KidDesktop
© 2008 Apple
Designed for Windows XP (SP 2) or Vista computers, and available as a 4.3 MB download from www.kiddesktop.com, this $30 utility lets you present a customizable desktop to children, with pre-selected web sites, games and a photo browser. Unfortunately, despite an easy and logical setup process and a nice set of features, we kept getting an error on our Windows Vista test machine (Microsoft .NET Framework Unhandled exception, installing version 1.2.3). But note that we've only tested this program on one computer -- hardly a scientific test. After you download and install the file, you setup an account for each child. Your child's name and icon are shown when you log into the computer for the first time. So it is possible for a child to never see the actual Windows desktop. When adding a child (we added two with no problem), you have a variety of options. You can add a timer, let a child adjust the volume, or toggle for spoken help. You can also choose to hide the Windows start menu if you like. For each website you choose, you can select an icon of choice, and have the program prevent your child from leaving the site. In addition, you can turn on or off printing options. This ability to pre-select already installed games or provide one-click access to websites is a wonderful feature -- if only we could get the program to work. Note that this idea isn't new (see Edmark's KidDesk for one example). But it hasn't been updated for a long time. If you're up for a bit of tech support help or perhaps just plain lucky, KidDesktop may be a good choice.
$30, Windows XP
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