I'm the one who gets stuck with all tech support at our house-- and I also get to provide tech support to my parents (both of them, though my mom usually handles quite a bit of her own support needs), my husband's parents, and assorted other friends and relations. I'm also the one in the family who gets set on any sort of analytical comparison, e.g. alternative cell phone plans, taxes, adoption agencies, etc.
On the other hand, my husband (bless him) makes sure the bills get paid every month, as well as taking care of laundry, dishes, shopping, and most of the cooking. And a good thing, too. I can cook, but I'm not so great at the rest of it. I get bored with routine. He finds it comforting. We make a good partnership.
Here at work, sometimes people apologize to me for asking "stupid" questions, and I always say, "Not at all-- this is my job, you shouldn't need to know everything about computers to be able to use one. That's what I'm here for." I do encourage people to learn about the software they use every day, but there are a lot of details that they don't want or need to know, and don't have time to learn (and don't use often enough to remember). On the other hand, I
really don't want to have to balance the accounting books. (I think I'd rather do the dishes!) It takes all kinds to make the world work, I think.
So maybe these folks are only getting into ebooks because Oprah got one and has been talking them up. So? Maybe if they get them, they'll discover things like the ability to adjust font sizes or look up words (depending on the device) that they had never realized could help them enjoy reading more. I think it's positive that they're interested, and asking around about the devices. The world changes fast, and some people are more comfortable with change than others, while others want a bit more hand-holding.
