Plus, affordability is key. Newbies don’t realize that they’ll have to get a new computer in five years — and upgrade memory even sooner. Buying a computer isn’t like buying a refrigerator.

I also think that any computer use should not be tucked away in a child’s bedroom. Even if each child has a laptop to avoid traffic issues (“But it’s MY turn to use it!”), I think they should be using them out in the open at the kitchen table.

Between my old gig as a police reporter and my current gig as an aspiring thriller novelist, I’m probably ultra-paranoid, but there are skeezy dirtbags out there looking for “fresh material.”