WindowSMART 2012 Beta Available

Andrew Edney
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0
WindowSMART 2012 Beta Available

WindowSMART 2012 is a SMART client for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. All are welcome to participate in the public beta, and no registration is required.

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WindowSMART 2012 is a SMART disk monitoring for Windows Vista, 7, Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2. Its function is nearly identical to the Windows Home Server add-in Home Server SMART 2012, and they share about 90% of the same code.

WindowSMART 2012 consists of two main components, a user interface and a service. The user interface is where you can see the health of your disks, view detailed analysis and configure settings. The service, on the other hand, runs continuously, monitoring your disks at pre-determined intervals (default 10 minutes; you can change this). The service can send email notifications when problems are detected. You do no need to be logged into the computer for the service to run.

Features in WindowSMART 2012
  • NEW Instant notification on iOS devices using Prowl
  • NEW Instant notification on Android devices using Notify My Android
  • Solid State Disk support – HSS can report correct SMART data for the following SSD controller manufacturers (note this is being tested by the community)
    • Indilinx (seen in Crucial and Corsair)
    • Indilinx Everest (seen in OCZ Octane)
    • Intel
    • SandForce (seen in Kingston, OCZ, Patriot)
    • STEC
  • Works with disk pooling software Drive Bender and StableBit DrivePool.
    • Default setting not only ignores virtual disks, but hides them from the UI (since they have no SMART data anyway).
  • You can ignore individual problems on disks and also un-ignore (resume) them, either on an individual basis or for all problems on all disks.
  • You can ignore entire disks (and resume them as well) – useful for hiding flash drives and media card readers, as well as disks that you know are showing incorrect information (rare, but it’s been reported).
  • Improved the ability to stop, start and restart the service.
  • Shut down or reboot your computer from within the UI.
  • Send alerts via email.
  • Bug Report Helper – runs a small self-test to detect installation problems and provide details to help in troubleshooting.
  • Continuous disk health monitoring by an always-on service.
    • Monitors health of attributes and will generate alerts when a failure condition (threshold is met or exceeded) is detected.
    • Monitors disk temperature and airflow temperature, and generates alerts when unacceptable temperatures are detected (airflow temperature is flagged in HSS 2012 only).
  • Customizeable temperature thresholds for Warm, Hot, Overheated and Critical.
  • Temperature display can be shown in Celsius (default), Fahrenheit and Kelvin.
  • Proactive alerting when changes occur on certain “super critical” attributes such as bad sectors, spin retries and end-to-end errors, even if they have not actually “failed.”
  • List of physical disks shows status icons for an “at-a-glance” view of disk health.
  • Each attribute shows a colored icon in addition to a status message relative to its health.
  • Double-click any SMART attribute to learn more about that attribute on the selected disk.
  • Supports most IDE/PATA and SATA controllers that expose SMART data via standard Win32 IOCTL calls or WMI.
  • Supports most USB and FireWire enclosures that expose SMART data via standard Win32 IOCTL calls.
  • Allows you to clean up data from “stale” disks — disks you’ve removed from the server.
  • Allows you to perform a manual polling of the disks for the latest data, rather than waiting for the service to poll them again.
Learn more and download the beta from here

WHS 2011 Add-In: Home Server SMART 2012 version 2.2.3.8

Andrew Edney
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2
WHS 2011 Add-In: Home Server SMART 2012 version 2.2.3.8

Dojo North Software have just released version 2.2.3.8 of their Home Server SMART 2012 add-in for Windows Home Server 2011. And it’s codenamed Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

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Home Server SMART 2012 is the second-generation add-in for SMART disk monitoring for Windows Home Server. The first generation product, Home Server SMART, is designed to be used on Windows Home Server, which is colloquially known as Windows Home Server “v1.” Home Server SMART 2012, formerly known as Home Server SMART 2011, is designed to run on Microsoft’s Windows Server Solutions family of products, which consists of Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.

Home Server SMART 2012, or HSS, is installed into WHS 2011 (I’ll use WHS or WHS 2011 to collectively refer to all Windows Server Solutions products) through the use of a WSSX installer file. The WSSX file can be run on the server itself, or from a client connected to that server via the Launchpad. HSS consists of two main components, a user interface and a service. The user interface is where you can see the health of your disks, view detailed analysis and configure settings. The service, on the other hand, runs continuously, monitoring your disks at pre-determined intervals (default 10 minutes; you can change this). The service can raise WHS alerts and send email notifications when problems are detected. You do no need to be logged into the server for the service to run.

Home Server SMART 2012 has all the features you knew and loved from Home Server SMART for WHS v1, plus a bunch of new features.

Features New to HSS 2012
  • Works with disk pooling software Drive Bender and StableBit DrivePool.
    • Default setting not only ignores virtual disks, but hides them from the UI (since they have no SMART data anyway).
  • BitLocker Drive Encryption integration – encrypt, decrypt and manage all of your volumes, whether or not those volumes have a drive letter – you can even enable the BitLocker server role from within the add-in!
    • Allows you to encrypt drives that participate in drive pools.
    • Allows you to hide disks that cannot be encrypted, decluttering the UI.
    • Allows you to make use of an HSS helper service to unlock BitLocker-encrypted USB volumes at boot time when those disks participate in disk pools. This can help ensure the disks are ready for use when the pool is started.
  • You could ignore individual problems on disks in HSS for WHS v1, but now you can un-ignore (resume) them, either on an individual basis or for all problems on all disks.
  • You can now ignore entire disks (and resume them as well) – useful for hiding flash drives and media card readers, as well as disks that you know are showing incorrect information (rare, but it’s been reported).
  • Improved the ability to stop, start and restart the HSS service.
  • Shut down or reboot your server from within the add-in.
  • Send alerts via email.
  • Bug Report Helper – runs a small self-test to detect installation problems and provide details to help in troubleshooting.
  • Don’t use, and don’t plan to use BitLocker? You can hide the BitLocker tab completely.
Features in HSS for WHS v1 and HSS 2012
  • Continuous disk health monitoring by an always-on service.
    • Monitors health of attributes and will generate alerts when a failure condition (threshold is met or exceeded) is detected.
    • Monitors disk temperature and airflow temperature, and generates alerts when unacceptable temperatures are detected (airflow temperature is flagged in HSS 2012 only).
  • Customizeable temperature thresholds for Warm, Hot, Overheated and Critical.
  • Temperature display can be shown in Celsius (default), Fahrenheit and Kelvin.
  • Proactive alerting when changes occur on certain “super critical” attributes such as bad sectors, spin retries and end-to-end errors, even if they have not actually “failed.”
  • List of physical disks shows status icons for an “at-a-glance” view of disk health.
  • Each attribute shows a colored icon in addition to a status message relative to its health.
  • Double-click any SMART attribute to learn more about that attribute on the selected disk.
  • Supports most IDE/PATA and SATA controllers that expose SMART data via standard Win32 IOCTL calls or WMI.
  • Supports most USB and FireWire enclosures that expose SMART data via standard Win32 IOCTL calls.
  • Allows you to clean up data from “stale” disks — disks you’ve removed from the server.
  • Allows you to perform a manual polling of the disks for the latest data, rather than waiting for the service to poll them again.
Learn more and download from here

TDL Show User Group Meet Up?

Andrew Edney
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0
TDL Show User Group Meet Up?

As some of you will be aware, I am a regular co-host on the Digital Lifestyle Show. We have also put on two previous user group meetings and we are working on a third.

DLS Show

In order to try and work out the best location, Ian is running a poll. He has said this:

The first step is finding a venue and we have the option of using a location close to me just outside of Manchester, it wouldn’t cost us anything and that is always the biggest cost when putting events on. In other words we can if its in the North West we can start planning now and I figure that the location may not be ideal its better than having no event at all.

So my question to you is if we put the event on at a venue in the North West would you come or would you only come if we had a central or London based event.

Also check out the picture of the hansom presenter on his poll page!

Vote for your preferred location here

Sky Sports F1 is now available on Sky Go

Andrew Edney
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0

For those of you who want to watch the F1, Sky have just announced that it’s new Sky Sports F1 channel is available via Sky Go.

Sky Go F1

Enjoy up to 39 live channels including thousands of hours of on demand entertainment online for free in line with your Sky TV subscription. What’s more, you can now watch great TV from Sky on your iPhone or iPad. Find out more at sky.com/skygo

Access Sky Go from here

Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix Ready for Download

Andrew Edney
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0
Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix Ready for Download

The Raspberry Pi boards may be a little delayed, but the Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix is ready for download!

Fedora-installer-screenshot

What is the Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix?

The Remix is a distribution comprised of software packages from the Fedora ARM project, plus a small number of additional packages that are modified from the Fedora versions or which cannot be included in Fedora due to licensing issues – in particular, the libraries for accessing the VideoCore GPU on the Raspberry Pi.

The SD card image for the Remix includes a little over 640 packages, providing both text-mode and graphical interfaces (LXDE/XFCE) with an assortment of programming languages, applications, system tools, and services for both environments. There are over 16,000 software packages available from the Fedora ARM repositories which can be easily installed using the Internet to customize your system to meet your needs and interests (again, using either command-line or graphical tools).

Some of the highlights of the software included in the SD card image:

  • Programming languages: python, perl, ruby, bash
  • Version control: git
  • System administration tools (command line and/or graphical) for configuring various aspects of the system including the network, date/time, users, and printers
  • Command-line and graphical tools for installing/removing/updating software
  • ssh (secure remote login) and printer services
  • Graphical applications: word processing (AbiWord), spreadsheets (Gnumeric), image editing (GIMP), and web browsing (Firefox)
  • Editors for programming: vim (text mode) and gedit with plugins for file management, terminal, and python console (graphical mode)
Learn more and download from here

QNAP Updates TurboNAS Firmware to 3.6.1

Jim McCarthy
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0
QNAP Updates TurboNAS Firmware to 3.6.1

QNAP released a minor update to their 3.6 TurboNAS firmware, bringing it to 3.6.1.  Read on for details.

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QNAP released a maintenance update to their TurboNAS 3.6 firmware today.  Here are the release notes:

Version & Build]

3.6.1 Build0302

[Checksum]

TS-459/459 Pro+/459 Pro II: 2253686357

[What’s New?]

– None

[Enhancements]

– Web File Manager supports multiple file upload in HTTPS

– Disk reordering is supported in the same RAID configuration

[Major Bug Fixes]

– [External Storage Device] Format the external drive with encryption could fail with USB 3.0 port connection.

– [Port Trunking] DHCP Server did not function in Port Trunking mode.

– [Port Trunking] In 802.3ad, NAS could not obtain a valid DHCP IP address when switches to another subnet.

– [Music Station]Playback status could not be displayed correctly in Local Playback mode when user uses the One Touch Copy button.

– [Web File Manager] If the NAS was joined to an AD domain, domain user groups became the local user groups in access right configuration of shared folders.

– [Surveillance Station] Vivotek IP 7330 was missing from the supported camera list.

– [Live Update] NAS might become unresponsive after firmware live update.

– [WebDAV] WebDav permission was incorrect when share folder was assigned to a user group.

I updated my NAS tonight…if you have a TurboNAS running 3.6, you might want to update the firmware.

BBC Global iPlayer App problems with iOS 5.1 Resolved

Andrew Edney
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5
BBC Global iPlayer App problems with iOS 5.1 Resolved

Earlier today we told you that If you had updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 5.1 and you use the BBC Global iPlayer app you might have some problems. Well those problems have now been fixed!

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This is what the BBC tweeted:

Great news! The streaming issue with i0s5.1 is sorted. Thanks for bearing with us…

That was fixed pretty quickly, so well done BBC!

Beeb@30 – An anniversary celebration of the BBC Micro and Computer Literacy Project

Andrew Edney
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0
Beeb@30 – An anniversary celebration of the BBC Micro and Computer Literacy Project

Yes, it’s been 30 years since the BBC Micro appeared, and to celebrate there will be a very interesting day later this month!

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What’s it all about?

The Computer Literacy Project was a BBC-led initiative to improve computing education in Britain. A new series entitled The Computer Programme was planned for 1982, and the corporation wanted their own machine to accompany it.

A number of British computing firms were approached to produce a machine to the BBC’s own specification. The contract was awarded to Acorn Computers, whose own Atom replacement machine, the Proton, was adapted to satisfy the criteria.

The resulting BBC Micro became the machine of choice for schools up and down the country, backed by the then Conservative government’s own desire to make Britain lead the world in computer education.

Thirty years on, the BBC Micro is fondly remembered as being the computer that started a generation of careers in IT. It also begs the question – what did the Computer Literacy Project achieve, and how does it compare to how computing is taught now?

Beeb@30 will be a celebration with a twist, with the people who made it happen just over thirty years ago.

The event will take place in Cambridge on the 25th March, and tickets will go on sale soon.

Learn more from here

The Home Server Show Episode 174 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
The Home Server Show Episode 174 Out Now

Dave at the guys at the Home Server Show have released episode 174.

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Here’s what Dave has to say about this weeks show:

We are back with a ton of news. Windows 8 and Storage Spaces are both still popular items for the week. There are also a lot of software updates to talk about. Apple releases the new iPad but we will save that for the end of the show and only spend a couple of minutes on it.

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

Microsoft talks about getting around in Windows 8

Andrew Edney
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0
Microsoft talks about getting around in Windows 8

Have you downloaded and installed the consumer preview of Windows 8? If so, you might be wondering how you get around as it looks all different. Microsoft have just posted an article that you might want to read!

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Here is how Microsoft starts the article:

A common thread we’ve seen in the feedback so far about Windows 8, on this blog or elsewhere, positive or negative, is that people using Windows 8 for the first time might need a little help getting their bearings. For me, the best way to get acquainted with a new operating system is a lot like the way I got acquainted with the moving parts in a lot of the gadgets I tinkered with (by which I mean my parents’ stuff that I broke) growing up: just start messing with it. I know other people, though, who like to read before beginning or read as they go. You might be able to relate to one of these styles, or you might be somewhere in between. Either way, I hope some of this info can help you use Windows 8 even more quickly and efficiently.

To continue reading it, click here.

BBC Global iPlayer App having problems with iOS 5.1

Andrew Edney
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2
BBC Global iPlayer App having problems with iOS 5.1

If you have updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 5.1 and you use the BBC Global iPlayer app you might have some problems!

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This is what the BBC tweeted:

For now, we’d advise holding back from downloading iOS5.1 if you want to stream shows on the app. Thanks!

So, if you are user of the app and you can’t live without it for now, you might want to hold off from updating to iOS 5.1.

FireCore Releases aTV Flash (black) 1.4 for the 2nd Generation AppleTV

Andrew Edney
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0
FireCore Releases aTV Flash (black) 1.4 for the 2nd Generation AppleTV

Today saw the release of aTV Flash (black) version 1.4 for the 2nd generation AppleTV.

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Here is what Firecore said:

Wow, what a week! We had quite a few exciting announcements yesterday from Apple, not the least of which was a brand-new, 1080p capable AppleTV. We are uber excited about this new model and already have a handful of test units on order. Better hardware usually lends itself to better software, and the AppleTV should be no exception. Keep reading for more information on what all this means for you as well as your current aTV Flash (black) license.

What does the new AppleTV 3 offer? Should I upgrade?

At this point, it appears the only real difference between the ATV2 and ATV3 is the video resolution. The ATV2 has a max resolution of 720p, whereas the ATV3 supports 1080p. There may be new features introduced in the future that will be ATV3 only, but for now unless you’re playing 1080p content you will not see much of a difference between the two models. The new menu layout that was demoed yesterday by Apple on the ATV3 will also be available on the ATV2.

What about the new 5.0 software? Can I update my AppleTV?

aTV Flash (black) is currently only compatible with AppleTV versions 4.2 – 4.4.4, and if you update you lose will your jailbreak and FireCore added features. However, if you have saved firmware signatures you can easily downgrade the AppleTV software at any time, so feel free to update to 5.0 and check it out.

Will aTV Flash (black) be compatible?

The short answer is: Yes! There will undoubtedly be a few obstacles to overcome in order to get everything up to speed, but based on our past experiences and progress thus far we’re confident we can put the pieces in place to make it happen.

Once an updated version is ready we’ll be rolling these changes into an aTV Flash (black) update, which will result in a universal application that is compatible with both the ATV2 and ATV3. The best part is users of aTV Flash (black) will be able to install it on either model without having to pay any extra fees.

That all sounds great, but what’s new in aTV Flash (black) 1.4?

Last, but certainly not least, we have a new version of aTV Flash (black) available today to help tide you over until the new models arrive. Full details on what’s included in version 1.4 can be found below.

Full Changelog

  • NEW: Center channel audio boost (+6dB and +12dB) for 5.0 and 5.1 audio tracks
  • NEW: Finnish, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Swedish translations
  • NEW: ‘4:3 Crop’ and ‘4:3 Stretch’ zoom options
  • NEW: Support for M3U and PLS playlists
  • NEW: EyeTV folder detection
  • NEW: TrueHD audio (downmixed)
  • NEW: 24-bit and 32-bit audio (downmixed)
  • NEW: Enhanced downmixing for 5.1 AC3 audio (Dolby Pro Logic II)
  • NEW: Support for embedded MP3 covers
  • NEW: Automatic EXIF-based image rotation
  • NEW: MP4s embedded subtitles
  • NEW: Clock added to main menu
  • IMPROVED: Poster art quality in list and grid view
  • IMPROVED: Buffering logic for DVD files
  • IMPROVED: Cover art fetching from Last.fm
  • IMPROVED: DVD menu highlighting
  • IMPROVED: Photo viewer & slideshow
  • IMPROVED: Adjusted slideshow to match native Flickr style
  • IMPROVED: Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish translations
  • IMPROVED: Minor UI improvements
  • FIXED: Downmixing issues for specific audio tracks
  • FIXED: Playback issues for single ISO files in a folder
  • FXIED: Increased AFP login timeout to 30 sec
  • FIXED: Metadata issues for files that contain ‘/’ in folder or file name
  • FIXED: Operation of the photo slideshow on iOS 4.x
  • FXIED: Issue with favorites removal when share password is changed
  • FIXED: Incorrect navigation in grid view on iOS 4.*
  • FIXED: Issue with DVD marked as watched after viewing menu
  • FIXED: Rare issue with incorrect pre-playback screen layout
  • FIXED: Rare crash in libdvdnav when playing DVD files
  • FIXED: Rare DVD playback error
  • FIXED: Rare ‘Bad URL’ error
  • FIXED: Other miscellaneous bug fixes

Beautiful! Where can I get it?

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 1.4 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can learn about all the great benefits here.

Sky Replaces Sky Box Office with the Sky Store

Andrew Edney
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0
Sky Replaces Sky Box Office with the Sky Store

The new Sky Store, which has more than a thousand movies available to rent ranging from the latest blockbusters to the classics, has now replaced Sky Box Office in Sky’s video on-demand service Sky Anytime+.

Want to watch new blockbusters such as Immortals, Paranormal Activity 3 and The Three Musketeers at the same time as they are released on DVD? Or perhaps you’re a fan of the classics, in which case titles such as When Harry Met Sally, Jurassic Park or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will also be available to rent, with a selection of films available from just 99p.

What’s more, by Easter, Sky Anytime+ will be available to all Sky+HD homes with a broadband connection, across all broadband providers. This means more than 5 million Sky homes will soon be able to access the service, building on the 1.2 million Sky Broadband homes that already use Sky Anytime+.

Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies said, “Thanks to Sky Store, we are able to deliver our customers a comprehensive movie rental service straight to their living room. Millions of our customers love having the ability to watch hundreds of movies through a Sky Movies subscription, but we know that some prefer to enjoy films on a pay as you go basis.

That’s why all Sky Anytime+ customers can now instantly rent a huge range of movies from the Sky Store. Easy, convenient and flexible, Sky Store is a gateway through to new DVD releases as well as all-time favourites, catering to all tastes and moods.”

Sky Anytime+ is available to all Sky TV customers with a compatible box at no extra charge and also provides access to a wide range of on-demand content in-line with their subscription, including movies, entertainment, documentaries and drama ‘box-sets.’

Sky Movies Box Office will still be available for those Sky customers who do not have Sky Anytime+. This will offer a more limited range of the latest movies on the live channels from £3.49 per title.

Let us know if you try this service.

We Sing Pop! for Wii unveils final songs

Andrew Edney
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0
We Sing Pop! for Wii unveils final songs

The PS3 may have SingStar, but the Wii has We Sing, and the latest instalment, We Sing Pop! is due for release this month and the final songs have been revealed.

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The We Sing Pop! countdown, in collaboration with Spotify, continues as the final songs on the poptastic 30 strong tracklist are revealed.

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Girls Just Want to Have Fun, the first hit record to come from Cyndi Lauper. Released in 1983, it is a signature song of the 1980s and is bound to be a massive hit with girls playing We Sing Pop! together with four microphones. Originally written for a man, Cyndi Lauper changed the lyrics slightly to convey female solidarity in a playful way.

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Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine was the second single to be released from their debut album Lungs. The song is featured on NMEs 2011 Top 150 on the last 15 years, beginning with an intricate acoustic intro and building to a crescendo with the power of Florence Welsh’s voice.

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Kelis’ best charting single to date is Milkshake, taken from the album Tasty. The song peaked in the top three in the charts across the UK and US and was named Best Single by the Observer in 2004. Written and produced by the Neptunes, the song is heavily influenced by their distinctive electronic funk sounds which the duo is known for.

nicole_hd

The empowering Don’t Hold Your Breath by Nicole Scherzinger was released in August 2011, and is the second single from her debut studio album with the Pussycat Dolls, Killer Love. The pop song tells the story of the female protagonist who realises her relationship is over and has made the decision never to go back. It was her first solo single to go into the UK charts at number one.

Written by The Killers, When You Were Young peaked in the charts at number two in October 2006. It was one of their most successful songs to date and was the lead single on their second album Sam’s Town. It has been reported that the song was influenced by Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run.

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American girl group, the Pussycat Dolls released When I Grow Up in May 2008 exploring the desire to become famous. It is said to be the stand out track on the album Doll Domination, hitting the top five in UK, Ireland, France, Australia and peaked at number nine in the US on the Billboard 100 chart.

I’m Your Man by iconic 80s duo Wham! will make for the perfect duet on We Sing Pop! The 1985 hit went straight in at number one and was a top five track in the US charts. Six months after the track was released Wham! then announced their split.

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Featured as the Weekend Anthem on BBC Radio 1 in March 2011, Unorthodox is the final single to be added to the tracklist. The song by Wretch 32 featuring Example samples the 1989 smash hit Fools Gold by The Stone Roses and reached number two in the charts making it Wretch’s most successful song to date.

We Sing Pop! will be released on March 23rd 2012, exclusively for Nintendo Wii. Seven more songs will be unveiled next week.

Is this something you might buy and sign along to? Let us know.

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