Movies Games and Tech

Exclusive Review of the Viridian PC VHS-3HC Windows Home Server 2011 Server

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 4, 2012

Exclusive Review of the Viridian PC VHS-3HC Windows Home Server 2011 Server

Last month we told you about the new Viridian PC VHS-3HC Windows Home Server 2011 Server. Here is our exclusive review of this new Windows Home Server.

The new entry-level model is specifically to run Microsoft Windows Home Server 2011 and powered by Intel ‘Sandy Bridge’ processors with 4Gb of DDR3 memory as standard. The VHS-3HC, like our other ‘Sandy Bridge’ models, features dual server-class Intel network adapters and a server chipset (Intel C206).

In base specification the VHS-3HC features an Intel Celeron G530T dual-core CPU, 4Gb of DDR3 RAM and160Gb drive for the operating system and three free hot-swap drive bays. Upgrades to the system drive are available including mirrored drives and/or solid state drives

Who are Viridian PC?

From their website:

Viridian PC Systems Ltd. are a new company, based in the North West of England and founded with a mission to deliver the best range of home and small business servers in the world.

We had previously reviewed the Viridian PC VHS-5HC Colorado Edition Windows Home Server 2011.

Specifications

CPU : Intel Celeron G530T, 2.2GHz, dual core, 64bit, 3MB cache (other processor options available)

Chipset : Intel C206

Memory : 4Gb DDR3 1333MHz, Max 8Gb

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

Storage : 3 x free SATA hot-swap drive bays, 1 x 160 Gb SATA drive

Graphics : Intel Integrated Graphics

USB : 6 x USB 2.0 (2 front & 4 Rear)

Expansion slots : 1 (x16) PCI-Express

Power supply : 200wPhysical dimensions : 9.85” x 7.88” x 11.82” (H x W x D)

2 years return-to-base warranty as standard.

The VHS-3HC Colorado Edition is available now, with prices starting at £441.67 excluding VAT.

What’s in the Box?

Along with the server is a Getting Started guide, power cord, Ethernet cable, Recovery DVDs and a set of screws and drive bay keys.

A Closer Look

Plex Updates their Media Server to v0.9.5.3

Andrew Edney

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Mar 4, 2012

0

Plex Updates their Media Server to v0.9.5.3

Plex has just released an update to their Media Server, taking it to version 0.9.5.3 and bringing with it a number of fixes.

This is the list of changes in this build:

NEW: Add a universal font for rendering subtitles with on Windows and Linux. This fixes streaming from Linux not working when subtitles were enabled.
NEW: Enhanced selection of audio tracks: if streams are all in the same language (or are all missing a language), apply selection logic for DTS/AC3.
FIX: Some media (e.g. MPEG1/2/TS) was not properly generating a thumbnail.
FIX: We check to see if public address changes, and if so, notify myPlex.
FIX: If the port is manually mapped, the media server never updates myPlex.
FIX: Computing “streamability” for MP4 files was totally broken, leading to iOS not Direct Playing them. (You’ll need to rescan the library section or else kick off media analysis via the command line to fix existing files.)
FIX: In some cases, the wrong subtitle (internal) was rendered, even when an external subtitle was selected.
FIX: On Deck wasn’t correct for shows with multiple episodes on a single day (e.g. two-part finales like that awesome Lost finale that Anna and I are still arguing about. Really, they were all dead?).
FIX: Filenames are now stored as UTF-8 on the Mac.
FIX: A hang on OS X/Linux when spawning a section refresh
FIX: Unmatched media wasn’t getting subtitles and cover art files.
FIX: Stop ignoring USB drives on Linux; it seemed like a good idea at the time, but it just makes neckbeards angry.
FIX: A bug where site config “pause” commands would never continue if a frame load came in during the pause (thanks, Ian!)
FIX: A crash when there is no computer name set on OS X.
FIX: Various WebKit crashes on Windows.
FIX: Increase the iTunes ‘path’ column in the database, required for better I18N support (it was super short).
FIX: Tweak to HTTP Live Streaming to make it adhere closer to the spec (and work on a TouchPad).
FIX: Better (and much simpler) check for private network connections (details here).
FIX: When episodes don’t have indexes (episode numbers), watched/unwatched settings applied to the entire season.
FIX: When splitting media, you could end up with a “warning” flag that wouldn’t go away.
FIX: Improved WebKit audio sync.
FIX: A crash while updating the library.

Download this version from here

Control your music on Windows 7 using Amulet Voice Kinect

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 3, 2012

0

Control your music on Windows 7 using Amulet Voice Kinect

Amulet have released a free piece of software called Amulet Voice Kinect which enables use to use your Microsoft Kinect device to control music on Windows 7.

Amulet Voice Kinect lets you use Microsoft Kinect to control your music on a Windows 7 PC. It has these features:

Access your Windows Media Center music directly using simple voice commands
Use gestures to turn on and off speech recognition from the comfort of your couch
See visual feedback for both audio and gesture commands within Media Center
Use voice to navigate around other sections of Media Center
Add additional custom commands to perform other actions (advanced users only)

Learn more about it on the Amulet blog

Amulet Voice Kinect is a free download with no restrictions on use.

Download Amulet Voice Kinect from here

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Landing in UK in June

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 3, 2012

2

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Landing in UK in June

The Parrot AR.Drone 2.0, which we saw at CES 2012, the new generation of Parrot’s renowned high-tech quadricopter that can be controlled by Wi-Fi using a smartphone or tablet, will land in the UK in June 2012.

Last week we told you that it was available for pre-order in the US, but we didn’t have any UK release or price information.

Now we can reveal that it will be available here in the UK in June at a cost of £280.

Are you going to get one?

Microsoft Research shows off Holoflector – A blending of Kinect and Windows Phone

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 3, 2012

0

Microsoft Research shows off Holoflector – A blending of Kinect and Windows Phone

This week Microsoft introduced Holoflector which uses Kinect and Windows Phones to help produce a Magic Mirror.

Take a look at the video below for more.

This certainly looks very interesting – I wonder when we will see it released?

YouTube Android App Updated with HD Playback

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 3, 2012

0

YouTube Android App Updated with HD Playback

The YouTube app for Android has been updated, bringing with it HD playback.

Experience the latest and best version of the official YouTube app, which offers:

* Beautiful new UI design
* In-page playback (read comments while video is playing!)
* Personalized homescreen video feed
* Brand new player controls
* Rotate-for-fullscreen playback

What’s in this version:

Android 3.2+ devices: v.3.5
Sign-in with Google account
Multiple bug fixes
Earlier Android devices: v.2.4
Sign-in with Google account
HD playback (on capable phones)
Multiple bug fixes

Learn more and download from the Android Market

VLC Media Player for Android beta released

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

VLC Media Player for Android beta released

We are big fans of VLC Media Player here at UWHS, and now there is a VLC Media Player for Android. It’s only in beta right now, but why not give it a try?

This is what is being reported:

As of now the release is slated for only a few chipsets; ARMv6/ARM11, ARMv7a/Cortex-A8/NEON and ARMv7a/Cortex-A9. It’s ok, I was confused too, but VLC for Android developer adridu59 explains it like this:

Snapdragon S1 → ARM11

Snapdragon S2/S3 → Cortex-A8/NEON

Snapdragon S4 → Cortex-A9

Tegra 2 → Cortex-A9

Hummingbird → Cortex-A9 (Current gen. only)

OMAP3 → Cortex-A8/NEON

OMAP4 → Cortex-A9

The only other caveat is that this is made for Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich.

Learn more and download from here

via: Droid Life

Official Roku App for Android Released

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

Turn your Android device into a control center for your Roku streaming player with the new Roku App for Android.

Launch your Roku channels, navigate your Roku player, control media playback and find new channels to enjoy.

The free application lets you:
• Launch or rate any Roku channel with a tap of your finger.
• Use a touch remote control. Includes instant replay, back and options buttons as well as a keyboard for text entry.
• Easily browse hundreds of channels and games in the Roku Channel Store.
• Quickly add and remove channels to/from your Roku player.
• Control and switch between multiple Roku players.

Download from the Android Market now

Raxco Release PerfectDisk 12.5 SP3 Build 310

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

Raxco Release PerfectDisk 12.5 SP3 Build 310

Raxco have just released version 12.5 SP3 build 310 of their PerfectDisk software.

What’s New

Client:

Fixed ability to schedule Exchange datastore compaction.
Fixed “Invalid parameter / namespace” defragmentation errors.
Fixed testing of connection to an Exchange server.
Fixed algorithm for determining thin provisioned drives in Hyper-V Guest.
Fixed incorrect dumping of registry keys in PD support information.
Fixed an error in setting exclusion periods via Group Policy.
Fixed detection of drive types for attached iSCSI disks in Virtual Guest (vSphere and Hyper-V).
Added logging of errors when communicating with Exchange 2010 servers to the application event log.
Improved refreshing of drive type in Virtual Guest when Virtual Awareness setting is enabled/disabled.

Console:

Fixed several issues when pushing a Configuration Profile to clients.
Fixed saving of database data retention parameters.
Fixed usage of proxy settings during client deployment.
Fixed pushing of Configuration Profile during client deployment.
Improved GUI in PD client deployment wizard.
Allow display, assignment and deployment of Schedules, Configuration Profiles and License Keys to both PD12.5 and PD12.0 clients.

Check out our review of PerfectDisk 12

My Movies Collection Management for Windows Media Center 4.03 PR1 Released

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

As well as the news versions of My Movies 4.03 PR1 for Media Center and My Movies 2.11 PR1 for Windows Home Server 2011, Brian has also released version 4.03 PR1 of the Collection Management component.

Here is the complete changelog:

Added: If a directory contains a “Trailer” or “Trailers” subfolder, the trailer will automatically be loaded from this directory. If there are multiple trailers, all are played as part of a playlist.
Added: Option to add directly to a category from the movie details page.
Added: PowerDVD 12 added to external players.
Added: Data service API function to retrieve data in external applications.

Change: Ignore “Trailers” and “Trailer” directories in folder monitoring.
Change: The remote server is now prepared to be open for third parties.
Change: Online collection link to new URL.
Change: Changed Server and Standalone installations on Windows 8 to be based on SQL Server 2008 R2 rather than SQL Server 2005, which have compatibility issues.

Update: Database package to iOS 1.80. This release is currently held by Apple.

Fix: Error was generated when pressing OK in export to android without a target destination.
Fix: Minor error generated when selection change in title list hit a title without a media type.
Fix: Issue with ignore file check that could go down one folder too many, causing a delay in import on some setups.
Fix: Issue that could cause slow import times on Windows Embedded.
Fix: Search did not function properly on TV Series in non-English languages.
Fix: Issues with folder monitoring when running against a My Movies server as standalone.
Fix: Installer issue on Windows 8.
Fix: Dune issue that could cause an empty playback on local drives.

Download My Movies 4 Collection Management Now

What do you think of My Movies?

Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.11 PR1 Released

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

Brian has also released version 2.11 PR1 of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011.

Windows Home Server 2011

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 operates as database back-end for My Movies clients in multi-zone environments.

The My Movies for Windows Media Center or My Movies Collection Management products can be downloaded and installed on client PC’s to maintain movies in the database on My Movies for Windows Home Sever 2011.

My Movies may not be pre-installed on commercial products, nor in any way redistributed or provided to end-users by installers that is not part of our installer program.

Change Log:

Added: Converter now supports ISO files that are coupled to a title as ‘Online File’.
Added: better handling of situations where converter hasn’t converted the title on a disc.
Added: Popcorn Hour NMJ storage.
Added: Path for converted discs is now stored.
Added: Third and Fourth priority in searches.
Added: Data service API function to retrieve data in external applications.
Added: Back-end support for downloading of converted movies from WHS to mobile devices.

Fix: Minor error with empty image list on Collection List.
Fix: Services autostart did not respect users choice when setting it, but instead set it if they were started previously.
Fix: Missing message about required points for video converter.
Fix: Audio lookup on mounted Blu-ray wasn’t done on the mounted drive.
Fix: Audiotracks for blu-rays were not in the same order as handbrake uses.

Before installing a pre release version, you must make a backup of your database using the Collection Management program. There are no guarantee that a pre release version functions as expected, and it should therefore only be used for evaluation purposes. The database backup ensures that you can revert back to the latest stable version.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.10 Pre Release 9 can be used as server for My Movies 4.02 Pre Release 9 clients.

You can download the Windows Home Server 2011 edition here Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 PR1 Released

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

1

Brian has just released My Movies for Windows Media Center version 4.03 PR1.

Here is the change log:

Added: If a directory contains a “Trailer” or “Trailers” subfolder, the trailer will automatically be loaded from this directory. If there are multiple trailers, all are played as part of a playlist.
Added: Option to add directly to a category from the movie details page.
Added: PowerDVD 12 added to external players.
Added: Data service API function to retrieve data in external applications.

Change: Ignore “Trailers” and “Trailer” directories in folder monitoring.
Change: The remote server is now prepared to be open for third parties.
Change: Online collection link to new URL.
Change: Changed Server and Standalone installations on Windows 8 to be based on SQL Server 2008 R2 rather than SQL Server 2005, which have compatibility issues.

Update: Database package to iOS 1.80. This release is currently held by Apple.

Fix: Error was generated when pressing OK in export to android without a target destination.
Fix: Minor error generated when selection change in title list hit a title without a media type.
Fix: Issue with ignore file check that could go down one folder too many, causing a delay in import on some setups.
Fix: Issue that could cause slow import times on Windows Embedded.
Fix: Search did not function properly on TV Series in non-English languages.
Fix: Issues with folder monitoring when running against a My Movies server as standalone.
Fix: Installer issue on Windows 8.
Fix: Dune issue that could cause an empty playback on local drives.

Before installing a pre release version, you must make a backup of your database using the Collection Management program. There is no guarantee that a pre release version functions as expected, and it should only be used for evaluation purposes. The database backup ensures that you can revert back to the latest stable version.

My Movies 4.03 Pre Release 1 can be used as client for My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.11 Pre Release 1 or My Movies for Windows Home Server 2.00.

Download My Movies 4.03 PR1 now Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

XBMC 11.0 Eden Release Candidate 2 Available Now

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

The guys over at XBMC.org have just released the XBMC 11 Eden Release Candidate 2 build, only a few days after RC1.

Here is what they posted:

We are pleased to announce that the video sync bug introduced has been resolved and Release Candidate 2 released in record time.

For those of you who skipped RC1, a review of major changes since Beta 3 may be found in this post. Additionally, you are welcome, as always, to review our coding changes on Github.

Meanwhile, those of you excited to get to downloading, as always, visit our Download page at any time.

Lastly, we’re still a few days away from being ready for the next round of XBMCbuntu, but, as always, we’ll update you as soon as possible. Thanks for bearing with us! With your reports, we’re getting closer every day!

Let us know what you think of it!

OnLive Desktop Now Brings Windows Apps to Android Tablets

Andrew Edney

-

Mar 2, 2012

0

OnLive Desktop Now Brings Windows Apps to Android Tablets

Back in January we told you all about OnLine Desktop which enabled iPad users to gain access to Windows apps. Well now Android tablet owners can feel the love too!

The key things to note is that there are various flavours of the OnLive service, including a free version, a Desktop Plus version and a Desktop Pro version, amongst others.

The OnLive Desktop app requires at least Android 2.3 and has been tested on the Acer Iconia Tab A500, ASUS Eee TF101, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 and HTC Jetstream.

Learn more about OnLive Desktop from here

This is the press release:

OnLive, Inc., the pioneer of instant-action cloud computing, is pleased to announce that its revolutionary OnLive™ Desktop App is now available for Android® tablets, bringing full Microsoft® Office apps, Adobe® Reader® and, with the OnLive Desktop Plus service, gigabit-speed1 accelerated browsing regardless of the tablet’s local Internet speed and local computing capability. The free OnLive Desktop App, released in the Android Market to select Android tablets2, delivers no-compromise, media-rich, instant-response Windows® applications including Microsoft® Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® software and Adobe Reader for PDFs, along with 2GB of cloud storage. OnLive Desktop Plus, available for $4.99/month at http://www.desktop.onlive.com, provides all OnLive Desktop Standard features plus OnLive’s gigabit-speed accelerated browsing experience. Already available on iPad® and coming soon to smartphones, PC, Mac®, TVs and monitors, OnLive Desktop delivers instant access to your personal desktop on all devices, so that if you use OnLive Desktop on Android, and then later use it on iPad, you will have the same files and browser Favorites (with OnLive Desktop Plus) on both tablets, with automatically-adjusted screen resolution.

Running remotely on powerful PCs in the cloud that are connected by Gigabit Ethernet to the Internet, OnLive Desktop utilizes OnLive’s patented instant-action cloud gaming technology to deliver a seamless PC application and Web experience, instantly responsive to multi-touch gestures, as well as a full PC on-screen keyboard, handwriting recognition and optional Bluetooth® PC-compatible keyboard or mouse.

“Android tablets are a great platform for OnLive Desktop,” said Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO. “With full HD resolution, PC keyboard/mouse support and available 4G LTE, Android tablets deliver an excellent experience with full Microsoft Office and Adobe Reader PC applications, not to mention gigabit-accelerated browsing through OnLive Desktop Plus-even over 4G LTE.”

OnLive Desktop Plus brings the world’s fastest browsing experience, whether over Wi-Fi- or 4G LTE-connected Android tablets. Regardless of your local connection speed, even the most complex websites-including ones that would take minutes to load over your local connection-load in seconds, instantly delivering fully interactive animation, video and sound. A 50 megabyte file from cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox) or a 15 megabyte attachment from Web email (e.g., Gmail™, Yahoo!® Mail, etc.) can literally download or upload in less than a second, resulting in an utterly transformative Web experience. And, despite the astounding speed improvement, OnLive Desktop Plus can dramatically reduce Web browsing data usage, since only the top layer of the currently visible part of a website is ever sent over the local connection. Essentially, OnLive Desktop delivers only what you can see or hear at a given moment, potentially reducing data usage by a factor of 10 or more.

The free OnLive Desktop app is available for select Android tablets and iPad now in the United States. Smartphones, PC, Mac and monitor/TV support (via the OnLive MicroConsole™ thin client with Bluetooth keyboard/mouse) are coming soon-with your same OnLive Desktop available by login from any device. Support for the United Kingdom and other countries is coming soon. OnLive Desktop can be accessed anywhere, on any device, at any screen resolution, preserving application and browser files between devices.

Set up your free OnLive Desktop account at http://www.desktop.onlive.com. OnLive Desktop services include:
· OnLive Desktop Standard, FREE!-Available Now!
– As-available3 access to OnLive Desktop, with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Reader
– 2 GB of secure cloud storage, appearing as your Documents folder on OnLive Desktop
· OnLive Desktop Plus, $4.99/month-Available Now!
– All features of OnLive Desktop Standard and…
– Priority access to OnLive Desktop
– Cloud-accelerated Web browser1, with:
§ Lightning-fast transfer of Web mail attachments (e.g., from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail) and cloud storage files (e.g., from Dropbox)
§ Full Adobe Flash and Acrobat® PDF plug-ins
· OnLive Desktop Pro, starting at $9.99/month-Coming Soon!

– All features of OnLive Desktop Plus and…
– 50 GB of secure cloud storage, appearing as your Documents folder on OnLive Desktop
– Ability to customize OnLive Desktop with additional PC applications

MOVIES, GAMES AND TECHMOVIES, GAMES AND TECH

MOVIES, GAMES AND TECHFashion Trends and Culture

Exclusive Review of the Viridian PC VHS-3HC Windows Home Server 2011 Server

Who are Viridian PC?

Specifications

What’s in the Box?

A Closer Look

Plex Updates their Media Server to v0.9.5.3

Control your music on Windows 7 using Amulet Voice Kinect

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 Landing in UK in June

Microsoft Research shows off Holoflector – A blending of Kinect and Windows Phone

YouTube Android App Updated with HD Playback

What’s in this version:

VLC Media Player for Android beta released

Official Roku App for Android Released

Raxco Release PerfectDisk 12.5 SP3 Build 310

What’s New

My Movies Collection Management for Windows Media Center 4.03 PR1 Released

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.11 PR1 Released

Windows Home Server 2011

My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.03 PR1 Released

XBMC 11.0 Eden Release Candidate 2 Available Now

OnLive Desktop Now Brings Windows Apps to Android Tablets