下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
Just over 20 years ago, IBM introduced the PC jr. Derided as awkward and underpowered, the PC jr. never caught on with kids or parents. But then again, IBM didn’t have the Mouse behind it.
Backed by a posse of Mickey, Minnie, and Pluto, the Walt Disney Co. is looking to do what IBM never could: successfully market a computer system designed specifically for kids. The Disney Dream Desk PC ($600) and its complementary big-eared, 14.1-inch monitor ($300) are aimed at kids ranging from 6 to 12 years old. But even though the system is embellished with images of Mickey and software featuring Donald Duck and Goofy, the Dream Desk is more than a toy.
Using Microsoft Windows XP, the Disney system is based on an Intel Celeron D processor and comes with a 40-gigabyte hard drive plus a combination CD burner and DVD player—serious enough hardware to manage games or homework. As an added feature, there’s a stylus that sits in a cradle built into the keyboard. The stylus is a more comfortable pointing device than a mouse for little hands, and it also lets children create their own digital sketches.
Teaching tool. On the software side, Disney has included a trio of creativity programs called Disney Flix, Pix, and Mix that lets kids create their own movies, add Disney characters to digital pictures, and compose music. For parents worried about the World Wild Web, Disney has included a Content Protect program that prevents curious tykes from visiting sites you’d rather they not view. And if you suspect they are using the Net more for games than research, the program will even track your children’s surfing and report back to you.
By and large, the Disney system succeeds with the Dream Desk. Design elements like the monitor’s mouseketeer ears, which conceal speakers, certainly grabbed my 22-month-old daughter’s attention. But while she may have enjoyed “playing with Mickey,” parents may wonder if computers for kids are a help or hindrance when it comes to learning. “The danger is that people tend to replace actual human instruction with these computers,” says Reid Lyon, chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health. According to Lyon, computers are a fine tool to help kids learn—as long as there’s parental participation.
Parents looking for educational titles on the Dream Desk will have to shop elsewhere. Furthermore, the total system price is about $150 more than comparably equipped plain-Jane PCs, and some elements of the Disney PC could be improved. Making the LCD monitor touch sensitive would be a nice addition for kids, as would a clear cover to protect the screen from sticky little fingers. In addition, some parents may bridle at the brazen commercialism of having a large orange button on the system’s keyboard that takes kids directly to Disney’s $9.95-a-month Toontown online game.
On the other hand, what parent hasn’t succumbed to a son or daughter’s desire for a SpongeBob toy, Spiderman lunchbox, or Dora backpack? And while this PC may have big ears, it’s not just some Mickey Mouse computer.
1. How can the Walt Disney Co. make a computer system popular with the kids?
A) The images of the Walt Disney Co. are deeply rooted in kids’ heart.
B) The Dream Desk is just like a super toy.
C) The computer system is designed specifically for kids.
D) Kids can use the computer system for games and doing homework.
2. Which of the following is NOT the description of the Dream Desk?
A) Learning and playing are perfectly combined in this computer system.
B) The hardware is enough for the use of a kid.
C) The software takes the kids’ needs and parents’ worry into consideration.
D) The Dream Desk decorated with the image of Mickey catches the kids’ eyes.
3. How can the parents take full advantage of the computer in the learning of their kids?
A) Not allowing the kids to visit the inappropriate websites.
B) Using the computer to arouse kids’ interest in learning.
C) Fully exploring the potential function of the computer.
D) Working together with their kids.
4. Which of the following is NOT true according to Paragraph 6?
A) The Dream Desk does not have price advantage.
B) The Dream Desk has been equipped with sensitive LCD monitor and a clear cover.
C) Some parents have offensive feelings toward the orange button indicating commercialism.
D) The computer system fails to cater for all the parents.
5. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A) The big ears make this PC look like a big toy that many kids long for.
B) Parents always try their best to satisfy their kids’ needs.
C) Parents find it difficult to refuse to buy their kids such toys as Mickey Mouse computer.
D) Mickey Mouse computer is a computer, rather than a toy.