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New Parental Controls Limit Xbox Time
An anonymous reader writes "As part of a new marketing blitz to promote the Xbox 360 as a "family friendly" video game console, Microsoft on Wednesday rolled out a new feature called Family Timer, which will show up in the Family Settings Screen.
The Timer will let parents limit the number of hours their kids can play the Xbox on a daily or weekly basis. When the time limit is reached, the console will automatically shut off, ostensibly after saving the game."
Sorry, I was going to do a verbose post about all the reasons why I should stay on the computer, but my timer is about to kick...
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Kid, don't get married. I'd rather negotiate playing time with the xbox than my wife ;)
In my experience, the parents who would be responsible enough to use such a feature don't need it anyways. The problem is the parents who want their kids lifeless in front of the Xbox (or the TV) so they'll be "out of their hair".
In a very clever move by Microsoft, the indicator showing the console is on standby will be a lit red ring on the front of the unit...
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Well, gee, I think the first step towards proving that you can be trusted with the burden of choosing when to stop playing video games would be to not somehow accidentally turn on the parental controls then forget how to turn them off.
The enemies of Democracy are
My mother would love to have something like this on my father's computer. She calls Diablo II 'the divorce game'.
Aero
Please stop hurting America -- Jon Stewart
If you're thirteen, and you aren't doing your schoolwork, then bully on Microsoft for giving parents the tools they need to create fine distinctions about your playtime without having to just wholesale ban games. I'd prefer parents actually, you know, supervising their children, but I know in real life that option is not always readily available. (Mom and Dad have to work to send Junior to the college he will be going to if he manages to graduate, etc.)
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
Must have been 5 years ago now my buddys' stepdad had a TV that did this.
It would just show a message on the screen that said you watch too much TV & no matter what you did you couldn't get it to go away untill the off timer was over.
I just so happened to discover this on the day his stepdad wanted to watch a big football game, & somehow I managed to set it for the time the game was on while playing with it.
Needless to say I didn't go over my buddys house for a few days after that.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
What if, say, I have some friends over and they take turns playing games, while I'm finishing up some homework before leaving to go to a party?
Nobody ever said that the parent can't turn them off. If that is indeed the case, then get your parents to turn off parental controls when you have friends coming over. Problem solved.
Secondly, I have never heard of a minor studying in another room before going to a party while his friends are playing his Xbox.
Getting the video game turned off without your consent is not going to make you go to your room and study -- it will make you very, very angry. Being the stubborn bastard that I was (and still am), I would not do my homework out of principle just to spite "the system". I would find a million-and-one other time wasters to avoid having to do homework.
Also, I used to watch cartoons and play the Super-Nintendo (I know, this dates me) when I got back from school, because my parents weren't there to watch over me. But when my parents got home, they started nagging at me to finish my homework, chores, etc... and I turned out alright.
While I think it's a relatively good idea, it speaks volumes about parental responsibility. Why parent when you can let a machine do it for you? Maybe a better system would be for the XBox to use its internet connection and SMS the parents periodically with usage statistics (for a monthly or yearly fee, of course), which would then prompt the parents to talk to the kids and make them turn off the game or whatever. Also, if the parent knows that all the homework is done or whatever, why not let the kid play? This system could be less intrusive for the kids, and it would put the control and parenting responsibility back onto the parents' shoulders.
Finally, is there some sort of hard reset on the XBox (like on routers) that would allow kids to bypass this feature? I don't have an XBox 360 so I'm not sure... anyone?
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine -- Robert C. Gallagher
Umm... I don't see why people are complaining about this feature. Is Microsoft preventing anyone from doing something in this case? No - if you want to use the feature do. If not, don't. I don't understand why others have to start complaining about the parenting habits of others when a company attempts to add a parenting feature to a product - don't you think they got feature requests first from parents before they got the idea to implement it?
Not to mention, if you're talking about responsible parenting - why even buy the XBOX in the first place?
There are people who would argue that responsible parenting would mean that you don't get them an XBOX (or TV for that matter). Or for that matter, have the child work part-time on their own so they can buy their own XBOX. The thing is, every parent has their own ideas on parenting, and as far as I know there have been no real studies evaluating the efficacy of various parenting techniques (not to mention that there probably are none - it depends on the child). So stop talking as if your ideas on parenting are the only correct ones.
I personally don't have kids, but if I did, I'd probably be happy that this feature existed. Additionally, I'd probably want the same option for the PC & TV.
Actual software quality aside, I'd hope Microsoft is using its experience with OSes to implement this sudden shutdown has a suspend-to-disk type operation (or suspend to RAM if all else fails) - many games aren't designed around constant save points, and if these things are going to throw away hours of hard-earned work, I can see tons more kids going postal in the future :/
These arguments about "parents having to raise their kids" are getting old. There are gamers that are so obsessed they will get up in the middle of the night to play when they should be sleeping and going to school the next day. Tell me how a parent is supposed to monitor their child 24x7? Parents have to sleep too you know. This tool allows them the ability to make sure junior is not playing games when the parents feel he/she shouldn't be.
/. where is a timer so I can't comment after my bed time?
I could give more examples but I need to go to sleep so I can go to work. Hey
500 dollar reward for tip(s) leading to the arrest of the person(s) who stole my sig.
I don't understand why there is so much distaste for giving parents tools for *enforcing* the policies they have put in place. Which of the following would you disagree with: 1) Locking gun cabinets. After all, parents can just tell their kids not to play with guns! 2) Keeping household chemicals out of reach of children. After all, parents can just tell their kids not to touch them! 3) Running corporate computers without any kind of limited user environment. Every one can be admin! After all, if you tell your users not to download the special pointers and smiley sets off the Internet, they never would, right? They're trustworthy adults! And the process of an IT admin busting an employee and then doing something about it is good for the employee, the IT admin, and good for the company! Seriously, *what* is wrong with making a parent's decisions enforceable by the software and hardware?
Posts like this getting modded insightful scare the shit out of me.
I totally agree that parents should monitor and correct their children's behavior, but having four children of my own, two of them teenagers, it is not that simple. I've found that no matter how much you create and build the relationship, by the time they are in early teens, peer pressure is so strong, and with diminished responsibility, that the teenagers as a result are so aimless, unmotivated, and generally obnoxious and full of their own perception of their "rights" that it is very difficult to counter. I find this with virtually all the parents I talk to, most simply put it down to them being teenagers, and can't wait for them to move out. So I welcome any move from a vendor that allows me to within reason limit the hours spent on a singular device such as the XBOX. I would love something similar for computers. Without trying to start a flamewar, the results I see from most kids becoming increasingly socially backward spending several hours (every day!) chatting on MSN and by chatting I mean nothing more substantial than often repeated "LOL", "wassup?", and "rofl", and umpteen hours playing games does not help at all intellectually, don't get me wrong, I love nothing more than playing a bit of Unreal T or WOW on occasion, but it's a fact, if you don't use the grey cells when younger, they DON'T increase much later. Even though I generally consider Microsoft to be from the Dark Side, they are offering a very useful "checks and balances" option to counter the growing problems in society of raising kids.
Reports show the son became enraged, went through the house looking for the air card, and then punched his mother, prompting the parents to call the Sheriff's Office.
After the boy retreated to his bedroom and locked it, the mother knocked on the door and told him he needed to come out and talk to the deputies, the report stated. But the juvenile allegedly responded with profanity.
Harnage and another deputy entered the room using a key from the parents to arrest the son, according to the report. The son fought the deputies - at one time punching Harnage on the lip - until they handcuffed him. www.sun-sentinel.com
The ironic thing is that any parent that's self-excusing enough to want to use parental controls rather than take responsibility for what Junior can and can't do will be just as likely to consider it Microsoft's fault that they got punched in the face by their own child for activating one of Microsoft's features. Rather than take the blame for raising a brat, why not just sue? It's the American way.
Now you want truly un-American thinking? Release a treadmill or other exercise equipment that can be set to automatically give the little tubs o' lard more game time in exchange for actually exercising.
In my day, we had to run ten miles up hill before we were allowed to call the other kids "teh gey" on Halo. And we were grateful!
Speaking as a father and as someone who spends too much time staring at glowing screens, I can say that this feature is a great idea. Obvioulsy, it doesn't substitute for good parenting and spending time with your child/encouraging them to pursue better activities than video game playing. It is simply a tool.
/. are generally at the cutting edge and we often worry about the worst possible cases and get stuck in hyperbole. We are the priviledged few. Parental controls on a new game console enable most people in my generation to help balance the amount of time our children are spending on one form of entertainment.
Some will see this as a way to punish kids (and some will call it ineffective for various reasons - not all parents can operate a game console). Others will see this as a way for lazy parents to avoid parenting (this won't change that). It is partly each of these things. What it is most of all is a tool. It can be used positively, such as like an allowance - it can be increased for good behavior or decreased as a punishment.
Parenting isn't easy, and in the modern world you can't always be with your child 100% of the time. This tool helps set some boundaries. Like every tool, there is abuse potential. Like every piece of software, it will have its fair share of bugs to work out.
Technology is moving very quickly. When I was growing up (I'm nearly 30), computers had Kilobytes of RAM and phones had rotary dials. There were no mobile phones (these too appear to be going away slowly), and no cell phones. My childhood photos are in some shoeboxes on the other side of the country. My son's photos are on our website, from the day he was born. Hundreds of 4MP+ images - several each month as we go to parties or walk in the park, etc. Each picture has embedded date and time and other metadata.
We are more connected than ever before with cellphones/cameras/the net. This month people can spend $400 on 2 laptops - one for a poor child in another country and one for themselves. As time goes on, the OLPC/"$100 Laptop" will go down in price (to some extent) and the technology curve will advance. Eventually, the future generation of people will all have a minimum amount of digital technology. This will enable expression from any point in the globe to every other point regardless of income. It won't happen overnight.
The point is that the technology is coming to the masses. People on
I have spent most of my nearly 30 years of life staring at glowing screens... There's some good, some bad, and some plain old that's just the way it is in that statement.
Simple, these things rarely work, and people rely on them as if they they are foolproof.
I see some people argue that you could use this to enforce a limited amount of play time with a kid, so that they cannot "cheat". But ask yourselve what this says about your relation with your child. You do not trust your child and broadcast this very clearly.
Ask yourselve if this does not already show that your parenting skills are lacking and you really need to take far more drastic actions then rely on some tool.
A well raised child will at times attempt to bend the rules (essential part of growing up) but at the same try not to actually break them because they simply do no want to hurt their parents. Offcourse because they are too young to know better, they will get this wrong. THAT IS GROWING UP. A kid watching a movie that is way too scary for it, learns the hard way. You can install all the counter measures you like, but isn't watching something too scary also a part of childhood? Same as with breaking something and cuts and bruises. Anybody here who did not risk their neck as a child doing silly stuff like making ever higher jumps with their bike?
Part of growing up is seeing what the laws of society are and this starts with the laws at home. We must at once learn to respect them if we are to function of society, but also learn when and how to break them unless we want to become mindless machines.
This is offcourse a nightmare as a parent, but any child will attempt to push curfew, it doesn't matter what the curfew is, if you tell your teenage daughter she doesn't have to come home from her friday night date before monday morning 9:00, she will be coming in monday 9:30. Bedtime is important, but so is allowing a child to just push it a little, now and then. It is a give and take and the secret is that there are no books you can follow for this. No simple one liners.
You ain't got a clue how to parent and your only hope of success is to stop the kid from finding out. It usually works.
The problems emerge when parents are unable to see themselves as the parents and want to be friends with their kids instead, or simply refuse to take responsibility. YOU raise your kid. Not the state, not the media and not some device. If you cannot do it without help, then hand over custody to those who can.
Lets face it, if you need the help of a machine to deal with a child, you are a miserable failure. What next, you can only toilet train a puppy with a cattle prod? I deal with "troubled" kids now and then as part of volunteer work. Problems enforcing the rules? Are you kidding me, these kids are drunk for rules. They WANT someone to tell them what they can and cannot do and be clear about it. Simple rule, no smoking in the computer room, full stop end of argument, this is obeyed, but the rule is enforced for everyone, at all times. This is clear, and gets respected. Do not be wishy washy and allow it after class, or allow adults to smoke. The kids even enforce it themselves on new arrivals.
Frankly the simple truth is that if you need a machine to check up on your kid it is already too late. You are fighting a symtome, not the disease. So even if you succeed and get the kid of the 360, the kid will just disobey in some other way. A friends 360? Gaming on the PC?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
If only you'd read /. *before* buying the ring... ;P
Parents should find ways to monitor their children's behavior, obviously without being there 24/7. My father once grounded me from TV for a week when I was eight years old. So I knew what he expected. But I was in agony. I watched some anyway, and when I saw the lights in the driveway, I quickly turned it off. See how smart I am? He came in, took off his coat and hat, asked me if I had watched any TV ("No, Dad."), and then he felt the back of the TV, which was nice and hot. After that, I clearly knew what the consequences were, and suffice it to say that the TV stayed off for three weeks. One week of original punishment, two additional weeks for breaking the terms of my original punishment, and a little something special for lying about it all. Sitting down was also somewhat in short supply for a few hours, but I had just developed another smidgen of responsibility. Thanks, Dad.
Do you know the difference between Discipline and Punishment? Discipline is completely internal, and keeps you from knowingly doing wrong. When Discipline fails, Punishment can be applied by somebody else (if you are fortunate), and this repairs Discipline. Nobody can be there 24/7, and even if you could, imagine what would happen to that basket-case child upon leaving home. Suddenly the Permanent Monitor isn't there anymore. Kid's head would explode. So I don't think that you actually believe I'm talking about 24/7 monitoring.
Don't trust anyone under thirty.
A good parent will put the limit on, tell their child why. Then, when the child has proved they have the presence of mind to manage their own time between homework and play, then they can remove the limit.
The rest of your comment seems to work on the assumption that kids will gravitate to the house of the friend with the least strict parents, and therefore nobody will want to play Xbox any more. The hot news on that is that this happened long before consoles were mainstream, and depends on the parents not the console. A parent can easily manage their child's time on a Playstation 3 by taking the power cord away. All Microsoft have done is provide a tool to make it easier for them. Since most profit from XBOXes comes not from the initial device purchase but later on from games, etc., this doesn't seem very wise. This isn't correct either. The well-established norm is that device manufacturers will take a hit on each console sold. They make the difference up in licensing.
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
Worse: it's completely accurate. make your pick: sex or computer games.
What a stupid question. Sex with computer games is the obvious answer. Oh, hello cake, I think I'll eat you AND have you, too!