KidDesk Internet Safe

by IBM

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002S8IP
• Item model number: 1898
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 10, 2002
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,610 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #83 in Software > Networking > Security
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Got a computer? Got kids? Then you've probably got stories: Junior erasing the taxes while trying to launch Nicktoons Racing. Baby somehow exporting part of your screenplay while whapping away at JumpStart Baby. Junior's friend using your computer and discovering...

You get the picture.

KidDesk Family Edition will keep your kids out of your programs, and it cleverly does it by creating (with your help) a kid-friendly environment that the little whippers can't leave. Think of it as a really cool prison.

After a quick installation, expect to spend some time and thought setting up KidDesk on your PC or Macintosh, about 5 to 10 minutes per kid. Setup requires you to decide which programs you will allow your kids to access, and then add those programs to their desktop. Every application added to KidDesk is automatically accessible by all KidDesk users, but parents can hide applications from individual users if they choose. Also, adding a program to KidDesk doesn't affect the program in any way--it simply renders it accessible from KidDesk.

Now for the fun part: kids can customize their desks. Wild West, frilly, and ultrafuturistic are just a few of the myriad options. Each desktop also has a calendar, a writing pad, an address card file, a clock, a lamp that turns on and off, a calculator, and a fancy nameplate. A phone allows kids to record voice mails and send them to other KidDesk users in the family, and there's a mailbox for sending e-mail within the KidDesk system. There's so much to do with these groovy desktops that kids will soon forget they've been locked out of the mundane grown-up desktop that allows access to freelance articles, taxes, and the Web.

Parents can configure KidDesk so that it's the first thing that comes up when the computer is turned on, and the last thing kids see before they log off. If a kid manages to hack through this, that kid deserves his or her own computer.

A "secret" sequence of keystrokes enables parents to move around within KidDesk and get out of the system to access their own desktop. If Junior is old enough to find and read instruction manuals, parents can add a password. Oh, and it's probably a good idea to forgo the ubiquitous my-kid's-name-as-a-password technique for this one. --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description

KidDesk Internet Safe lets you decide what's best for your kids. Just create a fun, private desktop for each child, and fill it with the Web sites and programs you feel are appropriate. Also included is a bonus subscription to Edmark Kid-Safe Sites. This easy-to-use service provides a regularly updated list of fun teacher- and parent-approved sites. Simply download links to safe Web sites to add to your child's personal desktop.