[rikur_]

I suspect this will also depend upon how much you (or someone) simplifies the configuration of the laptop.

I've just done a new laptop for my father, who is adequately IT literate, having retired in the era of Windows 3.1, but still needs simplicity...

I went with a 15" Lenovo Windows 10 laptop

I then did:
- create myself as an Admin on the laptop, and him as a User (therefore he can do less damage by accidentally trying to do things);
- remove all software from the start menu that he won't use;
- removed bloatware entirely;
- rearranged the start menu and task bar with the things he should use;
- install remote control software so that I can remotely take control (to fix, and to demo);
- configure so that his gmail account contacts/mail/calendar all sync to the PC;
- configure Onedrive to back-up all his files; and create a 'My files' link on the desktop to open his Onedrive folder;
- set Windows update to fully automatic;

[MarkOlding]

My Mum is 81 and is a silver surfer using a standard iPad. As has been said it doesn't go wrong, is easy to use and can be set up with a keyboard.
I get the odd call about stuff but a simple "elderly persons" guide has now stopped most of the issues she was having.

[Chris Martyr]

My mother drives me nuts with her PC......she always seems to have something wrong with it.

FF really,,! Aren't you being a bit hard on yer poor old mum.
Don't forget that it's probably not a defect at all really , just to her.
My poor old mum passed away recently at 89. The word 'computer' to her was synonymous with Mr Charles Babbage.
If I reach 89 yrs old , then the only "i-pad" I'll be looking at is an Etch-a-Sketch.

[Colonel Panic]

I use TeamViewer to "support" my mother on her iMac all of the time; does it (or some other similar app) let you remotely help an iOS user?

[Flyingfemme]

My mother drives me nuts with her PC......she always seems to have something wrong with it.

FF really,,! Aren't you being a bit hard on yer poor old mum.
Don't forget that it's probably not a defect at all really , just to her.

I’m not known for my patience, or ability to explain technical stuff but she has had a pc for almost 20 years now. I think this is her 5th. Going from Win XP to Win 7 was totally traumatic for both of us and I ended up paying for a course of specialist lessons. None of it sinks in - she just doesn’t retain.
Every PC is set up, by me, to be as simple as possible. Remove all the bloatware and hide what she doesn’t need or use. What she does use has a large icon on the desktop. I bought her a personal email domain (her name is unusual and was available) so she is independant of isp.
She can’ t grasp the difference between isp and the hardware, so I get meaningless messages when something does go wrong. Her grandsons and the local geek now refuse to help........
Earlier this year I gave her my old iPad and she hasn’t managed to break it yet!

[ChrisRowland]

My dad kept going with a computer until about six months before he died at 89. He was OK with email and word processing, including attachments, but never got the hang of the internet because every web page was different. I set it up with auto virus updates but tried to avoid OS updates because of the UI changes.

Didn't use Team Viewer but was visiting every two or three weeks and would check it out and resolve any issues.

I think that UI designers, especially web designers, should spend some time with an elderly person. They would see that changing things, especially just for the sake of change, isn't always a good thing.

[cockney steve]

^^^^^^^^^ yep, they're so keen to show off their skills, they forget the old maxim "If it ain't broke, don't fix it " I have Team Viewer installed by daughter's boyfriend, but he never seem s to use it. Fortunately, I rarely have problems.

[Chris Martyr]

. None of it sinks in - she just doesn’t retain.

She sounds like my kinda gal...

Have you taught her to post on here yet ?........

[mikehallam]

I am that ancient relative in his early 80's !

TBH Win 10 is difficult from scratch: even when one's moving onto it after using XP for years, with it's more sensible layout

I guess "they" don't think to write a dead easy operating system overlay which CANNOT be corrupted for the those of us who are late starters ?

[stevelup]

I use TeamViewer to "support" my mother on her iMac all of the time; does it (or some other similar app) let you remotely help an iOS user?

Nope, sorry!

[kanga]

..

I guess "they" don't think to write a dead easy operating system overlay which CANNOT be corrupted for the those of us who are late starters ?

may reflect the age of the designers, and their 'beta testers' ..

There is a long tradition in US, now copied in some places in UK, of having a 'bring your child to work' day. At Google (worldwide) they have a 'bring your parents to work' day ..

[Mr Bags]

Update - firstly, a big thank you for all your suggestions. In the end, I bought an iPad Pro, because the keyboard is charged by the iPad - annoyingly the more basic iPad (which would be perfectly adequate) requires the keyboard to be charged independently, and I wanted to keep things as simple as possible for my mother.

The set up has been relatively painless, but I now have to agree with Mike Hallam - I don't understand why the OS developers can't have a 'simple use' setting that removes 95% of the options available within the apps- too much choice just leads to added confusion. I am now attempting to write a simple guide, with pictures, which will be laminated (tea and cake proof) and kept with the iPad.

[kanga]

..laminated (tea and cake proof) ...

[avtur3]

I guess "they" don't think to write a dead easy operating system overlay which CANNOT be corrupted for the those of us who are late starters ?

When I started out I had an Acorn computer, it was the successor to the BBC micro if I remember correctly.

Acorns for a time were very popular in schools, one of the reasons was that the OS was held on a read-only memory chip. If you some how managed to tie the computer up in knots then all you had to do was turn it off (count to 10?) and turn it back on again and it was as good as new. The very worst that could happen was you'd loose any unsaved work at the point of turn it off. It was all so simple then!

[matthew_w100]

Moving my parents from Win XP to Win 10 has been a nightmare - particularly as I myself can't get the hang of 10. But my biggest issue is that they are stuck on using Outlook (2003) as their mail client, and a Pipex mail address which locks them to TalkTalk as their ISP. I wish I could teach them to use some sort of web mail!