Events

Logitech Review with Google TV Android 3.1 Update Starts

Andrew Edney

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Dec 7, 2011

Logitech Review with Google TV Android 3.1 Update Starts

Logitech have started rolling out the Android 3.1 update to their Logitech Review with Google TV devices.

Here is what Logitech posted on their blog today:

We are pleased to announce that we will begin delivering a free software update of the Android 3.1 platform to Logitech Revue™ with Google TV™ this week. If you’re already a Revue user, simply ensure your unit is turned on and connected to the Web, and accept the update that pops up onto your TV screen. New customers are expected to receive this version automatically upon activation.

Some of the key developments include more entertainment choices such as access to Android Market; faster and more comprehensive search and browse capabilities; a simplified user interface, and improvements to the Logitech Media Player.

With the Android Market now available through your Logitech Revue, you’ll get new and useful apps all the time, such as the new Google Music app, making your Logitech Revue the fastest growing entertainment hub in your living room. At launch, the Android Market will feature around 50 apps optimized for HDTV, and we expect number of apps to increase over time.

In a world of infinite entertainment choices you need an easy way to discover the content you want to watch: Logitech Revue has you covered. The Google Chrome browser brings full search capabilities to your HDTV, along with full keyboard navigation and support for Adobe Flash player version 10.2.

The Quick Search Box quickly vets TV content, Web video, Apps, Bookmarks, and the Web, so you can spend less time searching and more time watching. And the TV & Movies app allows people to easily search, watch and even rate more than 80,000 movies and TV episodes from cable, Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.

With the Logitech Media Player software and your Logitech Revue, you can unlock your computer’s library of music, movies and photos to enjoy on your HDTV.

What’s more, Logitech Revue can help you visit with friends and family. Thanks to the optional Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service, you can make and receive high definition video calls on your HDTV, and from the comfort of your couch.

Customer feedback is very important to us, and we worked closely with Google to ensure that Logitech Revue with the next version of Google TV incorporates the features and improvements that are most important to you. With these improvements, we hope you find that the Logitech Revue with the next version of Google TV is an easy way to integrate your existing broadcast or pay TV service with Internet content all on your HDTV.

Do you have the Logitech Revue?

New Xbox 360 Dashboard Rolls Out

Andrew Edney

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Dec 7, 2011

5

Following a slight delay, the new Xbox 360 Dashboard Update has rolled out.

I have been beta testing the new dashboard for a while now, and I really like it!

You can find out more about the update from here.

Here are some more pictures of the new dashboard:

Have you got the update yet? What do you think of it?

Here is a short video about some of the new Xbox LIVE Partner Apps:

Microsoft Confirms Windows 8 Public Beta for February 2012

Andrew Edney

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Dec 7, 2011

0

Microsoft Confirms Windows 8 Public Beta for February 2012

Website The Verge are saying that Microsoft have confirmed the first Windows 8 public beta is coming in February 2012.

This is what the Verge posted:

We wouldn’t be surprised if you missed it in all the Windows Store hubbub, but Microsoft also just confirmed that the public release of Windows 8 Beta will come in February of 2012. We’d previously heard competing rumors of a late January or late February launch, so it looks as though Microsoft is doing a good job of hitting its development goals for the new OS.

This actually surprises me – I would have thought the first public beta would have been announced at CES 2012 in January – this is certainly how it worked for Windows 7.

Still, its only early December 2011 and it can all change by then!

Personally I am looking forward to getting my hands on something more than just the developer preview. How about you?

BBC Global iPlayer App Coming to iPhone and iPod Touch Tomorrow

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Dec 7, 2011

1

BBC Global iPlayer App Coming to iPhone and iPod Touch Tomorrow

We have talked about the BBC Global iPlayer app previously, and now it’s coming to the iPhone and the iPod Touch tomorrow adding to the range of devices you can access iPlayer on.

According to TNW:

The global iPlayer app will be made available on iPhone and iPod Touch from this Thursday (8th December), and will reach millions more viewers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

So watch this space….

FireCore Releases aTV Flash (black) 1.1 for the 2nd Generation AppleTV

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Dec 6, 2011

0

Today saw the release of aTV Flash (black) version 1.1 for the 2nd generation AppleTV.

Here is what Firecore said:

Happy Tuesday! Today we are pleased to announce the release aTV Flash (black) 1.1 for the 2nd generation AppleTV. This new version includes a healthy dose of goodness by adding things such as custom view options, web page auto-load, playback improvements, and a huge pile of bug fixes.

Full details on all the great new features as well as how to update can be found below.

New View Options

For the most part we found people love the grid view, but for some media types a list view may be more desirable. Now it’s possible to have the best of both worlds!

Once the default view type has been set through the Media –> Settings menu, a different view can be set for a specific folder or group of folders. To access this option simply highlight the folder you wish to adjust, hold the center button (to open the popup menu) and choose the desired view type. The chosen view will be used when viewing the contents of that folder, as well as any subfolders contained inside.

We’ve also added a sort by date view option. This option can be found in the Media –> Settings menu, and when enabled will cause the most recent media to appear at the top.

Improved Couch Surfer with Auto-Start

Couch Surfer has gotten a number of improvements, not the least of which is a brand new auto-start feature. This feature enables the AppleTV to automatically load a ‘homepage’ anytime it’s powered on. Support for automatically reloading the specified page is also included. This allows the AppleTV to be used as a low-cost digital signage solution.

Full Changelog

Added support for .IMG files
Added option to mark specific folders as grid or list view
Added subtitle position setting
Added support for larger thumbnail images
Added support for UTF-8 paths in DVD files
Added web page auto-loading feature
Added screen position setting in Couch Surfer
Added show/hide menus option
Improved audio synchronization in DVD and AVI files
Improved metadata fetching logic
Improved filenames parsing logic
Improved playlist logic that marks files as watched
Improved buffering performance
Improved ISO files handling (resolved network error warning)
Improved error handling for DVD files
Improved growl notifications display logic for audio files
Improved warning messages for unplayable files
Improved grid view stability
Improved fanart loading
Improved memory management
Improved installation routine
Improved installer device detection
Resolved issues with long DNS names
Resolved issue with extra period appearing at the end of some DNS names
Resolved crash observed when audio subsystem could not be initialized
Resolved issues with chapter handling logic
Minor UI improvements
Many other miscellaneous fixes

Excellent! Where can I get it?

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 1.1 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. If you need to re-install aTV Flash (black) links for the new version can be found in your account under the Downloads tab.

New users can order aTV Flash (black) here.

Amazon’s LOVEFiLM Coming to Xbox LIVE

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Dec 6, 2011

0

Amazon today announced the LOVEFILM was now part of Xbox Live, but with the slight delay to the update, it’s coming asap.

Here is what Amazon said today:

LOVEFiLM, an Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) company and Europe’s largest subscription service – streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post – launches on Xbox LIVE tomorrow, giving millions more film fans instant access to the movies they want to watch, when they want to watch them.

Xbox LIVE members will be able to instantly watch thousands of movies via LOVEFiLM Instant – the movie streaming service – including exclusive content such as the award-winning drama Gran Torino and teen phenomenon The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, with forthcoming titles The Dark Knight, breakout comedy The Hangover and dark romance Blue Valentine becoming available in time for Christmas.

Kinect for Xbox 360 will transform the way people use LOVEFiLM Instant to search and watch movies. For the first time thanks to Kinect, LOVEFiLM can be effortlessly controlled using voice commands or gestures, enhancing the ease of the movie-viewing experience.

LOVEFiLM Instant is available via a huge range of devices including PCs, iPad®, Internet-connected TV sets, Blu-ray players, tablets and games consoles. Becoming an Xbox LIVE integrated film service provider is another milestone in LOVEFiLM’s ambition to bring the service to as many homes as possible.

Simon Calver, CEO of Amazon’s LOVEFiLM, said:

“It is an exciting day for LOVEFiLM customers and an auspicious day for the TV entertainment industry as a whole. Launching LOVEFiLM Instant on Xbox 360 and Kinect means bringing the service to a million more living rooms – a huge achievement.

“LOVEFiLM members in the UK can access our content in another exciting, innovative way and all for one straightforward price. The simplicity of our pricing and the ease with which customers can use LOVEFiLM Instant should make us the first choice for those customers who want fantastic entertainment at great value for money, anytime, anywhere.”

Stephen McGill, Director of Xbox & Entertainment for Microsoft UK said:

“It’s very exciting to see the launch of Amazon’s LOVEFiLM on Xbox LIVE. Xbox owners will be eager to get started, using their Kinect-enabled consoles to interact with LOVEFiLM’s extensive catalogue of movies in ways that will only be available on Xbox 360.”

So as soon as the update is released you will be able to use the service.

Six Minute and Six Second Review of the WD Sentinel DX4000

Timothy Daleo

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Dec 6, 2011

0

Six Minute and Six Second Review of the WD Sentinel DX4000

I had the opportunity to test the Western Digital WD Sentinel DX4000 Small Office Storage Server over the last few months and have been impressed with the performance and storage capacity of this great compact server. For those of you with large storage needs, limited space or small businesses, this Small Office Storage Server might be the device you need. Read on to find out more about the WD Sentinel DX4000.

Mental Note: Upfront, please understand that since the Windows Storage Server OS is so similar to WHS 2011, for this short review I will not be covering common areas to both OS such as Users, Add-Ins, backups and Client set up. I will spend more time on those features in a follow-up article.

WD Sentinel DX4000 Overview

The new WD Sentinel DX4000 is a small office storage sever that offers data protection, client PC back ups, easy administration and is user serviceable. In addition, the WD Sentinel gives you remote access, gigabit network speeds and DLNA support for media streaming. This server is good looking, has horsepower under the hood and has storage capability beyond anything we have seen in this size!

WD just released the 4TB and 8TB models with 6TB and 12TB models to be released in Q1 of 2012. Yes you read that right, 12TB! Leave it to industry leader WD to offer such a massive storage device!

WD Sentinel DX4000 First Impressions

Out of the box the WD Sentinel is heavy. I like heavy. Heavy is good. Heavy means it has good quality drives and components inside. Outside, the form factor is very professional and the size is just right. At about 8’”x9”x6” the server will look good on your desk or be small enough to hide on a shelf. The front LCD is a little bright for my needs but shows the status of the server at all times.

The WD Sentinel has four drive bays. With the two drive model it will run RAID 1 and with the 4 drive model it will run RAID 5.

The back of the WD Sentinel is clean and functional. It has two Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 ports and two power supply connections. You can purchase and additional power supply from WD for about $60 but I would suggest a single UPS instead.

WD Sentinel DX4000 Specs

All of full details are available at WD but here are some of the basics:

The WD Sentinel is powered by an Intel Atom D525 1.8 Ghz Dual Core Processor with 2GB of RAM and runs Windows Storage Server (WSS) 2008 R2 Essentials. This OS is the same code base as Windows Home Server 2011 so the interface and Dashboard will feel very familiar. WSS is a more robust and expandable OS from Microsoft so this is part of what added to the higher cost.

Xbox 360 Dashboard Update Delayed?

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

-

Dec 6, 2011

3

The Xbox 360 Dashboard Update was supposed to be released today. It seems there might be a delay….

Here was the first tweet from Major Nelson:

And this from a few minutes ago:

Let’s hope it still comes out today!

Google+ App Gets Updated to Version 1.0.7.2940

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Dec 5, 2011

1

Google have just updated it’s Google+ app for iOS devices.

What’s New In Version 1.0.7.2940

– full resolution photo uploads
– search
– photo +1
– bug fixes and performance improvements

Go get it now from the Apple App Store.

Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone Out Tomorrow

Andrew Edney

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Dec 5, 2011

4

Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone Out Tomorrow

We first told you about the Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone back in October, and tomorrow it should be released.

This is how Ben described it back then:

The app, which will be completely free for Windows Phone users, is an amazing little tool that will let you Find, Learn more about and Control content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace on your Xbox 360.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a beta copy of the app to try out with my Xbox and I have to say that it’s really impressive. Here’s an actual scenario I ran through with the app and my Xbox the other day:

Finding Content: Just like on your Xbox, the Xbox Companion gives you instant access to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace catalog of games, movies, music and TV shows. I used it to search “Featured Content” and pulled up the X-Men: First Class.

Learn more about what you’re watching, listening to, or playing: Once I found the movie and touched the movie tile, the Xbox companion app took me to an info page that has all the related details about. And the content is really rich, too – for example, when I swiped to the “cast” page and touched an actor’s name, like star James McAvoy, I was taken to other movies starring him. From there, I could easily learn more about the other movies, their cast, etc. It’s an infinite road of interactive content.

Control & Play: Once I selected the content and hit play, the Xbox Companion flips into “controller mode” in which I could navigate my Xbox, or control video playback of your video. The best part here is that controls are virtually instantaneous – easily as fast as using my controller or a TV remote.

I for one will be interested in seeing it working tomorrow.