Muppets launch app store guide for little fingers

App stores from Apple, Google and Microsoft are choked with hundreds of thousands of apps, with the most popular being free games. The App Store debate is shaped by techies and entrepreneurial types. As such, it mostly breaks down into choice of technology - HTML5 versus native – and, for the VC types, finance - specifically …

[Tom Wood]

Sesame Street != muppets

is all.

[Lamont Cranston]

Re: Sesame Street != muppets

What? What's Guy Smiley, if not a Muppet?

[Rob]

Re: Sesame Street != muppets

Equally, who's Kermit the Frog, if not a Muppet?

[Blain Hamon]

Ohhhh, I get it!

While Sesame Street has Muppets (Jim Henson's creation), they're not muppets (Brit slang for idiots). That slang always bugged me, especially since those muppets are too dumb to be true Muppets.

[Lamont Cranston]

The only advice I would offer to app developers targetting children

would be to leave out all the click through adds. Of course, that's their revenue stream, and they'd all go bust if they couldn't depend upon the parents not putting a PIN on their app store account!

[Jay Holmes]

Re: The only advice I would offer to app developers targetting children

Agreed, I have lost count of the amount of time my kids have come to me complaining that an app has stopped working because they have accidentally (allegedly lol) clicked on the flashing advert and been taken to a download page.

I have no problems with adverts on apps, but if the app is designed for kids then they should be removed without me having to pay as the ad revenue can be picked up from multiple sources.

Either that or I should just stop being a tight arse and buy the damn thing lol

[vic 4]

Sesame Street App Store?

It would be good if they or someone could create an app store just for kids apps.

[Robert Helpmann??]

Re: Sesame Street App Store?

...or a separate section within existing app stores, under the idea that children of the age that this set of guidelines targets should not be downloading things by themselves.

I read through the guidelines. They seem to be well thought out; probably the result of - dare I say it? - testing with actual kids. What a refreshing approach! If only MS (and other software producers) would crib some notes and do some user acceptance testing before inflicting the next unusable mess on their customers.

[Rob]

Re: Sesame Street App Store?

Totally agree, there is a big gap in a lot of systems for this. YouTube is a prime example, I'd like to leave my son to watch various kids programs that are available on YouTube, but because I don't have any options to lock out the rest of the non kid content I need to sit there and watch everything he does or switch off WiFi and tell him the batteries run out (because at that point I don't have the time to watch the same Pink Panther or Agent Oso episode 10 times back to back).

[jackharbringer]

Re: Sesame Street App Store?

"but because I don't have any options to lock out the rest of the non kid content I need to sit there and watch everything he does or switch off WiFi and tell him the batteries run out (because at that point I don't have the time to watch the same Pink Panther or Agent Oso episode 10 times back to back)"

On the other hand: My Little Pony!!! and it's my daughter who suggests it! :D win-win

There are android tablets that do just what people are asking for and only offer a kids store for music/videos/apps/opt-in web-browsing in kids mode and full android in momma/poppa mode. Complete with e-allowance, chore rewards, etc. (God, I sound like an advertisement, will see how well it really works next week)

I hadn't thought that I would ever let an android system darken my door, but I'll do anything for my daughter (it seems :)