kids posts

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

Fun for kids and adults: Pickin' Stix

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on May 16th, 2009

Pickin' Stix (click opens iTunes) took me back to my childhood in the early sixties, when I had a little cylinder filled with colorful plastic "Pickup Sticks". You'd toss 'em in a pile, and then try to pick them up without disturbing the other sticks. Not only was it a great way to stay engrossed for a while, but it was also teaching me and my friends manual dexterity, as well as how to use our depth and relational perception to figure out how to move a stick without moving any others.

Now Jonathan Tenkely has come out with his iPhone version, just the thing to pass to the kids when they're bored and you want to keep them out of trouble. Jonathan's wife Kelly is an educator who runs the great iLearn Technology blog, so it's not surprising that his first iPhone app is a combination of fun and learning.

With the US$0.99 Pickin' Stix, you shake the iPhone to "toss" the sticks, then use a finger to "pick them up". The better you do at tapping on the top sticks, the faster you'll get done. You lose points for tapping on sticks that are partially under other sticks.

The only complaint I have is that Pickin' Stix, currently in a 1.0 release, has no way to keep your best time or score, or to compare your time to others. I'd also like to see an advanced mode with more sticks to pick up for an additional challenge, and a way to pause a game. And if Tenkely can figure out a way to get a kid to give the iPhone back to you after you've let 'em play for a while, he'll have it made!

What other childhood favorites would you like to see on the iPhone and iPod touch? Let us know in the comments.

Tags: app store, AppStore, educational, games, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, kids

Filed under: OS, How-tos, Tips and tricks, Mac 101

Mac 101: Parental Controls

by Dave Caolo (RSS feed) on Jul 7th, 2008

Mac OS X Leopard has a slew of controls meant to ~~keep whipper-snappers at bay~~ protect our kids (and data). They aren't the most powerful tools in the world (especially if Junior knows your administrator password), but they are helpful.

To make use of Parental Controls, you'll first have to create an account other than the administrator account. That's simple enough -- just go to the Accounts Preference Pane and click the "+" button. After naming the user and creating a password, select the user and click the "Parental Controls" button.

There are several options under the following tabs:

System
Content
Mail & iChat
Time Limits
Logs

Read on to find out how you can use each of these to customize your children's Mac OS X experience.

Continue reading “Mac 101: Parental Controls”

Tags: kids, mac 101, Mac101, parental controls, ParentalControls

Filed under: iLife, Retail, Education, iTunes, iWork, Apple

Apple Camp '08 schedule posted

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Jun 6th, 2008

Today Apple posted the schedule for Apple Camp. Apple Camp is held at Apple retail stores for kids 8-12 to go learn about creative things like: making presentations with Keynote, taking and managing photos with iPhoto, creating music with GarageBand, and making movies with iMovie.

Each sessions lasts about 3 hours and is available at all Apple retail locations. Kids attending will receive a DVD or CD with their creations on it, field guide, t-shirt, and will be able to get other giveaways. Best of all, Apple Camp is free though registration is required.

Kids under 13 must have a parent/guardian present; otherwise, you'll have to bring an Apple permission slip (PDF link). You can now register on Apple's Camp registration website.

Tags: Apple Camp, Apple retail, AppleCamp, AppleRetail, Children, GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, Keynote, kids, stores, t-shirt, tweet-this

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Desktops, OS, Education, Bugs/Recalls, Apple, Leopard

NYC Dept. of Education suspends Mac orders pending wireless issue fix

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 18th, 2008

Apple Insider is reporting that the New York City Department of Education has put all shipments of Macs to schools on complete hold while they're apparently waiting for Apple to fix a Wifi connectivity issue with OS X (which should be fixed with the 10.5.3 update). And Apple is apparently scrambling to get it worked out -- they've sent an apologetic email to faculty and have asked schools to try and separate any orders of computers that won't need wireless (that will use a regular ethernet hookup) to ship now.

Unfortunately, there's no hint of exactly how many Macs we're talking about here, but if this is a substantial number of computers, and word gets out causing other organizations to delay shipments as well, Apple will feel more and more pressure to get the problem fixed ASAP. Bad news for the kids who want Macs in New York City (that's the DoE's seal on the right, in case you didn't recognize it), but good news for anyone else having this problem -- Apple's working hard on a fix.

Thanks, Rich!

Tags: 10-5-2, 10-5-3, apple, apple-insider, bugfixes, department-of-education, doe, issue, kids, macs, schools, wireless

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, How-tos, Podcasts

Next talkcast: Parenting with Mac moms & dads

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Apr 10th, 2008

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.

Continue reading “Next talkcast: Parenting with Mac moms & dads”

Tags: brett-peters, christina-warren, dave-caolo, erica-sadun, kids, mac, mike-rose, parenting, talkcast, tuaw

Filed under: Features, Stocking Stuffers, Holidays

TUAW Buyers Guide: Parents' picks for Apple-loving kids

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Dec 5th, 2007

Here we are in the thick of the holiday shopping season, and no matter your faith or creed you know that the kids, tweens and teens in your life will be expecting something nicely wrapped. What can you give them that will help get them going on the Macintosh Way or enhance their iPod educational options? Read on for a brief and subjective list; for more, you can check out Apple's kid-specific section of the Macintosh Product Guide or check out our Education and Gaming categories.

Continue reading “TUAW Buyers Guide: Parents' picks for Apple-loving kids”

Tags: buyer's guide, Buyer'sGuide, gift guide, GiftGuide, holidash, kids, parents, shopping

Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Holidays

Mamma wants an iPod baby

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Apr 23rd, 2007

Just a few more weeks until Mother's Day. If you're an FanBoi Dad looking for a special way to spice up your FanGirl Mamma's special day, here's an absolutely adorable way to go about it. For only $16.95, you can buy long sleeve or onesies iPod baby outfits. The outfits are available in white, blue, pink and black and are sized at 6-12 months, 12-18 months and 18-24 months. The website says to allow 5 days for US delivery and 10 days for international delivery.

Go on, tickle that click wheel--and check out this gallery of iPod babies while you're at it! Sure gives a new meaning to the TUAW tag "iPod family", doesn't it?

[Via the delightful GeekSugar]

Tags: gifts, iPod outfit, IpodOutfit, kids, Mother's Day, Mother'sDay

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