Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, How-tos, Podcasts
Next talkcast: Parenting with Mac moms & dads
We had a fun time on the ol' TUAW talkcast last Sunday, with panelists Christina Warren, Dave Caolo, Erica Sadun and reader Brett Peters (yes, the broken iPhone guy). Brett had a sad saga of MacBook Air performance woes to tell -- his machine refused to run on two cores under moderate load, apparently a thermal management feature run amuck, and it's going back to the mothership now (read the details here). We also ran through the iPhone 3G rumors with a coarse-toothed comb. You can download direct, listen in your browser or subscribe to the TalkShoe feed in iTunes.For this coming Sunday's show (4/13), we're going to be talking about parents, kids and the Mac with Dave Caolo and hopefully some special guests. We'd love to get your suggestions and recommendations for the best educational software, kid-friendly peripherals and utilities, art and music tools for tots, and more. If you'd like to contribute your picks and pans, you can comment below or use our handy PBwiki page (you'll need a login, so just comment that you want to help out and I'll send you an invite). If you're wondering how to introduce your tots to computers or whether content filtering/parental controls really work as advertised, call in and we'll talk.
As always, you can join the conversation on TalkShoe either with or without an account by using the shiny new browser-only client (no downloading required and no registration needed). Just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. You can also listen in on the Talkshoe page or call in on regular phone or VOIP lines: dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
-wsn said 12:26PM on 4-10-2008
My motto is never share a computer with a kid.
For the time, energy, and aggravation, I think them having their own, or a shared household machine, that that neither you or your spouse rely on (read you have your own macs) is a must.
A cheap refurb iMac, mini, or Macbook costs is less $$ than the time (time is money) and aggravation of "ungunking" your own machine.
anti-aggravation starts @ $429 on today's refurb site :-)
Cheers
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Frank Furter said 12:44PM on 4-10-2008
Or you could actually teach your kids what's off limits. But to each his own.
I'd recommend AlphaBaby (http://alphababy.sourceforge.net/). Keeps our 2-1/2 year old busy for a bit (and no 'ungunking' needed aftwerwards.).
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Hassan Hodges said 1:11PM on 4-10-2008
Writeroom is actually great for kids. My 2-year-old loves to type her name and direct me to change the colors. She complains when it's not in helvetica though.
http://hogbaysoftware.com/products/writeroom
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TheMacMommy said 1:29PM on 4-10-2008
Hi Mike, thanks so much for the linky love!! (someone already contacted me!!! wowsers!) I would like to contribute to the PBwiki. I haven't yet had the opportunity to use one before so I'm stoked to try it out! Knock knock ;)
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rory hinnen said 1:37PM on 4-10-2008
So, kids & macs and this Christina Warren:
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/04/resolved-arguments-for-additional-rental-time-arent-realistic/
That's going to be interesting.
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Frank Furter said 2:09PM on 4-10-2008
oooh.....tell me she's not part of this. I will be quickly unsubscribed to the PBwiki and talkcast if she is......
Michael Rose said 2:20PM on 4-10-2008
I don't think Christina's scheduled for this Sunday's show -- put away your pitchforks and torches please! :-)
Rory Hinnen said 8:50AM on 4-11-2008
I'm not sure I meant to be snarky there, though I can see how that might have read poorly. Sorry about that.
Kev Orng said 1:50PM on 4-10-2008
My wife works in IT, and before the company adopted a policy of locking down company laptops and not supporting personal laptops, my wife was constantly cleaning up laptops that various sales reps and VPs allowed their children to use on a regular basis. Well, they blamed the kids, but truth is, when they finally locked the company laptops down, i don't know who howled louder, the sales reps or their children
I always try to be agnostic when talking to friends and family about "Which OS to choose." I say, pick the one that best suits your needs, so long as you give them all a fair look.
But partly because of my wife's IT stories, whenever anyone tells me that they want to buy a computer or a pet rabbit for their kids, I suggest a mac and a stuffed rabbit, because while there is no substitute for actual parenting when it comes to the internet, it's nice to at least not have to scan for spyware etc whenever they happen to surf unattended; and as for the rabbit, the truth is that most rabbits really don't like children, and prefer to stay close to the ground away from grabby hands and high-pitched voices, and can be high-maintenance.
Anyone who buys their children a Windows PC or a pet rabbit should be ready to accept the fact that they are the ones who are going to be doing the maintenance and clean-up.
btw, unwanted PCs and domestic pets should never be released into the woods. :)
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-wsn said 1:54PM on 4-10-2008
You still have to teach what's off limits regardless, if it's your own or a shared extra.
I just don't see the point in letting kids, or anybody for that matter, come near or close to jeopardizing mine, or anybody's, machine/data.
When your fixing or scratching your head when you lost something you can't get back... $400 bucks will seem worth it, not too mention all the other hassles of a shared machine.
"Hey Dad is my turn yet?"
"Hey mom I dropped your MBA and it shattered the screen"
Sounds silly, but kids will be kids, and things DO happen...my data and machine is too important to me.
The sending it in for repair and waiting for it to comeback would be too much of a PITA.
Cheers
-wsn
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anaknipedro said 1:55PM on 4-10-2008
As a parent, and recovering porn addict, I recommend a good content filtering software. The best two I have found is 1)content barrier from Intego and 2)K9 web protect from BlueCoat systems. Content barrier is around $70 but it does a good job at filtering without over filtering. There is a yearly subscription also of around $30. It is available from the Intego website and apple.com. K9 has been around for a long time on Windows but is still in beta for the Mac. It is free of charge form home users. It has a lot more filtering categories than ContentBarrier, but it needs some time to work out some performance issues on the Mac.
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kim said 2:13PM on 4-10-2008
My MacBook, or the "cooter" as my 3 year old calls it, is just back from getting a new screen. I don't know what he threw at it but the crack was.not.pretty. It stays up on the kitchen counter now, instead of living on the sofa as it used to. He quickly got over an addiction to watching The Wiggles on YouTube without his brain exploding.
We are already planning to give him my husband's retired G3 powerbook soon (or maybe the G4 if he gets a new one this year). No desktops since we don't have space for one in any of our living areas and I will not put computers (or tvs) in bedrooms.
Looking forward to the talkcast. Though TalkShoe is a local company, this is the only place I ever hear about them.
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robogobo said 7:33PM on 4-10-2008
Kids? no computer until they learn how to live in the real world. I'm doing my best to keep my kids off computers as long as possible. Go play, get dirty, read a book, build something. Computers are for adults. period.
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likewow said 12:22AM on 4-11-2008
Yeah, you're so right.
"People, let's all step back from the big mainframe COMPUTER. No kids or people without lab coats near the BIG, IMPORTANT, COMPUTER."
Go outside and suck a corn-cob or sumpin...
DRabbit said 5:04PM on 4-11-2008
While I'm already completely set up in my house with it, please address parental controls and kids on the internet! There are way too many parents who stick a computer in their kid's room without any sort of monitoring. I'm all for a good balance of communication, monitoring and blocking... I'd NEVER allow any kid over 9 on the internet without all three!
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scrooks said 6:15PM on 4-11-2008
For cripes sake, make sure you cover how screwed up the parental controls are. We're at 10.5.2 and they still don't work right.
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