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Jenny
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 9:48am | IP Logged
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I am thinking through my Christmas present.
We have an old Dell, about 5yo. It is big and takes up my desk in the dinning room which is also where we do most of our schooling. I am very protective over "my computer". This is my source to the outer world  My husband would like the kids to be computer literate, of course, but also because he is not. I don't want them touching my computer...very stingy of me I know. But in my mind it would be like teaching them to drive on our only car, you know. MAybe it's just me. 
Anyway...I brought up maybe getting me a laptop and he is actually considering it, surprise, surprise! Then I started thinking, why do I "need" a laptop? Don't I spend enough time on the computer as is? Do I actually need one that will follow me wherever I go? Why can't we all just use the computer we have until it dies and then get a new one that we all share? Would our money for my gift be put to a better use, like new flooring or a Kitchenaid Mixer?
I realize this post is all over the place...any thoughts?
ETA: My children are 11-18mos. They do not use the computer for school becasue we have had dial up and it was tooo slow to do anything. We now have a broadband card so they could, technically, start using it to look things up, etc...
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Jenny
Chris' wife and momma of 7. My blog: The Littlest Way--Bible Journaling, Inspiring Bible Quotes, Daily Affirmations, Prayer Journaling & photography
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 10:59am | IP Logged
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I love my laptop. My dh bought me my own laptop for my birthday this year. The kids now use the 4 year old desktop. AFter I transferred the files I needed, I reformatted the desktop and it is running well enough for the kids!
My laptop is my sanity saver! That makes it worth every penny!
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 11:03am | IP Logged
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Jenny, something you might consider.. an external hard drive so that everything on your computer can be backed up.. and then there isn't much they can do to your computer that can't be fixed.
And other than odd annoying things (like copying every icon on my desktop many many times over.. did you know you can have more than will fit on the desktop at any one point?) or losing the occational post, I've never had a child do anything major to my computer.. and the kids have been using the computer since the older ones were tiny.
Now I have it passworded and lock it any time I get up.. so that they can't slip in and get on the computer 
But they're very good at using it. Better than many adults.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 11:43am | IP Logged
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I have major issues with over-using the computer so we keep it in the kitchen on a counter with no chair. I turned down an opportunity to get a laptop because I was afraid of using it too much. But if that were not such a problem for me (someday--working on it!) then I'd definitely get a laptop for the flexibility. We don't have a tv and I'd love if we could watch movies in the living room instead of on camp chairs in the kitchen.
You could make the laptop "yours" and then set up the desktop for the kids with just the basics they would need and password-protected internet or something.
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 12:11pm | IP Logged
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I do love my laptop. I am on it too much, but not so much more than when it was in the dining room. I like being able to watch movies in the living room, reference recipes in the kitchen, and my husband pays bills at the dining table and likes to "watch" movies when working in the basement after we are all asleep. I generally am online in my recliner while nursing the baby. I think that if you would enjoy a new mixer or floor and need that, it might be worth it to hold out.
My laptop was used on ebay and not much newer than yours, I imagine. We do like having the flexibility. I'm not convinced I spend more time on it, though maybe I do, but I think it does make the time I spend more pleasant. 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 12:19pm | IP Logged
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I switched to a laptop last fall and would NEVER GO BACK! I didn't think I 'needed' it either. And, I don't, of course....but I like it much better than having to work in 1 place all the time. At night, I can snuggle up on the couch and peruse booklists, request books from the library, edit photos, shop for boots , plan meals, research appliances, obsess over paint colors and light fixtures, etc....and it is relaxing!!!! It's not "work" like at a desk....it's snuggly and fun and refreshing. But, then....I don't really have any other hobbies.
As for the kids.....I like being able to set up someone to work on the computer, wherever we/I happen to be. While I'm chopping vegetables, someone can be doing a typing program at the kitchen table, or they can be reading their narrations back to me. While I'm changing a diaper or organizing clothes, they can be watching Advent Adventure videos, and I can hear too and we can talk about it afterwards, rather than having them watch it somewhere else without me and then me having to catch up later, etc. It's great, as we "move" around the house in various functions.
My older two have been given specific training in "how to treat a laptop" and are very careful. I'm the only one who "moves it around" though.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 12:48pm | IP Logged
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Me too on the laptop! 
My dh was the one to suggest it to me years ago, and I've never looked back. It's been absolutely delightful. I love that I can take it wherever I am, and like Suzanne, am often found in front of the fire on wintry evenings doing comparison shopping, or hunting for booklists, or working on a booklist of my own, or just writing for fun, or here .
I love that it is wonderfully portable. I often use it in the kitchen to work on menus or recipes. I like that I can move it to my desk in the learning room to work on a booklist or set of lesson plans for the children. Because of its small footprint, it is able to sit on my desk while I work. The children use it for typing up narrations, doing their writing, etc. We've never had a problem with their use of it.
It lives on a small table/wooden file cabinet in my school room - so easily accessible, but not on a desk or table that sees constant activity.
When I know I have to concentrate on tasks at home and feel the computer might be a temptation - I close the lid. It's quite nice, really. It's my own little sign to myself to keep focused.
I also wanted to say that I am terribly practical, and if I was in need of a new floor or mixer, badly in need, I'd do that first! Still, if I were considering a new computer, a laptop is always where I look. I've so enjoyed the delight and ease they have afforded my life.
Happy Christmas shopping - I would be equally thrilled with a new mixer, flooring, or laptop!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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Jenny
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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You all have addressed some thought I was working through...
I do have an external hard drive, so I "know" there really is nothing that can happen to my pictures/files. Like I said, it may just be me.
I am concerned about over use. I live rurally and the only activity the kids are involoved in is soccer. The parents really aren't too to friendly to the lady in the big van with a bunch of kids, you know. So my source of daily connection with adults, homeschooling mothers, in on-line. I do have friends from Church, but we don't see/talk regularly due to physical distance and busy families. I rely on my connection to the outside world via my computer.
The past month we have been in and out camping/hunting. I missed my computer while I was sitting in the camper. But it was nice to have that break where I couldn't get distracted by it, because I do. I read much more without the computer around.
I don't "need" any of the above suggestions. I'm not sure he would go for a new kitchen floor just yet. He would go for the mixer, but that is something I could realistically get anytime. But the purchase of a laptop is a BIG deal, much more Christmas giftish.
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Jenny
Chris' wife and momma of 7. My blog: The Littlest Way--Bible Journaling, Inspiring Bible Quotes, Daily Affirmations, Prayer Journaling & photography
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ekbell
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| Posted: Dec 11 2009 at 7:04pm | IP Logged
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I'm sitting here at our desktop while the children play on the laptop in the background. Around here our laptop is mostly used by children while the desktop is mostly used by the adults.
The laptop (bought through dell's business section as that was cheapest) has held up well through a few years of use. It isn't set up to connect to the internet and the children don't know the password to connect it. They use it to type up stuff or to play educational games at the table.
I prefer to use the desktop for the following reasons, I've got things set up so that I can easily nurse, it's hooked up to the printer, most of my reference material is housed at the computer desk, I can quickly lock the computer part and the screen to keep it safe if I have to leave it in a hurry, it's located at one end of our kitchen, dining, schooling room where I can see most of our yard including the gate out making it a good location for quick reference while working in the kitchen.... The younger children are occasionally allowed on to play on starfall or similar websites while I'm in the room.
We also have a netbook which can access the internet, mostly for my oldest. My oldest uses it as a ebook reader (mostly of classic children's books and her texts for history) as well as browsing educational websites that I've previously viewed and typing up her assignments. She normally uses it at the comfy chair in the living room.
[ We decided to buy a netbook rather then print out the material or have her use the lapbook or the main computer when I realized just how much reading material I could find online for her history. ]
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Jenny
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| Posted: Dec 12 2009 at 8:35am | IP Logged
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Ok, I've made a decision. I fell asleep thinking about our computer needs and woke up at 4am and knew I needed pen and paper.
I have decided on a new desktop and a netbook. In order for the kids really do any type of computer software or programs, we need a newer/faster computer. Thus the new desktop.
I would use the laptop to surf, I would still play with all my pictures on the desktop b/c I would not want all that info bogging down a laptop. So I really don't need much. Thus the netbook.
I am going to donate my old computer to a nephew to refurbish and donate to a needy kid in the school he teaches in.
Thanks for all you help. Not only in this thread, but in past threads about computers.
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Jenny
Chris' wife and momma of 7. My blog: The Littlest Way--Bible Journaling, Inspiring Bible Quotes, Daily Affirmations, Prayer Journaling & photography
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