PC Setup for Small House with Child?

nzgeek asks: "I've been managing with a pokey Windows notebook for a couple of years now, and am desperate to get a decent PC for development and gaming. Problem is, our house is tiny and we have a 1-year-old entropy generator running amok. What's the best recommendation for getting a full-power desktop PC installed in our house? My ideal setup would be a mini-tower case hidden in a cupboard, with a remote LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headphones. The keyboard and mouse can be done via bluetooth, and there is no problem with cable length for headphones. The major stumbling block is VGA connection for the monitor. Any suggestions on how to overcome this problem?"

Comments

Better yet

[AresTheImpaler]

You could teach him not to touch your computer... Lot's of friends that have children and computer (or other things that kids need to be careful with) teach their kids not to mess with them. I recomend you to do the same.

Re:Simple Solution

[(H)elix1]

I picked up a Sun 180 server, complete with 8' tall rackmount, for $25USD. I mounted all my hardware above my child's reach or stashed it behind one of the panels. Not a snowball's chance in hell move the thing, all cables zip tied to the rack, a screwdriver needed to get at the UPS and all the power cords. Granted, I bought it back when my new bride looked at my mess of computers and said - buy one and consolidate this mess. Not sure something larger than the refrigerator was what she had in mind....

As a side note, go with the CRT tube. It takes a hell of a beating and the little one will be unlikely to move the mass of a 21" monitor.

FFS, NO!

[RMH101]

a "small house" and you recommend an 8 foot rack unit? only on slashdot!
seriously, the way to do it is this:

* a shuttle small form factor PC. put unit in cupboard.
* an LCD vesa-mounted to the wall with cables cable tied out of the way
* a cheap wireless kb/mouse (forget bluetooth, it's overkill)
* nothing else.

this is the answer. any other suggestions are just plain wrong.

Re:Simple Solution

[Rick the Red]

Seriously, the best solution is to teach your kid what "no" means. We've got an antique shelf filled with delecate family dishes and other valuables, and both of our kids learned not to go near it. Of course, we also gave them pretty much the run of the rest of the house and left lots of un-childproofed drawers for them to explore.

Frankly, with four working computers in this house (not counting the firewall), the only problem caused by children is their tendency to mimic mommy and daddy and try to type something or click the mouse, problems you're going to have no matter what you do with the VGA cable. As a father I really think this is a non-issue.