Last-Minute Gifts for Technophobes

Dec. 20, 2010— -- We've all got at least one of them in our lives.

They shudder at the sight of a virus alert. They wince at the thought of a new phone. They know that technology is supposed to make their lives easier, but figuring it all out usually means more work for them than it's worth.

Thankfully, there are a few ways to ease our favorite technophobes into the 21st century. If you're still holiday shopping for a tech-shy friend or family member, check out some ideas below.

For tech-savvy children, it's an annual tradition. You come home for the holidays only to get saddled with a list of techie to-dos by your parents.

Well, a group of Google employees has banded together to help give your parents' tech-IQ a much-needed boost.

Launched in time for the holidays, TeachParentsTech.org lets you send your parents "tech support care packages."

The playful website hosts dozens of how-to videos on a wide-range of digital-era skills that you can select and then e-mail to parents and others you think need some tutoring.

The videos teach the basics ? like copying and pasting and changing your screensaver ? but they also cover topics that may be more sophisticated for a low-tech parent ? like video chatting, changing an e-mail address and tracking a flight's status online.

Says the tech giant about its new tech support site, "A few of us at Google thought there had to be a better way that would save us all a few hours each December..."

If your parents (or tech-shy friends) would rather listen to your voice than a Googler's, give them the gift of your own IT expertise.

Draw up a homemade gift certificate redeemable for on-demand tech support and then steer them over to CrossLoop.com. The Web service offers free downloadable software that gives users secure, remote access to other computers.

As long as both you and your giftee have downloaded the desktop-sharing program, you can view their screen and share control of the mouse and keyboard (only when they give the green light, of course).

Next time they need help updating security software, editing photos or troubleshooting general computer problems, you can hop into their computer and talk them through the fix, no matter where you are in the world.

If you want to make sure they're covered even when you're unavailable, you can buy a gift certificate from CrossLoop that they can use to pay one of the thousands of tech professionals that offer their services through the site.

Each CrossLoop helper has a profile that lists their areas of expertise and hourly rate, along with comments and ratings from the people they have helped.