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Digital kids
Parents the winner in Leopard, Vista showdown
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: November 20, 2007 4:00 a.m. PST
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In a showdown of new parental controls in Apple's Leopard versus Microsoft's year-old Vista, there's one clear winner--the parent.
When Apple unveiled its newest operating system on October 26, the computer maker made its first major overture to parents by infusing Leopard with a slick set of child controls. New settings help parents manage a child's time online, block use of certain Web sites or applications like instant chat or iTunes, and watch over what kids do and who they communicate with when Mom and Dad aren't around.
Apple was playing catch-up to Microsoft's parental controls for Vista, which the computer giant unveiled in January. It, too, made its biggest push into the parental-control market with Vista, adding the same finely tuned features, so much so that parental advocates say Vista's parent controls are a reason to buy the software. And that's true of Apple now, too.
"The battle to one-up each other in parental controls is only going to benefit consumers," said Chris Swenson, director of software industry analysis at the research firm the NPD Group. "There's really no excuse now for parents not to lock down their PCs for their children."
Parents are clearly paying more attention to technology for managing their children's computer use, especially as more kids venture online at younger ages. As one proof point, U.S. retail sales of parental control software were up 47.3 percent in the first nine months of 2007 over the same period last year, according to NPD, which tracks sales of major retailers such as Amazon.com and BestBuy. Top sellers at stores are controls from Enteractive, Microforum, and ContentWatch.
Apple and Microsoft don't have numbers on how many customers use parental controls, but analysts say the feature will easily be a selling point for Leopard and Vista this holiday season. Apple sold 2 million copies of Leopard in the first weekend it was available, blowing away early adoption rates of its Tiger software. In contrast, Microsoft has sold as many as 88 million copies of Vista.
Despite the uptick in U.S. retail sales of parental controls, some parents buy such software and then are left baffled by how to use it, or don't have the time to properly install it, according to analysts and parent advocates. That's why experts believe that operating-system software must be extremely easy and effective to use--which both Vista and Apple have proved to be so far. As millions of parents begin to upgrade their computers with the preinstalled software, parental controls on the PC may start to become mainstream, they say.
"Parental controls at the operating system level is really the best way on the family PC," said Anne Collier, co-director of ConnectSafely.org, a community site for parents and kid safety. "There are more options for the parent and it's seamless, rather than having to install something that may or may not crash the system."
Feature by feature, Vista's and Leopard's parental controls are on par--with time settings, various levels of site and application blocking, and log activity files. But for parents of kids who play games online or on the desktop, Vista offers parents an edge with more granular controls for games. The settings include detailed age and content appropriateness ratings for games from an industry nonprofit called the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB. Parents of a 5-year-old boy could allow him to only play "early childhood" games, for example.
"That's definitely a strength with Vista--where families are using it for gaming it has the rating system so that parents can block games based on (their child's age and content appropriateness)," said Tom Laemmel, Windows product manager. That parental control feature was recently added to Microsoft's Xbox, too.
In terms of user interface, however, Apple controls come off cleaner and simpler. Parents can configure their child's Apple home page dock with only three tabs and one-click options so that younger kids operate the computer more easily. Leopard includes drop-down menus for setting when and how long a child can be on the computer. Microsoft's Vista, in contrast, offers a calendar grid to set time.
In addition, Apple's Leopard settings newly enable parents to control a child's computer from their own, unlike Vista.
"We have a rich set of parental controls that are incredibly easy to use and that give parents the flexibility to decide how to use them and to create a certain experience for their child on the Mac," said Chris Bourdon, senior product line manager for Mac OS.
Microsoft's Laemmel said the company is good at remote administrative controls in the business realm, but in the home, it's unnecessary.
"Within the home environment, you want it to be straightforward, you don't want to have to have an IT person," Laemmel said.
Continued: Controlling risque anime
About the author
Stefanie Olsen covers science and technology for CNET News.com. In this series, she examines the young generation's unique immersion in the Web, cell phones, IM and online communities.
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Parental controls have been available since long before Apple cut and pasted OSX from FreeBSD.
Apple fans need to get a grip; doing exactly the same thing as someone else is not 'invention' or 'innovation', regardless of what Steve Jobs says.
Parental controls have been available since long before Apple cut and pasted OSX from FreeBSD.
Apple fans need to get a grip; doing exactly the same thing as someone else is not 'invention' or 'innovation', regardless of what Steve Jobs says.
controls you mentioned have been on my Mac for years. (I haven't
upgraded to Leopard.)
/P
control web-surfing you had to enter the sites your kids could
visit and it denied them access to all others. The new OS allows
you to click on a box to try to deny access to adult websites
automatically. This is so much easier. It was a hassle if my kids
wanted to look at espn then look at the nba and then the lakers
and if he got a little different page I'd have to OK it every time. I
don't care what he reads about sports but at 12 years old I'd
rather not have him viewing porn.
controls you mentioned have been on my Mac for years. (I haven't
upgraded to Leopard.)
/P
control web-surfing you had to enter the sites your kids could
visit and it denied them access to all others. The new OS allows
you to click on a box to try to deny access to adult websites
automatically. This is so much easier. It was a hassle if my kids
wanted to look at espn then look at the nba and then the lakers
and if he got a little different page I'd have to OK it every time. I
don't care what he reads about sports but at 12 years old I'd
rather not have him viewing porn.
How many online sites for children offer parental reporting services, that is, periodic reports sent to the home via email detailing online activies in that site by that account?
How many online sites for children offer parental reporting services, that is, periodic reports sent to the home via email detailing online activies in that site by that account?
/P
There are times when it's ok to turn your head and let kids learn on their own by making mistakes. Unfortunately there are a lot of serious risks out on the web and there are times when parents' vigilance is imperative. Things like porn are too tempting and I don't want my young teen getting hooked. I also don't want them downloading illegally and exposing me to liability. And letting my daughter (or son) be exposed to potential predators?
Trust me, I have more pressing things to do with my time than read my kids' Facebook pages. But I'm not sure I have more important things to do.
Hopefully by the time my kids are grown, they will live by the lessons my wife and I taught them. But asking them to do so when they're 15 in today's society? Nope, not possible.
The best thing about software like this, if I understand correctly, is that each user has the option of turning it on or turning it off. Sorry, that is not censorship.
so called "censorship" controls should be a requirement from age 0 - 18, and the wise parent will apply them with a slowly decreasing grip.
but you you my friend, I see you haven't yet learned your lesson. and I bet you even refuse to read the bible too.
well, here in Illinois there is a saying oft spoke in all our prisons "You can't have the Bible in school but you must have the Bible in Prison" in illinois it is the law that any inmate that requests one must be given a Bible.
So on your 18th birthday, be sure and ask for your copy.
First, a few things about myself. I am not a pedophile who wants to be able to stalk kids online. I am not a parent who wants my kids to have sex at age 5. I am not a horrible and destructive parent. Actually, I am an 18 year old who recently escaped from a horrible and destructive home situation, part of which was caused by censorware. Now, a few points parents should be aware of.
1. Here's how you can tell if your kids are hooked on porn and masturbation: are they 14 or older? If they are, then the answer is yes. Frankly, it doesn't matter what you do, where there is a will there is a way.
2. Are you aware that software can be hacked? Amazing, right? Not really. I keylogged my way around every filter my parents ever installed. It wasn't even difficult. The longest I ever didn't know the password for the censorware was ~2 days.
3. Installing censorware is a perfect way to ensure that your kids will do exactly what you don't want them to online. Are you familiar with the phenomenon of kids doing what you tell them not to, because you tell them not to? Yeah. Your kids will simply go to the library or a friend's house. Think about it.
4. Keeping a newborn in a sterile environment free of harmful bacteria doesn't protect it. It simply makes it more vulnerable, so that as soon as it gets a slight infection it dies. You can't protect someone by hiding them under a rock, you need to educate them and show them the damaging effects of whatever it is you don't want them to do.
5. Nudity is not porn. Websites like domai.com are not pornography, they are art, and nobody should be offended by them. Seeing genitals is not sexual unless something sexual is being done to them. Then it becomes porn. Get it straight people.
If you in any way disagree with what I've said here, please reply in a civil way, rather than calling me a pedophile or a loser or something childish. Let's keep this conversation at the adult level.
/P
There are times when it's ok to turn your head and let kids learn on their own by making mistakes. Unfortunately there are a lot of serious risks out on the web and there are times when parents' vigilance is imperative. Things like porn are too tempting and I don't want my young teen getting hooked. I also don't want them downloading illegally and exposing me to liability. And letting my daughter (or son) be exposed to potential predators?
Trust me, I have more pressing things to do with my time than read my kids' Facebook pages. But I'm not sure I have more important things to do.
Hopefully by the time my kids are grown, they will live by the lessons my wife and I taught them. But asking them to do so when they're 15 in today's society? Nope, not possible.
The best thing about software like this, if I understand correctly, is that each user has the option of turning it on or turning it off. Sorry, that is not censorship.
so called "censorship" controls should be a requirement from age 0 - 18, and the wise parent will apply them with a slowly decreasing grip.
but you you my friend, I see you haven't yet learned your lesson. and I bet you even refuse to read the bible too.
well, here in Illinois there is a saying oft spoke in all our prisons "You can't have the Bible in school but you must have the Bible in Prison" in illinois it is the law that any inmate that requests one must be given a Bible.
So on your 18th birthday, be sure and ask for your copy.
First, a few things about myself. I am not a pedophile who wants to be able to stalk kids online. I am not a parent who wants my kids to have sex at age 5. I am not a horrible and destructive parent. Actually, I am an 18 year old who recently escaped from a horrible and destructive home situation, part of which was caused by censorware. Now, a few points parents should be aware of.
1. Here's how you can tell if your kids are hooked on porn and masturbation: are they 14 or older? If they are, then the answer is yes. Frankly, it doesn't matter what you do, where there is a will there is a way.
2. Are you aware that software can be hacked? Amazing, right? Not really. I keylogged my way around every filter my parents ever installed. It wasn't even difficult. The longest I ever didn't know the password for the censorware was ~2 days.
3. Installing censorware is a perfect way to ensure that your kids will do exactly what you don't want them to online. Are you familiar with the phenomenon of kids doing what you tell them not to, because you tell them not to? Yeah. Your kids will simply go to the library or a friend's house. Think about it.
4. Keeping a newborn in a sterile environment free of harmful bacteria doesn't protect it. It simply makes it more vulnerable, so that as soon as it gets a slight infection it dies. You can't protect someone by hiding them under a rock, you need to educate them and show them the damaging effects of whatever it is you don't want them to do.
5. Nudity is not porn. Websites like domai.com are not pornography, they are art, and nobody should be offended by them. Seeing genitals is not sexual unless something sexual is being done to them. Then it becomes porn. Get it straight people.
If you in any way disagree with what I've said here, please reply in a civil way, rather than calling me a pedophile or a loser or something childish. Let's keep this conversation at the adult level.
full set of parental lock down tools for the computer as a whole.
:)
/P
full set of parental lock down tools for the computer as a whole.
:)
/P
user is a large IT geek). It builds all of the functionality in its
software such that any task can be done 35 different ways. This
causes more confusion than it offers help.
Most people are not geeks like us (who hang out on a tech
board). Most parents would just give up if they had to decipher
all of the MS granularity in their software.
Make it simple to use. Understand your customer and what is
important.
user is a large IT geek). It builds all of the functionality in its
software such that any task can be done 35 different ways. This
causes more confusion than it offers help.
Most people are not geeks like us (who hang out on a tech
board). Most parents would just give up if they had to decipher
all of the MS granularity in their software.
Make it simple to use. Understand your customer and what is
important.
Tiger, and extensive Parental Controls are already available,
under System Preferences/Accounts. Options include:
Limiting the applications a user can access
Restricting a user's access to email
Restricting the websites a user can view
Restricting what users can do with the computer
Restricting whom a user can chat with
According to the article, in Leopard "New settings help parents
manage a child's time online, block use of certain Web sites or
applications like instant chat or iTunes, and watch over what
kids do and who they communicate with when Mom and Dad
aren't around." These settings have been available since 2005.
How is Apple "playing catch-up to Microsoft's parental controls"?
This statement is incorrect. Has the author ever used OS X?
I hope CNET will correct these errors.
Apple goes back to the Mid 90's with AtEase that fully locked down the system for any parent needing such a service.
MS plays catchup in Vista, and will further play catch up again now that Leopard has past them by.
Vista and really any MS OS isn't what you want if you have kids, they don't do it correctly, it's like it was an afterthought to them, Apple does it right once again.
-
Thanks for reading.
best,
Stefanie
Tiger, and extensive Parental Controls are already available,
under System Preferences/Accounts. Options include:
Limiting the applications a user can access
Restricting a user's access to email
Restricting the websites a user can view
Restricting what users can do with the computer
Restricting whom a user can chat with
According to the article, in Leopard "New settings help parents
manage a child's time online, block use of certain Web sites or
applications like instant chat or iTunes, and watch over what
kids do and who they communicate with when Mom and Dad
aren't around." These settings have been available since 2005.
How is Apple "playing catch-up to Microsoft's parental controls"?
This statement is incorrect. Has the author ever used OS X?
I hope CNET will correct these errors.
Apple goes back to the Mid 90's with AtEase that fully locked down the system for any parent needing such a service.
MS plays catchup in Vista, and will further play catch up again now that Leopard has past them by.
Vista and really any MS OS isn't what you want if you have kids, they don't do it correctly, it's like it was an afterthought to them, Apple does it right once again.
-
Thanks for reading.
best,
Stefanie
around for a while in OS X.
Leopard's parental control features, however, are vastly
improved over Tiger. I think that's why the author mentioned
Leopard's "major" improvements in parental controls such as
time scheduling. Tiger already had limited application use as well
as site blocking/allowing but Leopard offers more control in
these areas and also provides the parent to auto-lockout all
computer use between certain times (on a day-to-day basis).
Leopard also offers logging information for websites visited,
websites blocked, applications used as well as iChat logs.
Leopard, he could have said so. As it stands, the article makes
false claims and leaves the reader with the impression that OS X,
for the first time, features Parental Controls while trailing
Microsoft.
around for a while in OS X.
Leopard's parental control features, however, are vastly
improved over Tiger. I think that's why the author mentioned
Leopard's "major" improvements in parental controls such as
time scheduling. Tiger already had limited application use as well
as site blocking/allowing but Leopard offers more control in
these areas and also provides the parent to auto-lockout all
computer use between certain times (on a day-to-day basis).
Leopard also offers logging information for websites visited,
websites blocked, applications used as well as iChat logs.
Leopard, he could have said so. As it stands, the article makes
false claims and leaves the reader with the impression that OS X,
for the first time, features Parental Controls while trailing
Microsoft.
you don't want to have to have an IT person," Laemmel said."
no need in a home server.
you don't want to have to have an IT person," Laemmel said."
no need in a home server.
end of the day, parents are going to benefit from the competition.
end of the day, parents are going to benefit from the competition.