About Family Computing

Happy Birthday, Sesame Street!

2009-11-10T19:29:13Z

Sesame Street is all grown up now. At 40, the show has been through a variety of facelifts, while still holding true to the original intent of creating quality and educational TV programming for kids. In order to maintain their reputation as a groundbreaking show and to keep up with their tech-savvy fans, Sesame Street undertook a $14 million site redesign last year. My first experience with the website was less than stellar, but I'm happy to say that they've worked out a lot of the kinks and garnered a thumbs up. Today you can enjoy clips from Sesame Street shows, as well as games, parent resources and behind-the scene blogs.

If you're feeling nostalgic, you can visit Sesame Street online and find clips dating back to the very first season, including the pinball game counting song, "Rubber Ducky," and Kermit singing, "Bein' Green." And just for grownups, you can add the Sesame Street Feel-O-Matic to your Facebook page and express your feelings through the personality of the Muppets.

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Happy Birthday, Sesame Street! originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 19:29:13.

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Find the Perfect School with InsideCollege.com

2009-11-03T16:52:11Z

When it came time to start applying for colleges, I didn't have the most scientific approach. Mainly I focused on schools that had reached out to me based on my PSAT scores. I didn't have the wealth of information available today on the Internet to help me out. If you (or your kids) are starting to look for schools and are feeling overwhelmed by all of the choices available, you may want to check out InsideCollege.com, a website designed to help you find just the right college for your major, your interests and your personality.

Perhaps you're looking for a school with a great women's water polo team. Or one that has an unusual team mascot. Maybe you're shy and would like to find a college for students who have a harder time making connections. You can find lists of colleges that meet these criterion, plus hundreds of other lists, including the basics on admittance, majors and extracurricular activities. And just so you know, if all three of these descriptions apply to you, you'll want to check out Whittier College in Whittier, CA.

InsideCollege.com doesn't actually provide a whole lot of information about each school - you can visit the school website for that - but it does give you links to scholarships that match each school to help you get a head-start on financial aid. InsideCollege.com also offers its own $2000 scholarship for users of the site.

I had fun looking up one of my previous schools... not surprisingly, it's on the list of "Colleges Where Geek is Chic." Go figure.

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Visit InsideCollege.com

Find the Perfect School with InsideCollege.com originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 16:52:11.

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Practice Turkey Jokes for Thanksgiving

2009-11-02T11:25:46Z

Did you know that the Yahoo! Kids website has jokes? You can search on keywords and learn kid-friendly jokes on just one topic. As Thanksgiving approaches, I thought it would be fun to check out jokes about turkeys. Do you have any kid-friendly turkey jokes to share?

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Practice your turkey jokes

Practice Turkey Jokes for Thanksgiving originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 11:25:46.

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Make Your Own Animal at Switch Zoo

2009-11-01T22:55:26Z

Switch Zoo is a clever little site that lets you combine body parts from different animals to create your own unique breed. Choose from 142 animals and then change the head, body and/or tail. How about a zebra with the head of a chimpanzee and the tail of a red squirrel? After reading facts about each of the animals you choose, the site allows you to write a story about your new animal and print it out. Switch Zoo also has games and other activities.

Parents should note that Switch Zoo displays Google ads prominently on the site, which means you're never quite sure what ads you'll see while visiting.

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Visit Switch Zoo

Make Your Own Animal at Switch Zoo originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 22:55:26.

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Email for Kids

2009-10-29T16:25:02Z

Although some people claim that email is dead for younger generations, your kids may not agree. They may be looking for an email address to keep in touch with friends or out-of-town family. If so, there are a number of good options that help keep kids safe from unwanted correspondents and spam.

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Great Email for Kids

Email for Kids originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 16:25:02.

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World of Goo Turns One, Gives a Gift to Consumers

2009-10-20T23:43:52Z

If you haven't already played World of Goo, the game developers at 2D Boy have a treat for you. In honor of the game's first birthday, they are offering it at a "pay whatever you think it's worth" sale through Sunday, October 25. If you've read my review, you'll know that I think it's worth every penny of the regular price ($20), so this is the chance to get a great game at a great bargain.

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World of Goo Turns One, Gives a Gift to Consumers originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 23:43:52.

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Comparing Apples and Oranges with Wolfram Alpha

2009-10-18T16:42:20Z

I took some time out yesterday to play around with Wolfram|Alpha, a "computational knowledge engine" from the same people who brought us Mathematica software. A hybrid between a search engine, a graphing calculator and an encyclopedia, Wolfram|Alpha can solve complex equations, decode scientific formulas, compare stocks, provide historical comparisons, blend colors and play musical notes.

My experiment with the search features wasn't all that noble. I decided to compare nutritional information for french fries from three major fast food joints ("McDonalds fries vs Burger King fries vs Wendy fries"). Wolfram|Alpha gave me the single size nutritional information for each chain (Wendy's has a larger serving size than the other two) and then gave me charts which compared them based on calories, carbohydrates and other fun nutritional facts. If you're wondering, a single serving of McDonalds fries is the smallest, and also the healthiest choice of the three. I also did a search on my name (very popular when I was born) and the ideal weight for someone my height (due to my love of fries, it's much less than my real weight).

Wolfram|Alpha is so different from anything I had ever worked with that it took me some effort to figure out why I'd want to use it. Honestly, I'm still not sure I would. On the other hand, a friend of mine who teaches math at the college level says that he likes to use it in class occasionally. Either way, it was fun to try out and I'll keep it in mind for future uses. Oh, and in case you're wondering, you can compare apples and oranges, too.

If you're intrigued by Wolfram|Alpha, you might want to drop in on October 21, 2009 for their first "Homework Day." From Noon CDT until 2am the next day, you'll enjoy interviews, live Q&A's and examples of how to use Wolfram|Alpha in classroom settings from Kindergarten through college.

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Comparing Apples and Oranges with Wolfram Alpha originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 16:42:20.

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Where the Wild Things Are: The Video Game

2009-10-14T23:50:11Z

Where the Wild Things Are: The Video Game (on XBox)
Warner Brothers

You no doubt have seen a preview of the new Where the Wild Things Are movie. You probably haven't seen a preview of the corresponding video game that launched today for XBox 360, Playstation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS. The game, which is rated either E or E10+ depending on the platform, invites users to play as Max as he explores the Wild Thing's island.

To go along with this release, Warner Brothers has some special promotions. My favorite is a chance to win a wolf costume, a copy of the video game (along with choice of console) and some other cool prizes. The contest ends on November 13 and you can enter daily. You'll need to sign up as a WB Insider which is a free Warner Brothers loyalty program.

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Buy Where the Wild Things Are: The Video Game (compare prices)
Enter to win
A Review of Where the Wild Things Are
Are You Taking Your Kids to See Where the Wild Things Are?

Where the Wild Things Are: The Video Game originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 23:50:11.

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Countdown to Halloween - Free Halloween Printables

2009-10-07T22:44:21Z

Miniature Paper Coffin
Photo �2007 Lesley Shepherd, Licensed to About.com Inc.

This list includes some of my absolute favorite free Halloween printables, from a paper coffin to "Doctor Skelly's Magic X-Ray Camera" (from The Toymaker). There are also games and coloring sheets. Hook up the printer and start coloring, cutting and pasting your way to a fun Halloween.

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Browse the Free Halloween Printables

Countdown to Halloween - Free Halloween Printables originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 22:44:21.

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Countdown to Halloween - Buy Halloween Candy Online

2009-10-01T13:05:05Z

Gummy Teeth
PriceGrabber

Boo! It's October and it's time to start making your Halloween plans, especially if you'd like to do some of your shopping online. Since kids are really the last people you want to have helping you choose Halloween candy, I've put together a list of fun Halloween candy choices (and some non-candy ideas as well) for busy parents who don't have time to shop.

Enjoy! And try to leave some of the candy for the kids...

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Countdown to Halloween - Buy Halloween Candy Online originally appeared on About.com Family Computing on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 13:05:05.

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