Tuesday, January 10, 2006

once clicken, twice shy

When I first set up a computer for my parents, about 5 years ago, I remember all the trouble I had teaching my father how to double-click. "You have to press twice," I told him, "quickly." When this didn't work, I didn't know what to do other than repeat the instruction. I think I eventually also found some setting to twiddle with in Windows that helped with the matter, but he still struggles with it sometimes. I mean, he's got that first click down pat, but something about the second click he just can't fully cotton onto.

I got my Tablet PC today. I haven't had much time to play with it. But, the big problem so far: I can't quite seem to get the hang of how you double-click.

10 comments:

Tom Volscho said...

i think my dad had that problem, but then he got it

Anonymous said...

I'm not knocking this post, but it strikes me that this might be one of those posts that, as you've previously mentioned, you write when you don't want to write about what's really going on in your life. Hmmmm?

Anonymous said...

I sent my dad the link to your site because I thought he had this problem too. However, to quote him: "I have always had a little problem with the double click, especially when I am not on my own computer, but never too serious. I can always get it in a try or two if I am watching what I am doing. My failing was I could never "flash" on the telephone, still can't, but I don't feel inferior anymore. Since they have put flash buttons on all the phones I came to the realization that I must not have been the only one struggling with it."

Anonymous said...

what does it mean to "flash" on a telephone?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the double-click problem relates to my mom's inability to click past the Golf Network without watching it for a full minute before deciding that it's not what she wants to watch.

Ang said...

Isn't "flash" the "change the channel" button? Like, if you're getting fuzz & other people's conversations & stuff, flash will change the frequency or whatever?

Anonymous said...

ah. thank you.

--anon 10:15

Anonymous said...

No, I think the flash button is the button you push when you want to switch to the other line when you hear that call-waiting beep.

Anonymous said...

Somehow I've managed to live nearly five decades without ever "flashing" a telephone (or anything else).

Anonymous said...

Well, I can get double-click results as long as I click more than once fast.
ie even if I click three times quickly -- which somehow comes more naturally to me than clicking twice -- it works just fine.
My computer just ignores the extra click and goes merrily along its double-click way.