A Gift

Vova went to Russia for his Winter break. We've always talked about getting grandparents a computer one day. Ever since the iPad came out (and we saw this video of an old woman using one) we thought we might give them one. Over a few months we've decided that a computer would be a better choice because we couldn't video chat on an iPad.

Naturally we went to Apple products. We contemplated getting an iMac, but making Vova and his gf (E) carry that was too much hassle. We decided to get a Mac Mini! After much hassle at the Apple Store (ugh, bank of america) we finally left with a brand new Mac Mini (but without Vova's driving license and my Chex Mix).

Vova and I set it up with Russian language, got them gmail accounts, AIM screen names, Skype names. I installed English Rosetta Stone, put pictures in their iPhoto and configured their Safari to have bookmarks they would enjoy. In Russia Vova got a monitor, keyboard and webcam. It was all ready!

Grandma cleared out a corner to put a little hacked up desk-like structure. And FINALLY, E (Vova's gf who also went to Russia) took this picture. It warms my heart. I love it! Look at them using that trackpad.

Today the microphone on the camera stopped working. (Actually, I don't know when it stopped working. I just found out that Vova tried Skyping grandpa and Vova couldn't hear him.) We got on iChat and I requested to share his screen. The mic showed up as an "Unknown USB device". I looked online for people having the same problems and they said to go to Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup. That's just what I did and it looked like the mic was muted for some reason. Apparently Logitech webcam does that sometimes. I got it fixed and was able to hear him from then on.

Yaaay! So glad we did this, Vova.