www.enchantedage.com

There are parental controls in Windows Vista that can prevent a restricted account from using a computer at times you specify. However, if you let your kids have admin accounts (because they keep needing to run programs that need admin for compatibility reasons, say), then this won't work.

Also, Windows XP does not have any feature to limit use to certain times of day.

Thus, I developed the Time Limiter service, and installed on my son's laptop. It turns off the computer at 10 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on week-ends -- these times are later than he's really supposed to be in bed, but I prefer to give him a bit of margin. The computer will not allow use until 6 am in the morning (to prevent staying up until after midnight to play more games -- I'd be asleep by then, and can't really verify such things, but I've been young myself...)

To use it, simply install it, and reboot (to start the service). When you log in, the system will tell you that time limiting is in effect. When the time comes, a message will be displayed saying you have 10 minutes left. Then 5. Then the system will be shut down, and you cannot cancel it. (Yes, shut down, not suspended or hibernated -- this is good, because it forces the system to reboot every so often, which makes Windows Updates take effect etc. I find that certain people will never reboot otherwise).

In fact, if you find that you play too much WoW or read too many blogs too late at night, perhaps you should install it on your own machine, too...

The service can be un-installed in the Windows XP Add or Remove Programs (or the Programs and Features in Vista) control panel. I expect it also works fine under Windows 7.

No, there is no way to configure it, and there is no way to turn it off other than uninstalling it. That's the way I want it, at least for now. You can, however, download the source code if you want.

Click here to download, and choose "Run" to install the program on your computer.