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Kid mode

 Entertain your kids with your cellphone
  (+8, -1)
(+8, -1) 		  [vote for,
against]

Develop a "kid's mode" for the cellphone, that when buttons are pushed, different cartoon clips play, with an entertaining melody (for the kids, not you). Different episodes could be downloaded from the internet. No calls could be made on the phone until a password is entered.
—ishotpac, Sep 09 2002

Ring Tones http://www.converty....com/ringtones.html
Some tunes for the kiddies. [Amos Kito, Sep 10 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

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       Is it really *too* much trouble to bring along a toy for them thereby freeing up your phone for your own use?
—Marassa, Sep 09 2002
   

       I like this idea and from the looks of some of the diversions on the newer phones, it looks like this one will probably be coming soon.
—iuvare, Sep 09 2002
   

       This will just fill in during the times you're in a rush, and forget to bring a toy.
—ishotpac, Sep 10 2002
   

       Yeah, I love anti-HB therapy. Around these parts they call it 'work'.   

       And yes, I can quit anytime I choose! Of course! That's why I am still at my desk at work at 8pm on a lovely Indian-summer evening, typing to you lot!   

       In fact, I am doing so well balancing my old habit with 'therapy' that I seem to have deleted my own post from earlier in the thread. It's finally happened: at last, I am at my best at work, and my Blonde Moments are confined to the company of those who really know, love, and presumably can forgive me.   

       Anyway, the deleted bit:   

       *******************
You're no fool, [ishot]. You know that child psych dictates that, even if surrounded by a sea of other attractive toys, the one the child wants is your cellphone. If the cellphone companies wanted to end the madness, they'd take the Games feature off the more serious phones. But they don't. They want to continue the vicious cycle of children wanting to play with their elders' cellphones, because they know that the day will come when even the strongest child will lobby strenuously for one of her own.		   

       Understand that when I mention the "strongest child", I am referring to a certain eleven-year-old who stated, first to me and then to her dad, that she is "one of only two kids" in her middle-school class who does not own a cellphone. She also said that the other kids' phones are "for like emergencies?". With this, she shot me a look: I *have* to have one, the look said, or my very life is in danger.   

       I don't disagree. I recently got a cellphone myself, and if my life were ever in danger and I had the presence of mind to have the thing handy, I'm sure I'd use it. In the meantime, it's a great tool for cementing the "I Dream of Jeannie" theme song into the subconscious of passersby ...
—1percent, Sep 10 2002
   

       Get her one without service. They all call 911, even without service (at least in the US). I mean it's for, like, emergencies, no?
—bristolz, Sep 10 2002
   

       Kids (I'm talking toddlers) love to explore their world. The reason why they want *your* cellphone even when surrounded by toys is that it's unfamiliar, new, untested. Once they have explored its possibilities it becomes less interesting but will always have an extra attraction because it's quite obviously one of *your* favourite toys, why else would you carry it everywhere? Croissant for cellphone protection.
—st3f, Sep 10 2002
   

       Computers need a kid mode too. I made the mistake of turning my back while letting a 5 year old use my computer to play pinball. Said child proceeded to teach me a lesson in windows desktop entropy(tm) when he accidentally pressed the windows menu key and tried clicking, dragging, and typing everything possible in hopes of getting back to the pinball game. It took me half a day to figure out precisely what had moved to where and which settings had changed.   

       I'd be satisfied with an interface where nothing can be added, moved, or changed while in kid mode. All programs would run read-only, and be limited to a single instance. Attempting to launch a new instance would simply bring the old instance to the foreground. Ctrl-Alt-Del would bring up a dialog box prompting for a password to exit kid mode.
—BigBrother, Sep 10 2002
   

       BigBrother: NT Secure Desktop.
—8th of 7, Sep 10 2002
   

       There are plenty of mock phones with annoying ringtones to keep a 2 year old happy. For emergencies, I recommend a cellphone with a sharpened antenna. Maybe a 'flick phone'? just don't stab yourself in the head...
—pfperry, Sep 10 2002
   

       NT secure desktop comes close, but it's not quite kid proof. I really ought to just keep kids off my computer and get a cartridge based game console that they'd be hard pressed to mess up (peanut butter notwithstanding).
—BigBrother, Sep 10 2002
   

       I also like it because it keeps the teenagers from running up the phone bill. Can I get one that shuts off other peoples' cute songs, in movie theaters?
—Amos Kito, Sep 10 2002
   

       Great idea, too bad you can't eat the lovely pastry I sent you.
—KLRico, Oct 23 2003
   


 

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