Hello all, I have a very important question and I ask for little advise: I'm going to buy a new computer for my little cousin, He is 8 years old, but what kind of computer is right for Him? or what kind of program I can get to don't let Him mess up with important files, only Him going to use it but I'll like to set it up for His age, I want him to learn in a safe way for the computer,some advise? Thanks in advance

The only way to teach children about a computer, is to supervise them for a period of time, teaching them the right way to do things. Like turning it off properly to start with. if you yourself dont know about computers, let someone who does help him or her get started. Most children learn quickly.

I have to agree with TimberWolfe. Teach good habits, like proper startup/shutdowns, and not to go clicking on files that have nothing to do with the games and stuff he wants to use. In other words, teach him to keep his mouse out of where it don't belong and you won't get a crashed windows. As for buying a new computer for him/her, that's your choice, I would go with a good refurbished one from a reputible computer repair shop. But if you insist on buying new look for something at least still running win98. Stay away from XP. If you train a kid to only use XP then they won't learn to work on anything else. Hope you can see where I am coming from. I am a mother of 3.

Since XP is the operating system that is going to be here from now on, there's not much reason to start someone off on something that is about to become obsolete. Let him learn on XP and he won't have to make an unecessary confusing transtion in a year.

I'd start him out with at least Windows 2000. That way, he can have his own account that's just part of the Users group. That will restrict a lot of stuff right off the bat. Also, if he's going to have Internet access, install NetNanny or a similar program to keep him from seeing stuff he's too young to see. :) Right from the beginning though, supervise him. Make it a rule that he can't be on the computer without an adult present. Good luck..

Buy your little cousin the cheapest PC you can find. Purchasing something like a 2.2 ghz Pentium machine for an 8 year old would be a total waste of money. And be sure to sign him up with AOl...just teach him how to sign-on and he'll figure out the rest on his own. Don't forget to get him his very own IM screen name, that way he can make lots of friends too.

I agree with chuck. i too purchased a cheap pc for my neice. She is 8 too. i'm puttin 95 on it. The reason is that she is 5 hours from me so ill let her figure it out. if she breaks it ill go fix it. dont have a lot to lose.