposition against new electronics, I thought that he might be a little resistant to the iPad at first, but would gradually warm up to the idea. Instead, he immediately took to it like a duck to water and literally fell in love with the unit. He has gone from only using the laptop when he must to using the iPad every chance he gets. In fact, he has bragged to several people that he got an iPad for Christmas.
Now that my mom is using her iPhone and my stepfather is using (and enjoying) his iPad, they are planning to make the switch from their Windows machine to a Mac. While they have not decided which model to buy, the fact that they are seriously considering a Mac is a major accomplishment. I have also let them use my MBP on occasion, so they are already familiar with the basics of the OS. My stepfather is especially fond of the touchpad gestures, as he hates to use a mouse and traditional trackpads are "too limiting" for him.
Knowing that I was going to be upgrading to the 4S when it was released, I started letting my parents use my iPhone when I went over to their house. My mom had already seen them at work, so she was interested in the phone, although she wasn't keen on paying $200 to get one on contract. My stepfather, who absolutely despises the windows laptop was able to start using it completely on his own after I spent less than 5 minutes showing him some basics. His ability to learn his way around the phone set the stage for the last part of my plan.
When I got my iPhone 4S, I gave the iPhone 4 to my mom, who then switched over to it from her "feature phone" - aka cheap phone - and started using it right away. I made sure to show her how to sync it to iTunes and also purchase apps/music that she was interested in. around this time my mom was thinking about getting an eReader for my stepfather. Knowing how he liked iOS, I started steering her towards an iPad 2 instead. I explained that while an eReader is good at just books, the iPad would be used more. So we bought him an iPad 2 for Christmas.
Given my stepfather's predisposition against new electronics, I thought that he might be a little resistant to the iPad at first, but would gradually warm up to the idea. Instead, he immediately took to it like a duck to water and literally fell in love with the unit. He has gone from only using the laptop when he must to using the iPad every chance he gets. In fact, he has bragged to several people that he got an iPad for Christmas.
Now that my mom is using her iPhone and my stepfather is using (and enjoying) his iPad, they are planning to make the switch from their Windows machine to a Mac. While they have not decided which model to buy, the fact that they are seriously considering a Mac is a major accomplishment. I have also let them use my MBP on occasion, so they are already familiar with the basics of the OS. My stepfather is especially fond of the touchpad gestures, as he hates to use a mouse and traditional trackpads are "too limiting" for him.
