Events

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for Xbox 360 Released Today

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Nov 15, 2011

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for Xbox 360 Released Today

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary for the Xbox 360 is released today for the 10th anniversary of the release of the original Halo. Has it really been 10 years?

“Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary” is a spectacularly remastered version of the original “Halo” campaign, created in celebration of the 10th anniversary of one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. With a bounty of new features including cooperative play over Xbox LIVE, a bundle of some of the most beloved multiplayer maps in “Halo” history reimagined for Xbox LIVE, new challenges and a new story to uncover.

Developed by 343 Industries in collaboration with Saber Interactive and Certain Affinity, “Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary” immerses you in the landmark campaign and genre-defining multiplayer game that helped revolutionize the first-person shooter genre and sparked one of the most iconic science-fiction universes of all time.

· Stunningly remastered campaign. Relive the award-winning adventure that defined “Halo: Combat Evolved” as one of the best games of the decade with breathtaking next-gen graphics and audio remastered for the Xbox 360. Engage in epic-scale battles against the backdrop of the eponymous “Halo” ringworld, and relive nostalgic memories with the ability to toggle Classic mode to play the original version.

· Online campaign co-op. For the first time, experience the story that started it all with a friend on Xbox LIVE and launch a cooperative assault against the Covenant, whether you live across the street or halfway around the world. [*Xbox LIVE Gold membership required for online multiplayer.]

· Classic “Halo” multiplayer maps reimagined. Wage battle on six detailed remakes of some of the most beloved “Halo” multiplayer maps of all time, and bring the fight to the Covenant on a stunning and resonant new Firefight map.¹ Remastered in the “Halo: Reach” engine and inspired by maps from “Halo: Combat Evolved” and “Halo 2,” these iconic battlefields reignite the heart-pounding multiplayer action of the original favorites and let you relive epic confrontations like you’ve never experienced them.

Developed in collaboration with Certain Affinity, the new multiplayer maps are included on the “Halo: Anniversary” game disc, which means players will not need to own the original “Halo: Reach” game to play.

· New challenges and enhanced story. Unlock up to 1,000 Achievement points as you clash with online opponents and battle through the campaign, and uncover never-before-revealed backstories told in motion-graphic form that foreshadow new mysteries in the story of “Halo 4.”

We have been playing it for a few days now and it really takes us back! Look out for our review soon.

QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Five: Remote Access

Jim McCarthy

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Nov 15, 2011

0

QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Five: Remote Access

This is Part Five of our QNAP TurboNAS Deep Dive series and we look at remote access capabilities. Read on for details!

In Part One of this series, we told you how to set up the ISCSI target functionality in TurboNAS 3.5. In Part Two, we covered adding users. In Part Three, we covered volume management and SMART data. In Part Four, we covered cloud backup services. In Part Five, we go over the remote access capabilities inherent in TurboNAS 3.5.

MyCloudNAS

QNAP offers a service called MyCloudNAS to allow for remote access to data. Here is how they describe the feature:

What is MyCloudNAS?

The MyCloudNAS service of the QNAP NAS is the best cloud computing solution providing users with great personal cloud experience. It is the ideal storage solution for both home and small business users who want to set up their own cloud storage to access their files on the NAS anytime, anywhere with the Internet.

For Home Users

With the MyCloudNAS service you can upload, download, and stream your digital media from your QNAP NAS anytime for your personal enjoyment or for easy delivery of services to your family and friends. This also includes mobile handsets such as the iPhone, Android, and the iPad through the QMobile app which gives you the freedom to access your digital contents on the go. MyCloudNAS gives users unlimited access to their digital contents so they will never get tired of their picture, movies, and music.

For Small Business

MyCloudNAS will let you enjoy the massive storage volume of your NAS without ever paying a subscription fee. Each QNAP NAS owner can establish the cloud computing environment easily through a guided process by a wizard during the initial setup. The private cloud environment gives users a convenient way to easily access and share their data from the NAS. For example when you travel outside and away from your office, you can access the files stored on the NAS securely from Web File Manager or on any Internet browser. From the Web based manager you can download, upload, and access the files you need. In addition, QNAP provides cloud storage backup to securely protect your data. Your important data can be securely transferred to another remote NAS or even to third party cloud storage service providers. Your irreplaceable data is securely stored at an offsite location establishing another level of protection on to QNAP reliable data protection platform.

Home server owners will be familiar with the model. QNAP provides the dynamic IP management in this solution, however, and that is a good thing!

Configuration of MyCloudNAS

Like everything else in TurboNAS, MyCloudNAS is configured by completing a wizard. Let’s begin by clicking on MyCloudNAS Service, and then MyCloudNAS Wizard.

The wizard starts and gives you the choice of manual or automatic configuration. Since I want to manage the ports that are used, I opted for Manual here.

I opted for a name for the online service. I won’t check it here as I have already set it up and it’s in use.

KeepVault Release KeepVault v4.11

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

1

Our friends at KeepVault have been in touch to let us know that their KeepVault software has been updated to version 4.11.

Cross Device Access & Restore
Access and restore the files from any of your protected computers using the ‘Selective Download’ feature in the KeepVault software interface. Previously reserved for KeepVault Pro users only, this feature makes it even easier to recover files to a new computer or share files between any computer on your account.

Daily Status Reports
KeepVault Pro & Business customers can opt-in to receive a daily summary email showing the backup status of each of their computers. Quickly check important backup statistics to ensure your data protection is operating smoothly. The latest version of the KeepVault software is required.

Client Computer Backup/Restore (WHS & SBS Essentials 2011)
We’ve worked closely with Microsoft to enable a special mechanism for backing-up and restoring the Client Computer Backups created by WHS & SBS Essentials 2011. Now you can protect these online simply by selecting the ‘Client Computer Backups’ entry in the KeepVault interface and the software will do the rest.

Fit and Finish
We’ve made numerous other improvements to the software to improve your overall experience. We recommend updating your software to pick up the latest features and improvements.

Download Software Updates
As always, you can download the latest software here: www.keepvault.com/software

Want to Win a NAS box? Well You Can with Intel

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

0

Want to Win a NAS box? Well You Can with Intel

Would you like to win a NAS device? Well you can with Intel and you can redefine your network.

Here are the details of the competition with Intel:

Innovative small-office and home-office users like Ramona, Jason, Ron, Bill, and Stephanie think outside the box. So it’s no surprise they’ve taken NAS beyond storage. With a Network Attached Storage system, you can easily store, protect, access, and organize your files in your own private cloud. And that means home and small business owners like you can act as big as your dreams.

And now you have a chance to win a NAS! We’re giving away four NAS devices to small business owners and home users who best express their need for a storage solution with Intel Inside®. Tell us your story about how a NAS system can help you redefine your network. Then enter for a chance to win.

To enter the competition, either click here or click on any of the Intel banners on our site.

Prizes: Four (4) NAS devices will be awarded at the end of the contest based on the judging. Limit of one prize per winner.

Prizes include: Netgear Ultra 2 Plus (780USD), Thecus N4200 Pro (1400USD), Synology DS712+ (900USD), QNAP TS-239 Pro II+ (880USD), Grand Total (3960USD)

Eligibility: Contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada (except the province of Quebec) and runs until December 17th 2011.

Good luck!

Apple Release iTunes Match

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

0

Along with iTunes 10.5.1, Apple have finally made available iTunes Match.

This is how Apple describe iTunes Match:

With iTunes Match, even songs you’ve imported from CDs can be stored in iCloud. And you can play them on any iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC — whenever you want and wherever you are, without syncing. iTunes Match is just $24.99 a year.

Here’s how it works: iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are, your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren’t, iTunes has to upload only what it can’t match. Which is much faster than starting from scratch. Once your music is in iCloud, you can stream and store it to any of your devices. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

Although don’t all rush to try it tonight as I am getting this message:

Although I am not convinced that the service is available to us here in the UK as it tells me the price is $24.99!

Have you tried it yet? Let us know what you think…

Apple Releases iTunes Version 10.5.1

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

3

Apple has today released iTunes version 10.5.1.

What’s new in iTunes 10.5.1

Introducing iTunes Match. Store your entire music library in iCloud, including music you’ve imported from CDs, and enjoy your collection anywhere, anytime, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer, or Apple TV.

iTunes 10.5 also included:

• iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.

• Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.

• Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.

• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.

• Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

You can download the latest version directly from the Apple website, or at some point today your installed copy of iTunes should tell you there is an update.

NVIDIA SLI Multi-GPU Technology Power World’s Fastest Desktop Gaming Platforms

News
Tech

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

0

NVIDIA SLI Multi-GPU Technology Power World’s Fastest Desktop Gaming Platforms

NVIDIA SLI Multi-GPU Technology Paired with Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition Processors Power World’s Fastest Desktop Gaming Platforms.

Here is what NVIDIA said today:

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Nov. 14, 2011— NVIDIA today announced that system builders worldwide are now shipping the fastest PC gaming platforms ever built, thanks in part to NVIDIA® SLI® technology and the just-released Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors and X79 chipset-based motherboards.

The combination of NVIDIA SLI technology – which allows for multiple GPUs to run on a single PC – and new X79-based motherboards allow gamers to customise their PC experience with up to four NVIDIA GeForce® GTX GPUs, including the GeForce GTX 580 and GTX 570, the world’s fastest DX11 GPUs. Licensed by the world’s leading motherboard manufacturers – including Intel, ASUS, ASRock, EVGA, Foxconn, Gigabyte and MSI, SLI technology is crucial for playing this year’s hottest graphics-intensive games, such as the recently released Battlefield 3 and upcoming Batman: Arkham City with detail, resolution and immersion settings cranked up.

“Falcon’s entire desktop lineup will be moving to Sandy Bridge-E, and NVIDIA SLI technology was an absolute necessity for every model we make,” said Kelt Reeves, president of Falcon Northwest. “It was critical for us to offer our clients multi-GPU options, and pairing Sandy Bridge’s monstrous new CPU horsepower with SLI’s monstrous graphics power will give gamers and enthusiasts smoother frame rates and a better visual experience.”

NVIDIA SLI technology is now available for all consumer-based desktop and mobile PC platforms, including previous versions of Intel Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors, as well as those based on the AMD Bulldozer and Phenom II CPUs.

NVIDIA DX11 GPUs are designed to deliver the world’s fastest performance for DX11 games, and are the only consumer GPUs to feature multiple tessellation engines for advanced graphics rendering capabilities. NVIDIA GeForce GPUs also provide gamers with additional features not found on any other discrete graphics solutions, such as NVIDIA PhysX® technology for deeper gaming immersion, and support for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ technology, delivering eye-popping stereoscopic 3D on a single display or spanning across three screens for an immersive gaming environment.

I’ve only just built a new system – sounds like it’s time to build another one!

Review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

3

We first saw the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 back at IFA in September. Now it’s time for our review.

The ultimate entertainment tablet—loaded with great apps and optimized for enjoying movies, music, social networking and the Web.

Android 3.1 installed, a rich interactive platform optimized specifically for tablet devices
Full Flash support so you can fully enjoy your favourite online sites
HD display and HDMI output for vibrant resolution on your tablet or on a monitor
More than 30 apps preloaded, plus access to Lenovo’s App Shop
Front and rear cameras for better two-way video chats
Integrated cloud storage to save and share your files across multiple devices

IdeaPad Tablet K1: Open the Box and Play

Weighing just 1.63 lbs, the highly mobile IdeaPad Tablet K1 offers integrated Bluetooth and 802.11 Wi-Fi connectivity. The IdeaPad Tablet K1 offers several key features and tools as standard, for flexibility, power and security to enjoy digital content anywhere. Simply put, the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 helps users who want:

More out of the box: The Android-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 is preloaded with more than 40 apps from partners like Netflix, Amazon, Adobe, Electronic Arts, Rovio, Zinio, Dataviz, and others (over $50 in value), including favourites like Need for Speed Shift, Angry Birds, Kindle reading app and Documents to Go.

More entertainment: Users can browse all websites and watch online videos with ease thanks to Adobe Flash Player 10.3. Plus, with DRM, they can rent movies in every available format. At a later date shortly after launch, users will also be able to both rent or buy movies to play off-line with a new application Lenovo will pre-load.

More social networking: Users can access an entire network of friends and social sites all in one place, with Lenovo’s exclusive SocialTouch app, which effectively creates a one-stop social connection. And since one picture is still worth a thousand words, the Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1 comes with a two-megapixel front-facing and a five-megapixel rear-facing webcam.

More true HD: Users can watch movies and videos in breath-taking HD on a 1280 X 800 resolution screen. The mini HDMI connection allows up to 1080p HD viewing when connected to an HDTV or monitor, resulting in a powerful visual experience.

More cloud sharing: Users can sync, store and share files, music and photos with more integrated cloud storage, and less reliance on their local storage.

More Apps: Users can access hundreds of thousands of apps in Android Market and apps tested exclusively for premium function on the IdeaPad Tablet K1 in the Lenovo App Shop.

Who are Lenovo?

From their website:

Lenovo creates and builds exceptionally engineered personal technology, but we are much more than a tech company. We are defining a new way of doing things as a next generation global company. That means we are years ahead of the game in terms of understanding what it will take to win 5, 10 years from now.

Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, Lenovo builds on its dominant position in China to grow globally. The expansion from East to West – such as by introducing our newest products in China and then spreading across the globe – is a new way of viewing the world, one we believe will be the way of the future.

That focus on the future is based on a strong history of success that is driving results today. Long the leader in China, Lenovo is growing rapidly and winning market share in all parts of the world. This balanced growth is what has made Lenovo the fastest growing major PC company and enabled us to consistently grow faster than the market.

Achieving optimal balance in all that we do is Lenovo’s operating philosophy. This mind-set encompasses every aspect of Lenovo’s business, from balancing leadership with consensus-building, to valuing both short- and long-term thinking. As a result, we have created a balanced business model and strategy that take maximum advantage of profit and investment across both core and new businesses. The result is balanced performance and market share growth across all regions, customer segments, products and business models.

Our mission is to become one of the world’s great personal technology companies. We aspire to achieve this objective by leading in three key areas:

Personal Computers: Lead in PCs and be respected for our product innovation and quality.

Convergence: Lead the industry with an ecosystem of devices, services, applications and content for people to seamlessly connect to people and web content.

Culture: Become recognized as one of the best, most trusted and most well-respected companies to work for and do business with.

Specifications

NVIDIA® Tegra™ T20 1.0GHz Processor
Android™ 3.1
10.4” x 7.4” x .5” and less than 1.7 pounds
Up to 10 hours battery life
Up to 1GB DDR2 memory, up to 64GB SSD storage
Integrated Bluetooth® and 802.11b/g/n WiFi connectivity
MicroSD card reader, mini HDMI connector and optional docking port
Integrated front (2M) and back (5M) mounted webcam

WHS 2011 Add-in: Drive Bender Updated to version 1.2.1.6

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

0

Drive Bender, the add-in for Windows Home Sever 2011 that replaces Drive Extender, has now been updated to version 1.2.1.6.

What is it?

Drive Bender is state of the art, single point storage pool technology for Microsoft Windows. Drive Bender presents multiple hard drives as a single pool of data storage, either as one or more drive letters, or a network shared drive. Drive Bender is able to do this with any drive recognized by Windows, including external drive such as USB, Firewire etc.

Expandability

Drive Bender also provides the user with the ability to seamless expand their storage pool by simply adding a new drive. Adding a new drive expands the pool by the size of the new drive. Existing data within the pool is redistributed to the new drive to ensure the pool remain balanced.

Drive merging and converting

Drive Bender also offers a merge capability, allowing users to take a drive that contains data, and merge that drive (and data) into the pool. In addition there is also a drive conversion feature. This can take and existing drive letter (mounted against a physical drive) and convert this into a pooled drive. Once completed, new hard drives can be added to expand the once fixed drive.

Data redundancy

To further ensure data safety, Drive Bender can automatically duplicate any file added to a Drive Bender pool. File duplication is determined at the folder level and occurs on the fly as data is being written to the pool. More importantly, files are only duplicated across physical drives ensuring maximum safety and data redundancy.

Non-destructive

One of the key Drive Bender features is its non-destructive file system technology. In short, this means that all drives within a Drive Bender pool are utilizing standard NTFS format and file structures. This is to such an extent that a drive can be pulled from the pool and read on any machine capable of reading an NTFS formatted drive. More over, drives attached to the pool can be done so without modification, if a drive is added (not merged) that contains existing data, that data will remain untouched.

Ease to try

Because of our non-destructive file system, taking Drive Bender for a test drive is easy. Simply specify the drives to be included in the pool, and you are ready go. The drives are not formatted (unless specified), the only change made to the drive is the addition of a folder that holds the contents of the pool and a small number of configuration files.

The technology

Drive Bender employs existing, proven kernel mode file system technology. Having spent many years developing kernel mode drivers, we are able to use this experience to great extent. The end result is a product whose performance will closely match that of the underlying drive.

The story

Early in 2010 we prototyped a Drive Extender style application with the view of releasing a product that would work with all versions of Microsoft Windows. However soon thereafter, Microsoft announced Vail (a new version of Windows Home Server) and a small business server product, codename Aurora, both of which contain their Drive Extender technology. Given this, and the possibility that Drive Extend may well make its way to other Microsoft platforms, we shelved the project.

However later that same year, Microsoft announced that they would be dropping Drive Extender from all their products (including Windows Home Server 2011), leaving the door open for Division-M to resurrect the Drive Bender project!

Release v1.2.1.6 release (2011-11-12)

– Bug fix: During the duplication process (i.e. enabling duplication on a folder) could cause a file to have its read only flag removed.
– Bug fix: The file / duplication count for a pool can sometimes read zero.
– Update: Some performance improvements on file duplication.
– Update: Some performance improvements on file / folder renaming and deleting.
– Bug fix: The Drive Bender Manager does not display changes in mount points.

Download Drive Bender from here

Amazon UK Launch Kindle Daily Deal

Gadgets
News

Andrew Edney

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Nov 14, 2011

0

Today is the first day of the Kindle Daily Deal for us here in the UK. What is it you may ask?

Basically, the Kindle Daily Deal is a daily deal (hence the name) where you can get a selected Kindle book significantly cheaper. Each day there will be a different book.

Today’s daily deal is Where the Shadows Lie – with a 75% discount making the book only 99 pence!

Check back every day for the daily deal.

View the Amazon Kindle Daily Deal here