In my previous post, “Setting Up Your Child’s First Computer,” I mentioned that you can configure your router to block your child’s computer from accessing the Internet. I prefer this method over software-based methods because any software installed on your child’s computer can potentially be reconfigured by your child or one of their friends.
My 5-year-old daughter has always been fascinated with computers. This is not surprising since she sees Mommy and Daddy on their computers every day. When she was only three, we began making a game out of typing words that she was learning in pre-school, and soon she began picking out the letters of her name on the keyboard. She would giggle for hours as we helped her identify the letters in words she knew and helped her type them on the screen. She was typing her name like a pro long before she ever learned how to handwrite it. Not long afterwards, I installed some age-appropriate games on my computer so she could begin developing her hand-eye coordination by operating the mouse to manipulate the characters in the game. However, as her skills and enjoyment increased, so did her demand for time on MY machine (these demands always seemed to occur when I was in the middle of a website, photo, or video project.) So, when I upgraded to a new desktop a few months ago, I knew that it was time for my little girl to take over my old one. Here are some of the issues I considered when setting up her computer:
Most of the public has no idea that a political battle has been brewing in Washington over the idea of Net Neutrality: the principle that your Internet Service Provider sells you unedited access to the internet. No matter what site you visit, you get the same speed downloads from that site as you would any other. However, in recent months, some of the big ISP’s (who also happen to be phone and cable companies) have announced plans to throttle your bandwidth when you use certain services (like voice-over-internet calls, or video downloads) from the web. Needless to say, this exposes a major conflict of interest on the part of your ISP.
This video (from 2007), does an excellent job of explaining just what Net Neutrality is and what the current threats to our online freedoms are:
Right on the heels of my diatribe about anti-Muslim bigotry comes this post (once again from God’s Politics! Yay Jim!)
I Love My Name (by Omar Al-Rikabi)
Two points in this article that are delivered with much more eloquence than my feeble attempts:
OK people: If you get one of those stupid e-mails proclaiming that Obama is a (gasp) Muslim and therefore, just a step or two away from handing the country over to al Qaeda or some other bull$*!+ like that, look no further than Jim Wallis’ post over on God’s Politics.
Even better, read Barrack’s own words in his book, The Audacity of Hope
Church Marketing Sucks: Where’s the Church on Facebook?
From the article:
“Where’s the Church?
The big question is where is the church on Facebook? Are churches taking advantage of this new community, even if it’s not a formal marketing approach (simply setting up groups and events doesn’t need to happen in an ‘official’ capacity)? This goes back to our discussion of how the church can use MySpace, and a lot of the same principles apply (of course churches need to decide how many social networking sites it’s worthwhile to join).”
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John W. Killinger is a certified Tech Support Specialist, Photographer, and owner of JK Digital Services.