Not really a "review"
|
| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| techiem2 Dec 16, 2006 6:37 AM EDT |
He makes a couple good points, but there's nothing review like in the article. A summary would pretty much be: "It includes parental controls. Why don't other home-focused distros?" That's pretty much all he says. |
| cr Dec 16, 2006 6:50 PM EDT |
Maybe he should switch from Ubuntu CE to Win CE; it does a more thoroughgoing job of restricting choices and filtering out knowledge deemed 'inappropriate' by its configurers. Me, I talk to my kids. I watch over their shoulders sometimes, and monitor what moves across my network, and tell them I'm doing it, and why, so they understand and expect it. Sometimes I drop into their IRC channels with them to shoot the breeze. If I see something I don't like, we talk about it, and I tell them why I'm not happy with it; they either present their justifications (I'm not immune to error, such as proceeding on inadequate information, and they know that) or accept my ruling. I've only had to block sites at the firewall a few times. It's all part of my job as their parent and initial role-model. For us, MEPIS and Slackware, our current distros, are adequately family-oriented and home-focused. |
| dcparris Dec 16, 2006 7:33 PM EDT |
cr: That's great! |
| jimf Dec 16, 2006 8:10 PM EDT |
cr pretty well has it nailed. I'd go a step farther. Except for very young children, the addition of parental blocking software does very little other than to encourage their hacking abilities, which can become quite formidable, especially with a child that is conversant in Linux. The only real way to 'censor' is to talk with the child, and, be aware and involved. Parenting is the 'only' solution... Well, other than eliminating every computer in the house, and we all know how that would go over... ;-) |
| dinotrac Dec 16, 2006 11:05 PM EDT |
jimf - CR has it half-nailed. Parenting is the 'only' solution? Well, duh. When I was a kid, my mother didn't let me buy pornography. She didn't let me buy racist records. She didn't let me get my hands on a number of things. Most parents were the same way, with some variation in the makeup of the lists. Parental controls are woefully inadequate, but are an internet version of that parenting principle. They also recognize that parents get nearly no support in trying to raise their kids these days. And...let us not forget single parents, who tend to be overworked and overtired. I suppose you could take a "shame on them" position for being in that position. Tools that help parents to do their jobs better are good. |
| jimf Dec 17, 2006 12:38 AM EDT |
> Tools that help parents to do their jobs better are good.Tools that help parents to do their jobs better are good. Well, duh... If they work, and if they aren't being used as panaceas, sure. |
| dinotrac Dec 17, 2006 3:27 AM EDT |
jimf - I get the feeling we actually agree pretty closely on this matter. Time to turn my attention to important matters... DA BEARS! |
| incinerator Dec 18, 2006 7:43 AM EDT |
jimf wrote: "Except for very young children, the addition of parental blocking software does very little other than to encourage their hacking abilities, which can become quite formidable, especially with a child that is conversant in Linux." Excellent! great idea! Every parent _please_ install Ubuntu CE on your kids computers, now! That way we will have built ourselves an army of young satanist GNU/Linux hackers in a couple of years and the world will be a much better place *ggg* |
| jimf Dec 18, 2006 8:27 AM EDT |
> That way we will have built ourselves an army of young satanist GNU/Linux hackers in a couple of years and the world will be a much better place *ggg* More likely that you'll soon have a 'young hackers for Jesus' in your neighborhood soon. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I'll leave for others to judge. |
| dinotrac Dec 18, 2006 9:02 AM EDT |
jimf - > 'young hackers for Jesus' Now here's the funny thing... This is called the "Christian" edition, but my Hindu and Muslim friends are even more protective of what their children see and do than my Christian friends. Maybe it could be re-packaged as the concerned parents edition. |
| jimf Dec 18, 2006 9:13 AM EDT |
> my Hindu and Muslim friends are even more protective of what their children see and do than my Christian friends. There you give the best reason for the whole parental control thing to be released as a package, and not a religious oriented Distro. |
| tuxchick Dec 18, 2006 9:21 AM EDT |
well now jimf, you know how protective some folks are of their particular chosen religions. Branding is everything. If the concept takes off, I foresee clones of the exact same "parental assistance" distribution released under different labels. Just like RHEL and CentOS and Pie Box and Lineox... |
| jimf Dec 18, 2006 9:28 AM EDT |
> I foresee clones of the exact same "parental assistance" distribution released under different labels. Just like RHEL and CentOS and Pie Box and Lineox... Oh, I agree :D |
| swbrown Dec 18, 2006 2:24 PM EDT |
apt-get install blinders? :) |
Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]
Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!