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

Simple Solution

[pipingguy]

One year-olds are vertically-challenged. Put the computer on a high shelf.

Quick recommendation

[Lenolium]

Just a quick recommendation from someone with a little nephew. Avoid wireless mice and keyboards like the plague. Sooner or later, those mice and keyboards become intriging targets to play hide and seek with. It's all fun and games until they decide that hiding in their cereal is a good spot.

As long as you're starting with something new...

[presearch]

Get an iMac. It's got the form factor you want and you
can stop spending half your time keeping the system healthy
and running tired software from the '90s.

Sure you'll have to learn new things... but itn't that better than spending
time de-lousing another tired Windows box every week?

Your only regret will be that you hadn't done it sooner.

old-fasioned

[Anonymous Coward]

Teach him not to mess with Dad's stuff. I recommend a wide leather belt which makes a memorable sound when snapped. You'll probably only need to wack him with it lightly a few times; at that age, you can make a big production out of the punishment and he'll cry and feel awful without the belt even touching him. Then just leave it hanging up somewhere, and glare at it meaningfully when he's bad.

Or, you can just let him fuck over your whole life for 18 years, and his for his entire lifetime, which may well be unusually short if someone else puts an end to his nonsense later on.

Re:old-fasioned

[poningru]

or instead of being a complete asshole to your kid, why not try teaching him about respecting others belongings, or heres an idea when he reaches that certain age teach the kid about the computer, so that he will grow up liking the thing. This kind of fear instilling punishments may actually work but it does nothing for the kids emotional developement apart from developing irrational fear for a belt and/or a computer; oh and this will certainly help him develope love and respect for his parents.

Re:old-fasioned

[NRP128]

hmm...you were either a pain in the ass who never had a hand laid on you, or you were beaten severely. My dad was 6'5", 220lbs when i was growing up. I rarely ever needed more than a look, and the only times i ever remember having a hand laid on me i deserved it and it wasn't like he knocked me out. He would do one quick whack with whatever he had handy, belt, switch, hand, one time he poppped me real hard with a wet shop rag, THAT hurt. My mom was the same way. it's not abuse when A) you get caught in the act B) you've been adequately warned and you KNEW what was coming C) you neglected those warnings D) it's not overly harsh. Once i hit 8 or 9 and it wasn't plausible for mom to spank i got slapped. One or two busted lips and i learned my limits. This didn't make me hate my parents. Usually it pissed me off, but looking back on it, i was wrong and deserved it.

If you'd given me a time out in any of those situations, i wouldn't have cared. i would have used the time to plot new and evil things to do. Think about what i'd done? yeah right. Think about what i'm going to do next. I have two nephews, 4 and 6. the 6 year old is getting old enough now that he minds. but the 4 year old is a free spirt. when he looks at you, you can tell he's scheming to do something, and he usually is. The little fart loves me and respects me, i do things for them, i helped them both put together some of their toys that even my bro adn sis in law couldn't figure out, and at thanksgiving i gave them each a big bag of some of my old Legos. But both of them also know that i give one warning, not the several that mom and dad give. the 6yo is getting to the age where i can pick him up one handed in teh summer when i'm in shape, but right now he's kinda heavy. the little one i still can. That was almost my most hated way to get whipped when i was little and really let me know i had screwed up. Dad would grab me by one arm, pick me up, hold me at arms reach and come right down across my ass with the free hand. you can't get away, you can't jump and lessen the impact, you get all of it. The first time i did it to the little one i set him back down, told him NO one more time (i'd been saying it the whole time i was walking to him and he just kept doing whatever it was) and he looked at me with this utter look of disbelief and pain, but he never cried. later his mom came and got him and i told her what a little jerk he'd been, the next day he came back and he said he was sorry. it was one of the cutest things i've seen.

if you want to talk about the people who can't discern from what punishing their kids is from punishing the kids for their mistakes, you're more than welcome. But a lot more contributes to a childs feeligns of malice than a swift hand or belt when the little bastard is overstepping his boundaries.

Re:old-fasioned

[dousk]

If I were your kid, it's YOUR life that will be unussualy short. Soon as I could get the power to do so, I'd make you pay. And it would probably include a wide leather belt, for fun. Remember, not all kids are the same. Consider that, the next time you think about using that belt.

Re:old-fasioned

[Reapy]

My parents never hit me when I grew up (25 now). When I annoyed my mom when I was really little she had a sliding window of punnishment time for me. I i just mildly ignored her she tell me to go to my room for 5 minutes. If I didnt get up and go immediatly and argued with her shed move it to 10, 30 minutes 1 hour, 2 hours and kept building up the more I argued with her. It sure hit home after 5 minutes upstairs that I could be down playing with my toys by now if I had just shut up and taken the easy punishment.

But for the most part I was pretty quite and didn't have many friends growing up. Later in my middleschool days I started getting a few friends, and when one of them punched my arm that really shocked me. Friends aren't supposed to hurt their friends. I eventually figured out the whole thing but I just wasn't used to the idea of being struck by someone you are close to.

So there wasn't much physical violence in my upbringing. I think in terms of the type of person I am, I consider myself very polite and respectful towards other people. I learned this differently then having it beat into me. I spent 2.5 years at a grocery store in HS, so whenever i'm around other kids and people working those type of minimum wage jobs, I know how much it sucks and how much you don't give a rats ass about the company you are working for, and don't get mad at them when the store has a shitty policy. It's not heir fault.

I'm not saying that hitting is wrong. I think certain people need to be tought different ways. For some kids, maybe the only way to get through to them is a hard strike to the ass as punishment. But some kids don't need that. I have no clue what makes them different.

Re:old-fasioned

[MrResistor]

You've got the right idea, but hitting them is totally unnecessary.

The key is consistency. You tell them what will happen if they keep doing what they're doing, and then you actually do it. Time out or taking toys away is just as effective as spanking as long as you're consistent, and don't carry the negative side effects, such as: it's easier to dislocate childrens joints, which you might want to think about next time you pick your nephew up by one arm; sharp jarring, especially from being hit or slapped in the head or face can cause brain damage; and, of course, kids who get hit at home are more likely to behave violently (hitting others, getting in fights, etc).

Get your child involved

[neitzsche]

Before each of my children were one year old, they were familiar with Jump-Start Teddy. Before they (each) were two, they were able to start the computer and get JST running so that they could sit in a favorite aunt/uncle/parent's lap. My oldest sister did not know how to turn that particular PC on, but my 11 month old son did it for her one day. (I had a link for JST to start as soon as that computer was on.)

Children are looking up to you as their role model. Just like putting on daddy's shoes to tromp around the kitchen, they want to do things their parents do. The sooner they understand what they are and aren't allowed to do on your computer, the sooner you will have respectable uptime on your home web server.

The last thing I want is for my children to follow me into the computer industry. But they each have a solid understanding of how a computer is used as a tool. They also have a healthy respect for electrical dangers.

Take LOTS of pictures when they are young!

You need to think furniture, not computer.

[Murphy Murph]

You don't need anything fancy as far as your computer is concerned - what you need is a computer armoire. They need not take up any more floor space than a desk, and can hold (keep away from little fingers) so much more.

Everything - keyboard, mouse, monitor, and all the wires can be kept safely behind closed doors when not in use.

Start 'em young

[mech_knight]

I was in the same situation when I had my first son. When he was about 14 months old and was starting to explore as humans tend to do at that age. I decided that the best way for him to not mess up the computer was to show him how to use it correctly instead. It was the software, Jumpstart Toddler that actually began my son's introduction to using the computer. To avoid messing up my settings, I created a separate acount for him. I then taught him that it was ok to play with the computer only when Daddy or Mommy was around. He quickly learned to use the mouse and keyboard by playing around with it.

Forward 6 years later, and he now helps his 2nd grade teacher teach the other kids during his computer class (although he tells me that they use Mac's).

I think having a "yes" environment, instead of a "no" environment fosters discovery and learning. (Just my 2 cents.)

Laptop

[Leroy_Brown242]

I do a reasonable amount of gaming on my IBM T30 all the time. When i wnt it secure, I can lock it away easily too.

Re:Better yet

[mvdw]

I agree with this totally. I have two smallish boys (now 6 and 8); I have never had a problem with them playing with my stuff. And if it does become a problem, make it not a problem by teaching the kid to use the computer! Children are not these little things that get in the way of the rest of your life, they *are* the rest of your life. Embrace and extend, in the best MS philosophy!

Re:wireless monitor

[Blakey Rat]

Or the iMac G5 from Apple, which is pretty much the exact same thing. Doesn't run on a battery, though, I don't know if this MPC machine does...

Re:As long as you're starting with something new..

[HawkingMattress]

It isn't a troll ? I guess you had bad scores at text explanations at schools, heh ;) ?

Question: How can I refrain my child from messing with my computer ?
Answer: Buy a mac, and you won't have to deal with 10 years old software. You'll have to relearn a new things blah blah you'll ask yourself why you didn't do it sooner...

The question is not i'm bored with my current OS, what could I try next ? It's how can I physically lock a computer to be sure the 1 year old kid won't hurt himself with it, or hurt the computer. Explain where a mac would even remotly help more that any computer with that... It's not like the one year old kid is gonna surf porn and root the box with spywares It's not really a troll, but as offtopic as a post can possibly be...

Re:Better yet

[Clover_Kicker]

Heh.

How many 1-year olds do you know?