In This Issue

New ComputerTime 3.1 More Helpful than Ever

Better Time Token controls and printing, options to make ComputerTime work the way that best suits your family, and more.

Time Tokens Get Real!

How about printing tokens that actually look like tokens! If you give out tokens as rewards, you'll love the new look.

Does Technology Make us Smarter or Dumber?

...or is that even the right question to be asking? Doesn't it really depend more on us and how we use it?

Read on for the important details...

New ComputerTime 3.1 More Helpful than Ever

Just released, the latest ComputerTime packs in new features that make using ComputerTime more enjoyable for parents and kids. People who tried the new features told us they are very excited about the changes.

What's New in ComputerTime 3.1?

• Parents who give out Time Tokens as rewards will love the ability to print Time Tokens as gold coins or certificates. You can copy, email or print tokens with ease through your web browser.
• Have you lost your Time Token list? Now you can view a report of unassigned Tokens. Do you want to see the Tokens your kids have already used? You can now view a report of all assigned Tokens with the remaining time for each. If you need to take away Token Time, you can now delete all tokens with a single click.
• There is an option to prevent Time Tokens from extending Time-of-Day limits, and also disabled profiles. For example, a Time Token worth an extra hour could extend a two-hour Daily Limit, but not allow them on past the normal 10:00 pm limit.
• Have you been in the situation of your kid saying, "I need extra time! Can I have a Token?", but you don't have a Token ready to give? Instant Time Tokens will make your day, because now you can just grant extra time on the spot by entering the ComputerTime Admin password and the amount of time.

• No more double log on when your ComputerTime Profile name matches the Windows user name that just logged on. ComputerTime's Auto Logon will take care of that for you if you would like.
• Tired of the kids music staying on, or them still being able to chat with their headsets, while being logged off ComputerTime? Now you can optionally have the audio output and microphone muted when logged off.
• The Time-of-Day Limits can now easily be set over a full twenty-four hour period, and can be set in 15-minute increments.
• New options let you control how you want the screen saver handled when people walk away from the computer and forget to log out.
• You can customize which warnings get displayed or announced as time limits run down, and more.
• ComputerTime 3.1 does a better job all-around with reliability on the network and with full-screen games.

• Networked limits (one set of limits for all of the computers you your network) makes it much easier to set sensible limits for kids who work on more than once computer. And if you are big fan of Time Tokens, centralized settings means that you no longer have to keep track of which Time Tokens will work on each computer . (Introduced in 3.0)

ComputerTime 3.1 is supported on Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Home Server, and Windows 2000.
(For Windows 98, ME refer to notes here)

For more detailed notes on what's improved, see the release notes.

How Will I Get the Latest?

Most of you will get an automatic update notice from ComputerTime telling you that the new version is available. If not, you can use the Check for Update on the Help menu in ComputerTime Admin or download it here.

This is a free update for those of you with ComputerTime 3.0 or greater.

Those of you still using ComputerTime 2.0 can upgrade for the special price of $24.95 (compared to $49.95 for ComputerTime with the Family Pack). You should have a look at what the latest ComputerTime has to offer and consider making the upgrade. It's a terrific value for features that will make your life easier.

If you are using a version of ComputerTime prior to 3.0, when you install the update, it will indicate that you will need to pay for the upgrade, but you are still welcome to try the new version for free for 14 days.

If you have any questions about the new version, upgrading concerns, or anything else, please email us . We like hearing from you and want to help you out. To retrieve a lost Product Key (which is used to qualify you for the special price on our upgrade page), click here.

In the meantime, let's talk about one of the new features...

Time Tokens Get Real!

You know that little list that you print with ten or more codes each representing a Time Token? You hang onto the list so that you can later dole them out back to the kids when they've requested time or accomplished their chores and earned the token. "Here you go Jimmy, write this down... 759334... that's for 1 hour."

One Mom wrote us to say how much she loved the Time Token feature, and she said, "I have little tokens that I actually put the codes on, and when the kids earn them, I can hand them one of the tokens." I'm not sure if she was using poker chips or something else that she fabricated by hand, but what a cool idea.

Would you like to print out actual tokens? Well, your printer can't make poker chip tokens, but we can print token look-alikes on paper. You can still print the simple lists the old way, but now, in your browser, you can chose from a few different formats.

In addition to the gold coin Time Tokens, you can print gift certificates with the codes and amount of time on them, and it includes lines where you can write in who you're giving the token to, and the reason why they're getting it.

This makes it easier for you to hand them out, and it makes it more fun for your kids to get them.

When you try out the new Token features, let us know what you think. While your in the Token window, you'll notice that we've added a few more things. You can print a list of assigned tokens, with the profile that it's assigned to and remaining time. You can display and re-print tokens that have yet to be assigned . Should one of your kids get ahold of a token list, you can delete the tokens, essentially clearing the slate and starting over.

We hope that you're as excited about these new features as we are!

Does Technology Make us Smarter or Dumber?

Perhaps that's not the question that needs to be asked. Maybe the question to ask is, "Are we going to use technology to help us become smarter or dumber?" In other words, don't blame or give credit to the technology. Computers, games, cell phones, the Internet are simply tools. We are responsible for how we use them to enhance our intelligence or waste time.

Given the same laptop computer in two different kids hands, you aren't guaranteed of the same outcome. One might use it to research and excel at their homework and then shut it down and run outside to meet up with their friends, while the other may just use it as a distraction from studies mindlessly watch YouTube videos for hours on end.

The Families and Technology blog has a few recent posts related to this topic. So have a look and scroll down to see if any other topics interest you. Post a comment on any of the articles with your thoughts and share them with other like-minded parents.

Stay in Touch

Our customers constantly tell us how much better life is around home now that the fighting over the computer has ended. Some tell us their kids are suddenly doing a lot more with themselves since they have more time and are disconnected more often. We want to hear from you! Reply to this message and share your thoughts with us.

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