Retro 70s Styled BOB TV/PC/Video Game Time Controller Limits Childrens Playtime [Auto Shut Down Parental Timer/HDD Fragmentation Device]

Sporting aesthetics that appear to be fresh from the 70’s, yet, for us at least, lacks any sense of retro appeal, this device, known merely as BOB, has been designed to assist parents in controlling the amount of time their children spend watching the TV, playing on their gaming consoles or sitting at their PC thanks to an integrated timer that will automatically shut down the associated device once the allotted access period is over.

Interestingly, as one might expect from such a swanky looking device (is it us, or does it look like some sort of children’s toy cash till?) it’s a somewhat rudimentary affair that may well be fine for TVs but that could cause no end of problems when used with PCs or game consoles in that, to use the device, one simply plugs the power cord of your TV/console/computer/nan’s life support unit (no, ok, scrub that latter bit) into the device and, once the allotted playtime is over, the device will cut the power.

Obviously, this is not going to prove any particular issue in terms of use with TVs but, on account of working by merely cutting the power to any attached device we would certainly not recommend its use with PCs as the scope for the device causing considerable issues is certainly significant. Imagine it cutting the power during installation of XP SP3, for example (yes, you forgot about the timer, didn’t you?). Not only that, but shutting down a PC in this fashion is far from recommended for a host of reasons we don’t doubt that you’re fully versed with.

The same is true in terms of using the device with consoles. Apart from corrupting any save game that may be writing to disk at the time the power is unceremoniously cut, can you imagine what you’re going to go through once little Jimmy realises that he’s lost all the progress he’s just made in Manhunt?

The BOB (we don’t have it on good authority that the next model in the range will be called Gertrude), will allow you to set hourly, daily and weekly limits in simple blocks with timer programming being a simple affair thanks the units LCD but, whilst we can see the benefits of such a device, we certainly wouldn’t want these hooked up to our equipment all over the house (the BOB can only ‘control’ one device at a time).

The BOB TV/PC/Video Game Time Controller retails for $100 though, if you intend to use this with a PC, the very least you need to do is also factor in the cost of a half decent defrag software package to get your HDD back in order following each abrupt power loss.

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