US opts to derez virtual fence along Mexico border, replacing it with more affordable measures

Remember that hugely ambitious "virtual fence" that the US Homeland Security department was so keen on blowing a few billion dollars on? Well, following a bunch of setbacks and delays in its development, it's now been determined to be too darn expensive and is being scrapped. That's not without splashing some cash, however, as it's estimated that a billion dollars has already been spent on installing sensor towers along a 53-mile stretch of the Arizona border with Mexico. The plan now is to redirect funds to more conventional (and commercially available) surveillance measures, such as thermal imaging and unmanned aerial drones, which is estimated to cost $750 million to cover the remaining 323 miles of Arizona's border. Whatever happens, keeping illegal immigration and contraband smuggling to a minimum isn't going to be a cheap task. Almost makes you wonder if this isn't a problem better solved by non-technological means.

US opts to derez virtual fence along Mexico border, replacing it with more affordable measures originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell Adamo now even cheaper, slightly less powerful

It looks like Dell isn't quite sure what to do with Adamo. First, the MacBook Air competitor was bumped from Dell's marketing roster, then it was reduced from $999 to $899, and now it's got a price tag of $799. Unfortunately, the price isn't all Dell is slashing: last October the Adamo was sporting a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo SL9600 processor and 4GB of DDR3-800 memory, now we're told it's functioning on a 1.4GHz Core Duo 2 SU9400 and 2GB of DDR3-800 (with no upgrade option that we can find). Everything else is basically the same for the little guy, and Dell's Adamo page still offers the suggestion, "Prepare to Fall in Love," but we're not entirely sure we're the ones who need convincing.

Dell Adamo now even cheaper, slightly less powerful originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three iPad dummy SKUs appear at Best Buy website

There's not much to see here, folks, just a few listings on Best Buy's website for Apple iPads that don't currently exist. They could be the result of a database error, an employee prank, or even just wishful thinking. Still, in the wake of well-placed sources informing us that a super-high-resolution, SD-card bearing, dual-mode iPad 2 is on the way and a feeling of dj vu, we can't help but think there might be a rather exciting prize behind doors number one, two and three. Or perhaps just a Verizon iPad. We're sure that would make someone's day.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Three iPad dummy SKUs appear at Best Buy website originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Children checking out vintage gadgets continues to be an enthralling experience to watch

The video we've embedded after the break has been around for a few weeks, but we simply couldn't resist posting it. As you'll see, it's a video (in French, but with English subtitles) of children contemplating a ton of vintage gear including the Game Boy, a Colecovision cartridge, and several sizes and shapes of computer discs. Their reactions -- especially if you were alive when most or all of these gadgets were the cutting edge -- is pretty incredible. Like we said, the video (with some pretty clunky subtitles) is after the break.

Continue reading Children checking out vintage gadgets continues to be an enthralling experience to watch

Children checking out vintage gadgets continues to be an enthralling experience to watch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

CES 2011 saw the debut of what could be the biggest challenge to the Wintel dominance of personal computing since Windows 95 cemented its position. The combination of the Android operating system on ARM processors -- ARMdroid if you will -- grabbed most of the attention in the emerging tablet category on products such as devices such as the Motorola Xoom and LG G-Slate. But it was also clear that manufacturers -- unconstrained by Cupertinian notions of what operating system is best suited to what kind of device -- are willing to take the combination in new directions that come much closer to the notebook form factor. A clear example of this was the ASUS Eee Pad Slider. If having the tablet thunder stolen from Microsoft wasn't enough to make the company uncomfortable, clearly encroaching designs like this were.

And so, at Steve Ballmer's keynote, the company announced that the next version of Windows will support not only x86 offerings from Intel and AMD - themselves moving closer to ARM-like system-on-chips - but ARM designs from companies such as Qualcomm and NVIDIA a! s well. Microsoft noted that the new chip support was requested by its partners, implying that PC companies want to take advantage of the long battery life and thin form factors enabled by ARM architectures, but also bring along Windows' broad driver and software support. Microsoft clearly considers the tablet another PC, albeit one that Windows' hardware and user interface layer needs to support better. However, in striking back at Android evolution, Microsoft risks collateral damage to its own mobile OS. Can Windows Phone 7 co-exist with a ARM-based version of the real thing?

Continue reading Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7

Switched On: Making the call on Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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