OT: macbook pro's and kids inquiry?

Not related but a burning question. After a long psychological battle with my 10 year old son (a cool and intelligent kid) - I am beginning to let him use my macbook pro that is my editing work space fully updated and running like a dream. Is this a mistake. Anybody else in the same boat. I would love to hear the comments of other FCP editors with kids. Cheers Phil UK

Create a new user just for him with access to only certain apps and all should be cool.

Michael Horton
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I don't know, Phil...does your child spill things? Drop things? Is the child organized? My son spilled a Hawaiian Punch (red) on his keyboard the other day. If that was a laptop = c-ya.

FWIW...I love my family, but I don't even let my Wife use my edit machine(s). I would spring for a refurbished Macbook for the child @ around $850 US on the Apple site. My son is 11 and still uses my old Dual 1 Ghz - which I am replacing with an old TiG4 PB I have in storage at the start of school. If that's not fast enough (and he knows the difference), I will be going after that refurbed Macbook for him.

My 2 cents.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I did the same Michael suggested.
I have After Effects in my laptop, just because it's Intel based.
But I do quite a few post-after-fx with clips imported from FCP.
My son needs the computer for his homework and games, so I created a new user from which he has no interaction with my Pro software.
And all backed-up with a written agreement that he will surrender the laptop when I need it.
It's been working fine... until today.
He is 12 and acts his age.

Hey Joe, that is my feeling however the boy is sharp, no drinks and this is a limited time only offer while I get a G4 up and running. I have sweated over this - he needs to know I trust him but!!! there is that fear. Cheers Phil

What about an iPod touch?

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I'm definitely on Joe's side, and disagree with Michael. A 10-year-old shouldn't be using a professional editing setup.

Buy a cheaper, less up-to-date machine for him to train on.

This kind of trust is fragile. The kid may be bright, but kids are prone to shorter attention spans and don't have full control over their bodies yet. And if anything happens to the machine, both of you will have trust issues with each other. And then, let's say something happens with the laptop while in your son's possession but it genuinely isn't his fault...do you really need that kind of thing happening between you and your kid?


www.derekmok.com

To me the answer lies in if you are willing to risk losing everything (worst case scenario) if your kid messes up the comp in any way. If that's what you are willing to live with, then so be it.

My 17" Macbook Pro decked to the teeth cost me near the neighboorhood of $4K. I love my 9 year old daughter, but not willing to risk a major falling out due to poor judgement on my end.

> I love my 9 year old daughter, but not willing to risk a major falling out due to poor judgement
> on my end.

Well put. We are the adults. We have to be the responsible ones, not our kids. A loss of $4000 doesn't help anybody in the family, including the children.


www.derekmok.com

Yes, Derek...

My son is bright too, brother...SUPER-bright...and he knows how to handle a computer (Mac)... but the bottom line is he is 11 years old and accidents happen. I have even seen him get a little frustrated with the mouse & keyboard and bang them a bit. Kids that age think everything gets magically fixed and/ or replaced and they have very little idea about cost / back-up / value. I am also trying to teach my son about the value of money & value of things. I take my son to the Apple Store and break down what a computer costs. I show him that a keyboard is $50 and if he wants to keep banging on the one he is using and break it, the $50 for a replacement is going to come out of his own money (birthday / chores / etc).

There are plenty of other ways to work on the "trust" exercise without putting your livelihood in jeopardy. Accidentally wiping out your professional machine is a REAL possibility and not an option in my book. Think of how you'll feel if you trust your child enough to do this...then something bad happens. You are gonna have to take on that burden all on your own because you can't blame the child if you allowed him / her to use the laptop.

All the guilt & worry can be avoided by simply saying "Sorry, my dear...that's Daddy's work machine and nobody touches that but Daddy".

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Here is what I have done.

I have my laptop connected to an external monitor via dvi.
Mouse and Keyboard are set up via blue tooth.

Separate user set just for the kids.

The big thing is this:
The laptop is closed and far enough away from the keyboard and mouse that when accidental spillage occurs, even I am guilty of it, the laptop itself is no where near the spill.

Kids should only use editing machines with supervision, or strict instructions and lots of checking in on them.

I once came in the room to find my 15yo daughter with the case of my G4 wide open taking photos as she said "It looked cool" - the only problem was that it was rendering an important project at the time! I nearly had a heart attack!

It's a good idea to get a computer that the kids can use - my daughter ended up with my Pismo which got her through her first 2 years of University, which converted her to a Mac user.

John

I have rushed to implement all the advice given in this thread, and suddenly I find I'm not allowed to use my own system without supervision.

Please send help.

Get your 10-year-old his own computer, along with FCP and a Flip camera. In two years you'll be able to ask him for advice on the computer and the finer points of FCP.

Travis
VoiceOver Guy and Entertainment Technology Enthusiast
[www.VOTalent.com]

Wow - what can I say. I'm not comfortable with my son using my macbook - he knows all about stop frame animation, photoshop and anticipates Motion 3 really well BUT?? I am going to take the advice of this magnificent forum and say "negative George" and go thee alternative route. Thanks again - Phil UK

I suggest you buy your son his own laptop, or even his own desktop.

You can always do the settings for him to minimize his access. I think That your son will learn a lot and will benefit a lot from this.





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I just picked up a 20 inch Imac for my daughter on Ebay for $300 --perfect shape -

I also got her a 12inch Mac Book on eaby for $300 to use in collage --Jay--