Friday, May 21, 2010

PeeWee software for ages 3 to 6 years old


PeeWee KIT: Pre-Kindergarten is software for ages 3-6 that is supplied on a USB flash drive. The letter that accompanied the USB drive that was sent to me states there are three versions available, but did not indicate the configurations of the other two...

The software I received is:
Bailey's Book House
("...explore the sounds and meanings of letters, words, rhymes,
and stories...")
Sammy's Science House
("...activities introduce essential ideas like patterns and sorting,
weather and seasons, animal habitats, and classifications in the natural world...")
Thinkin' Things Toony The Loon's Lagoon
("...activities that focus on memory development, logic,
visual and spatial thinking, musical memory, and problem solving...")
Trudy's Time & Place House
("...From telling time to understanding maps to building a sense of
direction, this whimsical time-and place adventure presents challenging concepts...")
Millie’s Math House
("...explore numbers, shapes, sizes, quantities, patterns,
sequencing, addition, and subtraction...")


After obtaining the PeeWee Kit, an address of an internet website will be available from which the security software can be downloaded.

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With PeeWee Patrol you can capture: keys pressed, programs used, websites visited...as well as have screenshots taken at intervals.

When in Stealth Mode, it will not display it's Graphical User Interface (GUI)...and will remove itself from the Windows Application list. If anyone knew how to try to make the program visible, it will require a password to access the controls (and information).

From the "help" file that was created after PeeWee Patrol was installed...

"...monitor your computer while you are away, retrieve lost information, or monitor your children's activity..."

"This program contains a built in email engine that can email you a copy of the current capture log at scheduled intervals...

"The program includes a scheduler that lets you schedule simple tasks to be completed at a given time or interval. The following tasks can be automated: Start Capture...Stop Capture...Email Capture Log (The current Log will be emailed to you as an text file)...

"Encryption: When selected, the contents of your log files will be encrypted so that they cannot be opened by text editors like Notepad, WordPad, or Micsoft Word.

"Run at Startup: When selected, the program will run automatically each time you start your computer..."

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According to the "help" file for PeeWee Privacy:

This software will hide your sensitive files so that they can't be seen or accessed. Files stay hidden even if you turn on 'View Hidden Files'. Even links in your recent documents menu won't be able to find your hidden files!

For extra security, use a password to prevent anyone from accessing your files. You can run this software in stealth mode so that no one knows it's there, and hide or show your sensitive files using hotkeys.

Features:
Add as many folders to the program as you want for quick hiding
Hide or Show individual folders or all folders at once
Prevents all file access, even from the command prompt, and even from hackers
Folders are removed from Windows Explorer entirely
Files in folders cannot be accessed, even from shortcuts or recent document lists
Run at Windows startup
Runs in stealth mode and doesn't show up in the Applications tab when you press
Control-Alt-Delete
Hotkey for bringing the program out of Stealth Mode
Hotkey for hiding all folders
Hotkey for showing all folders
Password protection when program is opened
Password protection when program is brought out of stealth mode
Password protection when hotkeys are used to hide or show all folders

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The USB drive that was sent to me did not work with a one-foot (USB) extension cord: the USB drive must be connected directly to the computer.

Based on my past experiences with USB flash drives that contained U3 and Ceedo software, I assumed that when I connected the drive to my computer...I would be able to immediately use the software directly from the drive; the software needed to be installed, and I did not want to install the software to the computer I was using.

I chose a different computer to install it on for testing. I have nothing unusual to report about it...the installation of the software was as normal as any.

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I decided to try to install the software from the USB stick, into the USB stick.

The "2 GB" USB memory stick had a total of 1.86 GB of usable space, and 243 MB was being used (by the installation software that was provided is on the drive).

(Using a different computer than the one I installed the software onto) I installed the software onto the USB stick (to "{driveletter}:\Program Files\Riverdeep\"). Now 583 MB of space is being used. As I assumed would happen, icons were installed on the computer by default (because the installation procedures do not give options to not install them).

I disconnected the USB drive from the computer, restarted the computer, and (in Windows Vista) "uninstalled" the programs from Programs and Features.

Using the best computer I have (an Alienware Area 51 M9750), I connected the USB flash drive to the port on the right side of the computer...and the drive was not recognized. I don't have this issue with other USB drives...

I connnected the USB drive to a port on the left side of the computer, and it was mounted. The programs will now run from the USB flash drive (just launch their executable files from within the folders of the installed programs).

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I am VERY impressed with PeeWee Patrol and PeeWee Privacy...in my opinion, those two programs are worth the cost of the entire package.

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