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Dr. Slack

Wed Aug 07 2013, 10:36AM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

A big ask here guys, but here goes ...

My mother is 80, and wants to get 'onto the net'. She's pretty sharp, boss of her lunch club trivia quizzes, can enter stuff in a spreadsheet, but has difficulty navigating the retune menu for her digital TV if it changes. So, I think I'm going to be in for some heavy duty IT support, both of the browser / OS infrastructure, and navigation each new different website. We live 2 hours apart, so it's going to be mostly remote support.

Her initial requirement is to be able to get the news and weather, buy train tickets, and watch catch-up TV. She sounds excited at the idea of wikipedia, skype, and forums. As she's smart, she's all 'how hard can it be?', and is going to get impatient if I don't come up with the goods shortly. Maybe I've got a month, before she begins to accuse me of stalling. In that case, she'll probably huff off to PCs'R'us and buy the first thing she's been sold (and that will be win8), and then I've got a support role with hardware/software not of my choice.

I've stayed on XP at home, and I use it at work as well, so I'm fairly familiar with that environment, but I'm not a computer or network expert. I've dipped my toe into the linux waters from time to time, but I get totally confused by the answers if I ask our open source gurus at work for advice. I either need to get chest-deep into it, or stay the heck away.

My first thought was 'can you get a browser and catch-up TV in a box?'. The answer was apparently yes, a smart set-top box or smart TV. Reading the reviews, a lot say the software just isn't robust yet, browsers crashing, root vulnerabilities exposed etc etc. That sounds less supportable than a straight computer. It will need a large display, as her eyes are not so good.

Should I just go to a shop and get a small win8 machine and big display, and beat on it until it works? I think the accessibility features ought to give me larger text for the visually challenged.

As the XP to win8 transition will be a learning curve for me, maybe it's the right time to knuckle down and learn linux. What consensus I can get from work is that Debian Mint is flavour of the month. I presume that if I beat on that long enough, it'll work. Where do I find out what hardware is support by what distros? My main bugbear with linux is the documentation. It seems as though I have to know an awful lot, just by osmosis, before I can understand what the heck the guys at work, or the forums, or what docs I can find, are telling me. On the one hand, learning new stuff against the clock isn't necessarily the lowest stress way to do it, but OTOH, learning in a vacuum doesn't work, having a real application to mastr is usually the way to get things done.

Remote support. If I install, say, tightVNC server on her machine, and client on mine, is that it? How does a connection get established, I presume P2P? Do I need her to have a static IP address for me to find it? She will be with BT broadband. I assume there should be no problem putting a shortcut on her machine to discover it. Firewall settings, win8 or linux make a difference here? Would setting it up on my local network (192.168.0.x) tell me anything about setting it up across the net? I have seen mention of paid remote support, which sounds like it operates through a third party website, with both ends calling in.

Having never experienced linux at the command line, I'm nervous about committing the security sins of not managing root access properly if I access stuff only from the GUI, or wizzards. As far as windoze goes, I assume that if I set up multiple users with different rights, being logged in as a user provides a degree of protection, in addition to the obvious AV and firewall, but that's only a belief. What are the 'must-dos' for setting up an installation, so that I can access it or even administer it remotely but not the bad guys, whether windows or linux?

Any recommendations, or experiences, gratefully received and considered.

I'm just about to camp for a few days at a music festival. As I won't be back on here until Sunday afternoon, please don't take lack of my replies as lack of engagement.

Steve Conner

Wed Aug 07 2013, 10:45AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Android tablet or iPad, I think.

Both devices have apps for Skype and the major UK catch-up TV services like iPlayer, 4OD and so on, and come with decent web browsers, and are pretty easy and fun to use. You can always get yourself an identical unit using "support" as an excuse, and talk through any problems on the phone.

I am no expert on accessibility, but I believe both iOS and Android allow you to bump up the size of the on-screen fonts.

Getting VNC to work over a broadband connection is not for the faint of heart. Most ISPs will not give you a static IP, or will charge you extra for it, so you may need to sign your mum up to a dynamic DNS service like no-ip.org, and configure her router's firewall to forward port 5900 or whatever the port for VNC is. Then you need to make sure it is secure.

I've run a Linux server from home using this method, and it always worked for me on BT Broadband, Be Internet and lately BT Infinity.

Dr. Slack

Wed Aug 07 2013, 11:09AM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

Steve Conner wrote ...

so you may need to sign your mum up to a dynamic DNS service like no-ip.org, and configure her router's firewall to forward port 5900 or whatever the port for VNC is. Then you need to make sure it is secure.

That sounds like the bit I was missing.

Ash Small

Sun Aug 11 2013, 12:25PM

Registered Member #3414 Joined: Sun Nov 14 2010, 05:05PM
Location: UK
Posts: 4245

I'm no expert on this stuff, but here's a few ideas:

A 'new' smart TV can connect wirelessly to the router thingie, will do all the 'catch up tv' from the TV remote. Other apps are available for other internet services. Films, etc. can also be downloaded. (Samsung seem to be leading the way here, but the others aren't far behind)

Support for XP ends next year, there will be no more updates.

Steve has suggested an Android tablet, but would your mother prefer a conventional keyboard?

Dr. Slack

Sun Aug 11 2013, 08:38PM

Registered Member #72 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:29AM
Location: UK St. Albans
Posts: 1659

I think I've got it sussed. A few days to brew at a concert with brilliant weather (The Levellers, Alice Cooper, Edward II, Jasper Carrot, how eclectic is that?), plus a fairly mind-concentrating change of timescale over the weekend has more or less got it sorted, with all boxes ticked.

The change of timescale - my mother's treatment has switched to palliative, so I don't really have time to eff about. So ... I tidy up my XP desktop, get the albums onto DVD, get the pron off onto a stick, get the Python programmes and home organisation spreadsheets onto skydrive, nuke and rebuild, and that with the 22" display becomes her browser. We have 3 old laptops kicking around, one of them has to be revivable with Debian Mint, that'll be my new machine for a while, and I'm gunna have to learn. I'm on good terms with the neighbours, so can camp on their Wifi, to make sure I can get no-ip VNC going actually across the net, with everything on the same desk. So I'm supporting something I'm familiar with, learning Linux, without buying any new kit, and keeping my Mum happy.

XP support quits in a year? Given my Mum's prognosis, the chances are this support contract won't last longer than a year, and in the meantime, I've switched from the dark side.

My wife is still on XP, so if I really need to see exactly what my Mum can see, I can support from a login on hers.

Thanks for being a Teddy Bear

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