This is why I will buy Windows 8

For years I've been searching for and/or thinking of developing something like this for my son. I have tried everything to get him to have a better life balance when a computer in included in it. At 15 he is still very much a work-in-progress. The Windows 8 team took it to the next level by implementing the rules via Windows Account. Now if only I could control his friends computers...

Way to go Windows 8 Family Safety team!

*Edit*: "SkyDrive' to "Windows Account".

That looks like a useful tool for parents.

I only hope that as Microsoft integrates more services with Microsoft Account and integrates Microsoft Account more tightly with Windows 8, that they provide more tools for managing one's Microsoft Account, especially for those that have multiple accounts. 

It seems to me that camera phones would be more problematic than PCs. If I've taken anything away from Scott McNealy, it's this one quote, "You already have zero privacy - get over it."

-Josh

Don't worry, the dancing bunnies will find it's way to be clicked.

I doubt the given how tech savvy the kids are these days, how many time would they need to find a workaround against this.

I still think that the best way to protect them is to gain their understanding why it's not good for them, and allow them to see these things as they hope they'd lose interest themselves later.

Hiding these websites away will just make "visiting these sites" more attractive to them.

Well, for 5 years old kid researching whitehouse.com in year 2000 is not a good thing.

Awesome, I want this on my phone!

Everything in that blog post is part of Windows 7 with the Live Essentials suite installed.    

So instead of buying Windows 8 - just learn how to use the software you have correctly.    

On a related note: Software isn't a replacement for good parenting. If you let your kids do whatever they want on the internet then you only have your self to blame when meatspin melts their eyes.   

@ManipUni: yeah, because I am a bad parent when my child of 2 and a half clicks on an add for viagra in Angry Birds.

@ManipUni: Not quite -- they've tweaked it to be a bit easier to use.  I tried out the live essentials stuff, but the constant stream of URLs to be authorised drove me to uninstall it after a few days.  The newer emphasis on monitoring on Win8 looks far more usable.

Herbie

@Maddus Mattus: Setting up automatic monitoring and then leaving children on the open internet makes you a bad parent. No child (aged 1 to 10~) should ever been unsupervised while using the internet. 

1 hour ago, ManipUni wrote

Everything in that blog post is part of Windows 7 with the Live Essentials suite installed.    

So instead of buying Windows 8 - just learn how to use the software you have correctly.    

On a related note: Software isn't a replacement for good parenting. If you let your kids do whatever they want on the internet then you only have your self to blame when meatspin melts their eyes.   

Not quite, this one also ties into Microsoft Accounts instead of a single machine's Windows account. But yes, this is just another example of Microsoft making great products that no one knows about (Media Center, Zune, Live Essentials, Security Essentials, etc.).

@ManipUni: Monitoring is reactive, filtering content is proactive. I require a tool that does both.

I do not agree that letting your children go online unsupervised is bad parenting. I can't be around all the time, I can't prevent their every mistake. I can tell my son a hundred times the kettle is hot, he will still make the mistake sooner or later. I do not want my children to grow up in a cocoon where everything is telly tubby, fluffy bunny happy. Mistakes is what makes them learn. No mistakes, no pain, no gain.

And if they accidentally see pr0n they wouldnt understand anyway.

3 minutes ago, spivonious wrote

Not quite, this one also ties into Microsoft Accounts instead of a single machine's Windows account. But yes, this is just another example of Microsoft making great products that no one knows about (Media Center, Zune, Live Essentials, Security Essentials, etc.).

People leave my home totally Mediacenterized. They ALL want one.

The only problem is, is that I always get to play tech support.

7 minutes ago, Maddus Mattus wrote

*snip*

People leave my home totally Mediacenterized. They ALL want one.

The only problem is, is that I always get to play tech support.

I really hope that MS does something in Windows 8 to help the enlightened, even if it's just a Live TV tile on the start screen.

@spivonious: I'm confident that someone will fill the void. If there is a demand, there is always a supplier.

You guys missed my point. I'm not trying to shield my kid for the world. I want him to spend less time on his computer. You know go outside, play with friends, etc. I've tried Family Safety with Windows 7 and it doesn't limit the time spent on the computer. That's the cake in the Windows 8 version for me. The icing is the breakdown of time spent.

@DeathByVisualStudio: Back when I was in highschool. My dad tried to limit the amount of time I and my brother spent on the computer by setting a password on the BIOS, so we wouldn't be able to use it if we were home before he returned for work.

He really should've picked a better password though, as both my brother and I were independently able to guess it within minutes (it was "ajax", his favourite football team). So much for the effectiveness of that measure.

The only downside was that whenever we'd hear the car arrive we'd have to drop whatever we were doing and turn it off, regardless of whether the game allowed you to save.

@Sven Groot: That's funny. I used to have a similar issue with my dad arriving home but there was no loss of state when putting away his playboy magazines.

Oh Ajax.... Yeah they kicked our butts about this time last year in a friendly. It's always nice to be reminded now and again how far off the MLS is from the rest of the world in football quality.