choirfarm Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Thinking of a gift for me and a gift for 16yo. I don't understand a couple of things. First of all, we are in a rural area. Satelitte internet was horrible. We currently use a Verizon card that we plug into the computer. We take it out and turn it on if dh is using his laptop. So a couple of questions: IPOD touch- I know you can put filters on it, but how clunky are they, how easy to bipass??? Would he be able to do fantasy football league, espn, etc but block access to cheerleaders??? He is a sports fanatic. When he was 12/13, he overrode our parental controls on the computers and started viewing cheerleaders all the time, eventually on to sports illustrated, and once Victoria's secret. That is the background. And that was despite having tons of passwords etc. He has gradually earned back the trust and I think I can see where he goes. He has been good but has till very occasionally looked at cheerleading pictures ( most have been more modest than what you see on the sidelines at the NFL games) Also, can you use the apps without internet connection??? Right now we just have the one family computer other than dh's laptop that he takes to work. That has ALWAYS been the safety feature, but that didn't work. I didn't know if an IPOD touch would be a good idea or not. But in a year and a half he will be gone and out of any parental supervision, so he must make decisions for himself. He has so much internet work this year with Spanish, AP Gov and Chem. He is doing fine. He is also driving and doing great. Could he access things in his room by himself?? In other words get on the internet? For me, would the IPAD work without the phone card? The boys use our card A LOT for all of their school. I mean AP Gov takes them at least an hour each some days like Fridays nearly 2, Spanish 30 minutes each, and my oldest son AP Chem an hour to an hour and a half. So it is plugged into the main computer. So it wouldn't work right? It would have to be unplugged like with a laptop? Also, how do these devices work with data limits??? Are you using data when you use the IPAD?? Technology is just passing me by. I use some of it, but feel old and feel like I don't understand it. And that is part of the problem with my oldest who wants to major in computer science. He is so beyond me. I want to keep him safe, but he is just really, really smart. christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 anyone??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Ipad and Itouch require an internet connection to connect to the internet. Since you don't have WIFI (wireless internet) in your house, neither of these devices will be able to connect to the internet. The IPad also has a 3G (cellular) option that you can use, but it requires that you sign up for a data plan with your cellular carrier. If you WANT to be able to connect to the internet with your IPad, this is the route I am guessing you will need to take. Call Verizon and see if they can't help you out. They love to sell people data plans for cell phones. :D And - yes - you are definitely using data with these devices. It counts against your limit. My DD says most of the apps are not very good without the internet connection, though there are some that work "offline". I'm not an app expert, so I don't know. Techy DH says you can plug your verizon card into a wireless router and use it as a shared connection for all the machines including the ipad and itouch but it might be slow. (I think I understood two or three words in that last sentence). DH says it's called "MiFi"...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Techy DH says you can plug your verizon card into a wireless router and use it as a shared connection for all the machines including the ipad and itouch but it might be slow. (I think I understood two or three words in that last sentence). DH says it's called "MiFi"...... Yes, when dh is connected it says WiFi our internet thing is unhooked when he uses his laptop. It says Verizon wireless on this device, so maybe a phone card is incorrect. I don't know exactly what to call this device. I'm thinking it might work for a laptop and IPAD at the same time??? Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloversandlions Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Thinking of a gift for me and a gift for 16yo. I don't understand a couple of things. First of all, we are in a rural area. Satelitte internet was horrible. We currently use a Verizon card that we plug into the computer. We take it out and turn it on if dh is using his laptop. So a couple of questions: IPOD touch- I know you can put filters on it, but how clunky are they, how easy to bipass??? Would he be able to do fantasy football league, espn, etc but block access to cheerleaders??? He is a sports fanatic. When he was 12/13, he overrode our parental controls on the computers and started viewing cheerleaders all the time, eventually on to sports illustrated, and once Victoria's secret. That is the background. And that was despite having tons of passwords etc. He has gradually earned back the trust and I think I can see where he goes. He has been good but has till very occasionally looked at cheerleading pictures ( most have been more modest than what you see on the sidelines at the NFL games) Also, can you use the apps without internet connection??? Right now we just have the one family computer other than dh's laptop that he takes to work. That has ALWAYS been the safety feature, but that didn't work. I didn't know if an IPOD touch would be a good idea or not. But in a year and a half he will be gone and out of any parental supervision, so he must make decisions for himself. He has so much internet work this year with Spanish, AP Gov and Chem. He is doing fine. He is also driving and doing great. Could he access things in his room by himself?? In other words get on the internet? I don't know the answer about blocking, but figured I'd answer the other question about internet connections. Some apps will require access to the internet to work properly, but for others, internet isn't needed. My ds has an iPod Touch; if you can block sites on them, I don't know about it, and haven't really needed to find out yet. I don't think I'd mind, though, if my 16yo were looking at modest pictures of cheerleaders, but my almost-13yo isn't at that stage yet. There are plenty of pictures I would mind him viewing, though, but then, I don't know that I plan to replace his iPod when it finally dies (the battery is showing signs of imminent failure unless it's plugged in at all times), and when/if we replace his desktop, it'll be a laptop...and if he abuses our trust, he'll not be allowed to use the computer in his room. As it is, he often loses the iPod because he'll use it late at night - usually, he's listening to Naruto online, or sometimes he's just reading. For me, would the IPAD work without the phone card? The boys use our card A LOT for all of their school. I mean AP Gov takes them at least an hour each some days like Fridays nearly 2, Spanish 30 minutes each, and my oldest son AP Chem an hour to an hour and a half. So it is plugged into the main computer. So it wouldn't work right? It would have to be unplugged like with a laptop? Also, how do these devices work with data limits??? Are you using data when you use the IPAD?? Technology is just passing me by. I use some of it, but feel old and feel like I don't understand it. And that is part of the problem with my oldest who wants to major in computer science. He is so beyond me. I want to keep him safe, but he is just really, really smart. christine Our iPads don't have data plans, but we do have wifi in our home, which is handy for many things because we'll often use it just to go online quickly. I don't know how you'd use a phone card as you described in your first paragraph, but perhaps you could tether the iPad to the computer? I'm sure we use data for some of the things we do on the iPad (sometimes I'll check the forum here if I just want to read quickly, or check a thread of special interest, for example; other times I'll check the news, or the kids will watch a netflix movie [would require internet access] on there). It's really quite a lot like the iPod - needs internet for some/most things, but not for others - so it would depend on what you'd use it for. I think it's most useful when online, but not all applications will require it. You could type a document on there while offline, but you couldn't check email. My ds hasn't been inclined to look for technological bypasses (yet), but his friend is scary-very savvy about that sort of thing. Edited October 13, 2011 by WorkInProgress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Sorry about the triple post! See post #10. Edited October 13, 2011 by RegGuheert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) Sorry about the triple post! See post #10. Edited October 13, 2011 by RegGuheert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I wouldn't have the first idea how to outwit a teenager to block Internet. My son was at a camp that allowed no personal electronics whatsoever. His computer music teacher was lecturing about how secure the computers were. Ds bet him he could get on Facebook using the camp computer. He was updating his status before the teacher could get back to the front of the room. I know I'll never be able to outsmart him, so my rule is that the very first time he is caught viewing anything questionable, I'll kill all of the Internet to the house and leave it that way until he graduates. So far he hasn't tested me, but if I disappear off the face of the earth without warning one day, you will all know what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 OK, I looked up what we have and it is called a mobile hotspot. It has to be plugged into our desktop to work. However, on dh's laptop it doesn't and we've taken it with us in the trailer to work. I think...think we have unlimited data on it. I know that we did before we added our 16yo's phone a couple of months ago, but it was because we had been grandfathered in with Alltel. We are paying about 190 a month for this hot spot, dh's smart phone that he must have to look at x=rays and stuff, my plain old cell phone and son't plain old phone. That just kills me... But I guess since we don't have cable, it is ok. That just seems like an awful lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Could he access things in his room by himself?? In other words get on the internet?You can lock that with a password if you like. iPads and iPods have pretty good parental controls (assuming he doesn't get the password).Also, how do these devices work with data limits??? Are you using data when you use the IPAD??As mentioned, it will use a data. Potentially a LOT of data. But not so much when it is being used, but more for getting apps and updating software and apps. If you are careful, you can probably get by with 1 GB/month/iDevice. You could get by with less than that, but I wouldn't count on it. For instance, the big update yesterday was 0.8 GB!! OTOH, keep in mind that you can control when and where you do these things. For instance, DS13 and I were in town at a dentist appointment yesterday so we went to McDonald's and downloaded the update using the free internet there. My DD says most of the apps are not very good without the internet connection, though there are some that work "offline".I guess I will disagree with this. Most of what I do with the iPad can be done without any internet connection. Only some of those games the kids use which require constant attention to an electronic pet seem to require internet.Techy DH says you can plug your verizon card into a wireless router and use it as a shared connection for all the machines including the ipad and itouch but it might be slow. (I think I understood two or three words in that last sentence). DH says it's called "MiFi"......:iagree: I recommend you do this regardless of what you decide about the iPad/iPod. Here is a brand that I have used with good success: Cradlepoint Cellular Router Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 OK, I looked up what we have and it is called a mobile hotspot. It has to be plugged into our desktop to work.I think the device AK_Mom4 and I recommended will work with your device. You should be able to verify this by checking it on CradlePoint's website. If you have unlimited internet, you should be all set with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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