Crowd Computing - Q&As from May Tech Clinic

As May came to a close, the weather finally warmed, offering a clear sign that summer was on its way—marked by the arrival of thunderstorms on May 31, the same day as our MY Tech Clinic. The storm did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for technology—in fact, we had a record turnout of 25 people that day! In addition to the large crowd, we were fortunate to have support from the team at Jason's Computer Service, a trusted name in tech on the Eastern Shore. Below are the questions from our attendees that day and we hope you can benefit from the answers too!

Q: What services were offered for account and password management? A: Account and password management has remained a common area of support:

• Resolving email access issues: This included addressing emails going to trash and inability to log into Yahoo accounts due to multiple wrong passwords. Another client, despite confusing 2-factor authentication methods, was eventually able to log into their Yahoo account after resetting their iCloud password (which used their family member's phone number for authentication) and attempting several times.

• Account creation and setup: Assistance was provided for setting up Facebook accounts. For one client, this also involved managing Facebook accounts and disabling text message notifications when the links in messages were not clickable.

• Login difficulties: Issues included inability to log into Yahoo accounts due to wrong passwords or confusing 2-factor authentication. In some cases, login was prevented due to missing passwords for accounts like Facebook and Yahoo.

• Facebook password recovery challenges: For one client, Facebook password recovery was complicated because her recovery phone number was her home phone; steps were written down for her to complete the recovery process at home, and she planned to return if issues persisted.

Q: What types of email and messaging support were provided? A: The clinics offered extensive support for email and messaging, such as:

• Setting up email accounts: Support was provided for creating new email accounts; for one client, this was their very first email account. A Gmail account was successfully created for another client.

• Organizing emails: One client received help setting up a mailbox in Apple Mail so she could sort her emails into one folder.

• Creating contact groups: A user of Microsoft email was walked through the steps and provided written instructions on how to create a contact group.

Q: What kinds of phone-related issues or tasks did clients seek assistance with? A: Clients sought help with various phone-related issues and tasks, including:

• Battery charging problems: For a Samsung phone, assistance was provided to test the charger and identify a compatible fast-adapting charger found on Amazon. Advice was given to check the original charger for proper connection, noting there should be a "click" and a "sound" when fully connected.

• Learning phone skills: Clients learned fundamental phone skills such as how to use the photos app, make phone calls, and send text messages with photos.

• Changing display settings: Help was provided to change a phone's background display color from black and white to something colorful.

• Accessing call recordings: For Android users, guidance was given on how to find recorded phone calls by navigating to "My Files" and then "Internal Storage," where recorded call audio is stored.

Q: What kind of computer-related assistance was available? A: The clinics provided help with various computer issues and tasks, including:

• Data backup: Clients received help with backing up data to a new computer.

• Printer and scanner issues: Support included connecting a computer to a Brother printer to enable printing, though the reason for home printing failure remained unclear, possibly due to a USB cable connection. For scanner issues where a new computer was unable to acknowledge the scanner, information on installing proper scanner drivers was provided as the first troubleshooting step, with a note that at-home support might be needed.

• Performance and updates: For an older computer (approximately 8 years old) that was booting slowly, the first recommendation was to update Windows, with further investigation into other areas if slow performance persisted after updates.

• Software alternatives: For Mac users, alternatives to Word documents were discussed, such as Google Docs, LibreOffice, and Mac Pages, with suggestions for shortcuts and helpful features. The client downloaded Mac Pages and was looking forward to exploring it.

  
  

Q: What other miscellaneous tasks and skills did clients learn or receive help with? A: Beyond the common categories, clients received assistance with various other tasks:

• Digital organization: This included helping to set up a Skylight photoframe.

• Calendar management: Clients learned how to add dates to their calendar.

• App usage: Assistance was provided for learning how to download an ebook on the Hoopla app.

• Content creation: Clients were guided through creating a Google account and a YouTube channel.

• Government applications: Significant time was spent helping a client complete and submit a passport renewal application via the government website.

• iPad features: Miscellaneous questions about the Apple iPad were handled within settings, including explanations of features like hidden websites and split screens.

• Search engine settings: Help was provided to install Google Chrome and set it as the default search engine when Google was not working as the default.