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Need an OS recommendation for children.

KuJoe

KuJoe

Well-Known Member
Verified Provider
My daughter just turned 3 years old this week and I'm looking to install a new OS on her netbook since she's been getting more and more familiar with Windows 7 to the point that she can use Chrome fairly well and I'm afraid of some of the trouble she can get into on a Windows OS (she's already ordered things off Amazon in the past, luckily Amazon is extremely nice about refunding digital content because each season of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is $75-$120 each).

She's been using Windows 7 for the past year so she's competent navigating that interface with a keyboard/mouse/keypad but she's also been using android devices for just as long so she can handle a minimal interface also.

I'm mainly looking for something with parental controls while introducing her to linux since Windows is so easy to use and I want her to grow up learning linux.

Here are the specs of her netbook in case that's a factor for any specific OS:

Intel Atom N550 Dual-Core 1.5GHz

2GB DDR3 RAM

64GB SSD Drive

Intel GMA 3150 w/Broadcom CrystalHD Video Accelerator

802.11n Wireless
 
KuJoe

KuJoe

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Verified Provider
joepie91 said:
These might be useful: http://opensource.com/education/14/1/teaching-kids-linux and http://www.brighthub.com/computing/linux/articles/43224.aspx

Really, though? Ordering things from Amazon at 3 years old? I'm impressed.
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I've been wanting to use Qimo as recommended by both of those links but it looks like it's using an EOL version of Ubuntu so no patches and it hasn't been updated since 2010. I did manage to find a working download link so I'm still downloading it to try it out. :(
 
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rds100

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Why don't you just block / stop the internet to the laptop? Then she can watch whatever movies are downloaded on the laptop, but not anything from the internet.
 
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Nett

Article Submitter
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Srsly only 3 years old? And she can use the computer well and order things online?? Some toddlers can't even understand many words at that time.

You'd better off install a network filtration device or a DNS filtration service to block inappropriate websites and ports.
 
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telephone

telephone

New Member
I'd recommend Elementary OS. It's like the Mac version of Ubuntu  :lol:... While it's not my cup of tea, it's very straightforward and I've installed it on old laptops for friends children before.

For parental control:


[*]Key logging: Logkeys (use SVN version)

All of the parental controls can be applied to any distro, so it'd be best just to choose a child friendly UI and go from there.
 
KuJoe

KuJoe

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Verified Provider
Francisco said:
What about ChromeOS or whatever they call it?


Francisco
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I considered that but Chrome/ChromiumOS is a little limited from what I've seen from it. It's not out of the question but I'd still prefer a linux OS so when she's older I can just install another Linux flavor and she'll pick it right up.

Aldryic C said:
Alys prefers Gentoo >_>
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My co-worker suggested this to me also, I'll have to check it out now since that's 2 recommendations in 24 hours from people with experience.

DomainBop said:
http://www.doudoulinux.org/web/english/index.html based on Debian stable, LXDE desktop, in active development (latest version was released was 3 months ago)
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Downloading. :)

Magiobiwan said:
Edubuntu maybe?
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I've read mixed reviews for this from parents who have tried it and it seems more suited for a classroom than a child's computer according to most of the people... I'm not sure what that even means but I'll add it to the list to download and test.

shovenose said:
I know you already got the netbook, but what about a Chromebook ??
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I don't want to spend anymore money right now, she's already got a tablet and a netbook. ;)

rds100 said:
Why don't you just block / stop the internet to the laptop? Then she can watch whatever movies are downloaded on the laptop, but not anything from the internet.
Click to expand...
I wish this was an option but all of her classes are online. She's not old enough to go to school so we enrolled her in an online school that she works on whenever she feels like it so we don't want to restrict her access if she wants to use it. Additionally the only movies she watches are on Netflix and Amazon On Demand, although I do like the idea of saving content locally so she has access to a few movies and music if we're on the road.

Nett said:
Srsly only 3 years old? And she can use the computer well and order things online?? Some toddlers can't even understand many words at that time.

You'd better off install a network filtration device or a DNS filtration service to block inappropriate websites and ports.
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I was considering adding ClearOS to our network for filtering but wasn't ready to go buy a home server just yet. I will definitely be adding something at the network level when she's old enough to bypass the OS restrictions.

telephone said:
I'd recommend Elementary OS. It's like the Mac version of Ubuntu  :lol:... While it's not my cup of tea, it's very straightforward and I've installed it on old laptops for friends children before.

For parental control:


[*]Key logging: Logkeys (use SVN version)

All of the parental controls can be applied to any distro, so it'd be best just to choose a child friendly UI and go from there.
Click to expand...
Thanks telephone, Elementary OS looks nice and the apps you suggested really opens up my options a lot. :)
 
D

dave

Member
I had linux on my son's computer when he was younger for a long time.  As he got older, he kept asking and wishing for windows, so he could play the games he wanted to play.  So eventually we switched back to windows.
 
KuJoe

KuJoe

Well-Known Member
Verified Provider
dave said:
I had linux on my son's computer when he was younger for a long time.  As he got older, he kept asking and wishing for windows, so he could play the games he wanted to play.  So eventually we switched back to windows.
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Luckily my daughter is only 3 so all of the games she plays are flash based and she doesn't know the difference between Windows/Linux/Android yet.

When she's older she's welcome to install whatever OS she wants but for now I want her to have some exposure to linux.
 
Aldryic C'boas

Aldryic C'boas

The Pony
KuJoe said:
When she's older she's welcome to install whatever OS she wants but for now I want her to have some exposure to linux.
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Watch that doesn't come around to bite you, though :p  Got mine started on linux, and now she's developed a complex about as bad as my own >_>

Only 10, and already she has a good handle on bash, and has me helping her learn perl.
 
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