Events

BYOB Podcast Episode 93 Out Now

News
Tech

Andrew Edney

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Jul 30, 2012

0

The guys over at the BYOB podcast have just released episode 93.

Here is what is included in this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Special guests, Steve Dail (aka TimeKills) and Renny Phipps (aka Renny) join me for some tech talk. We talk about their setups, hardware, networks as well as their thoughts on Windows 8 and Server 2012 Essentials. We discuss Steve’s new MSI GT60 laptop, and Renny’s new Z77 I5-3550 system complete with Vertex 3. Steve walks us through setting up a VPN in 2012 Essentials.[/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 build 3 released

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

0

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 build 3 released

Brian has just released My Movies for Windows Media Center version 4.03 build 3, only a day after releasing 4.03 build 2.

Here is the change log for build 3:

Fix: The add titles dialog could error out when adding titles manually.

Download My Movies 4.03 build 3 now Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

Activision’s 007 Legends game will feature past and present Bond talent

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

1

Activision’s 007 Legends game will feature past and present Bond talent

Activision Publishing just announced that 007 Legends will feature a variety of past and present Bond talent including Daniel Craig, Michael Lonsdale, Naomie Harris and Richard Kiel, among others.

007 Legends will feature Daniel Craig’s (SKYFALL, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Casino Royale) James Bond while Rory Kinnear (SKYFALL, Wild Target, Quantum of Solace) voices MI6’s Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner. The Moonraker mission features familiar Bond actors, including Michael Lonsdale (Of Gods and Men, Munich, Moonraker) reprising his villainous role as Hugo Drax and Richard Kiel (Happy Gilmore, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me) as Drax’s notorious henchman – Jaws. Naomie Harris (SKYFALL, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, 28 Days Later), from this autumn’s feature film SKYFALL, will also make a video game appearance in 007 Legends.

In addition, veteran Bond film and video game writer, Bruce Feirstein (The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, GoldenEye), pens 007 Legends’ overarching storyline while the acclaimed James Bond film composer – David Arnold (Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, Independence Day) – and established TV composer, Kevin Kiner (“Hell on Wheels,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “CSI: Miami”) lend their musical expertise and talent to the robust video game soundtrack. The 007 Legends’ talent roster will continue to grow as additional game missions are revealed.

A first-of-its-kind Bond video game, 007 Legends features an original, overarching storyline featuring five classic Bond films offering the most diverse Bond gaming experience yet! A sixth mission based on this year’s highly-anticipated film – SKYFALL – which will be available post launch as free downloadable content.

As with the feature films, 007 Legends equips players with state-of-the-art spy gadgets, an arsenal of weapons, including Bond’s signature Walther PPK, and sleek vehicles as they jet off to exotic locations. Use Bond’s quick wits, class and style to take down notorious villains and their brutal henchmen, perform impressive stunts and of course… gorgeous Bond women.

For more information about 007 Legends, visit the game’s official Web site – www.007Legends.com – and Facebook page – www.facebook.com/007LegendsGame.

Planned to launch on 19^th October, 2012, 007 Legends is being developed by Eurocom, under license from EON Productions Ltd. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (MGM) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation³ and download on Windows PC.

I am really excited about this game, and the new Skyfall movie. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Raspberry Pi: An evening at the 2nd London Raspberry Jam

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

2

Raspberry Pi: An evening at the 2nd London Raspberry Jam

A few weeks ago we attended the 1st Cambridge Raspberry Jam, last week we went to the 2nd London Raspberry Jam evening, and it was great fun.

Once again Alan O’Donohoe, who came up with the idea for the Raspberry Jam events was on hand, and it was good to chat to him, as usual.

Eben Upton even made an appearance, although it was via a recording of an interview he has given. It was all very Max Headroom!

One of the items on display was the portable Raspberry Pi made by Sukkin Pang SK Pang Electronics. You can learn more about the portable Raspberry Pi from here.

Also on display was the Raspberry Pi powered BigTrak (which is very cool and now has a rocket launcher). I had a BigTrak as a kid and I loved it.

The evening consisted of a number of short presentations and a lot of interesting discussions. It took place at the London Mozilla Spaces venue and we were very well taken care of.

There were a lot of Pi’s on hand, more than I have seen in any one place before (i don’t count the 200 in a box I helped Liz sell in Cambridge).

All in all I had a great time, and I look forward to the next one!

If you haven’t been to a Raspberry Jam yet, you really should consider going.

Were you there? Let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below.

Check out what happened at the Q&A session with the Raspberry Pi Foundation

App Update: Dropbox for Android

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

0

The Dropbox app for Android has been updated.

Dropbox lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere.

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.

Read your docs or flip through your albums when you’re out and about. Save photos or videos to your Dropbox and share them with friends in just a couple taps. Even if you accidentally leave your Android in a taxi, your stuff is always safe on Dropbox.

Features:

• Always have your stuff with you, no matter where you are.
• Save photos and videos to your Dropbox.
• Share your photos and docs with family and friends.
• Save email attachments straight to your Dropbox.
• Easily edit docs in your Dropbox.

What’s in this version:

Bug fixes

Download now from Google Play

The ZTE Grand Xperience at the Stratford Olympic Center

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

0

The ZTE Grand Xperience at the Stratford Olympic Center

Earlier in the week we took a visit to the Olympic Park, and while we were there we saw the ZTE Grand Xperience showcasing ZTE’s new Android smartphone, the ZTE Grand X.

Back at the launch a few weeks ago, CDW was told that ZTE would be showing off the Grand X at the Westfield Strartford Olympic area as part of their ZTE Grand Xperience, giving people the chance to see and try one for themselves, and win some prizes at the same time.

Specifications

Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 2, Dual-core (AP20 Dual Core 1GHz)
Display Size: 4.3” – 16M QHD (960 x 540)
Modem: NVIDIA i450 (HSDPA Cat14, 21Mbps)
Weight: 110g
Dimensions: 127mmx64.6mmx9.9mm
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, DLNA
Camera: Dual Camera 5MP AF Flash/0.3 MP
User Memory: 4GB + up to 32GB Micro SD
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 4GB, expandable to 32GB (Micro SD)
OS: Android 4.0 (ICS)
Battery: 1650 mAh Li-Ion
Others: Dolby Mobile Sound / HD Voice / HD video capture and playback / Facetones / Evernote / Documents to go / Tegra Zone (Gaming Marketplace)

Virgin Media will offer the ZTE Grand X on prepay for £189.99, or on contract from £24 a month all the way up to £37 depending on your chosen package. Phones 4u are offering it on contract from £20.50.

The ZTE Grand X will be available sometime during August, although Phones 4u seem to have it in stock already.

Learn more from the LTE Grand X website

Have you seen or tried the XTE Grand X? have you visited the ZTE Grand Xperience? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.11 build 2 released

Andrew Edney

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Jul 29, 2012

0

As well as My Movies for Windows Media Center, Brian has also released version 2.11 build 2 of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011.

Windows Home Server 2011

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 operates as database back-end for My Movies clients in multi-zone environments.

The My Movies for Windows Media Center or My Movies Collection Management products can be downloaded and installed on client PC’s to maintain movies in the database on My Movies for Windows Home Sever 2011.

My Movies may not be pre-installed on commercial products, nor in any way redistributed or provided to end-users by installers that is not part of our installer program.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.11 (Build 2) changes:

Fix: Some databases could have been updated incorrect.

Before installing a pre release version, you must make a backup of your database using the Collection Management program. There are no guarantee that a pre release version functions as expected, and it should therefore only be used for evaluation purposes. The database backup ensures that you can revert back to the latest stable version.

You can download the Windows Home Server 2011 edition here Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 build 2 released

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 29, 2012

2

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 build 2 released

Brian has just released My Movies for Windows Media Center version 4.03 build 2, only a day after releasing 4.03.

Here is the change log for build 2:

Fix: Move of TV Episodes could cause an exception when checking if multiple episodes were moved.
Fix: Some databases could have been updated incorrect, causing an exception when editing disc titles.
Fix: Android export could fail.

Download My Movies 4.03 build 2 now Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

A look at a portable Raspberry Pi at the 2nd London Raspberry Jam

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 29, 2012

1

A look at a portable Raspberry Pi at the 2nd London Raspberry Jam

Last week at the 2nd London Raspberry Jam, I met with Sukkin Pang of SK Pang electronics, who showed me his latest project, a portable Raspberry Pi.

The parts list required to make the Pi portable consist of a Raspberry Pi, and the following:

Car reverse LCD monitor – ebay
Mini wireless keyboard – Amazon
USB Power Pack – Amazon
Laser cut base – SK Pang Electronics

Sukkin told me the whole thing was very cheap and he plans to build one with a bigger screen if he can find a screen cheap enough to make it worthwhile.

It uses standard off the shelf hardware. The LCD is a low cost TFT monitor used in car reverse camera. The monitor has a video input but the supply is 12v. This needs to be modify to accept 5v from the batter pack. The battery pack is a standard portable USB charger.

The screen is small and isn’t the easiest to read, but frankly that isn’t the point of the project. Sukkin has proven that it can be done and I am certain he will make the next version even better.

Have a closer look at it below:

And here is Sukkin with his creation:

So what do you think of it? And what have you done with your Raspberry Pi? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Check out what happened at the Q&A session with the Raspberry Pi Foundation

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.11 final released

Andrew Edney

-

Jul 28, 2012

0

Brian has also released version 2.11 of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 taking that out of beta as well.

Windows Home Server 2011

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 operates as database back-end for My Movies clients in multi-zone environments.

The My Movies for Windows Media Center or My Movies Collection Management products can be downloaded and installed on client PC’s to maintain movies in the database on My Movies for Windows Home Sever 2011.

My Movies may not be pre-installed on commercial products, nor in any way redistributed or provided to end-users by installers that is not part of our installer program.

Click here to view the full change log.

Before installing a pre release version, you must make a backup of your database using the Collection Management program. There are no guarantee that a pre release version functions as expected, and it should therefore only be used for evaluation purposes. The database backup ensures that you can revert back to the latest stable version.

You can download the Windows Home Server 2011 edition here Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7