Philips DesignLine TV and SoundHub Launched

Andrew Edney
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0
Philips DesignLine TV and SoundHub Launched

Philips have launched a new stylish DesignLine TV and SoundHub here in the UK.

Philips 42PDL7906 Front image with SoundHub

Here is the full information:

The Philips DesignLine Edge TV replaces sharp angles and dull black or grey borders with soft organic curves, a glass finish and a reclining white frame, providing the perfect combination of stunning design and exceptional performance.

The Philips 2.1 SoundHub Theatre system is the perfect compliment to the Edge TV. Adopting the same pure design philosophy with high quality materials and build, a reclined stance and shallow profile, and finished in white gloss and silver.

Together they make a stunning partnership for consumers who want a true cinematic experience and also want to add to the overall elegance. Top quality materials have been used in the construction of the Philips DesignLine Edge TV – a full width sheet of glass cascades down the front of the set, partly integrating with its slim white bezel but finishing clear at the foot to give the illusion that it is floating.

Designed to be placed on a low table, the ultra slim TV gently slopes back at six degrees for minimum visual disturbance and the optimal viewing comfort. The weightless, serene feel of the DesignLine’s form is further enhanced by minimised cable clutter and the Philips’ Ambilight Spectra 2 ambient lighting system.

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Ambilight Spectra 2 projects light from the sides of the TV onto the wall behind, in an ever changing, immersive glow mirroring the on-screen action and drawing the viewer in by generating a far more immersive viewing experience.

Overall picture quality is first class thanks to Philips powerful Pixel Precise HD processing engine with 4 trillion colours and a new 400Hz Perfect Motion Rate plus LED edge lit backlighting allowing a 500,000:1 contrast ratio.

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The Design Line Edge also offers the latest passive 3D technology, Philips Easy 3D, which uses affordable, lightweight and stylish glasses. Easy 3D brings effortless comfort to the 3D viewing experience while maintaining superb image quality, with sharp and bright images consistently delivered and limited ghosting.

The DesignLine Edge is also a SmartTV, offering a whole host of services in four different areas.

SimplyShare allows for easy Wi-Fi playback from a huge range of network devices such as phones, computers and tablets. Control allows control of your TV via smart phone or tablet apps or even a wireless keyboard.

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NetTV now offers more apps than ever before as well as uncompromised open internet access. Last but not least Program gives an interactive and intuitive EPG as well as allowing live pause and playback via Smart USB recording.

Philips DesignLine Edge TV’s are available now in 32” and 42” screen sizes at John Lewis stores with an approximate selling price of £849 and £1299 respectively.

 

 

SoundHub Home Theatre

 

The SoundHub is one system designed to satisfy all audio needs.

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For the first time in a mainstream audio system, Titanium tweeters ensure stunning performance and detail thanks to their exceptional rigidity and light weight.

The SoundHub is a 2.1 system but for realistic movie experience, the virtual Surround Sound system reproduces explosive action scenes, with a true sense of impact, throughout the room.

Featuring a full HD 3D Blu-ray, built-in WiFi streaming, Smart TV functionality and built-in dock for iPod/iPhone, the SoundHub home theatre gives you access to a wide variety of music or movies and without the need for additional cables.

Always dedicated to making life simpler, Philips has also ensured that both TV and home theatre system can be operated via the same remote control.

 

The Philips HTS9241 SoundHub Home Theatre is available from John Lewis stores at an approximate selling price of £699.

Orbital Backup Configuration Add-In for Windows Home Server 2011 Now Available

Andrew Edney
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2
Orbital Backup Configuration Add-In for Windows Home Server 2011 Now Available

One of the promises of Windows Home Server 2011 was the ability to backup your Mac to WHS 2011. Unfortunately that functionality wasn’t provided out of the box. There were hacks and workarounds to get it running, but Orbital Technologies have produced an add-in to get it to work. We previewed the add-in back in May, now it’s available.

Here is what was posted today:

Up until now, Mac users connecting to a Windows server had to either forego remote Time Machine backup altogether, or else resort to complicated set-up involving disk utilities and “sparsebundles”.

Not any more.

Orbital Technologies, which has a long-standing partnership with Microsoft, has created an add-in to ease the configuration burden of setting up an Apple Mac computer’s Time Machine to use a backup location on the server.

This free ‘Orbital Backup Configuration’ add-in can be used to quickly and effortlessly set up Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials as a target disk for Mac OS X Time Machine Backups.

The add-in is available as a .wssx file ready to be installed directly on the server. Simply double click the file and follow the installation instructions.

Once it’s installed an entry will appear in the Dashboard on the server.

The next time that Launchpad is run on the Mac, an alert will be displayed that an updated version is available. If the user chooses to accept this, Launchpad will re-open to reveal the new add-in.

Clicking on the add-in will launch the ‘Orbital’s Backup Configuration Utility’ screen (shown below).

The add-in will automatically detect the name of the server, however the backup location on the server needs to exist before running this utility.

To use the utility, enter:

  • A Username
  • A Password (both valid on the server)
  • A valid backup location on the server

That’s all that’s needed for the backup configuration to work.

The Time Machine configuration screen opens up by default after the initial configuration is done. The user also has the option to choose to start a backup operation immediately or set up automatic backups using the Time Machine configuration screen.
Actual backups will be managed by Time Machine and the configuration utility does not need to be re-run unless any changes are required.

Help and Support:

Help is available for the add-in by clicking the “?” help button at the bottom of the screen.

Supported Versions:

The Orbital Backup Configuration Add-In runs on Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard). It is not supported on Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) or earlier versions.

At this time there are some issues outside of Orbital’s control related to the naming of the Launchpad in Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) and the Windows Operating systems that may prevent the Microsoft Launchpad from running on Lion. If you had the Microsoft Launchpad installed on Snow Leopard and upgraded your Mac to Lion, the Microsoft Launchpad will still be present, the Mac Launchpad will not be installed and therefore the Orbital Backup Configuration Add-In will run. If you have a fresh install of Lion or did not have the Microsoft Launchpad installed before upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion, the Microsoft Launchpad will not install and therefore the Add-In will not run.

Once the Launchpad naming issue is resolved we expect the Add-In will function on all Lion installations.

We are also very proud to announce that Using Windows Home Server was selected as one of two sites to host both the download site and the support forums.

Download the Orbital Backup Configurtion Add-in from here Visit the official support forums here

Let us know what you think of the add-in.

Installing WHS 2011 on SSD or SATA Hard Drives smaller than 160GB

John Keller
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101
Installing WHS 2011 on SSD or SATA Hard Drives smaller than 160GB

windows-home-server

Introduction

As we all know (or most of us anyways) when Microsoft began working on their newest version of Windows Home Server (and subsequently Small Business Server 2011 Essentials) they felt once again the need to treat the rest of the consumer population like uneducated children. So in Microsoft’s infinite wisdom they set a pre-determined absolute minimum size of what the system partition should be and subsequently the size of the secondary partition on the primary hard drive as well (which usually is determined by what is left over when the WHS 2011 or SBS 2011 E installer finishes making the primary partition).

Now granted nowadays you can usually buy a 1TB SATA drive for about $50 (US) or when you buy your PC or small business server that usually comes with a minimum between 250GB and 500GB SATA hard drive. So for most consumers this is usually not an issue. However in very recent years with the advent of the Solid State Drives (or SSD’s) your higher average Joe consumer, like the Hobbyist or even professional IT want to take advantage of the faster speed times and application responses that SSD has to offer. The only problem is with this is they are still very, very expensive to obtain. So if you want to install your primary WHS 2011 or even your SBS 2011 E on one of these babies since the minimum coded requirement for either operating system is 160GB you would need to buy a 256GB Solid State Drive for approximately $400 (US). Holy Crap Batman! I can build an entire Windows Home Server (or even buy one) for less than that. So how can I build a Windows Home Server 2011 or even a Small Business 2011 Essentials Server with the advance technology of SSD hard drives and not have to Mortgage our house and sacrifice our first born? One of our own Forum Members found that very answer (See Acknowledgements at the end of this article).

By using the automated install option available with WHS 2011 our Forum Member was able to install WHS 2011 on a 64GB SSD Drive. A 64GB SSD drive is still slightly expensive ($100 – US) but a far cry cheaper than if you would have gotten the minimum required 256GB SSD for the Operating System. From there Cheaper SATA drives can be used for Storage of Backups and Server data files.

Who this Article is For?

This article is to be used with WHS 2011 who want to install the before mentioned operating system on Hard Drives smaller than 160GB. This can be either Solid State Drives or even the traditional IDE-SATA drives.

Requirements

· A USB Flash Drive formatted NTFS

· WHS 2011 Install DVD

· A PC or Server that meets the minimum hardware requirements (with the exception of the hard drive minimum requirement)

· Monitor, Keyboard, and mouse.

Disclaimer

The How to information is intended as a guide or a helping resource to those who are trying to install Windows Home Server 2011 on Hard Drives that are smaller than the usually minimum required 160GB. There is no 100% guarantee that this will install correctly as described in this article. I assume no responsibility for any consequences of the install and the user will assume the full risk of any adverse effects of a bad installation.

Instructions

1. Remove all Hard Drives currently connected to you system with the exception of the targeted SSD or traditional SATA Drive that will be used for either your WHS 2011 Operating System .

NOTE – Remember to insure all previous Data you want saved from the targeted drive is removed before installation or it will be permanently lost.

2. Format an NTFS USB Flash Drive, and create a file on it using notepad in the root called cfg.ini. (Insure there is nothing else on the USB)

3. Open the cfg.ini in notepad or any other text editor

4. Cut and Paste the following into the cfg.ini file below…

[WinPE]
ConfigDisk=1
CheckReqs=0
WindowsPartitionSize=MAX

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5. Close the file and save it on the USB Flash Drive.

6. Insert the USB Flash Drive with the cfg.ini file into the targeted WHS 2011  Server’s empty USB Slot.

7. Power up your Server and insure that either your Windows Home Server 2011 install DVD has been inserted into your Servers ROM.

8. Once your Server has booted off the install DVD the Installer will read the CFG.ini file and begin the automated install process. There should be NO User Input required during this time.

9. When your Server Installer has finished its first part of the Install and goes to reboot for the 1st time REMOVE the USB Flash Drive and the Install DVD from your Server BEFORE your server boots back up ( As shown below). This will allow the Server upon rebooting to find your hard drive and continue the installation from there without further interruption.

restart

10. No Further action on your part will be required and the rest of the install will finish automatically, again without any user intervention.

11. Once the installation has completed please plug in any other drives and continue with completing your server build.

Acknowledgements

I want to give big thanks to Forum Member Mr. John Inwood (AKA Coalfield) for spending countless hours and referencing many different Microsoft forums for initialing finding the solution to circumventing the 160GB minimum requirement for WHS 2011. I would like to also thank Forum Member Mr. Gnomatic for refining the execution process of this solution. This article is based on their contributions.

My Movies Collection Management for Windows Media Center 4.02 PR3 Released

Andrew Edney
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0
My Movies Collection Management for Windows Media Center 4.02 PR3 Released

As well as the PR3 updates for My Movies 4.02 for Media Center and Windows Home Server 2011, Brian has also released version 4.02 PR3 of the Collection Management component.

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Here is the changelog:

Added: Option to select main movie on DVD’s. This will later on be used in situations where the automatic selection fails, which however is rare.
Added: Mapping of TV Series on Blu-ray discs. It is however not yet possible for us to provide instructions on how to see what is playing in a player.
Added: Contributing of chapter titles on Blu-ray discs.

Fix: Invalid mappings are now removed upon TV Serie data download for discs.
Fix: folder.tbn renamed to movie.tbn for VIDEO_TS folders to display data correctly in XBMC.

Collection Management

Download My Movies 4 Collection Management Now

I’m updating from 4.02 PR3 right 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

Sony Launches New Micro Vault Click Flash Drives

Andrew Edney
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0
Sony Launches New Micro Vault Click Flash Drives

Sony have today launched some new Micro Vault Click Flash Drives that go all the way up to 64GB.

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Here is the information from Sony:

Storing and sharing your favourite music, photos and HD video is easier than ever with the new high capacity Micro Vault Click P Series flash drives from Sony. With storage capacities of up to 64GB, the Micro Vault Click gives users all the space they need in a small, stylish and easy-to carry design.

Available in either black (all capacities) or white (4GB/8GB/16GB), new design enhancements to the Micro Vault Click include a reduced form factor length of 5.6mm, giving it a slimmer profile, and a wider strap hole makes attaching to a key chain or mobile phone a snap. A 360-degree LED at the tip lets users know when data is being written, and when it is safe to remove. Sony has also brought back its popular and unique Click feature, allowing users to retract the USB connector without adding length to the body and protect it when not in use.

With the ever growing popularity of rich multimedia content, from HD video to high resolutions digital photos, the Micro Vault Click is a welcome addition to Sony’s Micro Vault family. With its large storage capacity and slim profile, it’s like having a second hard drive small enough for a key chain, all at a very affordable cost.

Downloadable software for the Micro Vault Click includes File Rescue and x–Pict Story™. File rescue enables users to recover any important data that might have been deleted by mistake, making retrieving lost data such as images, movies and music files a breeze. The x–Pict Story™ software allows the creation of an automated photo presentation.

Featuring storage capacities in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB & offering a 5-year warranty, the new Micro Vault Click is available now.

WHS 2011 Add-in: Drive Bender Beta 4 Release v1.1.8.4 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
WHS 2011 Add-in: Drive Bender Beta 4 Release v1.1.8.4 Out Now

Today saw an update to Beta 4 of Drive Bender for Windows Home Server 2011 released, taking it to version v1.1.8.4.

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Here is what is included in the beta 4 update:

Release v1.1.8.4 – beta (2011-09-18)
– Bug fix: When adding, merging or removing a drive to / from the pool, the process could hang and not complete.
– Bug fix: When upgrading an XP x64 platform, the drivers may not get updated correctly.
– Bug fix: Repairing a pool’s configuration was not working correctly and did not update the registry correctly.
– Update: File security performance has been improved through the use of caching.
– Bug fix: File / folder deleting, rename and modifying (i.e. attributes and security) has been improved.
– Bug fix: If a file is denied access (because of an access check), the service could crash under some conditions.

For more information check out the Drive Bender website

BYOB Podcast Episode 59 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
BYOB Podcast Episode 59 Out Now

The guys over at the BYOB podcast, including our very own Tim Daleo have just released episode 59.

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Here is what is included in this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]This week our guest is Greg Welch (Welchworks). We go over his extensive and impressive home network that include WHS servers, Hyper-V virtual machines, HTPCs, Home Automation and more on this weeks BYOB Podcast.[/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.10 PR3 Released

Andrew Edney
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1
My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 Version 2.10 PR3 Released

Brian has already released version 2.10 PR3 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:

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.10 Pre Release 3

Fix: There was a problem with the Video Converter tab in the dashboard which could cause a dashboard crash.
Fix: The Dutch localization showed Spanish text.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.10 Pre Release 2

Added: Existing converter jobs can now be overwritten
Added: Description for video converter profiles
Added: Profiles now stores supported devices in file comments

Fix: MP4 tagging is now done with other library, as existing solution could give issues with temp files.
Fix: Minor errors in converter when adding jobs, and finishing jobs.
Fix: Exception in audio track and subtitles for BDMV can give loop.
Fix: Read of subitles and audio languages in BDMV folder corrected.
Fix: Some profiles were named incorrectly in video converter profile type settings.
Fix: Some configuration options was not stored correct for Dune.

My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.10 Pre Release 1

Added: Video Converter function to convert copied discs to MP4 files for iPad, iPhone, Android, UPnP and similar. Please see limitations: http://kb.mymovies.dk/KnowledgebaseArticle50053.aspx
Added: Notifications are now sent out as e-mails if this has been setup in WHS2011.
Added: User account log in and out in installer version.
Added: Online Collection configuration
Added: Apple Lossless format option for music copier.

Fix: Check for database on startup has been improved.
Fix: AnyDVD reboot required message on WHS.
Fix: Flac files copied with music disc copier did not store album artist, but only artist

MM 4.02 PR3 WHS2011

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 3 can be used as server for My Movies 4.02 Pre Release 3 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 4.02 PR3 Released

Andrew Edney
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1
My Movies for Windows Media Center 4.02 PR3 Released

About a week ago Brian released version 4.02 PR2 of My Movies for Windows Media Center. For some reason I couldn’t access it on vacation, but I am back now and so is a new version – PR3!

1_thumb3_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thu[1]2_thumb3_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thu[1]

Here is the change log:

Added: Option to select main movie on DVD’s. This will later on be used in situations where the automatic selection fails, which however is rare.
Added: Mapping of TV Series on Blu-ray discs. It is however not yet possible for us to provide instructions on how to see what is playing in a player.
Added: Contributing of chapter titles on Blu-ray discs.

Fix: Invalid mappings are now removed upon TV Serie data download for discs.
Fix: folder.tbn renamed to movie.tbn for VIDEO_TS folders to display data correctly in XBMC.

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 4.02 Pre Release 3 can be used as client for My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.10 Pre Release 3 or My Movies for Windows Home Server 2.00.

MM 4.02 PR3

Download My Movies 4.02 PR3 now Check out our review of My Movies for Windows Home Server 2011 2.0 Pre Release 7

Sonos Controller for iPad Updated for iOS 5 and Lion

Andrew Edney
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0
Sonos Controller for iPad Updated for iOS 5 and Lion

Sonos have updated their Controller for iPad software to include support for iOS 5 and Lion.

mzl_ckmbdhin_480x480-75

Control all of your music, in every room, from your iPad. Manage your iTunes library, the best online music services, shows and podcasts, and thousands of radio stations around the world on the multi-pane view, exclusive to iPad. Browse through cover art or drag and drop to create playlists to stream through every room of your home. Play a different song in each room, or play together in perfect synchronization, while adjusting the individual volume of each player.

Use with the SONOS PLAY:3 or SONOS PLAY:5 or any Sonos ZonePlayer running v3.5 or higher to enjoy all of your music, in every room.

FEATURES:

•Stream all the music on earth all over the house, wirelessly – no docking or computer required.
•Works seamlessly with Anubis.fm, Aupeo!, Deezer, iheartradio, Last.fm, MOG, Napster®, Pandora®, Rdio®, Rhapsody®, SiriusXM™ Internet Radio, Spotify®, Stitcher, Wolfgang’s Vault®, and downloads from any service offering DRM-free tracks. (Service availability varies by region.)
•Instantly access music stored on your computer, and play music from a NAS drive or Apple Time Capsule without turning on your computer.
•Play a different song in every room or the same song in perfect synchronization.
•Control the music selection and volume in each room individually.
•Search for any song with the touch-screen keyboard.
•Drag and drop songs or albums into the queue or now playing pane.
•Wake up or fall asleep to your favorite music or Internet radio station with full-featured alarms.
•Set up or expand the Sonos system wirelessly with the touch of a finger.
•Play Apple Airplay® music sources all over the home

Sonos hardware requirements

Requires at least one Sonos ZonePlayer. To start playing music, one ZonePlayer or Bridge must be connected to the router, then all the rest work wirelessly.

What’s New in Version 3.5.2

Supports iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7

You can download the Sonos Controller for free from here Check out the UWHS review of Sonos Bundle 250

Update Rollup 1 for Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials Available Now

Andrew Edney
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1
Update Rollup 1 for Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials Available Now

A few days ago we told you that Microsoft had released Update Rollup 1 for Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard. Well, they also released UR 1 for Small Business Server 2011 Essentials as well.

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Feature that is included in Update Rollup 1 for Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials

This update adds an alert that reminds you to enable Microsoft Update. The alert appears after you install Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and complete the “Getting Started” tasks on a computer. The alert displays the following message:

Microsoft Update is not enabled

Microsoft Update is not enabled on this computer. You will not be notified when updates for other Microsoft products are available

Resolve this alert
To enable Microsoft Update for this computer:

1. Open the server Dashboard.
2. On the Home page, click GETTING STARTED TASKS.
3. Click Get updates for other Microsoft products.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Major issues that are resolved by this update

 

Issue 1

Consider the following scenario:

  • You migrate some user accounts from an earlier version of Windows Small Business Server to Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.
  • You try to disable or delete one of the user accounts.

In this scenario, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

Cannot retrieve the user account information
An unknown error prevented the wizard from retrieving the user account information. If this problem persists, restart the server, and then try again.

Notes

  • The migrated user account may also disappear from the dashboard unexpectedly. However, the user account is still listed in Active Directory. Additionally, the user account is still valid.
  • For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    2542106 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2542106/ ) May be unable to modify some users and users may disappear from the SBS Essentials Dashboard

Issue 2

You cannot register a Remote Web Access domain name that contains two or more root domain levels (such as testuser.co.uk). Additionally, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

The domain name is not valid
This domain name is invalid. Ensure that the domain name and the extension are correct, and they try again.

Issue 3

In the Alert Viewer window, you select an alert, and then you click Ignore the alert to stop receiving notifications for this alert. However, the notifications still appear.

Issue 4

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have a server that is running Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.
  • You change the current system time to a time that is earlier than the time at which you installed Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials.
  • You restart the server.
  • You change the system time back to the original setting.

In this scenario, the machine certificate becomes invalid and cannot be recovered. Additionally, most of the Windows Server services do not start after the server restarts.

Issue 5

When the machine certificate is changed incorrectly or is removed, you are not prompted to take any troubleshooting measures. After you install this update, an automatic process tries to resolve this issue. If this issue cannot be resolved automatically, the dialog box prompts you with a link to a troubleshooting website. The website provides the latest solutions and updates for the kind of issue that you are experiencing.

Issue 6

A backslash (\) is displayed incorrectly in Korean or Japanese content.

Issue 7

“Connect site” is translated incorrectly in a non-English dashboard.

Issue 8

Some important non-English instructions or guides are truncated in a non-English dashboard or wizard.

 

In addition to the sever-side update KB2554629, a second client-side update has been released.  This update is documented in KB2554657.   You can use Microsoft Update to install this on each of your SBS 2011 Essential client machines.  The client-side update supports Windows XP SP2 and later.

Tranquil Want You to Name it’s New PC – And Then Win It!

Andrew Edney
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0
Tranquil Want You to Name it’s New PC – And Then Win It!

Tranquil PC have developed a new Monocoque (uni-body) PC and they want you to name it – and if your name is chosen you will win one!

Here is what Tranquil have posted:

Why not take a moment to enter our latest competition to win a Monocoque (Uni-body) PC.

Win the very first Monocoque PC created by Tranquil.  The system barely 35mm thick, hosts a powerful Intel i3-2100T CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM and an Intel 40GB mSATA drive, complete with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed.  This is not only a beautifully crafted, 100% silent, rugged PC, it’s also the first of it’s kind (who knows, it may become collectors piece).  Precision cut from a 6kg billet of aerospace grade aluminium, this seamless, fanless machine is a masterpiece of engineering!

But it’s nameless, and it’s waiting to go to a good home.  This free to enter competition will close on 1st November 2011, and the winner will open a small package from us shortly afterwards.  All you need to do, is give it a name, and allow Tranquil to use that name on a future production run.

Learn more about our Monocoque systems in Tranquil’s blog

To enter the competition, click here

Star Wars on Blu-Ray Now!

Andrew Edney
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5
Star Wars on Blu-Ray Now!

Today finally saw the release of all 6 (or 3 if you are a purist) Star Wars films on blu-ray.

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Back at CES in January we told you about Star Wars coming out, and in a blink of an eye we are here already.

Both the UK and US release was the same day (today) and last night in the UK, the BT Tower was turned into a huge lightsaber!

I am on holiday in the US at the moment and this very cool stand at Best Buy (shown above) greeted me this morning when I visited!

And in honour of Star Wars being released today, I paid a visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios here in Florida and rode the newly updated Star Tours ride. Well, ok, I rode it several times!

If you haven’t been on it in a while it has just reopened and is now in 3D, plus there are several variations of the ride, including a pod race, being chased by Boba Fett, visiting the Death Star and much more. I liked the ride before but the new one is very cool!

Anyway, have you got Star Wars on blu-ray yet? I am curious as to whether people will buy the original 3 or all 6? What did you do?

Sony Tablet S Launches This Friday

Andrew Edney
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0
Sony Tablet S Launches This Friday

We have mentioned the Sony Tablet S a few times now, and this Friday it is released both in the UK and the US.

IMG_6048

In the UK, you can buy the 16GB Tablet S for £399.00 and the 32GB Tablet S for £479.99.

In the US, you can buy the 16GB Tablet S for $499.00 and the 32GB Tablet S for $599.00.

Are you going to get one?

Don’t forget to check out our hands-on video from IFA 2011
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