[rumbler]

I got my kid a Panasonic Toughbook CF-18 when he was 5 years old. I bought it used for less than $200 and installed Linux Mint on it.

The small keyboard of the CF-18 is perfect for little hands, the rugged construction means he probably won't break it whatever he tries, and Linux Mint just works, as usual.

He uses it mostly for watching movies, playing educational games (GCompris and such), looking at small things with a USB microscope I got from DealExtreme, taking to Grandma on Skype, and recently, he has started making little Scratch programs. He's really proud to own a real computer.

Preschool children are not the target market of Panasonic Toughbooks, but they actually are a great fit.