I'm giving my 9 yr old granddaughter my G4 Powerbook for her birthday. Tips on setting it up. please?

[GeneL]

It's a 1 GHz 15" PB/ 2 GB ram/ 250 GB/ OS 10.5.8.

So far, I set it up four accounts with my son as admin and the other three set up for each of the grandkids (she'll have to share for now).

The kid's accounts are "Managed with Parental Controls."

I made these settings for all three:

Use Simple Finder.

Allow only selected Applications:

Safari, Mail, Address Book, TextEdit, iTunes 10 and iChat (which I believe can be restricted to only certain people?).

Under Content I checked Hide profanity and Allow access to only these websites and will ask my son to select the sites that he approves.

Under Mail & iChat I checked both Limit Mail and Limit iChat and, again, my son will have to set these up for the kids. I'm including a webcam and will love to be able to iChat with the kids.

These settings seemed pretty basic and I think that my son and daughter-in-law will be able to make any adjustments that are necessary.

One issue is that my granddaughter got a iPod Touch in lieu of both a birthday and Christmas present and I understand that it won't sync with a G4 running iTunes 10 on a G4 computer. Is there any way that she will get anything out of using iTunes 10 on the Powerbook?

She will be able to use iTunes on my son's new iMac in any case.

I want to make sure that everything will be just right when I give it to her, so if you have any suggestions as to settings, applications or anything else, please let me know.

Thanks for your thoughts,

GeneL

BTW, I thought about selling the Powerbook and using the money towards an iPad, but I felt that this would be a better choice.

[D. Lawson]

As far as Web browsing goes, I have had much better luck (in terms of both speed and stability) with the RPMozley G4-optimized build of Camino on my 12" PowerBook G4/867 running OS X 10.4:

http://www.rpm-mozilla.org.uk/builds/camino/

[GeneL]

D. Lawson wrote:
As far as Web browsing goes, I have had much better luck (in terms of both speed and stability) with the RPMozley G4-optimized build of Camino on my 12" PowerBook G4/867 running OS X 10.4:

http://www.rpm-mozilla.org.uk/builds/camino/

Thanks, D.L.

I think it will be easier to stick with Safari, since both my son and my grandkids are brand new to Macs and I don't want to throw them any curves until they become more familiar with the basics.

I noticed some breaking up of the sound on Disney's website, but the sound playing with games on Yahoo worked normally. Same thing with YouTube videos. There was a bit of jerkiness which could possibly be attributed to using the Powerbook's built-in airport to connect with my router.

The set up is not perfect by today's standards, but it is a start for the kids. I'm thinking that if they're not able to get good use out of the Powerbook, I'll take it back, sell it and use the money to get them something better.

Of course, money is tight, so I'll be happy if this works out.

GeneL

[~Dan]

GeneL wrote:
It's a 1 GHz 15" PB/ 2 GB ram/ 250 GB/ OS 10.5.8.

"One issue is that my granddaughter got a iPod Touch in lieu of both a birthday and Christmas present and I understand that it won't sync with a G4 running iTunes 10 on a G4 computer."


Thanks for your thoughts,

GeneL

As you can see here is an iPod touch synced to a 1.25 GHz G4; I don't know where you heard that but it simply isn't true.

[cbelt3]

Click2Flash. Definitely. Most kid sites are all Flash-a-rific, and the performance problems will drive them batty.

[GeneL]

Thanks ~Dan and cbelt3, for those tips.

I'm guessing that I'd have to download Click2Flash and install it on the PB? Will that help with the somewhat choppy playback. It's funny that some videos play just fine and others stutter a bit???

~Dan, I've never used either iTunes or an iPod, so could you explain how to achieve the setup you've illustrated in your post?

As I've said, I have iTunes version 10 installed. That seems to be the latest version which is installed on my MacPro, so it seems that an Intel processor isn't required to use this iTunes app.

Is there anything special that my granddaughter will need to use the Touch? Is it just a matter of plugging in to the PB USB port and away she goes?

The more I try out the "allowed" kid's websites, the more I wish I could sell the PB for enough to buy an iPad without paying a lot more.

With the larger drive, maxed out RAM and near perfect cosmetic condition, couldn't the PB bring $400 to $500 on CL?

Could an iPad be set up with the same "parental controls" as the Powerbook and would my granddaughter be as well served as with it as with the laptop?

[~Dan]

GeneL wrote:
Thanks ~Dan and cbelt3, for those tips.



~Dan, I've never used either iTunes or an iPod, so could you explain how to achieve the setup you've illustrated in your post?

As I've said, I have iTunes version 10 installed. That seems to be the latest version which is installed on my MacPro, so it seems that an Intel processor isn't required to use this iTunes app.

Is there anything special that my granddaughter will need to use the Touch? Is it just a matter of plugging in to the PB USB port and away she goes?

It is just a matter of plugging in the USB cable from the iPod and launching iTunes; as you can see I choose to manually sync music on my iPod ... others like to have it automatically sync each time it is plugged in. Simply check the box(es) to make your choice when it is first launched.

This PB is usually used by grandchildren on their visits here and they all charge / sync their own iPods with it. They love it. Otherwise it sits on a table in the corner and is never used.

[GeneL]

One more question ~Dan, do I need to have iSync activated in the kids accounts in order to let them sync their iPods or does it work by just having iTunes open?

Thanks again!

GeneL

[~Dan]

GeneL wrote:
One more question ~Dan, do I need to have iSync activated in the kids accounts in order to let them sync their iPods or does it work by just having iTunes open?

Thanks again!

GeneL

No iSync necessary ... just launch iTunes and and go to preferences (in the Apple menu); check the box (under the 'devices' tab) that says'prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically'. Then when a kid plugs in his device he / she can manually sync it.

[GeneL]

That's the tip I was looking for, ~Dan.

I think I'm pretty well set now.

Thanks ~Dan and everyone who posted their suggestions.

GeneL