Archive

XBMC for Raspberry Pi

Andrew Edney

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Feb 2, 2012

We mentioned Raspberry Pi early in January, now they have said that XBMC is coming, although it’s not from either the Raspberry Pi guys or the XMBC guys!

This is what the Raspberry Pi guys posted:

We’ve just seen an announcement via Stm Labs saying that http://www.raspbmc.com will be going live (I’ll add a link when the site is up) very soon; Head over there to read about some of the features that’ll be incorporated; it looks like the developers are answering questions in the post comments there too, so drop in on them before they’re worn out!

(I should point out that we’re not going to be able to answer any other than the most general of questions about Raspbmc here – the Raspberry Pi team isn’t involved in developing Raspbmc, but we’re just as excited about it as you are.)

Update: there was a bit of confusion on our part about exactly who was behind this distro; turns out that Stm labs are not working with the official XBMC team, but this is still great news, and we’re looking forward to seeing the results. Here’s an email from XBMC:

Thanks for the enthusiasm regarding XBMC on the pi! Though, please be
aware the XBMC team is not involved with Raspbmc (it came as news to
most of us). Obviously we appreciate the help and wish them the best,
but we don’t want anyone to be confused about who’s doing what. The
XBMC team works on the application, then projects like OpenElec,
CrystalBuntu, Raspbmc package them up into various distributions. It’s
all one big happy ecosystem, but different groups of devs can
obviously only support certain things.

Would appreciate if you could change the first sentence and title to
clarify that XBMC team will be working to improve the experience on
the rPi, and that various distros like raspbmc will give you choices
for how to deploy it, but we’re not the same organizations.

So what do you think of Raspberry Pi?

DVBLink TV Signal Source Application DVBLink Zattoo Tuner Launched

Andrew Edney

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Feb 2, 2012

0

DVBLogic have just launched a new DVBLink TV Signal Source application called DVBLink Zattoo Tuner.

This is what DVB Logic said:

Developed together with our partner – Axel Sringer – DVBLink Zattoo Tuner is part of their MediaCenter watchmi plugin. Bundled with the watchmi plugin it seamlessly integrates Zattoo internet TV into Windows Media Center and the watchmi TV recommendation service for Swiss users, providing access to more than 60 TV channels without the need for a physical tuner.

DVBLink Zattoo Tuner is fully compatible with DVBLink Connect! Server, enabling watching Zattoo channels all over the house and on the go.

DVBLink Zattoo Tuner plugin is free of charge for the end users (Zattoo HiQ subscription is required).

The software can be downloaded from the watchmi website at http://watchmi.tv.

Lights-Out on WHS 2011 and WHS v1 Service Pack 2 Public Beta Refresh

Andrew Edney

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Feb 2, 2012

0

Lights-Out on WHS 2011 and WHS v1 Service Pack 2 Public Beta Refresh

Martin has been in touch to say that he has released a public beta refresh of Service Pack 2 for his Lights-Out add-in for both WHS v1 and WHS 2011.

Release Notes for Public Beta of Service Pack 2 for Lights-Out

A public beta refresh is available for all user of Lights-Out on WHs 2011 and WHS v1. Please read these instructions carefully because SP2 introduces some functional changes.
Changes added for the beta refresh are marked with a red font.

Downloads

WHS 2011 http://www.homeserversoftware.com/lo/whs2011/beta/LightsOutVail1.5.1.1656.wssx
WHS v1 http://www.homeserversoftware.com/lo/whsv1/beta/LightsOutInstaller1.5.1.1656.msi

Installation
Important: Always uninstall any existing version first!
Close WHS Console/Dashboard and download the beta version
Install beta and open WHS Console/Dashboard again

New option for client action after backup

Service Pack 2 Beta refresh introduces a new client option called “Force end action”. This option is enabled by default to ensure the previous behavior. If you disable this option, the action after backup is only executed if a start-up or wake-up for a scheduled backup has been detected AND if there has been no user activity in the last 10 minutes or during backup.

This new features prevents a standby or shutdown (after backup) if a user is already working on the machine. It also prevents a standby or shutdown (after backup) if the machine is already running before the backup has been started.

[WHS 2011 only] Changed IP and MAC address detection for WHS Client Computers

Problem: Lights-Out on WHS 2011 tried to resolve the client name into an IP address and then tried to get the MAC address via an ARP request. This was sometimes not working reliable. In SP2, this information is now transmitted from the Lights-Out client.

Advantage: Correct information
Disadvantage: Missing IP and MAC address if no client is installed/available. This affects currently Apple MAC OSX machines until a native Lights-Out OSX client is available (under development).

Changed handling of Gateways or Repeaters

Problem: Devices connected via a router (or a repeater or VPN gateway) are not visible to the Lights-Out network scanner because for each IP address we always get the same gateway MAC address. Manually added devices with fixed IP addresses sometimes lost the IP address because Lights-Out wrongly detected an IP address conflict and changed that fixed IP address to 0.0.0.0.

Service pack 2 addresses this problem with two changes: Manually added devices are marked with a “fixed IP flag” and are no longer changed to 0.0.0.0 on a conflict.

The second change is a new flag for routers (and repeaters or gateways). Setting this flag in the device properties (Lights-Out computers tab) allows Lights-Out to handle manually added devices with a fixed IP.

If you have a setup, where devices are connect via a repeater or router, assign a fixed IP address and add these devices manually in Lights-Out. Then run the network scanner and Lights-Out should automatically find and mark the router (or repeater/gateway).

User Action instead of Standby or Shutdown

Service pack 2 introduces a new user action. When you select “User Action” in Lights-Out settings, a new text box is displayed where you can enter a command file. The command or batch file can run several actions but must end with a standby or a shut down! You can use the internal shutdown.exe command or you can use psshutdown from the Sysinternals Suite.

If you use psshutdown.exe then the first parameter has to be /accepteula, otherwise the command file blocks. Always use a zero time span to run the command immediately!

A standby looks like this:
psshutdown /accepteula /d /t 0

Other changes since 1.5.1 Build 1555

Fixed MAC detection on server for bridged server NICs
Fixed WHS v1 console crash after clicking on error link in monitored sources
Fixed unwanted client standby when client was started from shut down for a backup
Fixed problem with wake-up on client when no IPv4 route is available
Fixed remote access detection after IIS reset
Fixed handling of IP clients without a MAC
Fixed problem with incomplete or damaged xml data files
Fixed end of DST problem with WHS v1 connector  Fixed wrong date formatting in calendar for some regions like Japanese
Fixed wrong backup date when client backup is disabled
Fixed problem with deleted tasklist (delete was not handled, tasks were not removed)
Fixed bug in edit properties dialog
Changed action after backup: runs only if started for backup with no user activity
Changed internal structure of services (both server and client) to fix start-up problems
Changed handling of IP and MAC detection for WHS clients
Added new option for devices which act as router or repeater
Added a user action to run a user defined command instead of standby
Added handling of additional routers or gateways
Added client command line application
Added handling (starting) of dependent services on server resume

TomTom Releases New Simpsons Voices for GPS Navigation

Andrew Edney

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Feb 2, 2012

0

TomTom Releases New Simpsons Voices for GPS Navigation

Springfield’s Mr Burns and Marge Simpson are the next to tell you where to go as TomTom releases these all-new character voices for their range of GPS navigation systems.

Each of the character voices have been developed in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, The Gracie Films Worldwide Brand Division and Locutio Voice Technologies. Mr Burns and Marge Simpson join the voice of Homer Simpson, which has become the most downloaded character voice of all time, for TomTom GPS apps and personal navigation devices.

Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owner Mr Burns is as bold and direct as one would expect: “Take the third right. Do it, driving monkey!” and “Take the exit on the right. Trust me – I’m an evil billionaire.” While Marge instructs drivers, “Exit right ahead. Hmm, it smells a little funky in here – was Homer in this car?”

Marge Simpson, Mr Burns and Homer Simpson are exclusively available for the TomTom App for iPhone, iPad and personal navigation devices. The voices can be downloaded onto a TomTom personal navigation device from mytomtom.com or from TomTom HOME. Users of the TomTom iPhone and iPad apps can obtain the voices via in-app purchase.

“We want to keep the offerings on the TomTom app fresh and exciting by introducing new voices at different times,” said Jeffrey Godsick, President of Fox Consumer Products. “We know that fans of the show are going to appreciate these new additions as it gives them yet another platform to enjoy one of the greatest shows of all time.”

You can buy each voice for just:

* £3.49 as an in-App purchase on iPhone or iPad

* £7.95 as a download (to a TomTom personal navigation device) from mytomtom.com or TomTom HOME

Sample clips of Marge, Mr Burns and Homer can be found here:

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/voices/marge-simpson/index.jsp

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/voices/mr-burns/index.jsp

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/products/voices/homer-simpson/index.jsp

Check out our review of the TomTom App for the iPhone

NVIDIA Release GeForce 295.51 Beta Drivers

News
Tech

Andrew Edney

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Feb 2, 2012

0

NVIDIA have released a GeForce 295.51 beta driver for it’s graphics cards. This is the first beta release from the R295 family of drivers.

This is the first beta release from the R295 family of drivers. For more information, read the 295.51 driver article on GeForce.com.

This driver package supports GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500-series desktop GPUs as well as ION desktop GPUs.

New in 295.51

NVIDIA SLI

Adds or updates SLI profiles for :
- 7554
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
- Mass Effect 3
- Oil Rush
- Red Faction: Armageddon

3D Vision

Adds support for 3D Vision windowed mode on DLP HDTVs and on Optimized for GeForce passive 3D monitors
Adds or updates 3D Vision profiles for:
- The Adventures of Tintin – rated Good
- Afterfall: Insanity – rated Fair
- Black Prophecy – rated Not Recommended
- Chaos Online – rated Fair
- Da Vinci Online – rated Fair
- DotA 2 – rating upgraded to Fair
- Dungeon and Dragons: Daggerdale – rated Fair
- Ferrari Project – rated Not Recommended
- The First Templar – rated Fair
- Fractal – rated Excellent
- FreeStyle 2 – rated Good
- The Haunted Halls Reach – rated Excellent
- King Arthur II – rated Not Recommended
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – rated Fair
- Kong Fu Ying Xiong – rated Fair
- Love Beat – rated Good
- Marvel Super Hero Squad Online – rated Good
- Microsoft Flight – rated Fair
- Perpetuum – rated Fair
- Post Apocalyptic Mayhem – rated Fair
- Prototype 2 – rated Fair
- Q.U.B.E. – rated Excellent
- Quan Qiu Shi Ming – rated Excellent
- rFactor 2 (mod mode) – rated Good
- Saints Row: The Third – Rated Not Recommended
- Shadow Company: Left for Dead – rated Not Recommended
- Special Force – Rated Good
- Tera – rated Good
- Top Gun: Hard Lock – rated Not Recommended
- Tropico 4 – rated Good
- Worms Blast – rated Good

NVIDIA PhysX

Updates PhysX System Software to 9.11.1111

HD Audio

Updates HD Audio to version 1.3.12.0

Key Bug Fixes and Enhancements

Fixes instances where the GeForce GTX 590 fan unnecessarily increased to 100%.
Fixes instances of driver timeouts while simultaneously watching multiple videos.
Adds edit/delete option for custom resolutions.

Other Details

Supports multiple languages and APIs for GPU computing: CUDA C, CUDA C++, CUDA Fortran, OpenCL, DirectCompute, and Microsoft C++ AMP.
Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 11, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel and AMD motherboards.

Click here to download the GeForce 295.51 beta drivers.

Apple Releases OS X 10.7.3

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Feb 1, 2012

1

Apple has just released the OS X 10.7.3. update which includes extended language support and some bug fixes.

This is what the update includes:

The 10.7.3 update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac including fixes that:

Add Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian language support
Address issues when using smart cards to log into OS X
Resolve issues authenticating with directory services
Address compatibility issues with Windows file sharing
Address an issue printing Microsoft Word documents that use markup
Address a graphics performance issue after sleep on some earlier iMacs that use ATI graphics
Resolve a Wi-Fi connection issue when waking from sleep
Address an issue that may prevent Safari from opening before joining a wireless network
Fix a potential issue authenticating to an SMB DFS share
Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras
Improve binding to read-only Active Directory Domain Controllers
Improve binding and login speed for Active Directory users in a domain whose name ends in “.local”
Improve reliability of Dynamic DNS (DDNS) updates by Active Directory clients
Allow login with an Active Directory username that contains a space
Improve compatibility with Active Directory schemas that have been extended with the “apple-user-homeDirectory” and “apple-user-homeurl” attributes
Fix home directory Dock item for Active Directory users with mobile accounts
Allow NIS users with MD5-hashed passwords to log in

It’s quite a large update at 730.6 MB.

Sony Google TV Update Coming This Week

Andrew Edney

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Feb 1, 2012

0

The Google TV team has tweeted that Sony will be releasing an update to their Google TV devices this week.

The tweet, as you can see above, says that “Chrome works faster and you can now watch 3d Blu-Ray”.

Let us know if you get the update.

Nokia Lumia 710 Windows Phone Released Today in UK

Andrew Edney

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Feb 1, 2012

0

Nokia Lumia 710 Windows Phone Released Today in UK

Today saw the release of another Nokia Lumia Windows Phone – this time in the shape of the Lumia 710.

The Nokia Lumia 710 puts people first, with leading social media integration and live tiles that keep owners connected to their friends, family and favourite services. It also brings signature Nokia experiences, such as Nokia Drive for voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation and subscription free streaming music service, Mix Radio.

Running Windows Phone Mango, the smartphone provides one-click access to popular apps, and a leading mobile Web experience with IE9 , Bing™ Search with voice activation locally relevant search results.

Available in a black with changeable coloured backs (black and blue covers provided), the Nokia Lumia 710 features a 3.7-inch ClearBlack WVGA scratch-resistant display for outstanding outdoor viewing and a Qualcomm 1.4 GHz Snapdragon™ processor providing speedy access to entertainment and information on-the-go.

The 5-megapixel camera with Nokia’s leading camera technology, lets people take pictures in almost any light condition and share on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter in seconds.

With the most integrated work-life solution of any mobile platform via the Windows Phone Office Hub and an interactive mobile gaming experience via Xbox LIVE®, the Nokia Lumia 710 is the complete all-round first-time smartphone experience.

The Nokia Lumia 710 is priced from £15.50 per month on contract and will be available from O2, 3, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, Phones 4 U, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

And don’t forget that the Lumia 900 is coming soon as well.

Microsoft Releases Kinect for Windows SDK v1.0

Andrew Edney

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Feb 1, 2012

0

Today saw Microsoft release it’s Kinect for Windows SDK v1.0.

What is the Kinect for Windows SDK?

Gives Kinect for Windows developers easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device. This SDK is designed for non-commercial purposes only; a commercial version will be available at a later date.

It includes drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.

Download the SDK from here

Crackle and CinemaNow Added to Xbox Live

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Feb 1, 2012

0

Crackle and CinemaNow Added to Xbox Live

Following the Xbox 360 Dashboard update, there are some new entertainment apps available in the form of Crackle and CinemaNow.

Here is what Major Nelson tweeted this morning:

New apps are now available on Xbox LIVE: Crackle (Australia, Canada, UK & US) and CinemaNow (US)

Have you tried Crackle or CinemaNow? Let us know what you think?

AWIECO WakeOnLAN Pro App for Windows Phone Released

Andrew Edney

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Jan 31, 2012

0

AWIECO WakeOnLAN Pro App for Windows Phone Released

As well as releasing an update to the WakeOnLAN add-in for WHS 2011, AWIECO have also released an app for Windows Phone.

Start up computers attached to your network with AWIECO WakeOnLAN Pro, pin computers to Live Tiles .

This application is built by AWIECO and needs the AWIECO WakeOnLAN Pro add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Small Business Server 2011 .

To access your server, a valid HTTPS certificate is needed and the remote access website of your Home Server must be accessible.

Download the AWIECO WakeOnLAN app for Windows Phone herew

AWIECO WakeOnLan for WHS 2011 Updated to Version 1.2

Andrew Edney

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Jan 31, 2012

2

AWIECO WakeOnLan for WHS 2011 Updated to Version 1.2

Today saw the release of the updated add-in WakeOnLan from AWIECO – taking it to 1.2.

The AWIECO WakeOnLAN add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials is a free and useful add-in, which has the ability to remotely turn on a computer. It enables the Server to start up every computer attached to your network. You can also power off a computer out of the Launchpad.

What’s New in v1.2

• Added: WP7 support

Learn more from the AWIECO website

WHS 2011 Add-In Update: Advanced Admin Console 2011 Released

Andrew Edney

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Jan 31, 2012

1

WHS 2011 Add-In Update: Advanced Admin Console 2011 Released

Yesterday we told you that the Advanced Admin Console 2011 RC would expire today – well now we can tell you that the final version of Advanced Admin Console 2011 has been released.

The Advanced Admin Console AddIn for the 2011 range of Microsoft Server operating systems is intended for those Small Business Server Server administrators and advanced Home Server users who want to have full control over their server at any time.

With this AddIn you gain access to all administrative areas of your server like Control Panel, Administrative Tools, My Computer, Network Places and many more. You can add shortcuts to your own programs installed on your server or to web-frontends of services and devices available in your network (like routers, printers, etc.).

All of this can be used when being connected to your server from the local network as well as from a remote location.

Learn more from here

LaCie Announce LaCie 5big Office + Server with Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

Andrew Edney

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Jan 31, 2012

0

LaCie Announce LaCie 5big Office + Server with Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

As well as announcing the 5big Office Server with WHS 2011, LaCie have also announced the 5big Office + Server with Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials.

This is how LaCie describe the 5big Office + :

Total protection for your data. Easy collaboration for your business. Solid investment for your company. The LaCie 5big Office+ brings professional backup to your small office in record time. It features the industry-trusted Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials and a powerful 1.6GHz Dual-core Intel® 64-bit Atom™ processor. It provides full data protection, superior data sharing for your office and offsite partners, easy integration, and low maintenance.

Here are the specs:

Cost wise, the 2 TB version will cost $749.00, and the 10 TB version is a whopping $1,499.00.

Are you going to buy one?

Learn more from the LaCie website