Nike+ Kinect Training game launch date announced

Andrew Edney
-
0
Nike+ Kinect Training game launch date announced

Back at E3 during the Microsoft press conference they demonstrated a new game called Nike+ Kinect Training. Now it has a release date.

nikekinecttraining_owp_en_fob_pegi_jpg

Nike+ Kinect Training is a personalised training experience built from the ground up with athletic expertise and inspiration from Nike coupled with powerful and precise technology from Kinect for Xbox 360. Through the magic of Kinect, Nike+ Kinect Training can see how the body moves, assess physical strength and athleticism, identify areas for improvement and create a workout plan tailored to each person.

nkt_logo_horz_cmyk_300dpi_jpg

Nike+ Kinect Training”will be available from November 2nd and will cost £39.99.

lockerroom_rgb multiplayer_rgboutdoor_rgb

For additional details about Nike+ Kinect Training and pre-order availability, visit: http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Marketplace/SplashPages/Nike-Kinect-Training

We will be covering this more as the launch date gets nearer, so stay tuned!

Sky+ app for Android Updated to version 2.1.9

Andrew Edney
-
0
Sky+ app for Android Updated to version 2.1.9

The Sky+ app for Android has been updated and includes some layout bug fixes and a guide filter for the Olympics.

Sky--Android_thumb1

The latest Sky+ App ensures you never miss the latest and greatest TV.

For a start, there’s a full Seven Day TV Listing Guide that presents all your favourite channels.

And for shows that are simply unmissable, we’ve now introduced Series Link for mobile. This ever-so-useful function lets you record entire seasons of favourite shows to your compatible Sky+ HD box. And all with just a few finger taps.

In the app’s Showcase section you’ll find the top TV picks of the week – whether it’s a movie premiere, a big match or a new must-see drama.

Now & Next shows you what’s on and what’s coming up. And beneath individual Programme Details you’ll find Other Airings (which tells you when else a favourite programme is on air) plus alternative programmes you may like.

The Sky+ App also lets you group channel Favourites together to create your very own personal TV guide. Recording couldn’t be easier – you just tap on the Record button alongside your chosen programme and the request will go straight to your Sky+ box. What’s more, the app allows you to record from anywhere in the world.

What’s new in 2.1.9:

New TV Guide filter – BBC Olympics
Layout bug fixes

Download now from Google Play

Sky+ App for iOS Updated to Version 3.5.3 bringing Olympics guide filter

Andrew Edney
-
0
Sky+ App for iOS Updated to Version 3.5.3 bringing Olympics guide filter

The Sky+ App for iOS has been updated to version 3.5.3

mzl_thltanzl_320x480-75_thumb_thumb

The latest Sky+ App ensures you never miss the latest and greatest TV.

For a start, there’s a full Seven Day TV Listing Guide that presents all your favourite channels.

And for shows that are simply unmissable, we’ve now introduced Series Link for mobile. This ever-so-useful function lets you record entire seasons of favourite shows to your Sky+ box.

And all with just a few finger taps.

In the app’s Showcase section you’ll find the top TV picks of the week – whether it’s a movie premiere, a big match or a new must-see drama.

Now & Next shows you what’s on and what’s coming up. And beneath individual Programme Details you’ll find Other Airings (which tells you when else a favourite programme is on air) plus alternative programmes you may like.

The Sky+ App also lets you group channel Favourites together to create your very own personal TV guide. Recording couldn’t be easier – you just tap on the Record button alongside your chosen programme and the request will go straight to your Sky+ box. What’s more, the app allows you to record from anywhere in the world.

What’s New in Version 3.5.3

New TV Guide filter – BBC Olympics

Download now from the Apple App Store

mzl_bcorvrgk_320x480-75_thumb_thumbmzl_iuobmiqw_320x480-75_thumb_thumb

mzl_rfsvjbdr_320x480-75_thumb_thumbmzl_vwsuvfym_320x480-75_thumb_thumb

My Movies for Android 1.84 Now on Google Play

Andrew Edney
-
0
My Movies for Android 1.84 Now on Google Play

Brian has just released version 1.84 of My Movies for Android.

androidproheader_thumb1_thumb_thumb_

My Movies for Android is the fastest, easiest and most impressive way you have ever kept track of your movie collection. Using our high quality movie database of more than 350,000 titles on DVD and Blu-ray, you quickly get access to a large quantity of details of the titles in your movie collection, including movie trailers, high resolution covers and much, much more.

What’s in this version:

– Fixes a crash when resuming application on Android 4.

You can find My Movies for Android in Android Market in two editions, My Movies for Android Free and My Movies for Android Pro – the applications are identical with the exception that the free version is limited to maximum 50 titles, and only 10 items in trailers and title release lists.

The Pro version is available for DKK28 (~$5) + VAT in Europe. The free version allows you to fully evaluate the software before buying the pro version – if your collection already contains more than 50 titles, the free version simply only lets you synchronize the first 50.

Click here to open the pro application on Google Play.

Click here to open the free application on Google Play.

Drobo Thunderbolt Equipped Models Available to Pre Order!

Jim McCarthy
-
0
Drobo Thunderbolt Equipped Models Available to Pre Order!

Drobo has been in touch to let us know that their 5D and Mini models are now available for pre-order.  Read on for details.

drobo preorder

Drobo announced new models that included Thunderbolt last month; Andrew brought that to you here.  Today, they are announcing that these models are available for pre-order in the US.  Here is what they said:

Hello from Drobo!

Today is a very big day for owners and fans of Drobo who have been waiting for new levels of performance, flexibility, and portability. Announced last month, the new Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini with Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, and SSD acceleration are now available for pre-orders from select partners and our very own online DroboStore.

The initial demand for these products has been about twice the level of any other product that we’ve ever introduced, so if you’re interested in getting one of the new Drobos – and we hope you are – make sure to place your pre-order to ensure your spot in line.

Pricing for the Drobo Mini starts at $649, the Drobo 5D starts at $849 – prices include a Thunderbolt cable and NEW 2-year standard warranty. An optional custom carrying case is available for the Mini at $49. Regional pricing for those of you outside the US is available from international partners and our online DroboStore.

We have more detailed information on the new Drobo 5D and Mini at www.drobo.com, and a list of the initial press and analyst reactions at www.drobo.com/news/news.php. Please reach out if you have any questions (tom@drobo.com, 408-276-8621).

Thanks again and best regards,
Tom Buiocchi,
CEO, Drobo

Check out the Drobo Store link for the 5D here and the Mini here.  Drobo makes innovative products and I am personally a fan.  If you are interested in the new products, hit up the pre-order links!

New Drobo 5D Link: DroboStore Drobo Mini Link: Drobo Store

Microsoft Releases Windows Phone App for Server 2012 Essentials

Jim McCarthy
-
0
Microsoft Releases Windows Phone App for Server 2012 Essentials

Microsoft released an updated Windows Phone app to help you to manage your Server 2012 Essentials server.  Read on for details.

primaryImage

Microsoft had released a nice Windows Phone app to access and manage your Windows Home Server 2011 server.  Today, they released an updated app intended to give you access to your Server 2012 Essentials server.  Available only on Windows Phone, My Server allows you to monitor server status, manage users, and consume media stored on the server.

If you are running a Server 2012 Essentials Beta machine and have a Windows Phone, go check it out!

Here are some screen shots from the application.

1234

Check Out New Windows Phone App for Server 2012 Essentials!

Microsoft talks about Windows 8 graphics hardware acceleration

Andrew Edney
-
0
Microsoft talks about Windows 8 graphics hardware acceleration

In the next of their on-going Building Windows 8 series, Microsoft talks about graphics hardware acceleration.

Win 8 framerates

This is how the article starts:

In computer graphics, high performance is a guiding principle. In the early days of personal computing, discrete, add-on graphics cards were mostly focused on specialized applications such as CAD/CAM and gaming. Even early on, there was a view that all of this graphics horsepower could be used for more: notably a better user interface and experience. One of the first graphics cards for a PC was called a “Windows Accelerator” from S3 Graphics, which focused on the user experience by moving windows around the screen faster. As graphics hardware evolved, so, too, did the methods that developers use to interact with that hardware.

DirectX is the part of Windows that provides a common application programming interface, or API, that allows developers to use the graphics hardware in the PC to draw text, shapes, and three-dimensional scenes, and display them on the screen. DirectX has also evolved over time in both capabilities and performance characteristics. In the early years, DirectX was focused mainly on games. As applications evolved to provide richer and more graphically-intense user experiences, many of them started to use DirectX as a way to get better performance and richer visuals.

Enter Windows 8

When we started to plan the work we’d undertake for graphics in Windows 8, we knew that we would be creating a new, visually rich way for users to interact with apps and with Windows itself. We also knew that we’d be building a new platform for creating Metro style apps, and that we’d be targeting a more diverse set of hardware than ever before. While we had a great graphics platform to start with, there was more work to do in order to support those efforts. We came up with four main goals:

  1. Ensure that all Metro style experiences are rendered smoothly and quickly.
  2. Provide a hardware-accelerated platform for all Metro style apps.
  3. Add new capabilities to DirectX to enable stunning visual experiences.
  4. Support the widest diversity of graphics hardware ever.

While each of these focus on different aspects of building Windows 8, they all depend on great performance and capabilities from the graphics platform.

To continue reading it click here.

Are you looking forward to Windows 8? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

QNAP Announces That Their TS-x79 and TS-x69 TurboNAS Units Now VMWare Certified

Jim McCarthy
-
0
QNAP Announces That Their TS-x79 and TS-x69 TurboNAS Units Now VMWare Certified

QNAP announced today that their TS-x79 and TS-x69 NAS units have received VMWare certification.  Read on for details.

 

 

QNAP passed on word that their TS-x79 and TS-x69 units are now VMWare-certified.  Here is what they said:

QNAP TS-x79 / TS-x69 Series Turbo NAS Officially Certified VMware Ready for ESXi 5 with support for both vSphere 4 and vSphere 5

Taipei, Taiwan, July 23, 2012 – QNAP® Systems, Inc. today announced that all models of its ultra-high performing TS-x79 and TS-x69 series Turbo NAS line-up are now officially certified VMware® Ready™ for ESXi 5, supporting vSphere 4 and vSphere 5; providing high performance, more flexibility in storage management, and easy site recovery.

The new Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler™ (SDRS) technology that comes with VMware vSphere 5 can automatically balance the loading and capacity of the virtual machine among storage devices, improving efficiency and avoiding storage resource bottlenecks. Furthermore, the TS-x79 and TS-x69 series Turbo NAS are now compatible with vCenter Site Recovery Manager™ (SRM) offering users a fully automated site recovery and migration option.

“We are proud to announce that QNAP is now fully compatible with VMware vSphere 5,” said Jérôme Jaussaud, product manager of QNAP. “With the support of VMware vSphere 5, we hope QNAP users can benefit from the new technologies and optimized virtualization environment it offers,” Jaussaud added.

TS-x79 series has passed both iSCSI and NAS certification; TS-x69 series has passed NAS certification.

To learn more about the enhancements of VMware vSphere 5, visit:
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere5/doc/vsphere-esx-vcenter-server-50-new-features.html

VMware Compatibility Guide: http://partnerweb.vmware.com/

Applicable Models

TS-EC1679U-RP, TS-1679U-RP, TS-EC1279U-RP, TS-1279U-RP, TS-EC879U-RP, TS-879U-RP, TS-1079 Pro, TS-879 Pro, TS-1269U-RP, TS-869U-RP, TS-469U-RP, TS-869 Pro, TS-669 Pro, TS-569 Pro, TS-469 Pro, TS-269 Pro Turbo NAS units installed with NAS firmware version 3.7.2 onward are now VMware® Ready™ for ESXi 5. Learn more about the supported models of the QNAP Turbo NAS lineup at www.qnap.com.

QNAP continues to add features to its TurboNAS firmware that increases its credibility in the data center.  If you are using VMWare and QNAP units, this is good news!

QNAP Press Release

Pure Sensia 200D Connect: hands-on and pictures

Andrew Edney
-
0
Pure Sensia 200D Connect: hands-on and pictures

We told you that Pure had announced their new touchscreen wireless music and radio system, the Sensia 200D Connect. We got some hands-on and ears-on time with it.

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 5

There is both a black and a white version of the Sensia 200D Connect:

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 1 CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 2

And each has their own colour coordinated remote control:

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 24 CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 4

Apart from the remote control, there are a few buttons on the top of the 200D:

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 7

There is a beautiful and clear 5.7” colour touchscreen display, which is incredibly responsive.

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 10 CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 17CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 18 CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 23

The sound quality is excellent (even in a noisy and busy room) so we can only guess how much better it will be in the home. Delivering 30 watts of clear digital sound via DSP tuned high efficiency class-D amplifiers and in-house custom designed full-range speakers, and you can really hear just how well they work.

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 28

You can also connect a USB device to the back of the 200D for both instant and timed recordings, which is a really useful function.

CDW - Pure Sensia 200D Connect - 32

It also works really well with the new Pure Stream music service.

We were lucky enough to take one away with us, so expect a full hands, and ears-on review shortly.

Sensia 200D Connect is available now at just £249.99 (SRP) from all good retailers. For more information, please visit www.pure.com or www.thelounge.com

Pure Stream hands-on and pictures

Andrew Edney
-
0
Pure Stream hands-on and pictures

Last week Pure announced Pure Stream, which allows the user to wirelessly play music and radio via their Android Smartphone, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad on a growing range of Pure devices and CDW was there to get a demo.

CDW - Pure Stream - 6

Pure Stream is the convenient way of sending music wirelessly from a personal device and enjoying it in high quality audio through selected Pure wireless music and radio systems including One Flow and the new Sensia 200D Connect.

Pure Stream is based on DLNA and is Pure’s answer to Apple’s AirPlay.

Pure Stream is coming soon to Contour 200i Air through a software update and new products will be added to the range in the following months.

Accessed via the free Pure Lounge Android or iPhone App, Pure Stream allows users to stream unlimited music via Pure Music, music stored on their personal device and a world of internet radio and on-demand content (podcasts, listen again programmes and ambient sounds).

Pure Music is Pure’s cloud-based on demand music service and is available to users in the UK for a monthly subscription of £4.99, with an international roll out to follow during 2012.

Having seen (and heard) how it works, we were very impressed and look forward to playing with it some more (expect a proper review of it shortly).

CDW - Pure Stream - 1 CDW - Pure Stream - 2CDW - Pure Stream - 3 CDW - Pure Stream - 4CDW - Pure Stream - 5 CDW - Pure Stream - 7

CDW - Pure Stream - 8

Pure Stream is available now using the Pure Lounge app for the Android from Google Play and will be available shortly for the iPhone and iPad (it’s just going through Apple’s approval process), and is free to users. For more information, please visit www.pure.com.

Here are some screenshots of the app itself:

Loumnge 3 Lounge 1 Lounge 2

Lounge 4 Lounge 5

Have you tried it out yet? If so, let us know by leaving a comment below.

1...1,8061,8071,808...2,275Page 1,807 of 2,275