As the official Family Geek™, I often find myself performing system updates and the such for computers belonging to my various family members. Admittedly, sometimes this can be a long and frustrating process, yet other things are easy. For instance, I upgraded my parents’ MacBook to 4GB of memory earlier, an easy task; whereas later I will be upgrading my mother-in-law’s MacBook pro with the latest iLife, another easy task, and then fielding questions on the new iPhoto interface, a less than easy task.

It can be difficult to remain frustration-free with less tech-savvy family members, which is why I am thankful for a couple articles I’ve read in the past 24 hours.

First, Chris Breen gives tips of how to give of yourself, explaining various things you can do for your family’s technological needs. Second, Ben Brooks’ Giving the Gift of iOS gives tips on how to interact cordially with family while teaching them to understand their gadgets and quit being afraid of them.

If you are the Family Geek™, I highly recommend you read both articles before Christmas morning.