Microsoft talks delivering reliable and trustworthy Metro style apps in Windows 8

Andrew Edney
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Microsoft talks delivering reliable and trustworthy Metro style apps in Windows 8

In the next in their on-going Building Windows 8 series, Microsoft tackles the subject of delivering reliable and trustworthy Metro style apps.

apps

This is how the article starts:

One of our core principles in the development of the Windows 8 Metro style app platform was to ensure that users would have confidence in their apps. This is a mission we’re in together; in this post, I explain our vision for app confidence and reliability and help you build confidence by design into your apps.

Let me start by explaining what we mean by confidence. Picture a customer browsing the Windows Store looking at a Metro style app; we want them to be thinking only about the app and whether or not it is right for them. We want them to assume—in fact be confident—that the app will behave the way they expect and thus will perform well on their system, will use only the data and information they authorize, and will harmoniously co-exist with their other applications.

Our goal with the platform is to help us all build great apps that embody this vision of confidence so that we get confidence by default. To that end we made investments throughout the system.

To continue reading, click here.

Viridian PC launches the 2012 special edition Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney
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Viridian PC launches the 2012 special edition Windows Home Server

Our friends at Viridian PC have been in touch to let us know about a very special edition Windows Home Server box they have just launched.2012-1-500x500

2012 promises to be a busy year. Between the Olympics in London, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and football’s European Championships there’s a hectic summer ahead.

To celebrate this momentous year Viridian PC Systems Ltd, of Rossendale, Lancashire, England have announced their ‘2012 Limited Edition’ home server. Just 5 of these systems will be available to customers worldwide.

Based on a unique chassis, with 7 hot-swap drive bays in a small footprint, this system is the pinnacle of home server design.

No expense has been spared in designing this system. It features an Intel Xeon CPU and ECC memory to deliver true server performance. Windows Home Server 2011 is installed on not one, but two premium 120Gb solid state drives which are mirrored for redundancy. Data storage is provided by six 3Tb drives, which when coupled with the RAID capabilities of the system will provide up to 15Tb of protected storage.

The ‘2012 Limited Edition’ system is priced at £2012 + VAT. This price includes free shipping to anywhere in the world.

2012 Limited Edition Specifications

CPU : Intel Xeon E3-1260L 2.4GHz Quad-core CPU

Chipset : Intel C206 PCH

Memory : 8Gb DDR3 ECC RAM 1333MHz

Networking : 1 x Intel 82574L Gigabit LAN port, 1 x Intel 82574LM Gigabit LAN port

Storage : 2 x 120Gb solid state drives for Operating System + 6 x 3Tb drives for data storage + 1 eSATA

Graphics : Intel Integrated Graphics

USB : 8 x USB 2 (4 front & 4 Rear), + 2 x USB 3 (2 Rear)

Power supply : 350w 80Plus certified

Physical dimensions 27cm x 20cm x 37cm (H x W x D)

2 years return-to-base warranty as standard.

Learn more from the Viridian PC website

StarTech launches Thunderbolt Cables

Andrew Edney
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StarTech launches Thunderbolt Cables

StarTech.com, a leading manufacturer of hard-to-find connectivity parts has announced the launch of a new Thunderbolt cables product line, with a wide variety of lengths including 0.5m (1.6ft), 1m (3.3ft), 2m (6.6ft), and the first 3m (9.9ft) Thunderbolt cable available.

Thunderbolt Cables

Each of the cables are constructed using the active components required to support the full, high-bandwidth capability of the Thunderbolt interface: 10Gbps (bi-directional), for inter-connecting devices such as Thunderbolt-equipped external RAID enclosures and other applications such as daisy chaining Thunderbolt devices.

“We are excited to include Thunderbolt cables in our comprehensive line-up of connectivity parts. Thunderbolt technology is supported by all current Apple computers, as well as some models from Acer, Asus and Lenovo, and we’re expecting the interface to be available on an increasing number of computers in the weeks and months to come” said Keith Rodrigues, Senior Product Manager for StarTech.com’s Cables product line.

“Thunderbolt peripherals don’t typically ship with cables included, so the range in lengths we’ve made available offer the customer the flexibility to choose the length that best suits them – shorter cables, such as the 0.5m and 1m lengths for daisy chaining, and longer cables such as the 2m and 3m lengths, which are suited for more convenient placement of peripherals.” said Rodrigues.

Some of the features of the new Thunderbolt cables include:

· Support for dual-channel, simultaneous bi-directional data and video transfers up to 10 Gbps per channel

· Supports Power-over-cable, for bus-powered devices

· Dual Protocol support (PCI Express and DisplayPort)

· Durable cable construction, with high quality Thunderbolt connectors

StarTech.com Thunderbolt cables will be available for purchase from technology resellers including Insight, Amazon.co.uk and Dabs and will also be distributed by Enta, Ingram Micro and Micro-P. RRP for these products are as follows:

TBOLTMM50CM : 0.5m Thunderbolt Cable – M/M £30.99 GBP exc VAT

TBOLTMM1M : 1m Thunderbolt Cable – M/M £30.99 GBP exc VAT

TBOLTMM2M : 2m Thunderbolt Cable – M/M £30.99 GBP exc VAT

TBOLTMM3M : 3m Thunderbolt Cable – M/M £56.99 GBP exc VAT

Apple releases QuickTime 7.7.2 which fixes 17 vulnerabilities

Andrew Edney
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Apple today released QuickTime version 7.7.2 which fixes a whopping 17 vulnerabilities.

Quicktime

Here is a complete list of all 17 vulnerabilities that have been fixed:

  • Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: Multiple stack overflows existed in QuickTime’s handling of TeXML files. These issues do not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0663 : Alexander Gavrun working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A heap overflow existed in QuickTime’s handling of text tracks. This issue does not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0664 : Alexander Gavrun working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A heap buffer overflow existed in the handling of H.264 encoded movie files. – CVE-2012-0665 : Luigi Auriemma working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Opening a maliciously crafted MP4 encoded file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: An uninitialized memory access issue existed in the handling of MP4 encoded files. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.3. For Mac OS X v10.6 systems, this issue is addressed in Security Update 2012-001. – CVE-2011-3458 : Luigi Auriemma and pa_kt both working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: An off by one buffer overflow existed in the handling of rdrf atoms in QuickTime movie files. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.3. For Mac OS X v10.6 systems, this issue is addressed in Security Update 2012-001. – CVE-2011-3459 : Luigi Auriemma working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file during progressive download may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A buffer overflow existed in the handling of audio sample tables. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.4. For Mac OS X v10.6 systems, this issue is addressed in Security Update 2012-002. – CVE-2012-0658 : Luigi Auriemma working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted MPEG file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: An integer overflow existed in the handling of MPEG files. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.4. For Mac OS X v10.6 systems, this issue is addressed in Security Update 2012-002. – CVE-2012-0659 : An anonymous researcher working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A stack buffer overflow existed in the QuickTime plugin’s handling of QTMovie objects. This issue does not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0666 : CHkr_D591 working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted PNG image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A buffer overflow existed in the handling of PNG files. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.3. For Mac OS X v10.6 systems, this issue is addressed in Security Update 2012-001. – CVE-2011-3460 : Luigi Auriemma working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted QTVR movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A signedness issue existed in the handling of QTVR movie files. This issue does not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0667 : Alin Rad Pop working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A use after free issue existed in the handling of JPEG2000 encoded movie files. This issue does not affect systems prior to OS X Lion. For OS X Lion systems, this issue is addressed in OS X Lion v10.7.4. – CVE-2012-0661 : Damian Put working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A buffer overflow existed in the handling of RLE encoded movie files. – CVE-2012-0668 : Luigi Auriemma working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A buffer overflow existed in QuickTime’s handling of Sorenson encoded movie files. This issue does not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0669 : Damian Put working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: An integer overflow existed in QuickTime’s handling of sean atoms. – CVE-2012-0670 : Tom Gallagher (Microsoft) and Paul Bates (Microsoft) working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted .pict file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A memory corruption issue existed in the handling of .pict files. – CVE-2012-0671 : Rodrigo Rubira Branco (twitter.com/bsdaemon) from the Qualys Vulnerability & Malware Research Labs (VMRL)
  • Impact: Opening a file in a maliciously crafted path may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: A stack buffer overflow existed in QuickTime’s handling of file paths. This issue does not affect OS X systems. – CVE-2012-0265 : Tielei Wang of Georgia Tech Information Security Center via Secunia SVCRP
  • Impact: Viewing a maliciously crafted MPEG file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution – Description: An integer underflow existed in QuickTime’s handling of audio streams in MPEG files. – CVE-2012-0660: Justin Kim at Microsoft and Microsoft Vulnerability Research (MSVR)

The Digital Lifestyle Show 354 Yang Pi

Andrew Edney
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The Digital Lifestyle Show 354 Yang Pi

This weeks Digital Lifestyle Show has just been released – and it’s show 354.

DLS Show

Here’s what Ian says about this week show:

Back in the UK for this weeks show. Andrew was away at keep fit so Jason Coombes joins Garry and I to talk over the weeks news including my thoughts on China and HP, Windows Media Center in Windows 8, family safety in Windows 8, building Media Center extenders, DTS audio, My Movies and we talk about my new Raspberry Pi and my first impressions.

You can listen to or download the show from here.

WHS Add-in Update : LDisk for Windows Home Server version 3.0.3

Andrew Edney
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0
WHS Add-in Update : LDisk for Windows Home Server version 3.0.3

Intelisan’s Windows Home Server add-in LDisk has been updated to version 3.0.3.

LDisk-2011_thumb1_thumb_thumb_thumb_[1]

LDisk Windows Home Server Add-In adds iSCSI Target Storage capability to your Windows Home Server. Using LDisk, you can create a single appliance to provide all your storage and backup needs.

– iSCSI Target Storage for Windows Home Server

– IP SAN (Storage Area Network)- Block transfer

– iSCSI SAN interface over Ethernet

– Snapshot with schedules, revert, and convert to volume

– Fully protected data using SAN Volume duplication

– Supports all Internal or external drives

– Drive Extender for WHS 2011

– Storage Expansion through iSCSI for WHS 2011

Version 3.0.0.3:

1-    Added an iSCSI initiator tab for Initiator management

2-    Added CHAP Authentication to provide additional security for iSCSI volumes

iSCSI-Expansion_thumb_thumb_thumb_thLDisk-2011-iSCSIVolumes_thumb_thumb_LDisk-v1_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thu

Learn more from the Intelisan website

Windows Home Server 2011 Add-in: Intelisan LDisk-D version 3.0.0.3

Andrew Edney
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Windows Home Server 2011 Add-in: Intelisan LDisk-D version 3.0.0.3

BJ from Intelisan has been in touch to let us know that their LDisk-D add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 has been updated.

ld-env2_thumb1

The two main differences between LDisk and LDisk-D are:

1- Customers wanted iSCSI functionality, but did not have any blank disks to use with LDisk

2- Cusomters wanted iSCSI functionality for non-English WHS-2011, WSS-e, and SBS-2011e operating systems

Below is a table showing the prices and the differences between each version:

LDisk_thumb3

LDisk-D Version 3.0.0.3 changes

1- Added an iSCSI initiator tab for Initiator management

2- Added CHAP Authentication to provide additional security for iSCSI volumes

3- Added iSCSI Snapshot Revert & Convert to volume

Learn more from the Intelisan website

Laplink Software Celebrates 29 Years of Success by Giving Away PCmover free today

Andrew Edney
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Laplink Software Celebrates 29 Years of Success by Giving Away PCmover free today

Today only, Laplink Software are celebrating 29 years of success by giving away their PCmover software free!

Screen Shot 2012-05-15 at 17.04.25

For 29 years Laplink Software has been a global leader in PC connectivity. Since introducing the signature Laplink Cable in 1983, Laplink’s products have given users the ability to easily connect and transfer data between PCs from individual consumers to large multi-national corporations. And Laplink continues to provide market leading solutions, including its flagship product PCmover, the number one best-selling PC migration utility.

“Laplink has succeeded because of our loyal customers,” commented Laplink CEO Thomas Koll. “We are proud to complete our 29th year and would like to thank everyone for their continued support. To celebrate, on May 15th we are giving away PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant for free to everyone who visits our website, as well as a chance to win one of 29 great prizes such as a Lenovo laptop.”& amp; lt; /span>

Anyone interested in entering Laplink’s 29th Anniversary Giveaway can do so by going to http://www.laplink.com/laplink-turns-29  which includes the complete terms and conditions of the event.

“ We’ve completed nearly thirty years as a software company, and still many of our early customers remember us fondly for the Laplink Cable,” continued Koll. “But Laplink has expanded its reach into many facets of PC connectivity. For example, PCmover is the number one choice for consumers looking to upgrade to the newest version of Windows as well as businesses looking to cut deployment costs for their next PC refresh project.”

PCmover  is the only software that moves programs, files and settings to a new PC. With its easy-to-use interface, automated wizard and deep customization PCmover is both simple to use and powerful enough to get any transfer job done.

Whether using PCmover Professional for consumers and small businesses or PCmover Enterprise for large corporations, there’s a version of PCmover right for any situation, saving end users an average of $300 per PC.

PCmover is available at www.laplink.com or most major software retailers in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan

WD announces 500GB, 750GB and 1TB My Passport Portable Hard Drives for Europe

Andrew Edney
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WD announces 500GB, 750GB and 1TB My Passport Portable Hard Drives for Europe

WD announces the availability of its next generation My Passport line of portable hard drives in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities in Europe.

Screen Shot 2012-05-15 at 16.57.38

Now available in five popular colours, white, black, silver, blue, and red, with a range of capacities, 500GB, 750GB, 1TB and previously announced 2TB, the new sleeker My Passport portable drives offer digital consumers an appealing array of storage options that reflect their personal style.

With the addition of premium finishes, specially-engineered to make the outer shell more resistant to scratches and fingerprints, the My Passport external drives feature ultra-fast USB 3.0 connectivity; USB 2.0 compatibility; WD SmartWare™ continuous, automatic backup software and WD Security™ for password protection and hardware encryption. The included software offers the flexibility to customise the drive to a user’s storage preferences: installing all features, just the components needed, or using the drive without the software.

“With a choice of different capacities and different enclosure designs, My Passport gives our customers an opportunity to express their unique style, in an amazing pocket-sized enclosure, affording plenty of secure storage for all of one’s photos, video, music and other important files”, says Tim Anderson, Director of Sales, Northern Europe for WD.

Now shipping in UK at selected retailers, these ultra-portable drives are a stylish and spacious storage solution for consumers to confidently backup, store and carry their entire digital lives; peace of mind for busy consumers on the go!

Pricing and Availability
My Passport drives come with a 2-year limited warranty and are available online at the WD store at http://www.wdstore.co.uk and at select retailers and distributors.

Recommended retail prices: 500GB – £89.99, 750GB – £119.99, 1TB – £129.99, 2TB – £299.99

Additional information on the My Passport family of hard drives can be found at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/

My Movies for Windows Required Update

Andrew Edney
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My Movies for Windows Required Update

If you are running an older version of My Movies then you will need to update in order to continue to use meta-data from the online service.

Screen Shot 2012-05-15 at 16.26.41

This is what Brian posted today:

Due to security changes in communication with our online service, our users is requested to update their user clients before June 1’st 2012. The software will continue to operate after this date, but will after this date no longer be able to load meta-data from our online service.

Users running My Movies for Windows Media Center or My Movies Collection Management 4.00 or 4.01 for Windows 7 is required to upgrade to version 4.02 or later.

Users running My Movies for Windows Media Center or My Movies Collection Management 3 for Windows Vista is required to upgrade to version 3.25 or later.

Users running My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 is required to upgrade to version 2.10 or later.

Users running My Movies for Windows Home Server V1 is only required to upgrade if client PC’s are upgraded to a version that requires a later version on their Home Server.

Users running My Movies 2 for Windows Media Center 2005 will for now not be required an update. However, we strongly recommend getting these systems upgraded to Windows 7.

Users running systems installed by a licensed professional My Movies installer will also not be required to update unless they are also signed into a user account, which is optional on these installations.

If you are in any way have problems with upgrading, or is unsure how to do this, please contact support@mymovies.dk where we are able to help you.

So what are you waiting for?

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