Posts Tagged ‘kids and computers’
DaddyTips Of The Past: Good Passwords Matter
In January of 2016 I wrote a post about bad passwords and why you should teach your kids to use good passwords. Guess what? That tip is still relevant.
This is still true. In some ways it is perhaps even more true. Why? Because there are more devices and services in our lives. I have numerous networked thingies in my house, and it feels like I add at least one new account every week. EVERY COMPANY wants you to have an account with their service. Why? Marketing. Selling. AND THE ILLUMINATI. Mostly the first two. BUT MAYBE EVEN THE THIRD. Bottom line: more accounts, more devices, more passwords. Is it annoying to come up with unique passwords for every frickin’ new account? Of course it is! Do you have to do it in order to avoid problems? Yeah. Yeah you do.
Here’s the extremely brilliant webcomic XKCD’s version of how to handle this problem. The problem with this? Don’t use this password because it’s in a comic. HOWEVER! The good folks at XKCD made a password generator you can use.
Whatever you do, don’t use Star Wars themed passwords. With the release of The Last Jedi, I’m gonna guess more than a few people are going to be using “Kylo Smoak” or something even more cleverer.
Bottom line: use hard to guess passwords. If you can’t even remember it, all the better.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Teach Your Children About Proper Passwords (Tips)
This article from ZDNet about the worst passwords of 2015 reminds me to remind you that it’s important to teach your children about proper passwords.
What is a proper password? Pretty much anything not on ZDNet’s list.
No, we’re not calling you a dummy. But computer security is important, and it’s never too early to start talking to your children about it. Well, maybe toddler age is too young. But as soon as they have any sort of online account, they need to understand that importance of strong passwords.
(Aside to parents of younger children: don’t be surprised if your kid comes home from school with an account on a website you’ve never heard of. Nothing nefarious. But a lot of educators are using online resources these days, and many of these sites require a login, and therefore… a password.)
Not sure what we mean by bad passwords? Here are a few examples.
Good stuff like 123456. Or the still popular password.
Apparently, Star Wars themed passwords became popular last year, because of that movie you probably heard a thing or two about. (Something about a force waking up? You know the one I mean.)
Anyway, bottom line, and our DaddyTip for today is to teach your children to use good passwords. For examples of bad passwords, hit the link below.
Many of the new entries are dictionary-based words, but many of the passwords from the year prior are increasing in popularity.
Source: These were the worst passwords of 2015, and they’re only getting worse | ZDNet
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Kiddie-Lockout Feature Should Be Standard on iOS and Android
I know I’ve said this before, but just in case I haven’t typed it on DaddyTips, I firmly believe that a kiddie-lockout feature should be standard on all mobile devices, iOS and Android.
Apparently there are others who agree with me.
For IOS on the iPad, they should implement the concept of multi-user accounts and the ability to lock down features for non-administrator accounts. This would be great when a family shares an iPad, but do not want their kids mucking around in the settings, or deleting stuff.
Now, it should be noted that the Samsung Galaxy S5 has this feature, at least according to one of their TV ads:
I’m fairly certain this isn’t a new feature for some Android devices. Read through the comments on the Engadget page; a few folks get specific there.
The S5 is also “dust and water resistant”, according to this spot:
But yeah, keeping the kids away from the stuff on your phone or tablet should be a standard feature across the board. I don’t want my kids reading my email, my texts, or even seeing what apps I use. Not that I would ever use my phone for anything inappropriate. But I’d like to have the option.
via I can’t believe Android or iOS still don’t have _______! – Engadget.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Smaller Raspberry Pi Has Us All Excited About Kids And Computers Again
I’ve said before that the tiny little computer called Raspberry Pi could create a generation of tinkerers. Now there’s an even SMALLER version of the Raspberry Pi.
(Note: this photo below is of the original Raspberry Pi, not the new one. But isn’t it cool looking?)
Lovely single-board computer running Linux and capable of HD video with a price-point making it very disruptive. Seen here at TransferSummit 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So how small is the new Raspberry Pi? It fits in a DIMM slot. In other words, it’s the size of a stick of RAM. Which is very much not big. It’s quite small. Read more »
Tiny Raspberry Pi Computer Could Create Generation of Tinkerers
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny Linux-based computer that can be customized to do a lot of things. (That is an oversimplification for the sake of blog-posting brevity.) Wired.com reports that the Element 14, the company that makes the adorably named doo-hickey, has now made 500,000 of them.
Since we’re always on the lookout for news about kids and computers, we were intrigued by this quote from Eben Upton, co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation:
“The younger generation has demonstrated significant intrigue in learning how to build and program their own computer device. And what has been great to see is the enormous growth in the hobbyist market. I have seen projects from Twittering chickens to home beer-brewing kits being created using the Raspberry Pi and its accessories.”
Now, by “younger generation” Upton probably isn’t referring to little kids, although maybe there are really really really smart little kids who could turn the Raspberry Pi into something nifty. Still, we’re fans of any product that is designed to be futzed with.
When I was a lad, Read more »
Kid-Friendly Android Apps On Sale (DaddyDeals)
Quick holiday DaddyDeal for Android — the Google Play Store has a bunch of apps on sale, many of them kid-friendly.
For example, Kids ABC Letters and Kids ABC Phonics and only $1.99 each.
Even cheaper is The Amazing Spider-Man, on sale for just 99 cents.
The game is a space hog, and no, we don’t mean it features Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham. We mean it needs 2GB of memory. But it’s Spider-Man and usually costs $7 instead of 99 cents. So there’s that.
Also worth mentioning is the ever-popular Where’s My Water? That too is only 99 cents.
Full list of sales at TalkAndroid. Link below. These prices are correct as of this moment but may be for a limited time only so they may go up when you go to buy them. Happy holidays!
Roundup of Google Play app and game deals for the Holidays | TalkAndroid.com.
Video Games Suck, Part One
I like video games. I’ve been playing them for most of my life, which is also most of their lives. That is, I’ve been playing video games almost as long as video games have existed.
Games have become infinitely more complex as the years have marched on. There have always been games that flat out suck. But now they suck for different reasons. Here’s one. There are more. But we’ll start with this one.
Video Games Suck, Part One — Everything Must Be Online
What’s wrong with going online? Aren’t you blogging? You couldn’t do that offline. I mean, you could. But then nobody would read what you wrote. Hasn’t the Internet democratized everything, eliminated all strife in the world and made the planet a more wonderful place?
OK, now I’m just being obnoxious. Let’s stay with how the Internet has contributed to the suckification of gaming, especially for kids. Read more »
