I currently spend hours on the phone with my mom every week giving her
computer help/tech support and advice as she tries to do things on her
computer.  She is a novice and not comfortable with computers -- so
I'm often offering her very basic guidance (how to attach a photo to
an email message).  She also often gets stumped when things don't act
like they should -- i.e., freak outs when emails aren't coming
through.

My question is -- can you recommend a service I can sign my mom up for
to free me from being her personal tech support?  I did an initial
search of the internet, but found most offerings were for specific
types of problems (installing software, virus protection, etc) --
rather than just general trouble-shooting and "walk me through how to
do this.." types of questions my mom would have.  Also, since I am
spending hours on the phone with her, I do not want to pay per minute
-- I would need a service that offers subscription pricing.

Can you recommend a company that does this type of telephone support
that is highly recommended (i.e., I can see/hear from people who are
using it)?

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 28 Apr 2006 15:06 PDT

kthompson...

I don't think there's any reliable service online that wouldn't 
cost more that you'd like for this kind of dialog. She could, e.g.,
post a question here and some researchers, like myself, who are
knowledgeable about computers might be able and willing to assist
if the price was right for the amount of dialog required, assuming
she has the vocabulary for such a dialog.

However, I think a more sensible way would be for her to take a
class through a local library (many of which may be free), or
through a community center or community college, where the price
should be nominal and she can ask for help with specific tasks.

I teach such a class in my neighborhood center, and it costs the
participants only $40 for a total of 8 hours, 2hrs/week. In many
cases, the instructor may also offer personalized tutoring in the
student's home (which makes system-dependent issues easier to
address) for a slightly higher cost, such as $10-20/hr.

Let me know what you think...

sublime1-ga

I know that you didn't ask for the type of advice I am about to give,
but it may be handy enough to allow you to help your mother yourself,
and yet not take much of your time.

I use remote software to handle the same types of problems with my
parents machines.  This allows me to log onto their computer, from my
house, and take control of their mouse and keyboard to perform
anything that needs to be done.  It access the computer over the
internet allowing the phone to remain open so I can be telling them
what I am doing, AS I DO IT (and they see it being done) on their
computer screen.  (My end shows me their screen).  It really works out
quite well, and I can do a task myself much faster then telling them
"click on the box that says OPEN. then click on ...".

There are many services that offer this opportunity, some of which are
free trials, while others are totally FREE.  I use the website
www.logmein.com, which offers both, paid and free subscriptions.  The
LOGMEIN FREE is just that, totally FREE.  The software is very good,
and it well worth looking into.  I am sure that other people use other
companies, that they think is the best.  The fact is, that some of
these programs really do work great.

The downside for the LOGMEIN FREE software, is that before you can
access her computer, she (or someone AT her computer) must log into
www.logmein.com with your account credentials, and choose to ADD her
computer to your list.  Software is then loaded to her machine, and
you will be able to access her computer from just about any
internet-connected PC.

And again, the signup process at LOGMEIN.COM is free, as is the
program LOGMEIN FREE.  I think you will get a short free trial of one
of their paid programs, and it will automatically revert to the free
paid version unless you decide to stick with the paid services.  You
need not introduce a credit card number if you  plan on staying with
the paid version.

Hope this helps you - it sure has helped me !

Hi, nice last name :)

Ok, I actually investigated this a year ago because I was thinking of
starting this type of Company up.

There are quite a few phone support companies out there...Here are
some (these are in no means an endorsement).

Dr. Tech:  www.askdrtech.com
LiveRepair: http://tekonline.liverepair.com/online/
Speak With A Geek:  www.speakwithageek.com
Tech 24: www.tech24.com

Of course, prices do vary.  Dr. Tech is $89/Yr of support and
speakwithageek is $35/mth.

The Dr.Tech has some really good articles on the industry...Especially
the Wall Street Journal one.

Good luck!