Guest Rod Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 I have just supplied my 13yo with a you-beaut XP with a good graphics card, and the lad is having a great time, his games are whizz bang and chatting on Messenger is intoxicating. Me, on Win98 have been consuming about 5mb a day on ADSL, now the child from hell is racking up around 100Mb a day. Now the initial terror has subsided, can anyone suggest a reasonable download quota, for a child of this age? I need to build my Phone budget scheme around dowload expectations. He is a good kid really, does not game on line, and will curtail his music downloads. If I say sign up for 1Gb per month, is that reasonable for adequate usage? Does chatting (with smileys et al) gobble up a lot of data? Thanks for any sage advice, from a learner parent.
Guest Mike Cawood, HND BIT Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Rod" <pookiethai@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message news:Oc%230UAOCIHA.3400@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >I have just supplied my 13yo with a you-beaut > XP with a good graphics card, and the lad > is having a great time, his games are whizz bang > and chatting on Messenger is intoxicating. > > Me, on Win98 have been consuming about 5mb > a day on ADSL, now the child from hell is racking > up around 100Mb a day. > > Now the initial terror has subsided, can anyone suggest > a reasonable download quota, for a child of this age? > I need to build my Phone budget scheme around > dowload expectations. > > He is a good kid really, does not game on line, > and will curtail his music downloads. > If I say sign up for 1Gb per month, is that > reasonable for adequate usage? > > Does chatting (with smileys et al) gobble up > a lot of data? > > Thanks for any sage advice, > from a learner parent. > > > > > > > The trouble with kids is that they soon get more knowledgeable than the parents with computers. I reckon you need about 5GB per month. Regards Mike.
Guest Rod Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Mike Cawood, HND BIT" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message news:5ms36eFf19tcU1@mid.individual.net... > The trouble with kids is that they soon get more knowledgeable than the > parents with computers. > I reckon you need about 5GB per month. > Regards Mike. Are you serious Mike? in his dreams maybe. What I might have to do is monitor his usage just chatting for perhaps a two hour stint. Use that as a guage .
Guest glee Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Rod" <pookiethai@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message news:ugowDcOCIHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > "Mike Cawood, HND BIT" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message > news:5ms36eFf19tcU1@mid.individual.net... > >> The trouble with kids is that they soon get more knowledgeable than the >> parents with computers. >> I reckon you need about 5GB per month. >> Regards Mike. > > Are you serious Mike? > in his dreams maybe. > > What I might have to do is monitor his usage > just chatting for perhaps a two hour stint. > Use that as a guage . I don't agree with a lot of parents who just let their kids "have at it" online unsupervised, in their own room, at that age. Try putting the computer in a family room where you are often present during its use, the better to judge what is being done. I know many families that have used this method with great success (and a lot of kids who didn't like it, but many who had no problem with it). You will probably have to monitor as you say, at least for a while to get a feel for what he really requires rather than what he'll use if you give him free reign. -- Glen Ventura, MS MVP Shell/User, A+ http://dts-l.org/ http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Guest Gene K Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. Rod, Start your son with what you consider a fairly reasonable figure; 1GB a month is a good start, you can always change it at a later date when justified. 100MB a day, in my my personal opinion, is way too much usage. Tell him of that limitation so that he will learn to live, as we all have to eventually, within rules and limitations. WATCH OUT on his usage of chat rooms! Check that often. I also agree that his computer should be where you can observe it, not hidden away in his bedroom. Gene K
Guest Alias Posted October 7, 2007 Posted October 7, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. Rod wrote: > I have just supplied my 13yo with a you-beaut > XP with a good graphics card, and the lad > is having a great time, his games are whizz bang > and chatting on Messenger is intoxicating. > > Me, on Win98 have been consuming about 5mb > a day on ADSL, now the child from hell is racking > up around 100Mb a day. > > Now the initial terror has subsided, can anyone suggest > a reasonable download quota, for a child of this age? > I need to build my Phone budget scheme around > dowload expectations. > > He is a good kid really, does not game on line, > and will curtail his music downloads. > If I say sign up for 1Gb per month, is that > reasonable for adequate usage? > > Does chatting (with smileys et al) gobble up > a lot of data? > > Thanks for any sage advice, > from a learner parent. There is no flat rate broadband where you live? -- Alias To email me, remove shoes
Guest Rod Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Gene K" <nobody@nowhere.net> wrote in message news:e40UMiQCIHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > Rod, > Start your son with what you consider a fairly reasonable figure; 1GB > a month is a good start, you can always change it at a later date when > justified. 100MB a day, in my my personal opinion, is way too much usage. > Tell him of that limitation so that he will learn to live, as we all have to > eventually, within rules and limitations. > WATCH OUT on his usage of chat rooms! Check that often. I also agree that > his computer should be where you can observe it, not hidden away in his > bedroom. > Gene K Thanks Gene, yeah, I think you have it in one, good advice. I'll leave it on 500Mb, and "top up" as necessary an extra 1Gb is $5, and one click. The Australian Government offers free "Net Nanny" style software aps, which can limit his "chat room" addresses. I've installed it and will start with a position of trust, if he transgresses then I guess we can cut the chat rooms, at the moment he limits to his friends in Grade 7. Alias: I have no idea what "flat rate" is? we have our landline phone, mobiles etc all hooked to the one provider, and we get credits. Our normal monthly phone bill is around $70 $35 landline rental and calls, $35 broadband limited to 500 Mb. 1 Gb increases the rate to $39.95 but one has to watch upgrading, they can tie you in to a 24 month contract which I want to avoid. Cheers
Guest Alias Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. Rod wrote: > "Gene K" <nobody@nowhere.net> wrote in message > news:e40UMiQCIHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> Rod, >> Start your son with what you consider a fairly reasonable figure; > 1GB >> a month is a good start, you can always change it at a later date when >> justified. 100MB a day, in my my personal opinion, is way too much usage. >> Tell him of that limitation so that he will learn to live, as we all have > to >> eventually, within rules and limitations. >> WATCH OUT on his usage of chat rooms! Check that often. I also agree that >> his computer should be where you can observe it, not hidden away in his >> bedroom. >> Gene K > Thanks Gene, > yeah, I think you have it in one, good advice. > I'll leave it on 500Mb, and "top up" as necessary > an extra 1Gb is $5, and one click. > > The Australian Government offers free "Net Nanny" style > software aps, which can limit his "chat room" addresses. > I've installed it and will start with a position of trust, > if he transgresses then I guess we can cut the chat rooms, > at the moment he limits to his friends in Grade 7. > > Alias: I have no idea what "flat rate" is? > we have our landline phone, mobiles etc > all hooked to the one provider, and we get > credits. > Our normal monthly phone bill is around $70 > $35 landline rental and calls, $35 broadband > limited to 500 Mb. > 1 Gb increases the rate to $39.95 > but one has to watch upgrading, they can > tie you in to a 24 month contract which I want to avoid. > > Cheers What I mean by flat rate is that you pay the same amount no matter how much you download or upload. Do you also have a limit on uploads? -- Alias To email me, remove shoes
Guest Rod Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Alias" <iamalias@shoesgmail.com> wrote in message news:fec5ff$2k6$1@aioe.org... > What I mean by flat rate is that you pay the same amount no matter how > much you download or upload. Do you also have a limit on uploads? > Alias I just had a bo peep, $90 seems top rate (up to 40Gb dl) I couldn't see any ref to uploads
Guest Rod Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Alias" <iamalias@shoesgmail.com> wrote in message news:fec5ff$2k6$1@aioe.org... > Rod wrote: > What I mean by flat rate is that you pay the same amount no matter how > much you download or upload. Do you also have a limit on uploads? > Alias Just an aside, the family was away camping over the weekend, and I used my sons computer for ease of use. My normal usage around 5-7 Mb on the W98se box jumped alarmingly to 15Mb on the XP Now that's because the speed and ease of use on the XP encouraged me to use it more, or Messenger was running in the background (I am not au fait with the program and when it loaded I clicked "busy" on the icon) But going on how much I used it 15Mb a day is absolutely minimum I would need 50Mb a day based on that consumption.
Guest cornedbeef007-groups@yahoo.com.au Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. On Oct 8, 1:45 pm, "Rod" <pookiet...@iprimus.com.au> wrote: > "Alias" <iamal...@shoesgmail.com> wrote in message > > news:fec5ff$2k6$1@aioe.org... > > > Rod wrote: > > What I mean by flat rate is that you pay the same amount no matter how > > much you download or upload. Do you also have a limit on uploads? > > Alias > > Just an aside, the family was away camping over > the weekend, and I used my sons computer > for ease of use. > My normal usage around 5-7 Mb on the W98se box > jumped alarmingly to 15Mb on the XP > > Now that's because the speed and ease of use > on the XP encouraged me to use it more, > or Messenger was running in the background > (I am not au fait with the program and when it > loaded I clicked "busy" on the icon) > > But going on how much I used it 15Mb a day > is absolutely minimum > I would need 50Mb a day based on that consumption. If you load Wireshark (Ethereal) http://www.wireshark.org you can actually track/log EVERYTHING coming and going from your machine. Or, use TCPVIEW from Sysinternals http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/tcpview.mspx to watch what the TCP stack is doing. Both these tools are free, although Wireshark will use up 17.4 meg of download just getting it and is probably overkill for your situation, but it WILL show you what's coming and going. Good Luck.
Guest Rod Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. <cornedbeef007-groups@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message news:1191820522.889624.221470@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com... > If you load Wireshark (Ethereal) http://www.wireshark.org you can actually > track/log EVERYTHING coming and going from your machine. > Or, use TCPVIEW from Sysinternals http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/tcpview.mspx > to watch what the TCP stack is doing. > Both these tools are free, although Wireshark will use up 17.4 meg of > download just getting it and is probably overkill for your situation, > but it WILL show you what's coming and going. > Good Luck. Thanks Corned Beef I'll keep your post just in case I need to get nosey. Cheers.
Guest dobey Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "Rod" <pookiethai@iprimus.com.au> wrote in message news:uEgwUZYCIHA.3884@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > <cornedbeef007-groups@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message > news:1191820522.889624.221470@d55g2000hsg.googlegroups.com... > >> If you load Wireshark (Ethereal) http://www.wireshark.org you can actually >> track/log EVERYTHING coming and going from your machine. >> Or, use TCPVIEW from Sysinternals > http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/tcpview.mspx >> to watch what the TCP stack is doing. >> Both these tools are free, although Wireshark will use up 17.4 meg of >> download just getting it and is probably overkill for your situation, >> but it WILL show you what's coming and going. >> Good Luck. > > Thanks Corned Beef > I'll keep your post > just in case I need to get nosey. > Cheers. > Go to whirlpool.net.au and you can compare broadband plans for Australia, including availability. Soul are doing unlimited 256 Kb for $30 per month at the moment which I'm fairly certain is available anywhere. 15Mb a day would be easily consumed with YouTube browsing and the like, (or have you blocked those as well?). Many web pages can run to over 1 MB since they embed flash animations. You'd better hope one of his school friend doesn't put him onto knoppix.
Guest Rod Posted October 8, 2007 Posted October 8, 2007 Re: Parenting issue. "dobey" <a@v.nox> wrote in message news:#aAK7BaCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > 15Mb a day would be easily consumed with YouTube browsing and the like, (or > have you blocked those as well?). Many web pages can run to over 1 MB since > they embed flash animations. > You'd better hope one of his school friend doesn't put him onto knoppix. Cheers, we were watching whilst messenger was running using net limiter, and we could see the constant data transfer. Rather than block everything, we prefer a discipline stance, up to now probably youthful exhuberance, but thanks for the heads up (and whirlpool) Rod
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