Remember the days when Slashdot polls weren't all about reader profiling. Seriously, it's getting out of hand...
My primary phone runs
My primary work is
I typically interact with X-many OSes per day:
How Much Of Your Day Is Dedicated Video Games?
Amen, as long as those choices include proactive measures. It being an adult and saying "no" to a game system because you know your kids (or you know yourself) and you know it won't be a healthy addition to the family. My children read books primarily due to the lack of digital options. Sometime boredom is a good thing?
As a parent and techie, I'm passionate about this issue. I firmly believe (and AMA research is starting to support) that "screen time" is a poor substitute for the real world in any form. Young children's experiences are much about discovering their world through the senses including advance concepts such as cause/effect and object permanence. The rules governing these are universal in the real world, but limited in the simulations. It's a cheap substitute that limits discovery and expression.
I have no doubt that my children will learn about technology and end up as good or better with it than I am. They're drawn to it like a moth to light. They'll get it by default. It's the outdoors, playing with others, learning about social norms, etc. that are the lessons we as parents need to concern ourselves with. The tech will come. One needs a solid foundation in the "real world" before being able to see the limitations (and also the lack of limitations in some aspects) of the virtual.
This country is losing itself to a series of crisis expedited statutes and/or policies. Will H1N1 be the end of the net neutrality debate? I can hear it now. "We can't afford NOT to institute traffic shaping in light of this impending crisis!"
A bug in the code is worth two in the documentation.
