Archive

Amazon Kindle App for iOS Updated to version 3.1.1

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Jul 2, 2012

0

I use the Amazon Kindle app on my iPad all the time, and it has just been updated to version 3.1.1.

Description

The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines and PDFs on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface.

You’ll have access to over 900,000 books in the Kindle Store. Amazon Whispersync automatically syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across devices (including Kindle), so you can pick up your book where you left off on another device.

Get the best reading experience available on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch:
• Shop the Kindle Store by visiting Amazon for the largest selection of books people want to read: over a 900,000* books.
• *New*: Email PDFs & other documents to your new Send-to-Kindle e-mail address and we deliver them to your device. The documents are automatically archived in the Amazon Cloud and available for re-download on your iOS or supported Kindle devices. You can also read PDFs from Mail, Safari, or by transferring them from iTunes.
• Get free book samples – read the first chapter free before you decide to buy.
• Customize your reading experience by choosing the background color, font size, and either portrait or landscape format.
• Instant dictionary word lookup. Tap and hold a word to view the definition. Use the Google and Wikipedia links to get more information.
• Search inside the book to find a character, topic, or section you want to revisit.
• Simply tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages.
• You can also read your Kindle books on your Kindle, Kindle Fire, Kindle Touch, PC, Mac, Android-based device, and Windows Phone 7-based device. Our Whispersync technology syncs your last page read, notes, bookmarks, and highlights across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.

What’s New in Version 3.1.1

This update fixes issues with Kindle on iOS 6.

New in 3.1 for iPad users:
– Improved reading experience on iPad: Smaller margins and a cleaner look help you focus on the author’s words.

New features in 3.1 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch:
– Search: Quickly locate your content by searching for a title or author.
– Google and Wikipedia: This update fixes an issue that prevented lookup of words on Google and Wikipedia.

Download from the Apple App Store

VLC Player beta for Android now available

Andrew Edney

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Jul 2, 2012

0

VLC Player beta for Android now available

You may have used VLC Player on your Mac or PC, and now there is a beta available for Android.

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player that plays most multimedia files as well as discs, devices, and network streaming protocols.

This is a BETA version of the port to the Android platform. It is intended for power users and hackers. This version is NOT stable and is slower than the final version.

Download the beta of VLC Player now

Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99

Microsoft

Jim McCarthy

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Jul 2, 2012

3

Microsoft today confirmed pricing on Windows 8 Pro will be $39.99. Read on for details.

Microsoft today confirmed that upgrading to Windows 8 Pro will cost $39.99, and if you upgrade to Pro, you can choose Media Center for free. Here is what they said:

We set out to make it as easy as possible for everyone to upgrade to Windows 8. Starting at general availability, if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 in 131 markets. And if you want, you can add Windows Media Center for free through the “add features” option within Windows 8 Pro after your upgrade.

When you use Windows.com to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant makes upgrading simple by walking you through the upgrade process step-by-step from purchase to download and then of course installation.

We believe that your upgrade experience in Windows 8 will be a breeze by offering a faster experience, a single upgrade path, and compatibility from prior versions of Windows. We’ve continued to listen to our customers and have expanded the ability to download to over 100 countries and 37 languages. We have simplified the Windows upgrade experience with the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant which supports you during your upgrade with everything from selecting your language to pausing your download to built-in compatibility checks – it’s seamless. And if you’re an enthusiast you will have the flexibility to download and control how you upgrade.

If you prefer to shop at a local store, a packaged DVD version of the upgrade to Windows 8 Pro will be available for $69.99 during this promotion.

This upgrade promotion for Windows 8 Pro both online and at retail runs through January 31^st, 2013.

Head on over to the Windows Team blog here and check out the full story. I may upgrade that netbook running XP just so I can boot it up in less than 10 minutes; how about you?

Windows Team Blog Post

StableBit DrivePool for Windows Home Server 2011 Beta 1.0.2.6298 released

Andrew Edney

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Jul 2, 2012

0

StableBit DrivePool for Windows Home Server 2011 Beta 1.0.2.6298 released

There has been another beta build from CoveCube! StableBit DrivePool development marches on – now its version 1.0.2.6298.

Here is how CoveCube describes this application:

Combine all your hard drives into one big storage pool (except the system drive with the OS).
Add and remove drives from the pool at any time without re-partitioning or manually moving folders.
Create duplicated folders on the storage drive pool that are protected against single drive failure. If a drive fails on which a duplicated file was stored, the contents of that file will remain readable even without the drive.
All your data is stored in standard NTFS files. You can always access your files even if the Windows Home Server completely crashes or this add-in can’t be used.

This beta version’s change log:

1.0.2.6298

* Fixed disk enumeration, where disks would not come out of a missing state or newly added disks would not immediately show up as being part of the pool.

* [D] Do not fail when a file needs to be extended due to a file mapping object.

* [D] Changes made to dirty pages in a mapped view (section), should be visible to non-mapped reads. In particular, this was breaking the SQL installer.

Download the latest beta version from here

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Mustang

cars
News

Andrew Edney

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Jul 2, 2012

0

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Mustang

We spent last week with Ford at their Future Trends event in Detroit, and on the last day we were taken to Ford’s Test Track. One of the things we got to do was see and drive the new 2013 Mustangs, including being driven around by a professional driver.

The area for this part of the day was called Adrenaline Road, and they were not kidding!

There were six cars in all – 2 driven by professionals, 2 automatics and 2 manuals.

We also got taken around the track by a professional driver. This experience was amazing and even 10 minutes after getting out of the car my heart was still racing!

Towards the end of the morning they had to replace both professionally driven cars because they had gone through all the tyres!

And here is a video showing the new 2013 Mustangs, the Adrenaline Course, being driven around by the two professional drivers and they us having a go ourselves!

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Police Interceptors

cars
News

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 2, 2012

1

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Police Interceptors

We spent last week with Ford at their Future Trends event in Detroit, and on the last day we were taken to Ford’s Test Track. One of the things we got to do was see and drive the new 2013 Police Inceptors.

One of the areas was called Police Interceptor Drive and they had the new Sedan and the new Utility versions of the 2013 Police Interceptors available to see and drive – so who were we to turn down such an opportunity!

Ford have specifically designed and engineered an all-new Police Interceptor vehicle;e to handle the rigors of police work, working hand-in-hand with its Police Advisory Board of law enforcement professionals.

Some details on the vehicles:

3.5-litre Ti-VCT V6 FFV flex fuel-capable
Optional 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6
Six-speed automatic transmission
All-wheel-drive system

And here is a short video explaining more about the new 2013 Police Inceptors, and also us driving them!

They were a lot of fun to drive and they handle really well. Queue the Cops theme tune…..

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Ford Fusion Wind Tunnel Test

cars
News

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 2, 2012

0

Go Further with Ford 2012: The 2013 Ford Fusion Wind Tunnel Test

We spent last week with Ford at their Future Trends event in Detroit, and one of the sessions included seeing how they test their cars in a wind tunnel.

We were taken to Wind Tunnel 8 where we would be standing in the wind tunnel during a test.

Because we were actually in the wind tunnel they only took it up to around 25 mph.

Using smoke, they demonstrated how the new 2013 Ford Fusion deals with wind and is aerodynamic.

Here is a short video of it in action – apologies that it was a like shaky in parts, but we were in a wind tunnel!

Twonky Beam Browser app for Android updated to 3.1.1

Andrew Edney

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Jul 1, 2012

0

Twonky Beam Browser app for Android updated to 3.1.1

Twonky have just released an update to its Beam Browser app for Android.

Twonky Beam Browser provides you with a simple and familiar way to discover and enjoy Internet videos with your tablet or phone and beam them to your TV or other media players on your home network.

When you visit your favourite websites, or discover new ones, Twonky Beam Browser will display a Twonky Beam button over the media files that you are able beam to your TV or sound system. The home page of Twonky Beam Browser contains links to popular websites with great content you can beam. Browse many pages at once through tabs, with the home page always available to you as the main tab. You can also create and manage bookmarks, so that you can easily find your favourite sites.

A simple tap of the screen will beam the chosen content to your selected player, such as your Airplay enabled, UPnP or DLNA certified device. The beaming mode in Twonky Beam Browser can be toggled on and off, allowing you to use the application to discover and enjoy content locally on your tablet or phone.

What’s in this version:

• Better handling of installation errors
• Improved startup time when not connected to the Internet
• UI improvements for certain error scenarios
• Fix for some application crashes
• Improved handling of MPEG2 TS/TTS files

Download from Google Play

VLC Media Player 2.0.2 Released for Mac, brings Retina display support

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 1, 2012

0

The excellent VLC Media Player for the Mac has had an update, taking it to version 2.0.2

Here are the most important improvements for VLC for the Mac:

Enabled drag and drop of playlist items between the temporary playlist and the persistent media library
Various video output improvements, notably for crop, zoom, osd and menu support
Enabled import of playlist items taken from the service discovery modules to the media library or the temporary playlist
Added media key support for keyboards by other manufacturers than Apple. This fix was facilitated through a hardware donation by ZF Friedrichshafen AG manufacturing keyboards under the brand “Cherry”.
Added HiDPI / Retina Display save UI artwork
Restored the preferences’ fullscreen options, which allows the user to start videos directly in fullscreen mode
Keep Aspect Ratio when resizing is back
Added controls to manipulate the Subtitles Duration to the Track Synchronization panel
Hidden items in the sidebar are being retained for the next launch now
Fixed crash when trying to open an Audio CD by drag & drop
Improve reliability when opening DVDs or BDs by drag & drop
Fixed a crash when attaching harddrives with multiple partitions while VLC is running
Improved OSD rendering in fullscreen mode
Improved fullscreen behavior when using a smartphone remote based upon VLC’s http interface
The selected audio device is retained throughout multiple VLC sessions now
Since running the Mac OS X interface as an Extra Interface or Control Interface can lead to undefined results, the respective options will be automatically reset on the first launch, if needed.
- This fixes issues with unresponsive playback controls and crashes on quit.
Updated Growl plugin supporting Growl 1.3.
Improved reliablity in detecting VIDEO_TS folders when opened through the “Open Disc” panel.
Re-implemented the “Window Decorations” option, which, if disabled, hides all the UI elements from the video output window to give you the cleanest experience possible.
Improved the window title behavior when using the dark interface mode. It correctly responds to right and double-click events now.
Miscellaneous minor interface improvements

Additionally, VLC 2.0.1 includes the following cross-platform improvements:

Video Output

PCs running Windows XP will use the DirectX mode by default now, like in VLC’s 1.1.x release due to a fast number of broken drivers
More accurate colorspace conversions for YUV->RGB in OpenGL
Misc fixes in the OpenGL module, on all platforms
Fixed video output on PowerPC-based Macs equipped with an ATI Radeon 7500, an ATI Radeon 9200 or a NVIDIA GeForceFX 5200 Ultra.^[1]
Fixed video output of 10bit encoded contents on Intel-based Macs equipped with an Intel GMA 950 chipset running OS X 10.6 or later.^[2]

Access

Reworked Digital TV module for Windows. DVB-T and DVB-C work again
Fixes for RAR compressed files
Fixed DirectShow crashes on exit
Improved PulseAudio input latency
Fixes for HTTP access through a proxy
v4l2 webcam outputting H264 can now be used directly (use –v4l2-chroma=h264)
Fixed Subtitle auto-detection in subfolders
IE http proxy is no longer used by VLC on Windows
Accepts more extensions for DVD images
Fixed crash in VC1 packetizer

Codecs

Fixed crashes in AAC decoder on channels changes, notably in ISDB streams
Fixed compilation with multiple FFmpeg and libav versions
Fixed G726 support

Demuxers

Fixes for MKV segments and MKV title display
Fixed some mp4, voc, midi and au crashes
Fixed Real .ram and .ra files support
Fixed DVB channel file support
Fixes for alac, vorbis, DTS, VC-1 and Dirac in mp4

Encoders

Fix for MPEG audio encoding. Use Layer2 for the FOURCCs “mp2 ” and “mp2a”
Fixed JPEG generation when doing snapshots

Audio filters and output

Limitation of the Spatializer output volume
Fixed DirectSound device selection
Correct PulseAudio volume control
Fixed Directsound volume initialization
Volume level is no longer applied to the file output
Fixed sampling rate for the JACK output

Lua Scripts

Fixes for stdin/stdout and for different locale issues

Qt interface

Fixed preferences for audio devices on Windows
Fixed various crashes
Fixed multiple issues in the Open Disc dialog
Fixed playlist search and selector behavior
Miscellaneous fixes in preferences, buttons, EPG, playlist and customize dialog
Fixed tags and file names display

Skins2

Fixed mousewheel on Windows
Fixes for key events and focus loss

Web interface

Fixed display of some buttons
Fixed listing of files in the Open interface

Download VLC Player here

BYOB Podcast Episode 90 Out Now

News
Tech

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 1, 2012

0

The guys over at the BYOB podcast have just released episode 90.

Here is what is included in this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Tim reports in on Windows 8, RT and ARM. The guys have a loose round table on where they see Microsoft and computing going in the future. Google Nexus 7 is a 7 inch tablet the right way for Google to go? [/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

StableBit Scanner 2.0 for Windows Home Server 2011 out of beta

Andrew Edney

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Jun 30, 2012

0

StableBit Scanner 2.0 for Windows Home Server 2011 out of beta

StableBit Scanner 2.0 for Windows Home Server 2011 is now out of beta and has been updated to version 2.0.0.2461.

An advanced hard disk surface scanner, monitor and more.

Monitors all your hard drives and ensures that every bit holding your precious data is readable.

You can try it free for a month, and if you like it you can buy it.

Download the latest version from here

Pre-order the Raspberry Pi User Guide book today

Andrew Edney

-

Jun 29, 2012

0

Pre-order the Raspberry Pi User Guide book today

Amazon has a new book called the Raspberry Pi User Guide available for pre-order.

Raspberry Pi User Guide contains everything the reader needs to know to get up and running on the Raspberry Pi.

Written by Gareth Halfacree and Eben Upton, the creator of Raspberry Pi, the book shows how to:

*Connect the Raspberry Pi to other devices–keyboard, mouse, monitor
*Install the necessary software
*Learn basic Linux System Admin in order to understand files systems, etc.
*Configure the Raspberry Pi
*Set-up the Raspberry Pi as a simple Productivity computer *Write basic programmes in Python
*Connect to external devices such as servos and sensors
*Set up the Raspberry Pi to drive a multimedia centre or robotics unit Raspberry Pi User Guide will have the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s seal of approval, and will be the ideal companion when starting out using the Raspberry Pi board.

Amazon are showing the publication date as 19th October 2012 although according to Liz at Raspberry Pi the release date is actually in a couple of weeks time, and a pre-order price of £11.69.

Click here to pre-order your copy from Amazon right now

I have already ordered mine, have you?

As a fellow author, I know how excited Eben and Gareth must be feeling right now. Guys, just wait until the first time you see it on a shelf in WH Smiths!

Check out a Slice of Raspbery Pi at Sci Fi London Horizons

DVBLink v4.5 product suite from DVBLogic released

Andrew Edney

-

Jun 29, 2012

0

DVBLogic has released the DVBLink v4.5 product suite after a relatively short beta period.

This is what is included in the new versions:

Including built-in DVBLink recorder, Unicable support and a lot of usability improvements! Now you can use your DVBLink server to record content locally and watch it in networked MediCenter and DLNA clients!

v4.5 is a major milestone in DVBLink products development. What is new/changed from the previous release:

General

Added: New product licensing engine
Added: Default EPG source for each channel (e.g. with this feature TVSource channels will use EPG from stream automatically without manual mapping)
Added: New channel selection control for improved speed and convenience
Added: UI improvements for web configuration interface
Added: Automatic sequential channel numbering
Added: Automatic shifted channel numbering (after inserting a channel number all channel numbers above it shift up by one)
Added: optional authorization when accessing DVBLink web configuration, web streaming interface and DVBLink Remote API
Fixed: A number of MediaCenter growing database fixes (also some new ones not present in the previously released patches)
Fixed: xmltv source causes stutter every hour (there are two fixes here actually: xmltv update period is 12 hours now and the priority of update thread was lowered)

DVBLink TVSource:

Added: Unicable support (only for tuners, which support raw diseqc commands. Most of them do, but for example for DigitalDevices tuners users need to use their own Unicable configuration management)
Added: PCTV 460e 1.0 diseqc and Unicable support
(Re)Added: Channels tab to TVSource configuration
Added: Channel streaming statistics (bitrate, errors, packet discontinuity) to Channels tab of TVSource configuration
Added: “Wait for lock on tune” flag to TVSource tuner device properties (especially important for timer recordings on partially offline channels like BBC3 and BBC4)
Added: CI module support for TBS tuners
Added: Support for DigitalDevices CI4All module, which works with DigitalDevices as well as other brands of tuners
Added: raw diseqc command support for Twinhan clones (Terratec S7, SkyStar HD2 etc.)
Fixed: Updated transponder files
Added: Prescanned channel files for Astra 19 and HotBird 13 with automatic channel selection for Austrian, German and Swiss channel presets
Fixed: Long load time for PCTV nanoStick T2 290e
Fixed: EIT scanner consumes a lot of memory to keep collected EPG data
Fixed: “PAT scanning times out message” when scanned transponder id does not match the actual
Fixed: no signal on TBS5980 when going from qpsk to 8psk transponder
Fixed: no signal on DVB-S2/QPSK transponders for Twinhan clones

DVBLink Connect! Server

Added: built-in dvblink recorder (please read more about it in notes below)
Fixed: DLNA server hang-up on start
Fixed: DLNA server compatibility with XBMC Eden (and some other DLNA clients)
Fixed: Network MediaCenter client uses TCP streaming by default (instead of UDP)
Fixed: Improved sound quality for Android and IPhone streaming

DVBLink for Dreambox

Fixed: Channel streaming consumes hard disk space
Fixed: 3 minutes delay during system start-up also blocking aother services

DVBLink for Kartina.TV

Added: support for video library and archive (Архив и Видеотека)

Download DVBLink v4.5 products from www.dvblogic.com

Chrome browser is now available for your iPhone and iPad

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

-

Jun 29, 2012

0

Chrome browser is now available for your iPhone and iPad

If you are fan of Google’s Chrome browser you can now get it as an app for both the iPhone and iPad.

Browse fast with Chrome, now available on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Sign in to sync your personalized Chrome experience from your computer, and bring it with you anywhere you go.

I haven’t had an opportunity to test it yet, but this past week I spent at Ford in Detroit I ended up using my iPad a lot more than usual, and one thing I found frustrating was Safari for some of the tasks I wanted to do, so I am curious if Chrome would be better.

Have you tried it yet? Be sure and let us know by leaving a comment below.

Download Google Chrome for iOS now