I am the most "tech-savvy" person in my household. However, I have no training in computers and mostly rely on a mixture of intuition, reading the instruction manual, and turning devices off and on again. One of my sisters in particular constantly comes to me for help with her devices, and if I am unable to fix it, she has a strop, telling me I should stop calling myself a computer genius.
I never have called myself a computer genius, I just happen to be better at sorting than computers than her. I know my limits, and am happy to have a go at trying to sort the problem. All I expect in return is a little thanks, which I never get. If I can't fix it, I suggest she goes to the Apple store to fix it, to which all I get is grumbling and moaning.
A few weeks ago, my sister was complaining that her macbook was too slow. I suggested that she upgrade the RAM and operating system (which was about 3 editions behind). I helped her choose the appropriate RAM, and the operating system.
After we successfully installed everything, her (9 year old) Word processing software stopped working, because it was old software and incompatible with the new up to date operating system. She had a strop that she then had to buy a new version of Word. She believes I should have told her, however because I made this upgrade on my own computer three years ago, I had forgotten that it made certain old software incompatible. She believes I should have remembered. I think that it isn't my fault that Word stopped working, it is simply Apple's way of getting customers to buy more software and spend more money.
She then complained that several other programs were not working, although a simple restart solved the problem, and I think she should have been capable of doing this without my help.
Today, she came and demanded I fix the email on her iPhone, which wasn't sending/ receiving from her university account. I explained that the simplest solution was to delete and set up the email up again, even though her emails would temporarily disappear, they would return in a few hours. I borrowed her iPhone and was following the university's instructions to set up the account, but she kept telling me incorrect advice, making it difficult for me to concentrate. Eventually I set it up, having told her to shut up about three times so I could concentrate (it is far easier to read instructions without a computer-illiterate person constantly feeding incorrect advice into your ear).
I told her to wait a few hours to let it start working, and yet she came back within a few minutes complaining it wasn't working. Within a minute, it started working. If only she had been a little more patient.
I am sick and tired of her expecting me to fix her gadgets. I think she should just go the the Apple store next time, and then them deal with her moaning. They are also qualified professionals and would probably do a far better job than me. I realise this would be expensive, time-consuming and inconvenient for her (it is really hard to get an appointment with an Apple genius) but I am sick and tired of constantly being told I have to fix her gadgets, with no appreciation from her.
AIBU?