Charlie, who's 6 months old, likes sitting on my knee and hammering on the keyboard of my computer.

Are there any computer "games" for kids of this age? Something that responds to his hammering and plays musical notes, or displays shapes on the screen? That kind of thing?

(Windows Vista x64)

The Fisher Price website has some games along those lines. You might also want to check out other baby-toy manufacturer websites.

You'll probably discover that "substitute" computers for your kid to bang on are no substitute (in the kid's head) for banging on the real thing. At least, that's our observation with our kid.

That said, there are plenty of kid toys, some of which look explicitly like laptops, while costing only $50 and being safely smashable. Unfortunately, they also tend to be loud and obnoxious.

Despite all that, you may find that some of the Flash games put online by your favorite kids' TV shows can be quite engaging. Sesame Street's Flash stuff is remarkably comprehensive.

I saw mention of some software like that in one of the parenting magazines over the weekend. I'll see if I can re-find it for you Roger.

cbeebies too.

Roger as promised; giggles.net.
I've not used the software so I can't comment on it, but they do have time limit trail versions, and mention Vista compatibility - though not specifily 64bit.

It was part of a full page ad from tipsntrends.com in Parents magazine.