As the entry age for web access heads ever southwards, preventing young minds from the perils of the internet is a growing concern for parents. For this reason, Microsoft teamed up with the UK-based CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center) to create a special kid-friendly version of its IE9 browser. Access to key CEOP pages are baked right in, and there are dedicated tabs for the thinkuknow.co.uk information site and, of course, Bing. Additional security comes via a Jump List that lets parents and care-givers set the age group of their child and prevents them from seeing unsuitable content. It's only available on Windows 7, and you'll need to prevent your curious children from using any other browser, but at least it's extra peace of mind at no extra cost.
Raspberry Pi's Linux computer nears completion, should ship by end of February Raspberry Pi's commercial future became a little clearer yesterday, with an announcement that the first batch of its Model B Linux computers will be finished by February 20th. The $35 board went into production last month, but has been beset with delays in bringing it to market. In a post on its site, the UK-based manufacturer expressed some regret over the setback, attributing it to a hiccup it encountered while trying to procure specific quartz crystals. Fortunately, though, everything is finally in order, and the computers should begin shipping by the end of the month. In the meantime, particularly hardware savvy users can find out more about the BCM2835 SoC behind the Model B, courtesy of a datasheet that Broadcom released alongside Raspberry Pi's announcement. You can dig through it yourself, at the coverage link below.
So far, the extent of Sony's 2012 smartphone portfolio for the US extends only to the AT&T-bound Xperia Ion, with no word just yet whether the see-through banded Xperia S will arrive on American shores. What happens if it was called the Xperia Sola? That very name's showed up at the US Patent and Trademark Office, although that's largely it. So it could be a phone we've already seen, or perhaps one of those many road-mapped pseudonyms. Well, with a certain big mobile event just around the corner, we're sure to get a few more answers on Sony's other plans for the New World later this month.
Come spring you'll finally be able to get your grubby paws on that droid-based console you've been looking for. Microsoft's Major Nelson let slip in a series of tweets that the Star Wars Xbox 360 Kinect bundle will land on April 3rd. The set, which was first unveiled, fittingly, at Comic Con, is dressed up like R2-D2 and ships with a C-3P0-themed controller, a white Kinect sensor and the games Star Wars Kinect and Kinect Adventures. The 320GB system will run you $449, so start saving up those Galactic Credits now.
If you thought Intel's super-charged Core i7 CPUs were only for desktops, then AVADirect reckons it can change your mind. The company's Clevo P270WM notebook comes strapped to the back of either a six-core i7-3930K or an over-sized i7-3960X, while still leaving plenty of room for dual GeForce GTX 580M graphics, a Bigfoot Killer WiFi adapter, three hard drives and four memory slots offering up to 32GB of RAM. Topping it all off is a 3D-capable 17.3-inch Full HD LED glossy display and backlit keyboard. The base configuration with the 3930K processor, single graphics card and 750GB HDD will set you back over $3,000, and if you have to ask how much the NVIDIA Quadro graphics option costs then you're probably better off with something like this.