<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body alink="#ee0000" bgcolor="#ffffff" link="#990000" text="#000000"
vlink="#551a8b">
<a href="http://webpub.mit.edu"><img alt="MIT WebPub"
src="cid:part1.08020808.08080702@mit.edu" border="0" height="140"
width="650"></a><br>
<p><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><a
href="http://webpub.mit.edu/2009/05/media-browser-for-kids/">Media
browser for kids</a></font></p>
<p><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">May 5th, 2009</font></p>
<p><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><br>
I’m testing out a new media browser called <a href="http://kidoz.net/">KIDO’Z</a>
with my son, and think its good enough to pass along here. I found out
about it through TechCrunch, here’s the <a
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/04/no-childs-play-kidoz-creates-a-kid-friendly-media-browser/">blurb
from their newsletter</a>:<br>
</font></p>
<p><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">
<blockquote type="cite"> KIDO’Z is a pretty nifty Adobe AIR-powered
desktop browser app that gives kids a safe and fun environment to play
games, watch videos and/or visit pre-approved websites. When you first
install the AIR app as a parent, you can configure the age and gender
of your offspring as well as your location and preferred language
(there are 17 available).<br>
<br>
What’s nice is that all these settings are taken into account at a
content level, so KIDO’Z automatically caters the media it think is
most suited for your kid(s) at first launch. As a parent you get
password-protected access to an admin panel where you can add more or
restrict access to certain content, set limited time frames for usage,
and so on.<br>
<br>
All content only shows up when a KIDO’Z team member approved the
content beforehand, and to add more layers of security all scripts,
file downloads, pop-ups and any other attempts that could lead to
content which has not been approved, are thoroughly blocked.<br>
<br>
To use the app, kids won’t need to know how to read or write since
obviously the whole UI is quite visual of nature, and very colorful to
boot. The main menu of the KIDO’Z browser currently consists of three
categories: games, videos and websites. All media can be opened and
viewed inside the app’s interface, and in fact kids can only leave the
KIDO’Z environment by exiting the browser altogether. CEO Gai Havkin
tells me the tool will later be extended to a closed network of
communication tools, including e-mail and instant messaging features
(see last screenshot), making it more of a social experience but
without the security and privacy hazards of existing services.</blockquote>
<br>
</font></p>
<br>
</body>
</html>