I have this same issue and I resolved it by making sure to convince
myself every time I wanted to buy something new. I just went through
the litany of finding out what it did, if I needed what it did, if the
money was worth it, do I have something else that will do what it does
already, etc. You could try making a list that your father must check
off before buying something and remind him its ok to look, but not
touch :) I still check prices, reviews, and eBay daily but rarely buy
anything. I'm not trying to make light of the situation either, I have
a good amount of debt now from it :) Really its just a matter of
finding some way to show him its worthless.
Another good thing is to find neat applications for him to play with. I
did that too, of course you run into apps that you need more power to
run, but at least you're buying with a purpose. Applications are a lot
cheaper and usually free.
Just a few things off the top of my head, hope they help.
-Mike
On Wednesday, June 15, 2005, at 12:34 PM, Brian wrote:
Not a technical problem, per say, but a problem none the less.
My father runs an iMac DV SE 400 mHz. Recently I upgraded it so now
he is running on 640 megs of RAM, 160 gig HD and OS X 10.4.1
His sues are simple: he uses safari for most of his email, and to
search eBay and uBid. Thus the problem. Recently, watching me and my
iBook G4 he decided to go a step further in his ebay searches and bid
on an iBook G4. Well, he won it. he was thrilled, and I was shocked,
but none the less I set everything up for him and his iBook is
completely up to date now as well. Once he got his iBook set up,
there it sat, for several weeks now since he got it. I have him on a
wirless network, so he can take it wherever he likes, but still it
sits. He also throws fits over the 12" screen, which I warned him
about repeatedly long before he even ever bid on it.
In his kitchen, taking up almost his entire kitchen table is a Compaq
laptop, which has been used on battery power maybe 3 times in the year
and a half since he got it, running Win XP. This too sits collecting
dust since it no longer sees it's wireless card, and is prone and
infested with viruses, spamware, malware etc etc etc, which I can not
fully root out.
Back in his computer room, there is also a powermac 7100/66 which has
not been powered on for over 2 years.
The reason I post? well, he's gotten really hardcore with his ebay
and ubid searches lately, constantly barraging me with various macs,
asking my opinion on their prices, specs, etc. The man is on a
limited income, but has become obsessed with online buying, and I
think he's looking to get a powermac G5, or something else expensive.
Things have gotten out of hand, he doesn't even turn on these
computers anymore, doesn't find a use for them, doesn't take care of
them (when I say they collect dust I really mean they collect dust-
layers of it), yet he wants more and more, and I can't get him to > stop.
Anyone have experience with this/advice?
Brian
--
The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives
|
- Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale!
|
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml>
--> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
iPod Accessories for Less
at 1-800-iPOD.COM
Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal
www.1800ipod.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mike
www.mindaugas.us
Web hosting >> www.gearhost.com
--
The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives |
- Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml>
--> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]>
To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
iPod Accessories for Less
at 1-800-iPOD.COM
Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal
www.1800ipod.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
