QNAP Updates TurboNAS Firmware to 3.6.1

Jim McCarthy
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0
QNAP Updates TurboNAS Firmware to 3.6.1

QNAP released a minor update to their 3.6 TurboNAS firmware, bringing it to 3.6.1.  Read on for details.

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QNAP released a maintenance update to their TurboNAS 3.6 firmware today.  Here are the release notes:

Version & Build]

3.6.1 Build0302

[Checksum]

TS-459/459 Pro+/459 Pro II: 2253686357

[What’s New?]

– None

[Enhancements]

– Web File Manager supports multiple file upload in HTTPS

– Disk reordering is supported in the same RAID configuration

[Major Bug Fixes]

– [External Storage Device] Format the external drive with encryption could fail with USB 3.0 port connection.

– [Port Trunking] DHCP Server did not function in Port Trunking mode.

– [Port Trunking] In 802.3ad, NAS could not obtain a valid DHCP IP address when switches to another subnet.

– [Music Station]Playback status could not be displayed correctly in Local Playback mode when user uses the One Touch Copy button.

– [Web File Manager] If the NAS was joined to an AD domain, domain user groups became the local user groups in access right configuration of shared folders.

– [Surveillance Station] Vivotek IP 7330 was missing from the supported camera list.

– [Live Update] NAS might become unresponsive after firmware live update.

– [WebDAV] WebDav permission was incorrect when share folder was assigned to a user group.

I updated my NAS tonight…if you have a TurboNAS running 3.6, you might want to update the firmware.

BBC Global iPlayer App problems with iOS 5.1 Resolved

Andrew Edney
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5
BBC Global iPlayer App problems with iOS 5.1 Resolved

Earlier today we told you that If you had updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 5.1 and you use the BBC Global iPlayer app you might have some problems. Well those problems have now been fixed!

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This is what the BBC tweeted:

Great news! The streaming issue with i0s5.1 is sorted. Thanks for bearing with us…

That was fixed pretty quickly, so well done BBC!

Beeb@30 – An anniversary celebration of the BBC Micro and Computer Literacy Project

Andrew Edney
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0
Beeb@30 – An anniversary celebration of the BBC Micro and Computer Literacy Project

Yes, it’s been 30 years since the BBC Micro appeared, and to celebrate there will be a very interesting day later this month!

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What’s it all about?

The Computer Literacy Project was a BBC-led initiative to improve computing education in Britain. A new series entitled The Computer Programme was planned for 1982, and the corporation wanted their own machine to accompany it.

A number of British computing firms were approached to produce a machine to the BBC’s own specification. The contract was awarded to Acorn Computers, whose own Atom replacement machine, the Proton, was adapted to satisfy the criteria.

The resulting BBC Micro became the machine of choice for schools up and down the country, backed by the then Conservative government’s own desire to make Britain lead the world in computer education.

Thirty years on, the BBC Micro is fondly remembered as being the computer that started a generation of careers in IT. It also begs the question – what did the Computer Literacy Project achieve, and how does it compare to how computing is taught now?

Beeb@30 will be a celebration with a twist, with the people who made it happen just over thirty years ago.

The event will take place in Cambridge on the 25th March, and tickets will go on sale soon.

Learn more from here

The Home Server Show Episode 174 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
The Home Server Show Episode 174 Out Now

Dave at the guys at the Home Server Show have released episode 174.

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Here’s what Dave has to say about this weeks show:

We are back with a ton of news. Windows 8 and Storage Spaces are both still popular items for the week. There are also a lot of software updates to talk about. Apple releases the new iPad but we will save that for the end of the show and only spend a couple of minutes on it.

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

Microsoft talks about getting around in Windows 8

Andrew Edney
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0
Microsoft talks about getting around in Windows 8

Have you downloaded and installed the consumer preview of Windows 8? If so, you might be wondering how you get around as it looks all different. Microsoft have just posted an article that you might want to read!

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Here is how Microsoft starts the article:

A common thread we’ve seen in the feedback so far about Windows 8, on this blog or elsewhere, positive or negative, is that people using Windows 8 for the first time might need a little help getting their bearings. For me, the best way to get acquainted with a new operating system is a lot like the way I got acquainted with the moving parts in a lot of the gadgets I tinkered with (by which I mean my parents’ stuff that I broke) growing up: just start messing with it. I know other people, though, who like to read before beginning or read as they go. You might be able to relate to one of these styles, or you might be somewhere in between. Either way, I hope some of this info can help you use Windows 8 even more quickly and efficiently.

To continue reading it, click here.

BBC Global iPlayer App having problems with iOS 5.1

Andrew Edney
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2
BBC Global iPlayer App having problems with iOS 5.1

If you have updated your iPhone or iPad to iOS 5.1 and you use the BBC Global iPlayer app you might have some problems!

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This is what the BBC tweeted:

For now, we’d advise holding back from downloading iOS5.1 if you want to stream shows on the app. Thanks!

So, if you are user of the app and you can’t live without it for now, you might want to hold off from updating to iOS 5.1.

FireCore Releases aTV Flash (black) 1.4 for the 2nd Generation AppleTV

Andrew Edney
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0
FireCore Releases aTV Flash (black) 1.4 for the 2nd Generation AppleTV

Today saw the release of aTV Flash (black) version 1.4 for the 2nd generation AppleTV.

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Here is what Firecore said:

Wow, what a week! We had quite a few exciting announcements yesterday from Apple, not the least of which was a brand-new, 1080p capable AppleTV. We are uber excited about this new model and already have a handful of test units on order. Better hardware usually lends itself to better software, and the AppleTV should be no exception. Keep reading for more information on what all this means for you as well as your current aTV Flash (black) license.

What does the new AppleTV 3 offer? Should I upgrade?

At this point, it appears the only real difference between the ATV2 and ATV3 is the video resolution. The ATV2 has a max resolution of 720p, whereas the ATV3 supports 1080p. There may be new features introduced in the future that will be ATV3 only, but for now unless you’re playing 1080p content you will not see much of a difference between the two models. The new menu layout that was demoed yesterday by Apple on the ATV3 will also be available on the ATV2.

What about the new 5.0 software? Can I update my AppleTV?

aTV Flash (black) is currently only compatible with AppleTV versions 4.2 – 4.4.4, and if you update you lose will your jailbreak and FireCore added features. However, if you have saved firmware signatures you can easily downgrade the AppleTV software at any time, so feel free to update to 5.0 and check it out.

Will aTV Flash (black) be compatible?

The short answer is: Yes! There will undoubtedly be a few obstacles to overcome in order to get everything up to speed, but based on our past experiences and progress thus far we’re confident we can put the pieces in place to make it happen.

Once an updated version is ready we’ll be rolling these changes into an aTV Flash (black) update, which will result in a universal application that is compatible with both the ATV2 and ATV3. The best part is users of aTV Flash (black) will be able to install it on either model without having to pay any extra fees.

That all sounds great, but what’s new in aTV Flash (black) 1.4?

Last, but certainly not least, we have a new version of aTV Flash (black) available today to help tide you over until the new models arrive. Full details on what’s included in version 1.4 can be found below.

Full Changelog

  • NEW: Center channel audio boost (+6dB and +12dB) for 5.0 and 5.1 audio tracks
  • NEW: Finnish, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Swedish translations
  • NEW: ‘4:3 Crop’ and ‘4:3 Stretch’ zoom options
  • NEW: Support for M3U and PLS playlists
  • NEW: EyeTV folder detection
  • NEW: TrueHD audio (downmixed)
  • NEW: 24-bit and 32-bit audio (downmixed)
  • NEW: Enhanced downmixing for 5.1 AC3 audio (Dolby Pro Logic II)
  • NEW: Support for embedded MP3 covers
  • NEW: Automatic EXIF-based image rotation
  • NEW: MP4s embedded subtitles
  • NEW: Clock added to main menu
  • IMPROVED: Poster art quality in list and grid view
  • IMPROVED: Buffering logic for DVD files
  • IMPROVED: Cover art fetching from Last.fm
  • IMPROVED: DVD menu highlighting
  • IMPROVED: Photo viewer & slideshow
  • IMPROVED: Adjusted slideshow to match native Flickr style
  • IMPROVED: Danish, Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish translations
  • IMPROVED: Minor UI improvements
  • FIXED: Downmixing issues for specific audio tracks
  • FIXED: Playback issues for single ISO files in a folder
  • FXIED: Increased AFP login timeout to 30 sec
  • FIXED: Metadata issues for files that contain ‘/’ in folder or file name
  • FIXED: Operation of the photo slideshow on iOS 4.x
  • FXIED: Issue with favorites removal when share password is changed
  • FIXED: Incorrect navigation in grid view on iOS 4.*
  • FIXED: Issue with DVD marked as watched after viewing menu
  • FIXED: Rare issue with incorrect pre-playback screen layout
  • FIXED: Rare crash in libdvdnav when playing DVD files
  • FIXED: Rare DVD playback error
  • FIXED: Rare ‘Bad URL’ error
  • FIXED: Other miscellaneous bug fixes

Beautiful! Where can I get it?

If you’re already running a version of aTV Flash (black) the new 1.4 version can be installed through the Maintenance –> Manage Extras menu. Links for the new version can also be found in your account under the Downloads tab.

If you’re not yet using aTV Flash (black) you can learn about all the great benefits here.

Sky Replaces Sky Box Office with the Sky Store

Andrew Edney
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0
Sky Replaces Sky Box Office with the Sky Store

The new Sky Store, which has more than a thousand movies available to rent ranging from the latest blockbusters to the classics, has now replaced Sky Box Office in Sky’s video on-demand service Sky Anytime+.

Want to watch new blockbusters such as Immortals, Paranormal Activity 3 and The Three Musketeers at the same time as they are released on DVD? Or perhaps you’re a fan of the classics, in which case titles such as When Harry Met Sally, Jurassic Park or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off will also be available to rent, with a selection of films available from just 99p.

What’s more, by Easter, Sky Anytime+ will be available to all Sky+HD homes with a broadband connection, across all broadband providers. This means more than 5 million Sky homes will soon be able to access the service, building on the 1.2 million Sky Broadband homes that already use Sky Anytime+.

Ian Lewis, Director of Sky Movies said, “Thanks to Sky Store, we are able to deliver our customers a comprehensive movie rental service straight to their living room. Millions of our customers love having the ability to watch hundreds of movies through a Sky Movies subscription, but we know that some prefer to enjoy films on a pay as you go basis.

That’s why all Sky Anytime+ customers can now instantly rent a huge range of movies from the Sky Store. Easy, convenient and flexible, Sky Store is a gateway through to new DVD releases as well as all-time favourites, catering to all tastes and moods.”

Sky Anytime+ is available to all Sky TV customers with a compatible box at no extra charge and also provides access to a wide range of on-demand content in-line with their subscription, including movies, entertainment, documentaries and drama ‘box-sets.’

Sky Movies Box Office will still be available for those Sky customers who do not have Sky Anytime+. This will offer a more limited range of the latest movies on the live channels from £3.49 per title.

Let us know if you try this service.

We Sing Pop! for Wii unveils final songs

Andrew Edney
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0
We Sing Pop! for Wii unveils final songs

The PS3 may have SingStar, but the Wii has We Sing, and the latest instalment, We Sing Pop! is due for release this month and the final songs have been revealed.

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The We Sing Pop! countdown, in collaboration with Spotify, continues as the final songs on the poptastic 30 strong tracklist are revealed.

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Girls Just Want to Have Fun, the first hit record to come from Cyndi Lauper. Released in 1983, it is a signature song of the 1980s and is bound to be a massive hit with girls playing We Sing Pop! together with four microphones. Originally written for a man, Cyndi Lauper changed the lyrics slightly to convey female solidarity in a playful way.

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Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine was the second single to be released from their debut album Lungs. The song is featured on NMEs 2011 Top 150 on the last 15 years, beginning with an intricate acoustic intro and building to a crescendo with the power of Florence Welsh’s voice.

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Kelis’ best charting single to date is Milkshake, taken from the album Tasty. The song peaked in the top three in the charts across the UK and US and was named Best Single by the Observer in 2004. Written and produced by the Neptunes, the song is heavily influenced by their distinctive electronic funk sounds which the duo is known for.

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The empowering Don’t Hold Your Breath by Nicole Scherzinger was released in August 2011, and is the second single from her debut studio album with the Pussycat Dolls, Killer Love. The pop song tells the story of the female protagonist who realises her relationship is over and has made the decision never to go back. It was her first solo single to go into the UK charts at number one.

Written by The Killers, When You Were Young peaked in the charts at number two in October 2006. It was one of their most successful songs to date and was the lead single on their second album Sam’s Town. It has been reported that the song was influenced by Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run.

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American girl group, the Pussycat Dolls released When I Grow Up in May 2008 exploring the desire to become famous. It is said to be the stand out track on the album Doll Domination, hitting the top five in UK, Ireland, France, Australia and peaked at number nine in the US on the Billboard 100 chart.

I’m Your Man by iconic 80s duo Wham! will make for the perfect duet on We Sing Pop! The 1985 hit went straight in at number one and was a top five track in the US charts. Six months after the track was released Wham! then announced their split.

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Featured as the Weekend Anthem on BBC Radio 1 in March 2011, Unorthodox is the final single to be added to the tracklist. The song by Wretch 32 featuring Example samples the 1989 smash hit Fools Gold by The Stone Roses and reached number two in the charts making it Wretch’s most successful song to date.

We Sing Pop! will be released on March 23rd 2012, exclusively for Nintendo Wii. Seven more songs will be unveiled next week.

Is this something you might buy and sign along to? Let us know.

StableBit DrivePool finally coming out of beta?

Andrew Edney
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3
StableBit DrivePool finally coming out of beta?

After many many months and a huge number of beta builds, it looks like StableBit DrivePool is finally coming out of beta!

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This is what the old page now says:

The DrivePool BETA is coming to an end.

DrivePool now has a new home on http://stablebit.com/DrivePool

Thank you everyone for testing the BETA. Information on a DrivePool discount for existing BETA testers will be available soon.

Have you used it yet? Tell us what you think!

Here is how CoveCube describes this application:

  • Combine all your hard drives into one big storage pool (except the system drive with the OS).
  • Add and remove drives from the pool at any time without re-partitioning or manually moving folders.
  • Create duplicated folders on the storage drive pool that are protected against single drive failure. If a drive fails on which a duplicated file was stored, the contents of that file will remain readable even without the drive.
  • All your data is stored in standard NTFS files. You can always access your files even if the Windows Home Server completely crashes or this add-in can’t be used.
Download the latest Stablebit Drivepool beta from here

ARCHOS roll out Ice Cream Sandwich to its G9 tablet range

Andrew Edney
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0
ARCHOS roll out Ice Cream Sandwich to its G9 tablet range

ARCHOS has released the latest version of the Android platform for its G9 tablet range – Android 4.0.3 also known as Ice Cream Sandwich.

Archos

Starting today, the over-the-air (OTA) upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich will begin rolling out to G9 owner’s worldwide. Just look for the notification “A” in the lower right hand corner of your device – click it, download it and begin your Ice Cream Sandwich experience.
Android 4.0 builds on the things people love most about Android — faster web browsing, easy multitasking, rich notifications, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, and enhanced social media integration. In addition, Ice Cream Sandwich adds powerful new ways of communicating and sharing with improved text input and spell checking, a dynamic voice input engine, enhanced imaging capabilities and a redesigned Gallery app with photo editor.

Unique ARCHOS add-ons for Ice Cream Sandwich include full 1080p support for most video codecs, movies and TV shows description and subtitles automatic download, wireless content sharing between your device and any computer or DNLA compatible TV’  and 3D video support for MKV3D files. Additional features include an optimized File Manager with full drag and drop support, Ethernet USB dongle support and the ARCHOS remote control application that allows your tablet to be controlled by any Android device.

With full Google certification, the ARCHOS G9 range will continue to benefit from all the Google Apps (Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, etc.) and full access to the Android Marketwith over 450,000 apps.

Raspberry Pi hit with manufacturing hiccup

Andrew Edney
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1
Raspberry Pi hit with manufacturing hiccup

After the pre-orders started last week everyone has been sitting patiently waiting for their Pi to arrive, now they are reporting a manufacturing hiccup so there will be a slight delay.

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This is what they posted:

It’s inevitable, isn’t it – you’re freewheeling along perfectly happily and then you get a puncture.

As you’ll have noticed, there’s been a bit of a delay in shipping the first batch of Raspberry Pis out to people. This is because of a hardware parts substitution that was made in the factory by accident: specifically, where we’d specified jacks with integrated magnetics in the BOM and schematics, the factory soldered in non-magnetic jacks. No magnetics means no network connection. We’ve known about this for four days now, but we haven’t been able to tell you about it because it meant we had to do some further tests to make sure that nothing else was affected

Happily, it’s a very minor problem to fix (desolder the dud jack/solder on a new one), and the factory is nearly done working on replacing them on the first set of boards. This means that the first tranche of boards should still go out to customers as we were expecting. There may now be a slight delay in later batches if there’s a problem sourcing enough magnetic jacks (we’ve got teams hunting them down already); all the stock of jacks we believed we had in place and ready to turn into the ethernet ports on your Raspberry Pis turn out not to be the correct part, so we’re having to start again and move through the negotiating/ordering/delivery cycle as fast as we can. Our partners at Element 14/Premier Farnell and RS Components are working hard to help us cater for this, and to expedite supply of the Raspberry Pi.

We are very, very sorry. We know you want your Raspberry Pi as soon as possible (and many of you are being inhumanly patient, having followed us since we launched this website eight months ago). We’ll keep you updated with how manufacture is moving; this is, in the scheme of things, a minor problem, but it’s still a bump in the road and we know that we rely on your goodwill to keep things moving forward.

Did you order one? I did and my current estimated delivery is the middle of May. Tell us when yours is.

Remote App from Apple updated to version 2.3

Andrew Edney
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0
Remote App from Apple updated to version 2.3

Apple has released a lot of updates to it’s software over the last 24 hours including updating it’s Remote app.

Apple remote

Control iTunes and Apple TV using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch over your Wi-Fi network. Choose playlists, songs, and albums as if you were in front of your computer or Apple TV. Or play them from iCloud with iTunes Match on Apple TV. From anywhere in your home, you can change a song, pick a playlist, or browse your entire library. With a flick of your finger, you can control the Apple TV interface. Use your iOS device’s keyboard to quickly tap out a title instead of clicking letters on the Apple TV screen. Then keep tapping to play, fast-forward, rewind, and pause to your finger’s content. Remote is fully optimized for the stunning Retina display in iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and is designed to take advantage of the large Multi-Touch display on iPad.

Features
• Control iTunes and Apple TV from anywhere in your home
• Browse, listen to, and control your iTunes Match library on Apple TV
• Pause, rewind, fast-forward, shuffle, and adjust the volume from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
• View album, movie, and TV show artwork
• Create and update iTunes playlists, including Genius playlists
• Search your entire iTunes library
• Control iTunes to send music to AirPlay speakers
• Control the volume on each speaker independently
• Use simple gestures to control Apple TV
• Enter text with the keyboard
• Control shared libraries on iTunes and the new Apple TV

What’s New in Version 2.3

• Support for iTunes Match on Apple TV
• Support for Retina display on iPad

Download now from the App Store

Media Browser 2.5.3 (Apollo SP1) Released

Andrew Edney
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0
Media Browser 2.5.3 (Apollo SP1) Released

The latest version of Media Browser, version 2.5.3, codename Apollo SP1 has been released.

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Highlights:

  • Much faster RAL loading in most instances
  • Faster performance with the Music plug-in in most instances
  • Improvements to the default theme for Music items
  • RAL should eliminate dups in situations where you have multiple children of a top item pointing to the same items
  • Unavailable content should be handled much better. Now it will just skip the validation of the specific items that are not available and allow everything else to refresh.
  • Support for logos, art and thumbs at the core level (so all themes can take advantage of them).
  • Implemented non-english metadata retrieval from tmdb
  • Indicators are shown for premium plugins in the More Plugins window of the Configurator and you can limit the list of plugins to only free ones.
  • Screensavers can now kick in from the details screen
  • Jump in List fixes with non-english character sets
  • Much better Jump in List when not sorted by name. See: Search by NAME when sorted by DATE
  • 3D Movies can now be recognized by Media Browser
  • Added mk3d media type for external players
  • Change in xml provider to look for movie.xml primarily instead of mymovies.xml. For more details see Important Notes.
  • Default theme improvements and fixes

Not much in the way of features in this release but some important bug fixes including:

  • Fix for last added lists containing TV outside of the normal file structure
  • Podcasts now show in last added lists properly
  • JIL and sorting should now work better with non-alpha characters and indexes
  • Fix for some memory leaks in the service
  • You can now index a folder by the official certification (MPAA rating)
You can download it from here
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