Filed under: Kids, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Office, Productivity, Open Source
Open Office 4 Kids is good for adults, too
by Jay Hathaway Oct 22nd 2009 at 7:00PM
The open source movement isn't just for grown-ups: Open Office 4 Kids is a slimmed-down version of the open source Microsoft Office alternative OpenOffice.org. The target age group for Open Office 4 Kids is 7-12, but after trying it out, I think there are a lot of adults who would prefer it over MS Office or the full version of OpenOffice. It's available on whichever OS you've set your kid up with: Mac, Windows and (of course) Linux.
Less UI clutter helps make OO4K super-fast. Load times for the app and for creating a new document blew away Office 2008 on my Mac, and I didn't experience any of the annoying lag in loading font menus that I sometimes get in Office.
OO4Kids also has large, very obvious buttons for all of the most common functions of each Office app. The "4Kids" branding is almost a shame, because this could also be Open Office 4 Your Mom Who Always Asks You How To Do Stuff in Office.
On the other hand, I'm glad that any 7-to-12-year-olds who use this app will grow up understanding that Microsoft Word isn't the only way to write a paper.
[via Ghacks]
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Lars said 1:16AM on 10-23-2009
Both this and Microsoft Office Starter Edition are a single good idea. I would like to see stronger, simpler, leaner software. Microsoft Security Essentials speaks well of Microsoft and bodes well for the future.
Reply
Lars said 1:32AM on 10-23-2009
More:
> The "4Kids" branding is almost a shame, because this could also be Open Office 4 Your Mom Who Always Asks You How To Do Stuff in Office.
Reminds me of something. Anybody else notice the target market for advertising prepaid cellphones? That's right: teenagers. Unambiguously. Ever wonder why that is?
Among my handheld devices, I have had prepaid cellphone service for a few years and I think it's because cellphone companies are trying to shame or embarrass adults out of even considering a prepaid cellphone, because they know that if adult buyers tried prepaid cellphones then those adult buyers would find that the prepaid cellphones' value for money was so attractive that cellphone companies would have a hard time selling anybody on a monthly subscription fee.
This is why I commend Microsoft and OpenOffice.org on smaller, lighter, less demanding software. It is the same principle.