To wonder why we couldn't borrow PILs laptop

[Pinkpanthershow]

Our laptop has stopped working and DH needed to send a job application so he asked to borrow his parents laptop. They were going on holiday and wouldn't need it for a week so thought it would be ok. However they ended up saying no as there may be personal stuff on it and we shouldn't see their dirty washing!
I am slightly at a loss as to what would be on it. They are both retired and it's not work stuff. Our laptop has nothing on it we would need to hide from them (although I would log out of mumsnet first!). It just seems odd, although it is up to them to not let us borrow it.

I am wondering if other people would not let their family use their laptop? They have a key to our house, and we have never worried about them prying into anything private. We are also not particularly good at IT and we wouldn't have looked for anything private on their laptop anyway.

We will buy a new one anyway, it was just a temporary fix.

I don't have anything dodgy on any of my computers / tablets / laptops but I wouldn't lend them to anyone either.
They're all set up how I like them with shortcuts and icons etc where I know where they are, there are my emails (personal and business) along with accounts, correspondence and other stuff. N
ot that anyone else would be that interested but I'd be more concerned about people mucking things up as it's all set up just how I like it.

There are some people who think that all stuff, especially stuff belonging to parents, should be shared without quibble

Well, I don't. I just don't think it was unreasonable to ask for use of a laptop when its owner wasn't going to need it for a week.

And maybe I'm jumping to prejudiced conclusions, but I'd hazard a guess that none of the involved parties here would either particularly want to get into other users' private settings, or know how to.

manin, but with multiple users no one CAN see, let alone muck up, any of your settings. Essentially every user who logs in differently sees and uses a different computer.

but with multiple users no one CAN see, let alone muck up, any of your settings.

What do you think are the chances of someone who isn't terribly IT literate's elderly parents having (a) set this up or (b) trusting it to work properly?

namechange, I'm not sure from your phrasing whether you think it's unlikely the OP can't set this up, or the OP's parents.

But it's not hard. I'm not all that computer-literate and can do it.

I'd say it's financial stuff. I wouldn't want people having access to my budget or spreadsheets either because I'm embarrassed about how bad we are with money.

I get twitchy when my Dad grabs my laptop to look at boring geeky things like my operating system or email client and stuff, there's not even any porn on it! Its a bit silly really but you can find out loads about a person by what is on their laptop. My internet searches are embarrassing. Sometimes I"ll be watching some crap TV show and I'll google some rare medical disorder to educate myself on it, my mum would have a fit and assume I was dying. I have a spreadsheet that records changes in my body composition too. Aint nobody need to know my fat percentage. And other daft things.

Once he did see that I had an Andre Boccelli song in my iTunes. I nearly died of embarrassment even though I had got it for my son to listen to because he had to learn it for school. So I told him that and it sounded like the lady doth protest too much and now he thinks I secretly like Andre Boccelli

My Dad is a nosy fecker. I'm visiting him soon, and I have a new Mac, which he will be very interested in to poke about on and criticise, no doubt, because he hates all Apple products. I'm going to lock it and when he asks for the password tell him to feck off!

I'm not sure from your phrasing whether you think it's unlikely the OP can't set this up, or the OP's parents.

The parents are unlikely to have done so already. Why should they do so now? They don't want to lend out their computer. That's their prerogative.

I'm not all that computer-literate and can do it.

Good for you. But the OP's relatives don't need to, because they don't want to lend out their laptop anyway.

'Good for you.'

That's a bit snarky.

My DH once borrowed his sisters laptop just to check his emails while we were at her house. He saw a folder titled "nude" and asked her about it.... she sprinted across the room and literally threw herself over the laptop.

I doubt she ever leant out her laptop again (or gave folders with personal stuff in such an eye catching name).

Swinging, innit?

DD lent my laptop to her friend to check emails. After much harrumphing, there is now a guest account with the permissions screwed down. Grr.

Surely if you lend someone your laptop, you don't let them in on your account, you just make a Guest account? (I'm not at all tech-savvy, so could be wrong.)

if it were me and someone asked it would depend on what he wanted to do. If your DH simply wanted to use the laptop at their house, write the application and email it straight away, no problem. If he wanted to take it away, no chance.

Yes, exactly, Judge. That's the easiest way to prevent snooping.

Shakespeare got it right. 'Never a borrower or lender be!'

And the next two lines nail why, too:

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.