Something that kids have to learn is to share. And one way to this with computer time is to set a timer to limit each kids time. But a plain kitchen timer is sort of boring.

On vacation, I decided to try out Voice Candy and it was a hit with the kids. For those who don’t know, Voice Candy is like Photo Booth for audio. It works great with the built-in microphone of my PowerBook although for good results, talk close to the keyboard.

What I did was record a reminder using the Vader voice saying “Your turn is over.” Then I set it for 15 minutes and let my oldest son play. After 15 minutes, he sort of got startled but then asked what that was. I showed him Voice Candy and we had fun recording with all the different voices. He was amused by all of them but I think he liked Vader and Robot the best. Then we just kept on alternating 15 minute timers with his little brother who also likes to play on the computer.

Another interesting feature is that you can email your recording to people. I’ll have to try this in the office and see what people think. It can operate in menubar mode so that it is unobtrusive but that is almost unnecessary because its UI is unique and quite attractive.