Man Invents Video Game Timer

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Some old guy invented a fool proof video game timer. It’s fool proof because everyone knows it is impossible to have an extra power cord or, even better, just cut the plastic zip tie on the device. Around here, we use the totally FREE [H] timer method in our house, we call it “parenting.”
 
I'm going to invent a device that says "No" at specified time intervals. I'll make a fortune and correct all child behavior problems in the process! Genius!
 
Around here, we use the totally FREE [H] timer method in our house, we call it “parenting

QFT.... Parents just can't regulate how much their kids play? and people believe in Darwin....
 
Well why even cut the zip tie. If they are resourceful kids and most are. There are more than likely have a few extra power cords lying around the house and you could just swap them out.
 
Take the cord from Daddy's electric shaver, and you have a new cord for your machine.

That is, of course, if the target audience of the device even have dad's.
 
What a good idea!
What could go wrong? performing a hard shut down day after day isn't going to cause any problems.
 
I wouldn't think this would be better than me shutting the breaker off to their room after not listening to me in the first place. That seems to work fine for me anyways, heh. Besides, don't the 360 and PS3 already have similar functions built into the consoles for kids profiles and stuff? I could have swore my 360 does anyways.. I haven't messed with the parental controls much.
 
I wouldn't think this would be better than me shutting the breaker off to their room after not listening to me in the first place. That seems to work fine for me anyways, heh. Besides, don't the 360 and PS3 already have similar functions built into the consoles for kids profiles and stuff? I could have swore my 360 does anyways.. I haven't messed with the parental controls much.

Or read the article much:
"Morrissey isn't the first entrepreneur to try to capitalize on parents' desire to curb screen time. Already, about half a dozen similar game timer units are sold online, and Microsoft includes one in its Xbox 360 video game console. None has generated much publicity."
 
I love when people try to pedal something that's totally not new and then say they "invented" it.
 
Take the cord from Daddy's electric shaver, and you have a new cord for your machine.

That is, of course, if the target audience of the device even have dad's.

power cord from electric shavers != power cord for 360/PS3/Wii

just fyi.
 
Am I the only one concerned about the possible damage it could cause if this thing cuts out mid-save on an Xbox, or while the PS3 is writing to the HDD etc?
All in all yet another boring useless device to allow people to feel like their doing something when really their just slacking off.
 
Or was that peddle? Need more coffee...

Anyway, don't both the 360 and the PS3 use power bricks which are in turn connected by universal power cords? Which are, you know, universal, and any house with a computer probably has at least two more? I guess that might help if they only had a Wii and the kids were at least as dumb as the parents who bought this product...
 
Or read the article much:
"Morrissey isn't the first entrepreneur to try to capitalize on parents' desire to curb screen time. Already, about half a dozen similar game timer units are sold online, and Microsoft includes one in its Xbox 360 video game console. None has generated much publicity."

I just skimmed on the article. A "yes" would have sufficed :p, ass.
 
what about them parental locks? wished there was a software based parental timer for them consoles.
 
Or was that peddle? Need more coffee...

Anyway, don't both the 360 and the PS3 use power bricks which are in turn connected by universal power cords? Which are, you know, universal, and any house with a computer probably has at least two more? I guess that might help if they only had a Wii and the kids were at least as dumb as the parents who bought this product...

Even more reason that you should connect one of these 30$ units to every plug in your house hold. Much more effective than parrenting.
 
power cord from electric shavers != power cord for 360/PS3/Wii

just fyi.

No, however the power cord for most cable boxes or sat boxes or laptops however are.
for the ps3 anyway

this older 360 i've got uses a standard PC power cable to the back of the brick.

I think the point of this, is to say this item is easily defeated in a number of ways,
and if you want to control your kids, try being there.

Most often the kids your trying to control are more creative then the item your trying to control them with .
 
Or read the article much:
"Morrissey isn't the first entrepreneur to try to capitalize on parents' desire to curb screen time. Already, about half a dozen similar game timer units are sold online, and Microsoft includes one in its Xbox 360 video game console. None has generated much publicity."

There use to be one on tv that they showed all that time. It was FAR better than this. It would display a message on the screen telling you that time was up. The parent could then, if they wanted, extend the time to allow the child to play longer. They could also turn if off completely. I want to say it used cards that each child had. So every when they wanted to play they would swipe their card and it would say how long that day they could play their game with the parents card and password being able to override the system.

That way there was no possible damage to the system as only the video output to the tv was being turned off. The parent could always unlock it for you to save / turn it off when it wasn't in the middle of a write.
 
My son is grown and moved out but this device is stupid. My son had a time limit which I committed to memory somehow. When I told him time was up there were times when he needed to play through something he started. So I would watch him play, we would talk about what was going on in the game, what his objective was, etc. Ten minutes tops, how hard can that be?
 
Anyway, don't both the 360 and the PS3 use power bricks which are in turn connected by universal power cords? Which are, you know, universal, and any house with a computer probably has at least two more? I guess that might help if they only had a Wii and the kids were at least as dumb as the parents who bought this product...

naw ps3 doesnt have a power brick cable plugs directly into the back of it, older ps3s used the "mickey mouse" style cable like most satellite receivers , newer ones use a standard PC power cable.
 
naw ps3 doesnt have a power brick cable plugs directly into the back of it, older ps3s used the "mickey mouse" style cable like most satellite receivers , newer ones use a standard PC power cable.

Yeah, it's DC adapter is internal. But they both use universal cables. If older ones used the trilobe, they must be pretty old...mine's PS2-compatible and still uses a uni.

Remember what I said about the coffee? :(
 
Eh, not that bad of an idea though I would connect it to the TV and not the game system.
It is probably to try and get the latch key kids to do their homework while mommy and daddy work all day to afford the 3000 square foot house and escalade they is more important than family.
 
I think the old Nagging Method works better. Seriously if your mom is the definition of Evil then you'd better not go against her until such time as when you're an adult. Anyway No one cared about my Video Game habits since I read more. Parents are parents for a reason and shitty devices are shitty for a reason.
 
There use to be one on tv that they showed all that time. It was FAR better than this. It would display a message on the screen telling you that time was up. The parent could then, if they wanted, extend the time to allow the child to play longer. They could also turn if off completely. I want to say it used cards that each child had. So every when they wanted to play they would swipe their card and it would say how long that day they could play their game with the parents card and password being able to override the system.

That way there was no possible damage to the system as only the video output to the tv was being turned off. The parent could always unlock it for you to save / turn it off when it wasn't in the middle of a write.


AND the kid would be far less likely to find another device with the exact video output plug the Xbox 360 uses than finding another power cord that is based on a standard shared among many household devices.
 
hehe didn't we just have a video up there that shows what happens with the brand of "parenting" that is common in this country these days?
 
I actually think this guy is onto something here.. How many people have had someone else come by and unplug your vehicle during the cold months ? ( I live in the north ) well.. if we had these timers that locked your vehicles' cords in to them and they were easily hard wired to the post :D

I'm just saying that I might have an idea haha
 
just finishing off my thought above...

i prefer the shotgun method of dealing with kids and video games. If YOU don't turn it off, my 12 gauge will...
 
I wouldn't think this would be better than me shutting the breaker off to their room after not listening to me in the first place. That seems to work fine for me anyways, heh. Besides, don't the 360 and PS3 already have similar functions built into the consoles for kids profiles and stuff? I could have swore my 360 does anyways.. I haven't messed with the parental controls much.

serious?
no offense but if it gets to that point you already failed as a parent
a simple "turn of the game NOW" should be all thats needed
 
I actually think this guy is onto something here.. How many people have had someone else come by and unplug your vehicle during the cold months ? ( I live in the north ) well.. if we had these timers that locked your vehicles' cords in to them and they were easily hard wired to the post :D

I'm just saying that I might have an idea haha

For that you can buy much better timers.
 
Thinks what a better timer looks like.. no image appears.. Is this something with a black back and a few locks wrapped around the post ? LOL.. people at work are always messing around with it :)
 
serious?
no offense but if it gets to that point you already failed as a parent
a simple "turn of the game NOW" should be all thats needed
If you even have to tell your child to turn the game off, you have failed as a parent. Your child should be fully self-governing based upon a series of underlying principles you have set forth since the moment of his birth. The very act of your child doing anything that could be construed as "wrong" and therefore requiring any degree of "punishment" shows your complete failure as a parent.
 
If you even have to tell your child to turn the game off, you have failed as a parent. Your child should be fully self-governing based upon a series of underlying principles you have set forth since the moment of his birth. The very act of your child doing anything that could be construed as "wrong" and therefore requiring any degree of "punishment" shows your complete failure as a parent.

What? You must be joking... As many times as you said "failure" there, is the the amount multiplied of fail of your thinking process.

I think that sentence was a bit of fail as well. But seriously, ALL kids need discipline, it's called learning, so telling them when they should turn off their video games is anything but a failure, it's good parenting.
 
If you even have to tell your child to turn the game off, you have failed as a parent. Your child should be fully self-governing based upon a series of underlying principles you have set forth since the moment of his birth. The very act of your child doing anything that could be construed as "wrong" and therefore requiring any degree of "punishment" shows your complete failure as a parent.

muhahaha, thats funny man.... but im afraid youre bieng honest. which means you don't have kids

and this invention- its like that guy on pitchmen who took his gps reciever and chucked it into a cup and called it an invention. "now your gps wont obstruct your view in the windshield!" they barely mentioned how you have to take your eyes off the road just to see it, and you lose a cupholder.
 
What? You must be joking... As many times as you said "failure" there, is the the amount multiplied of fail of your thinking process.

I think that sentence was a bit of fail as well. But seriously, ALL kids need discipline, it's called learning, so telling them when they should turn off their video games is anything but a failure, it's good parenting.

You know that sticky stuff that's dripping on you from Citzen's post? I'm pretty sure that's sarcasm. And no, it won't wash off. /comfort. ;)
 
uviuar2 post*, not Citzen's. Grabbed the wrong name. Damn it >.<

Haha I was a little confused by that.... It didn't seem like that at first, but reading what he quoted, you're probably right....

More :rolleyes: and ;) need to be added with sarcastic posts for us slower individuals.... that includes spacetrader.
 
Learned something new about my 360 that Ive owned for too many years now and never knew about the timer.
 
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