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Posts Tagged ‘kids’

Kids robots on display in XinJiang

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This video is part of my blog posted here: http://letsmakerobots.com/node/36981 There were many robot displays by local school children. All the robots were …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Anti-Child Abuse Ad Has A Secret Message For Kids

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Author: JohnnyBells

This is a quick video showing an anti-child abuse ad developed by the Help to Kid and Adolescents at Danger Foundation in Spain. At an adult’s look, it looks like a normal child’s face, but when seen at an upward angle because you’re a children under 4-foot 5-inches tall, it reveals a run-down face and secret message to seek assistance if you’re being abused.

So when a grownup– or anybody taller than four feet, five inches– looks at it they just see the image of a sad child and the message: “in some cases, child abuse is only noticeable to the child suffering it.” But when a kid looks at the advertisement, they see bruises on the boy’s face and a different message: “if somebody harms you, phone us and we’ll help you” alongside the foundation’s contact number.

The ad works through a lenticular lens layer, which shows various images when viewed from various angles. Also, how about we simply not beat up our children? There’s gotta be a special place in hell for child abusers, and when I close my eyes and envision that location it appears like it’s on a rack in the devil’s bathroom. Oh– and there’s an indicator. It reviews ‘Living bathroom tissue’.

Arrived the jump for a video of the sign in action.

Wunderlist for Android and Windows gets Pro version, a few freebies for the kids

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Author: Rod Sutherland

As if it weren’t plenty apparent, the people at 6Wunderkinder are pretty good at task management. Less than a week after the company delivered Wunderlist Pro for iOS, Mac and the web, it’s followed through on the promise of Android and Windows versions. For $ 50 per year (or $ 4.99 per month), Wunderlist Pro delivers advanced collaboration features like task delegation and, soon enough, file sharing. Even if you aren’t too keen on paying for the Pro version, though, free users will discover an action bar in the latest update that brings the ability to sort items alphabetically, by assignee or by due date. Also from the action bar, you can email, print or invite people to shared lists. Yep, there’s something for everyone, and even if you aren’t yet familiar with Wunderlist, this is a prime opportunity to check out the scene.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Source: 6Wunderkinder

Robotic Mecha For Kids, Now With A Big Daddy Drill Arm

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Author:

Remember Sakakibara’s walking mecha suit for kids? Of course you don’t, I posted it back in 2010, it’s 2013 now, and you’re not an elephant. I only BARELY remember it and I had to write the damn article. Anyways, now Sakakibara has a new mecha suit for kids featuring one grasping arm with what appears to be missile launchers surrounding it AND A BIOSHOCK BIG DADDY SPINNING DRILL ARM. Because that’s what a child who’s still developing their motor skills needs — a deadly weapon attachment. You know there’s a reason why they don’t let kids drive cars till they’re 16. I think it’s to make it harder to run away from home.

Hit the jump for a brief video of the not very fun looking mecha in action.

Google Play, Apple’s App Store Might Face “Legal Undertakings” In OFT’s Investigation Of Freemium Games For Kids

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Author: Brandon Zimmerman

The freemium kids’ app party that has seen some parents left with hefty bills because of their kids’ use of games could be heading for a sticky end — at least in the U.K. The Office of Fair Trading has announced a six-month investigation into whether children are being “unfairly pressured or encouraged to pay for additional content in ‘free’ web and app-based games”.

The OFT says in a press release that it cannot identify the companies that are subject to investigation but a spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch it is contacting Apple and Google as part of this process — being the proprietors of the two largest app stores: the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Once the investigation has concluded — and if the OFT is unhappy with what it learns and the discussions it’s had — the spokesman said it “can seek legal undertakings from court”. Companies subsequently ignoring any court directions could face “an unlimited fine”, he added.

The OFT is concerned that developers are designing children’s content to deliberately encourage kids to make payments after the initial free download/access. It’s not citing any examples or naming any problematic apps at this point but it’s not hard to find instances that are likely to have triggered the investigation — such as the five-year-old British boy who accidentally made in-app purchases totalling £1,700 in 15 minutes playing Zombies vs Ninja. Or the British six-year-old girl who amassed a £900 bill in half an hour on the My Little Pony app.

The OFT points out that “direct exhortations” (ie strong encouragement) to children to make purchases themselves, or ask another adult to do something that results in a purchase, are unlawful under the Consumer Protection (from Unfair Trading) Regulations 2008. The sort of in-app purchases that might fall foul of the regulation could include membership, virtual currency/rewards, additional levels, faster gameplay and additional game features, it added.

The OFT said it has written to companies that are offering free web or app-based games asking for information on in-game marketing to children. It is also asking for parents and consumer groups to contact it with information about “potentially misleading or commercially aggressive practices they are aware of in relation to these games”.

The spokesman said the aim of the investigation is to get more “clarity” about the digital market for kids’ games, and the sorts of behaviours/mechanics apps are utilising, by talking to games developers, app stores, parents and consumer groups.

The investigation will also specifically consider whether the full cost of games aimed at children is being made clear when they are downloaded/accessed. ”The information [gathered during the investigation] will be used to understand business practices used in this sector, to establish whether consumer protection regulations are being breached and if so what the consumer harm is,” the OFT said today, adding that it “expects to publish its next steps by October 2013″.

Commenting in a statement, Cavendish Elithorn, OFT Senior Director for Goods and Consumer, added: “The OFT is not seeking to ban in-game purchases, but the games industry must ensure it is complying with the relevant regulations so that children are protected. We are speaking to the industry and will take enforcement action if necessary.”

The spokesman stressed that the OFT hopes to be able to solve any issues uncovered through “conversations” with the various companies involved — including Apple and Google — rather than taking the court route . ”We hope this is going to be resolved by talking to the big companies,” he added.

Google declined to comment on the investigation when contacted by TechCrunch.

At the time of writing Apple had not responded to a request for comment.

Both Google’s and Apple’s app stores require developers to sign developer agreements in order to successfully submit apps, and both have been known to remove content that violates these developer guidelines — so app stores are already in the app policing business.

Google’s Play Store developer guidelines include the following (vague) stipulation, for instance, that could potentially be used to boot freemium kids’ apps that are misleading about the potential costs:

Developers must not mislead users about the applications they are selling nor about any in-app services, goods, content or functionality they are selling.

Apple does more policing of its store than Google, with iOS developers required to submit apps for approval prior to publication on the store. “We review all apps to ensure they are reliable, perform as expected, and are free of offensive material”, Apple notes on its developer site, warning app makers to: “Before submitting your new or updated apps for review, check out the latest App Store Review Guidelines and Mac App Store Review Guidelines.”

There are also signs that Cupertino has been looking more closely at some of the problems posed by having kids interact with apps. Earlier this month it relocated age ratings from the bottom of app listings on its store, to the top near the title where they are easier for parents to spot.

This change is likely to have been triggered by concerns about apps powered by user-generated content that can contain adult material appearing in the app store where children could find them — such as Twitter’s Vine video app — rather than specifically helping parents prevent kids making in-app purchases.

Here’s the OFT’s summary of the investigation:

Many children’s web- and app-based games are free to sign up to or download. Some of those games give players the opportunity to ‘upgrade’ their free accounts through paid-for membership, providing access to parts of the game not available to non-paying players. Others encourage in-game purchases to speed up gameplay or to give access to extra game features.

The OFT will look into whether those children’s games are in line with the Consumer Protection (from Unfair Trading) Regulations 2008 to ensure that any commercial practices they include are not misleading or aggressive. In particular, the OFT will consider whether children’s web- and app-based games directly encourage children to buy something or to pester their parents or other adults to buy something for them. [see note 1]

The OFT will gather information on this issue for the next six months and is interested to hear from businesses operating in the market and mobile app platform operators. The OFT will also consult with relevant UK and international regulators.

The OFT is also keen to hear about potentially misleading or commercially aggressive practices experienced by parents whose children play these games, and also from consumer groups with an interest in this area.

note 1: The Regulations, under Annex Practice 28, prohibit advertisements from including direct exhortations to children to buy something or to ask their parents or other adults to buy something for them.

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Circuit Playground Is Adafruit’s Educational Series For Helping Kids Learn About Electronics

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Author: Jon Daniels

Adafruit, the DIY electronics website and marketplace, is espousing the popular strategy of “get em’ young” with a new live action short video series broadcast on YouTube. The series, called Circuit Playground, takes an alphabetical approach to teaching kids about the basics of circuits, components and concepts that will come in handy if the tots watching have aspirations of becoming electrical engineers, or just of building their own hobby projects at home.

The inaugural episode covers amperes, the unit of measurement for electric current flowing through a circuit. The co-hosts are Adabot, an adorable robot puppet helping keep the kids entertained, and Adafruit founder Limor Fried, providing easy-to-follow, but not patronizing explanations of the concepts involved. The intro features a number of animated characters representing circuit components, and there’s even a special guest appearance from André-Marie Ampère, after whom the ampere is named, so there’s an element of science history in the mix, too.

At less than 5 minutes, you also won’t have to keep your kids focused too long to take in the message. And if you’re a big kid who might not be all that well versed in the basics of circuits and electronics, you’ll probably learn something, too.

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Robotic Playful Pet Electronic Dog Toy Music Lights Walking Puppy Kids Children

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Author: Christen Arquette

Astronaut Robot Astro Spaceman Tin Toy Battery Operated

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Teach Your Kids: The Alphabet Of Star Wars Silhouettes

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Author: Rod Sutherland

J.J. Abrams is going to direct the new Star Wars movie and this is an alphabetic poster of Star Wars silhouettes created by graphic artist Patrick Concepcion. You can buy a print of it at Patrick’s Etsy shop HERE and teach your kids the alphabet via Star Wars. Fun! Then you can post a Youtube video of them naming all the characters on the chart and I’ll be sure to leave a rude comment like, “WHATEVER, THEY JUST MEMORIZED THE SHAPES” before retreating back to Castle Butthurt for a nap.

Thanks to Robert, learned the alphabet the 80′s way: with those anthropomorphic letters your teacher sticky-tacked up above the chalkboard.

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It’s An Android World After All: Polaroid Launches $ 150 Kids Tablet, Expanding Its New Lease On Life As A Digital Media Business

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Author: Jenny Zhao

Polaroid ’ s newish image as a digital media business got one more boost today, with the launch of a new, $ 150 Android tablet intended especially at kids. Simply/obviously branded the “ Polaroid kids tablet, ” the 7-inch gadget has actually sidestepped the vacation buying rush to attempt its luck rather launching amongst the crowd at the CES show later this month in Las Vegas.

The news comes one day after Polaroid likewise announced a new retail method, the launch of a minimum of 10 new shops this year devoted to digital printing, which will also come to be an essential place additionally to showcase its gadgets.

You might legally slam Google ’ s Android for reproducing a lot of fragmentation in the mobile market, however what the open-source OS has additionally done is assistance make cordless gadgets like tablets and smartphones genuinely mainstream, and, by means of being a ‘ free ’ OS, pave the method for some interesting devices that cater particularly to specific market segments. The Polaroid children tablet belongs to both of those trends.

The kids tablet, Polaroid states, will be made extra-durable — as you could see by the illustration right here, that will consist of an extra-large bumper/bezel. Various other hardware specifics for the Ice Cream Sandwich-loaded gadget, made in conjunction with Polaroid licensee Southern Telecom, include 8GB of interior storage with an extra external SD card slot; a 1.0 GHz CORTEX-A8 processor, a rear-only camera, and WiFi-only connectivity.

And, like various other linked gadgets aimed at the young people market, it will come preloaded with parent-controlled safety attributes and links to educational and kids-specific material.

This will consist of a “ Children Cam ”, Music Studio and Draw features, along with a couple of personalized interfaces to provide children-friendly content. These consist of a filtered video-streaming app called Children Vids, in addition to an interface called Free Play that provides all the complimentary apps readily available from a child-filtered Android app shop, the App Store.

As a parent of two young children myself, I need to confess that I ’ ve been fairly disappointed with a great deal of the “ children friendly ” devices on the market to date, which are usually too restricted and closed-source to be genuinely beneficial. And kids, after all, like to make use of tablets and smartphones virtually like grownups do, as evidenced by this Harris Poll research out today on smartphone and pc use across the USA

I personally haven ’ t taken the time to “ kid proof ” our own linked devices and so am continuously floating over my children every time they utilize them, to keep them from lapsing into near-constant searching of extremely, really random YouTube material (regardless of my greatest efforts to limit that browsing to Khans Academy ‘ let ’ s discover math! ’ video clips). Something like this seems to capitalize on the substantial quantity of good material out there to keep them interested, while also giving a bit of comfort.

Other features include hotlinks to Nook kids ’ s books, Dr. Seuss ’ catalogue and interactive books from the Smithsonian.

Polaroid is selling the children tablet together with its other gadgets online in addition to through Kohl ’ s stores.

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Adafruit’s Circuit Playground show to teach kids about electronics with cute components

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Author: Randy Miller

Adafruit currently welcomes newbies to diy gadget society, however it still assumes a particular quantity of convenience with coding and soldering. The shop now wishes to accommodate one of the most basic of beginners by starting a youngsters’s internet collection that educates electronics. Circuit Play ground will offer tasks, songs and stories that place a friendly face on engineering, in some methods really directly: numerous of the programs will involve big-eyed characters (and, normally, corresponding toys) like Cappy the Capacitor. Although the series does not start until March, it could possibly be important to a generation of children expanding up immersed in modern technology– and eventually produce a bigger client base for Adafruit in the process.

Declared under: Misc, AltCommentsVia: The VergeSource: Wired

Posts Tagged ‘kids’

Kids robots on display in XinJiang

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Teach Your Kids: The Alphabet Of Star Wars Silhouettes

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