Child friendly ROM [Archive]

sirskull

9th January 2009, 12:30 PM

I was wondering if anyone already tried to create a ROM wich is child friendly.

I have an old Wizard that I might give to my son of 5 to play with.
I also provided a SIM card into the device so that My wife or I can call him when he is at his grandparrents. But most roms provide so many applications and to easy access to the configuration, that it is too easy for my son to screw it up.

So I was looking for a ROM that has an easy menu with BIG buttons.

Most required items requested.
Windows Live Messenger
Games (like bubbe breaker, etc...)
Dailer with only programmed pictures (so he can not call to the bahamas ::cool: )

Configuration of the device should be possible after inserting a password.

Anyone any idea?

Bror

S.V.I

10th January 2009, 09:13 PM

I really like this idea... really like it!
I suppose that with MANILA it is possible to set the contacts programs and and everthyng... I just don't know how to password protect the settings.

How smart is your 5 yearold?

Also, I know that the wizard was built to last, but how do you know he won't drop it?

I think that you should start collecting programs and games. I think that limiting the access to the settings can be done with initflashfiles.dat OEM_LANG.provxml.
You could access the settings via activesync or pocket controler on the computer, and you could also create shotrcuts to all the settings programs on a separate storage card.

If you know of any programs that limit settings for ppc let me know. I really like this idea!!

sirskull

10th January 2009, 11:00 PM

How smart is your 5 yearold?

Also, I know that the wizard was built to last, but how do you know he won't drop it?

He is smart enough to watch closely my actions and to copy them directly. Even experimenting and learning from the results. This last thing bothers me, coz I do not want to spend every night to put everything in order. :eek:

But I can assure you that he does take care for it. From time when driving I already asked him to pick up the phone and he knows to take care. :cool:

I do not think this ROM should need much fancy things...

Call firewall is nice to block unwanted incoming/outgoing phonecalls. So having this in the autostart would be fine.
A replacement for the startmenu but with a password which then gives access to the config settings... (could not yet find anything like this)
On the today maybe 2 manila buttons which is contacts and applications (just a matter of configuration)
Windows Live (so he can send voiceclips in stead of typing)
Lot's of games (sandbox, bubblebreaker)
Browser with youtube support (yes, he knows to handle youtube) :D
Camera ( He likes to take ugly pictures of his younger brother)

all the rest like mobile office and calculater, ... can be left away...

Of coarse a good configuration of the buttons will be important too ;)

Do you have any idea which should be included ?

Cheers,
SirSkull

enigma1nz

12th January 2009, 11:25 AM

sirskull

12th January 2009, 11:51 AM

He fancys dad's phone and is keen on the games on it. So since I have a 2nd Wizard here where the screen is slightly scratched, I do not mind giving this to him. He knows how to use the messenger voiceclips, so when he is at home he can use messenger to chat with me. This would reduce the MobilePhone calling costs. And no, skype is no option since I am not aloowed to install this on my company pc + skype is blocked by the firewalls at my work.

Myrddin Wyllt

12th January 2009, 05:58 PM

Buy him a Nintendo DS. It'll be more expensive, but it'll also be a lot less work at your end, because I guarantee something awful like deleting system files will happen more often than you care to realize.

I foresee many flashings and re-flashings to this phone...

That said, I'd put a manila-flavored ROM on it, and unless you have an unlimited data plan, I'd load Modaco's NoData, lock out all data transmissions except the phone, and remove the shortcut to make NoData harder to find (along with any other settings-related functions. You can also hide the whole Settings directory in QuickMenu, and then turn it back on when you need to adjust something for him.

Teej53214

12th January 2009, 11:06 PM

I am thinking about givign my 13 y/o one of these as a cellphone... I have an 8925 and so does my older stepsone... MY 13 y/o needs a little more constant supervision.... I am not too concerned aobut bigger buttons and such.. but about child frendly as in parents can have some sort of parental password before the kids do certian things (like Vista does)... Say before he calls someone outside of his contacts list or adds someone to it.... makes a call after a certian time... or even limit the number of min he can use or something.. Any suggestions on any of that?

S.V.I

13th January 2009, 12:32 AM

there is a way to get rid of the file explorer as well as the settings menu. without the file explorer you have no access to the windows folder... but you should also realize that you can not delete files that are in rom... however you still have access to the settings apps in the windows folder.

This is what I would do:
1: delete the shortcuts to file explorer and other program shortcuts and move them into a folder to a blank storage card.

2: set the last programs shortcut in the start menu to "total commander on this storage card. since the program can not be activated without the storage card inserted, you have no access to settings.

3. gather all of the "parental control programs" and post the cabs here on thos thread so that they can be cooked in to the rom, without the shortcuts... shortcuts can be made into a cab... or manual copy/paste shortcuts or even autorun CPY1/CPY2 to storage card upon hard reset (hardware buttons)

I think that the most important part for the parents to realize, is that the child should not be limited too much. this is an opportunity for these youths to get a first hands on experience of technology, as well as understanding of computers.
Up untill now these devices were too expesive to hand off to children, now that they have gotten old and cheap, they are perfect tools to help with a child developing their inteligence (problem solving, writing, counting, organization... etc)

there are enough repressed children without life exerience out there. no sex no drugs and no rock and roll unless it is 20 years old and have been tested and proven by Dysney Corp (who put phalic symbols in every movie)
dont be a fashist parent and keep in mind that kids need to learn from experience. I will not cook a rom that limits that.

sirskull

13th January 2009, 02:23 PM

3. gather all of the "parental control programs" and post the cabs here on thos thread so that they can be cooked in to the rom, without the shortcuts...

Call Firewall v1.4 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=307178) can block selected incoming and outgoing calls. It only needs a macro application in order to minimize (and maybe save) the application after it started up.

there are enough repressed children without life exerience out there. no sex no drugs and no rock and roll unless it is 20 years old and have been tested and proven by Dysney Corp (who put phalic symbols in every movie)
dont be a fashist parent and keep in mind that kids need to learn from experience. I will not cook a rom that limits that.

My son is free to experiment with my second device ;) (my wife will become angry when she would read this. She thinks I making a geek of him. I call it technological self deployment :-) ) :D

akashastrega

14th January 2009, 06:47 AM

I cannot cook, however, having 8 year old twins, I know exactly what you are asking for. My kids are techies and love to play around with my wizard, so I think it is safe to say that I understand where you are coming from.

NTS made a WM6 rom quite some time back, which is crazy stable and fast. It is a dinosaur by today's rom standards, however, my kids mess with my phone and it has yet to freak out, crap out, or anything. I would be happy to upload it for you. It is pretty minimal to begin with, and if you add HTC Home, delete a few shortcuts, add one or two programs like tcpmp and call firewall, and some games, I think it would fit your needs. This rom is NOT fancy, does not have manilla, sliders, or any real bells or whistles--it is close to 2 years old, but again, it is crazy stable and seemingly twin proof. The rom is called Jaguar 3.1 if you want to search the threads for it to read up...the links are all dead though. I still have it on my wizard, and while I have tried updated roms, I keep going back to this one because it plays well with children.

sirskull

14th January 2009, 12:20 PM

Always happy to test this Jag 3.1 Rom. Maybe we can adopt this version into WM6.1

akashastrega

15th January 2009, 02:02 AM

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=314660&highlight=jaguar

This link is for Jag 3.1 rom. The rom download links are dead, but if you want to read about it...
As far as childproof roms go, I absolutely swear by Jag!
I can upload it if you want to give it a test drive.

sirskull

16th January 2009, 12:55 PM

Looks promising... Can you make the rom available too? I'll see what my son thinks about it then.

akashastrega

17th January 2009, 01:32 AM

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SO1U6CLF

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
This is a link to the Jaguar 3.1 rom-- created by nottoosmart.

As I said, it is an older WM6 rom, without any real bells or whistles, but it is amazingly stable and kid-friendly. You can install HTC Home (the version for WM5 works best), call firewall, tcpmp for movies and cartoons (using an sd card for storage) and some games and it would be pretty much ready to go.
I do not know if Manilla will work on this rom as I have not tested it myself, but HTC Home can be customized, thanks to the program by emunutz.
It does support Google Maps, Skype, Skyfire browser and those types of "grown up" apps-- so just because it plays well with kids, doesn't mean it isn't capable of kicking ass.
Enjoy.