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Games Entertainment

Regulate Your Kids' Gaming With Time Scout 59

Posted by simoniker from the thunderstorms-and-natural-disasters-also-work dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a PC World/Yahoo story discussing the Time-Scout Monitor, a device "which tracks and enforces usage limits on electronic products, and cuts the power when time runs out." It's aimed at kids who may watch TV or, particularly, play game consoles for too long, and uses an ATM-like card to allott time on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. According to the man behind it, Kent Hansen, "You get home and the kid is playing Nintendo or the computer when they're supposed to be doing homework. Then you're facing arguments and negotiations that make you the bad guy. With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box."
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Regulate Your Kids' Gaming With Time Scout

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  • drawback? (Score:5, Funny)

    by orangesquid ( 79734 ) <orangesquid AT yahoo DOT com> on Saturday June 21, 2003 @12:12AM (#6260038) Homepage Journal
    Kid: Mom, what happens when I unplug the Nintendo from that funny-looking box and plug it into a normal socket?
    Mom: Shit.

  • Can't finish a game! (Score:1, Redundant)

    by DJayC ( 595440 )
    I can see it now.. a kid is too involved in a game and then *CLICK*, no power. "But I forgot to saaaaaaaaave".

    As far as not arguing with "a box", I'm sure a kid is more inclined to hit the box than attempt to argue with it!

  • Parents? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mhesseltine ( 541806 ) on Saturday June 21, 2003 @12:24AM (#6260067) Homepage Journal

    From the post (my emphasis):

    Then you're facing arguments and negotiations that
    make you the bad guy. With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box."

    Right. Exactly. Just another excuse for parents to not be parents and be their child's best friend. Ladies and Gentlemen, you aren't supposed to be your kid's best friend. You're supposed to be their parent, their role model, their mentor, their teacher. Quit sluffing off and do your jobs!

    P.S. To those parents who do monitor the time their kids spend online, playing games, watching TV, etc. Thank you.

    • We have four children and we do monitor computer use. Our kids each have a limited amount of time they are allowed to use the computer each day. A device like this doesn't replace parental monitoring, but it could make it easier for the kids to "spend" their computer time.

      We home-school too, and the kids like to pop onto the computer during the day for a short chat with other home-schooled friends. Each chat counts against their computer time.

      Because they consume the time in pieces, disagreements often
      • I think he was specifically referring to the "make you the bad guy" statement, not the product as a whole. You said yourself "we are definitely not our kids best friend" and that was the only part of the article that I took offense at, the "Dont be the bad guy! Let the box punish your kids!" part of the article. You have to be the bad guy, or someone else will, who doesn't love your kids as much.
      • I understand and agree with your general strategy, but I know that as a kid in this situation, I respected my parents rules far more than I would have respected some device. If my mom had resorted to a physical device to control my TV-watching or C64-playing, I would have felt nothing wrong with circumventing it with physical means.

        So long as the restriction was in the moral realm of what was expected of me, it seemed unacceptable to attempt to undermine the requirements.

        In short, I feel that such physic
    • how about be both their parent and their best friend. My parents were. Its not THAT hard.
  • We see a lawsuit for a kid saving just as their time runs out, resulting in a memory card garble?

    The article doesn't really seem to say whether or not the devices are somehow physically locked into the base unit or not. Just that a monitor is plugged into a wall, and the time-limited device is plugged into a base unit.

    Anyway, I'm sure a lot of desperate kids understand that the power supply is swappable at the console's end, and that their nearest toy store sells it. An extension cord will eliminate any n
    • really, i doubt we'll ever see a lawsuit for a kid losing his saved game. be realistic- how important is that to any sane person? to most people, it's just a game, but more importantly, what judge would take such a case seriously?

      • Can I assume you've never logged 5 days of play time in a game?

        Losing a save you've been working for months or years on, after finding every last thing, would be heartbreaking.

        I have several like that - Super Smash Bros: Melee and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle come to mind (each of which has logged over 120 hours of play time, although in reality it's quite a bit more power time).

        Not that it qualifies as a lawsuit-worthy thing, but it's quite a big deal.

        (please no "ur a luz0r" trolls, I'm well aware)

        • i've been a gamer since i was a child, but i admit most games today can't hold my interest- but i've logged 5 days in a game before- but still, it's just a game, something to distract me.s
      • Why not?

        When I was growing up, we had to chores to "purchase" time on the Atari or Apple][. Time was tracked by using a $2 kitchen timer which was held by the parent. (ie. kid turns in tokens, mom turns the dial.)

        As I recall, doing the dishes was worth 30 minutes of game time. So, if I lost a 30 hour game save due to this stupid device, I've just lost 30 days worth chores.

        While it might be nice having an automated system to monitor time in this fashion, just powering off the machine is not the way to d

  • Lousy Product? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Babbster ( 107076 ) <aaronbabb@NOspaM.gmail.com> on Saturday June 21, 2003 @12:32AM (#6260087) Homepage
    I see nothing in the article (and nothing on the company's website) about how this product would prevent the youngster from unplugging the device from the unit and then plugging it into the wall. I assume that there's some sort of locking mechanism that prevents access to the power plug.

    Apart from the above, what about multi-TV households? I suspect that any family ready to blow $70 on a device like this has multiple televisions and would need one of these devices on each one. If only one is attached then, of course, the product can easily be evaded by moving to another TV.

    Realistically, the only way this product works effectively (if only one is bought) is in stopping kids from using their console (again assuming that there is a locking mechanism as described in my first paragraph). They can still vegetate in front of one of the TVs in the house, and frankly I would find that more disturbing were I a parent than having the kid playing video games (at least their brain is engaged with the latter).

    I guess there's one more way this could work, and that's by integrating the idea into televisions and consoles themselves. Then, parents could simply choose to buy only components wtih the card access technology. Otherwise, there are just too many ways around it, and by the time the child is old enough to play videogames they're going to have the ability to evade the system.

    --Note that all of the above assumes that the concept is a "healthy" idea in terms of parenting which is another argument entirely.

    • On locking: You know the holes that you see in almost every plug? There are special sockets with little rods that insert into those holes at the turn of a key and lock the plug in place.

      Tim
      • Nifty. I've never seen anything like that but it certainly does answer that question that hasn't been nagging me at all: Why are there holes in power plugs? :)
        • In my experience, it's to wire a quick connection when you dont have an actual outlet, and to hold the plug more securely into the wall (the same way some pen-caps have little nubs on either side and little indentations or ridges on the pen). I've never heard of these locks, and my first assumption is that he's full of shit. Why bother believing him or looking it up? no, this guy is just full of shit.
          • I couldn't actually find a reference for my "locking socket" conjecture although I have heard of people seeing them in public places where the management doesn't want you removing power to their equipment...

            I did, however, find a reference for putting a lock through the holes to prevent someone from plugging in the equipment in the first place: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_389.html

            Tim
    • "I see nothing in the article (and nothing on the company's website) about how this product would prevent the youngster from unplugging the device from the unit and then plugging it into the wall. I assume that there's some sort of locking mechanism that prevents access to the power plug."

      Heaven forbid that parents actually pay attention to what their children are doing to prevent them from doing this. But then again, I guess not having to pay attention to one's children is the whole point of this device
  • When my family first got a computer, I was in junior high, it was perhaps 1996. Initially, my mother limited my time spent on computer games to 1 hour a week. Let me tell you, there's not much you can do in an hour a week, I tried playing Myst. The only other games that were marginally playable oner those conditions were Lemmings and Sim City 2k.

    I actually followed the rule for more than a year, then my dad started going on lemmings binges and the injustice of it all sank in. Ultimately, if she'd said

    • Re:Glad we didn't have this. (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Yeah, limited your child's access to technology is perfect. I mean, just think - if only my parents had done a better job of preventing me from using their computer so much, I wouldn't be wasting my life making a six figure salary from home with all of the knowledge I gained almost entirely from that stolen time on the computer that I wasn't supposed to be on.

      Yeah.. Boy... That awful computer!
  • We could put them on Linux boxen. Yeah Linux can handle unanticipated shutdowns. Better still put one before a UPS in the chain.

  • Old school (Score:4, Informative)

    by cfreeze ( 146454 ) on Saturday June 21, 2003 @12:41AM (#6260119) Homepage
    What ever happened to just parents setting down a set of rules and actually enforcing them? Devices like this might be the new 20th century way of being a parent, but they often tend to throw off the responsibilities of being a parent. Nothing beats being there for your kids. Take an active role for crying out loud, their only kids once.
    • Really come on! its the best kind of parenting you can give. Here the parent is providing a learning environment fostering problem solving. Heck maybe they'll even learn some basic electronics!
    • [SARCASM]
      BUT that's against the American way to parent! Both of us (mom and dad) are driving around in our SUV's and working overtime to pay for them, and the Boat, and the lake house, and the House that we've refinanced 3 times in the last 3 years. We don't have TIME to monitor their video game usage. Heck we're not even there to hug them when they come home from school. We're pissed that our kids and their friends are out vandalizing the neighborhoods between the time school is out and we get home, an
    • I agree completely except for the "Nothing beats being there for your kids". It should be "Nothing beats beating your kids" :-)
  • ... you could hook a car battery up to the back of this thing as well. Extend your game over the time limit and the box shocks the pee right out of you.

  • You can't argue with a box (Score:3, Funny)

    by djNocturne ( 94307 ) on Saturday June 21, 2003 @01:28AM (#6260263)
    It's true, I've tried.

    "What the f--"

    "I pushed left, you squirrely piece of shit ... left ! God and BABY Jesus, I am not playing that entire level again!"

    Storm out of the room. Wait at least two minutes (you do have your pride), then slink back in and play that entire level again.

    I also recommend a wireless controller. Preferrably one of the more expensive models. Trust me, you're much less tempted to throw a $50 miracle of modern technology into the wall ... unless, of course, you decide that it's to blame for the "glitch."

  • Get the kid involved? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Baloo Ursidae ( 29355 ) <dead@address.com> on Saturday June 21, 2003 @01:52AM (#6260307) Journal
    Seems like the solution to this isn't Time Scout, but rather Boy Scouts [scouting.org] or some other extracurriclar activity. One weekend a month, plus a weekly meeting during the school year and a week out of the summer. Joining Troop 592, Portland [troop592.net] was one of the best decisions I made when I was younger. Great for the eternally gaming youth, after all, Scouting is a game with a purpose [scoutbase.org.uk]. FPS addict? we [meritbadge.com] have you [meritbadge.com] covered [meritbadge.com]. Think of it like the meatspace port of America's Army [americasarmy.com].

    Scouting not your speed? Adults not willing to help out with troop logistics occasionally? Go grab your local equivilent of Computer Bits [computerbits.com] and find your local gaming groups. Yeah, it's not really reducing hours gamed, but it's getting that all-important social interaction, which is the ultimate goal.

    Gaming too much is more of a social issue than a technological one, and one that requires a social solution.

    • Teach your kids to be good, upstanding, homophobic [about.com] Americans! Just like the good old days!
      • What's funny about that whole topic is that for the short time I was in Boy Scouts before I gave up on Scouting or at least my troop being horrible, it was a bastion of barely-repressed homosexuality...

        Tim
        • Units vary widely. Shop around. Seriously. No two units are the same. I was without a unit for 15 months as I looked around for a troop I liked (I took a long time finding Troop 592, Portland because my family returned to Oregon then, and we weren't sure if we were going to stay in Canby [canby.or.us] or move again the rest of the way back to Portland [portland.or.us]).

          Went from Pack 94, Sylmar to Troop 592, Portland.

  • ... there was no discussion (not that I had a gaming console besides an Atari 2600 when the Nintendos were in fashion). If you were told to get off the games, or computer, or your butt, you did it. Plain and simple. If you didn't, well, let's see how many people between 25-40 are out there tonight and let them answer. :)

    CliffH
  • With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box

    No kid with the cognitive ability to play games is going to be fooled into believing Mom and Dad can't get them more game time. This will just change the arguments to "Just 5 more credits Mom, PLEEEZE? I gotta get to the save point...etc". Not a final solution for arguments about game time, but an effective deterrent for sneaking in that last level before hormework/bed. I can't help thinking that with the advent of gaming famili

  • Is this supposed to be a joke? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    "You get home and the kid is playing Nintendo or the computer when they're supposed to be doing homework. Then you're facing arguments and negotiations that make you the bad guy. With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box."

    You might not be able to argue with it, but it's not stopping you from plugging the damn console directly into the wall, is it? Does this Time Scout stop a kid from resetting its password, then entering some random number combination so that the parents

    • All the whining posted on this topic about how unfair it is that parents might actually back up their rules with enforcement simply underscores the point that parents sometimes need to use tools to assist them in their role as parents.

      The same whiners come out of the woodwork everytime their is a post about Internet filters. The fact that dishonest kids are going to circumvent the rules at every opportunity isn't any justification for using tools to help keep honest people honest.
      • No one here is whining about the tool you moron.
        They're whining about 1) the uselessness (some of us complaining are parents) and 2) the very real rise in parental irresponsibility (my 8 year old was almost killed by a neighbor's brat throwing a metal bar at him).

        And 1 more thing, the tool makers aren't honest. Since when is every college website a porn site? Since they installed CyberPatrol.

        Censorware won't let you near any discussion of
        censorware, winter being "hard on" cars, or www.janehan"cock".com.
  • Another device to seperate the responsibility of parenting from the parents.
  • And negate one more reason for being a parent....Why are we removing all the actual parenting from the process of raising a child?
  • there have been timer things like this for years. there have been times like this for watching tv, the only thing i see different is the card swipe ting. guess what, no one bought them then, no one will buy them now...

  • With this product, there's no argument, because you can't argue with a box

    Yeah, right.

    Reminds me of that old Country-Western standard "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be black hats."

    -- MarkusQ

  • As cool as a commercial break... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...why don't parents just kill their children and get over with it. If someone has so little interest in his child that he needs such a unit to make sure it doesn't watch too much TV, he's probably better without children.
  • How long until some ingenius little tyke figures out how to hack or modify the device anyways? If they can't get enough access to do what they want to do, they'll go to the library, school or a friend's house and use a computer there to figure out how to break the restrictions on the box. Then all mom and dad have is a $70 hunk of metal and plastic, and they're back to square one.
  • I'd rather him grow up with better hand-eye coordination, logic skills, an reflexes. Oh but wait, too much Tetis is going to turn little Timmy into a homicidal maniac.

  • Piss the kids off even more? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Thing 1 ( 178996 ) on Saturday June 21, 2003 @01:55PM (#6262786) Journal
    I think this would piss the kids off even more.

    Instead of: Mom: "Johnny, save your game and come to dinner," we get: Box: "click" Johnny: "Goddammit I was almost through that level!"

  • ...idea?

    I agree that the modern parent leaves too much parenting Jo XBOX and re-runs of "Leave it to Beaver", but have you ever tried saying Goodnight to a kid with ADD? It's quite a process, let me tell ya (my girlfriends brother can't focus on food, let alone homework). This is a firm "sorry, get your ass to bed". Sure, there will be whining of "just a few more credits pleaaaaassee...." but there is a firm 'NO' that can along with that.

    It's a slightly less drastic measure than unplugging the game


  • I put an X-10 plug on the TV and the firecracker
    thingie from Radio Shack on my linux router. a cron job shuts the TV off every school night at 9:00 and won't turn it back on until the next morning. The kids know where the remote is and can turn it back on if a mistake was made (holiday - no school tomorrow) but normally they get the hint and go to bed. (or sometimes finish up homework they told me was done before the TV got turned on).
  • Back when my siblings and I were growing up, my parents instituted a time keeping system of their own, using an old set of poker chips and a couple of cheap kitchen timers.

    You earned chips by doing your chores and by performing well in school. For instance, doing the dishes was worth a red 30 minute chip.

    Chips could be cashed in for TV, computer or game time.

    Extra chips could be earned by doing extra chores.

    When you wanted to cash your chips in, a parent would mind the timer.

    The system worked well...

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