UWHS Giveaway – Still Time to Win PerfectDisk 12 Home Server Edition

Andrew Edney
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0
UWHS Giveaway – Still Time to Win PerfectDisk 12 Home Server Edition

Last week Raxco released PerfectDisk 12 and then we reviewed PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition for WHS V1 and WHS 2011. Raxco have given us 5 copies of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition to give away and there is still time to win a copy.

PD12-image_thumb1

Check out our review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition for Windows Home Server 2011 Check out our review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition for Windows Home Server V1

PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition comes with both the 32 bit version (for Windows Home Server V1) and the 64 bit version (for Windows Home Server 2011), so you will get both if you win.

Ok, so what do you have to do to win one of these licences, worth $39.99 each?

Well in the past we have done giveaways involving leaving a comment, answering a question, doing something in our forums, but we haven’t yet done one involving Twitter, so we figured it was about time!

So, make sure that you follow us on Twitter (@aedney) and then tweet the following:

I want to win PerfectDisk 12 with @aedney and UWHS. Visit http://bit.ly/Ct7vB and RT for your chance to win.

Or just click the Tweet button below to do it automatically.

[twitter style=”horizontal” text=”I want to win PerfectDisk 12 with @aedney and UWHS. Visit http://bit.ly/Ct7vB and RT for your chance to win.” float=”left”]

The giveaway will run until Thursday 16th June, and which point we will pick 5 winners at random who tweeted and post them on the site.

Good luck!

Boxee for PC, Mac and Ubuntu Getting Fall Update

Andrew Edney
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0
Boxee for PC, Mac and Ubuntu Getting Fall Update

There has been a lot of updates and talk of future plans for the Boxee Box, but not a lot about the original Boxee software for quite a while. Well that is at least until today.

We took a look at the Boxee software back in January 2010.

It’s good to see that there will be some movement on this, although I can certainly understand why it has been quiet for so long.

Here is what Boxee posted today:

Good news for PC/Mac/Linux users – we are working to update the downloadable software version of Boxee and hope to have builds available this fall so you can enjoy the updated browser, improved playback, and lots more content that are currently available on the Boxee Box.

We know Boxee users on computers have been frustrated with the long wait and we want to be open with you about our priorities, growth, and the future of Boxee.

We started Boxee in 2007. Our goal was to make a box that people could easily plug into their TV to watch whatever they wanted from the Internet or their home network. After a while, we realized it was going to be very hard and expensive for us to build a box and decided the quickest way to get Boxee into the hands of users would be to release downloadable version of the software. A beta of Mac and Ubuntu versions came out in 2009 and we later added support for Windows.

While the downloadable software gained fans we never lost that initial dream of building a Boxee Box, so we were very excited to partner with D-Link and work together on making a Box. That decision in the summer of 2009 has given shape to the company Boxee has become.

The reason is simple – the effort to build the Boxee Box involved writing on a completely new OS, handling a totally different and more involved setup process, support for new security mechanisms, writing a new browser, integrating new hardware libraries for video, audio and graphics handling, and many more tasks. It was (and still is) an enormous task for a relatively small team, keeping in mind that we weren’t “starting from scratch” – we were adapting a product and code base that already existed which is considerably harder.

At a certain point we had to focus everyone on the Boxee Box to make sure we hit deadlines. After launch we needed everyone working to address feedback and our own demands for where we wanted the product to be. All of it came at the expense of the downloadable version. The gap between the CE and computer version grew bigger. However over the past couple of months we’ve taken steps towards bridging that gap.

We are going to release an update for the downloadable version this fall, and hope to keep it more up to speed with the CE version going forward. We also hope to make the open source version of the downloadable version easier to use for people who want to build out their own versions of Boxee. That said, updates for the downloadable version will most likely lag behind the versions of Boxee for devices.

Learn more from the Boxee blog

Acer Announces AMD-powered Revo RL100 HTPC

Andrew Edney
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0
Acer Announces AMD-powered Revo RL100 HTPC

Acer have just released a new HTPC into the US market – the Revo RL100. It’s slim and it has a very cool keyboard! But it’s only available in the US.

aspirerevorl100disctrayaspirerevorl100hero2aspirerevorl100rtaspirerevorl100soaspirerevorl100sokeypadaspirerevorl100standupaspirerevorl100hero1aspirerevorl100touchpadkeyboard

Just take a look at that keyboard! How cool is that! The RL100 itself actually reminds me a bit of the original Playstation.

The Acer Revo RL100 measures just 1.0 inches (H) x 11.81 inches (W) x 7.09 inches (L). It’s sleek, understated and flexible with the ability to lay flat or upright on a stand depending on the user’s preference. It connects directly to a TV via an HDMI port and seamlessly integrates with a high-definition 5.1 channel surround sound system. Enhanced with Dolby® Home Theater v3, the Acer Revo RL100 provides an immersive, crystal-clear audio experience.
The smooth acceleration for HD home cinema features next generation NVIDIA® ION discrete graphics with support for 1080p/720p HD video playback and Web HD Flash acceleration. Equipped with an AMD Athlon™ II K325 processor (1.3GHz), a 750GB SATA hard drive and 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, the Acer Revo RL100 has plenty of power and storage for cinematic entertainment.

The Acer Revo RL100 comes with a dual-mode wireless touchpad/keyboard. With the press of a toggle button, the wireless multi-gesture touchpad transforms between a back-lit full-function keyboard and a simple touch-based mouse. The keyboard is about the size of an index card that enables a large amount of text to be typed using fingers or thumbs.
A feature called Free Touch provides screen navigation, cursor movement and application control with the use of just one-finger. Using two-finger pivot motion, PDF files can be rotated 90 degrees. Users can also pinch for zooming and browse photos, web pages, documents or media albums back and forth by sliding three fingers horizontally and vertically.

The Acer Revo RL100-U1002 will be $499.99 and the Acer Revo RL100-UR20P with a Blu-ray drive will be $569.99.

Visit the Acer website

[toggle title_open=”Read the Press Release” title_closed=”Read the Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”white” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]ACER REVO RL100 MEDIA CENTER:THE DIGITAL HEART OF THE LIVING ROOM

Sleek system with Blu-ray makes aggregating and sharing digital data among home devices simple and seamless; Winner of Computex Best Choice and Design & Innovation awards

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 13, 2011 – Acer America Corp. announced today that the slim and stylish Acer Revo RL100 media center is now available at leading technology retailers in the United States. A digital hub for a den or living room, it connects to a flat-screen TV and comes with a dual-mode wireless touchpad/keyboard for smooth navigation from the comfort of the couch. There are two models available, including one with Blu-ray.

Outfitted with Acer clear.fi, the Acer RL100 automatically interconnects all Acer home-based and mobile devices, including smartphones, making it easy to consolidate and share HD multimedia throughout the household. This means users can access HD movies and personal content from any Acer device in the house for enjoying on a big screen TV.

This unique system won both Best Choice and Design & Innovation awards at Computex 2011 in Taipei. The Best Choice awards jury selects Taiwan’s best information and communications technologies (ICT) products in the overseas market each year. The Design & Innovation awards, organized in cooperation with the world-leading industrial design institution iF Design, honors products showcasing excellence and originality in construction.

Available in a very slim, low profile black chassis that’s about the size of a game console, the Acer Revo RL100 measures just 1.0 inches (H) x 11.81 inches (W) x 7.09 inches (L). It’s sleek, understated and flexible with the ability to lay flat or upright on a stand depending on the user’s preference. It connects directly to a TV via an HDMI port and seamlessly integrates with a high-definition 5.1 channel surround sound system. Enhanced with Dolby® Home Theater v3, the Acer Revo RL100 provides an immersive, crystal-clear audio experience.

The smooth acceleration for HD home cinema features next generation NVIDIA® ION discrete graphics with support for 1080p/720p HD video playback and Web HD Flash acceleration. Equipped with an AMD Athlon™ II K325 processor (1.3GHz), a 750GB SATA hard drive (1) and 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, the Acer Revo RL100 has plenty of power and storage for cinematic entertainment.

Flexible Dual-Mode Wireless Touchpad/Keyboard The Acer Revo RL100 comes with a dual-mode wireless touchpad/keyboard. With the press of a toggle button, the wireless multi-gesture touchpad transforms between a back-lit full-function keyboard and a simple touch-based mouse. The keyboard is about the size of an index card that enables a large amount of text to be typed using fingers or thumbs.

A feature called Free Touch provides screen navigation, cursor movement and application control with the use of just one-finger. Using two-finger pivot motion, PDF files can be rotated 90 degrees. Users can also pinch for zooming and browse photos, web pages, documents or media albums back and forth by sliding three fingers horizontally and vertically.

Acer clear.fi: Simple Sharing, Set-Up, Search and Scalability The integrated Acer clear.fi media sharing system is based on the concept that it’s easier if all personal multimedia content is integrated into a single system with a common interface. clear.fi works by automatically detecting the clear.fi-enabled devices connected to the wireless home network and allowing digital content stored on these to be shared with other devices leveraging the same interface. clear.fi is Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compatible, allowing users to access media on DLNA-capable devices such as network attached storage (NAS), Microsoft® Xbox 360, Playstation® 3, some digital cameras and cell phones. Highly scalable, all Acer-branded consumer devices now have clear.fi embedded and can instantly join the wireless home network to share stored multimedia.

Connectivity and Software Acer Revo RL100 has three USB 2.0 ports (one in front, two in back) for connection to a wide gamut of digital devices. The integrated multi-in-one card reader supports MultiMediaCard™ (MMC), Secure Digital™ (SD) Card, xD-Picture Card™ and Memory Stick™. It also offers an optical S/PDIF port for connecting to an external home theater audio system and both wired and wireless connections to the internet via integrated 802.11b/g/n wireless and an Ethernet port.

Practical software includes Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium, Microsoft® Office Starter 2010, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, Adobe Flash Player, Acer Recovery Management, Nero Essentials, Clear.fi, eSobi™, Wild Tangent Zone and NetFlix®.

Pricing, Availability and Warranty The new Acer Revo RL100 is available now at leading retailers. It comes with a one year parts and labor limited warranty and toll-free technical support.(2) The Acer Revo RL100-U1002 has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $499.99 and the Acer Revo RL100-UR20P with a Blu-ray drive has a MSRP of $569.99.[/toggle]

via Engadget

BlackGold Announce BGT3630 Tuner Card

Andrew Edney
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0
BlackGold Announce BGT3630 Tuner Card

Last year we got our hands on the BlackGold BGT3620, now BlackGold have announced the forthcoming release of the BGT3630.

BGT_0148_copy

Here is what BlackGold have said:

The BGT3630 is the world’s high performance, digital demodulator, analogue capture, intelligent remote PCI-express PCTV product, implemented on a sub-miniature platform. The product is capable of receiving standard and high definition digital broadcast program content, including the new UK Freeview and Freesat HD channels. It is designed to transform a personal computer into the ultimate audio video entertainment system, supporting external video streams and worldwide HD broadcast streams.

Hardware receiver support – world standard analogue terrestrial (PAL, NTSC, CECAM), digital terrestrial including both DVB-T and DVB-T2, digital satellite DVB-S and DVB-S2, digital cable DVB-C. i.e. Two separate tuners on one card 1 x DVB-S/S2 Tuner + 1 x DVB-T/T2, DVB-C or Analogue.

Hardware external video – Composite video CVBS, S-video, Component video YPbPr, Component video RGB

Hardware remote – IR remote receiver, learning receiver, remote S3 wake-up (OEM build time options only, not on standard product. This is an option if a system builder requires a remote control other than the normal Microsoft Media Center remote USB IR sensor used for most systems)

Hardware profile – Miniature profile solution exceptionally low real estate, supporting compact half height and full height PC systems. (131mm x 69mm PCB outline including PCI-e fingers)
The BGT3630 is the perfect Windows 7 Media Center and other high end PVR application TV partner.

1. 32 and 64 bit Broadcast Driver Architecture (BDA) WHQL drivers
2. Infra Red remote control including S3 wakeup from remote control (OEM special order only, not with standard product. This is an option if a system builder requires a remote control other than the normal Microsoft Media Center remote used for most systems. It is not required by most users and is only available for high volume special order. Windows S3 Wake-up is standard on ALL BlackGold products and is not dependant on the BlackGold Remote.)
3. Special Media Center support for tuning and scanning of DVB-C channels
4. External video equipment connection via an audio/video adapter cable supporting composite video –yellow phono connector, S video – mini DIN connector, component RGB video – red/green/blue phono connectors and stereo audio – red/white phono connectors

The product has been architected to allow simultaneous management of both a DVB-S/S2 and a DVB-T/T2 broadcast program stream. Hardware tuner and demodulator technology supports the detection, receiving and processing of HD terrestrial and HD satellite streams.

The driver pack design allows operation with the broadest selection of PVR and Media Center applications; permitting the viewing, pausing and recording of multiple programs – dependent on the flexibility of the application multiple programs – dependent on the flexibility of the application.

(The DVB-T tuner can be used as one of either DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-C or Analogue)

UK operation supports all available Free-To-Air channels
All Freeview digital terrestrial (DVB-T & T2) TV and radio channels
All available analogue terrestrial TV channels.

Supports reception of all Freesat channels, supports reception of DVB-S/S2 standard and high definition transport streams from any world location.

Rock solid reliability – BlackGold is an accredited Microsoft development partner and provides Microsoft compliant drivers.

The world’s smallest (DVB-T/T2 plus DVB-S/S2) half height card design enables this product to grace even the smallest and sleekest entertainment PC’s.
Supplied with interchangeable half and full height brackets to accommodate all PC enclosure types.

The supplied Microsoft compliant BGT3630 driver supports both the 32 bit, and for those requiring the ultimate performance, 64 bit versions of Windows 7, Vista and XP.

The BDA driver supports multiple BGT3630 card installations.

There is no word yet on price, and their website says Anticipated release June / July 2011. So watch this space.

Check out the BlackGold website

And well spotted James Tenniswood!

AWIECO DriveInfo Updated to Version 1.03

Andrew Edney
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0
AWIECO DriveInfo Updated to Version 1.03

Last week AWIECO updated their DriveInfo add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 to version 1.03.

di_scr

The AWIECO DriveInfo is a free add-in for Windows Home Server 2011 and Small Business Server 2011 Essentials. The add-in integrates itself into the “Server Folders and Hard Drives” area of your Dashboard. It shows a graphical overview of your hard disks and drives inside the Dashboard.

ChangeLog

v1.0.3

• Fixed: Detecting new disks, drives, folders
• Fixed: List server backup drives

Visit the AWIECO website to learn more Download AWIECO DriveInfo from here

BYOB Episode 46 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
BYOB Episode 46 Out Now

The guys over at the BYOB podcast, including our very own Tim Daleo have just released episode 46.

BYOB300_thumb_thumb_thumb

Here is what is included in this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Corsair H80/100, Corsair Carbide Series 4000/500R, Windows 8 and much, much more. We are back after one week not doing the show. We apologize for missing a week and we cover all kinds of stuff tonight. Hope you enjoy the show and it feels great to be back.[/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

Review of the PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 DVB T2 USB Tuner

Andrew Edney
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0
Review of the PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 DVB T2 USB Tuner

Would you like a DVB T2 USB tuner? If so, take a look at our review of the PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2.

UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 015

PCTV nanoStick T2 is the world’s first DVB-T2 (Freeview HD in the UK) receiver and turns your PC and laptop into an HDTV PVR. The included TVCenter application lets you time shift and record TV shows and even stream SD live-TV and TV recordings to your iPhone, iPad or other PCs and Macs. PCTV nanoStick T2 is fully backward compatible to DVB-T (Freeview) and delivers outstanding reception for both standards. Other features include support for Windows Media Center (DVB-T only). DVB-T antenna, USB extension cable and mini remote control are included.

  • Watch TV in full-screen or scalable window
  • Use time shifting to pause and rewind live TV
  • Record your favourite shows or schedule future recordings

The included DistanTV software lets you stream Live-TV and TV recordings to your iPhone and iPad. You can even schedule TV recordings over the Internet with your smart phone. DistanTV works in your home network (W-LAN) as well as over the Internet (Wi-Fi hotspot and 3G).

Who are PCTV Systems

From their website:

The PCTV Systems brand stands for high quality and innovative products in the TV Viewing and Digital home marketplace.

The portfolio covers external (USB) and internal (PCI) TV tuner products for analog and digital TV reception on PC and MAC. Product development and quality management is driven by the product development group located in Braunschweig, Germany.

One major goal for the company is to develop well designed hardware and software solutions which enable customers to use the products without a deep knowledge of technologies. We are dedicated to satisfy our users with state of the art solutions.

Technical Specifications

Tuner

  • Supported TV standards:
    • DVB-T2, DVB-T
    • VHF-/UHF band
  • Stereo / dual channel sound
  • Antenna input: MCX connector
  • PC-interface: USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed)

TV recording formats

  • MPEG-1 (off-line trans-coding)
  • MPEG-2 transport stream
  • MPEG-4 H.264 (AVC)
  • MPEG-4 compatible with PSP/iPod (try&buy)

Minimum System Requirements

  • Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows Vista with latest Service Pack, 1 GB RAM
  • Or Windows XP (32 bit) with latest Service Pack, 512 MB RAM
  • Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, Pentium M 1.3 GHz or equivalent AMD Athlon XP
  • For HDTV: 2,6 GHz multi core processor
  • Hard disk with min. 1 GB free capacity (20 GB free capacity recommended)
  • Sound and graphics with support for DirectX 9 or higher
  • USB 2.0 port
  • CD/DVD drive for software installation
  • Recommended: Internet connection for software updates and activations

What’s in the Box?

Along with the PCTV nanoStick, there is a passive mini-rod antenna with magnetic foot, remote control with batteries, antenna adaptor, USB cable, installation CD and quick start guide.

UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 008UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 009UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 010UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 011UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 014UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 012

The remote is tiny – just take a look at the size compared to my trusty iPhone 4.

UWHS Review - PCTV Systems pctv nanoStick T2 013

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Adminstrator’s Companion Out Now

Andrew Edney
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1
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Adminstrator’s Companion Out Now

Charlie Russell and Sharon Crawford’s new book the Windows Small Business Server 2011 Adminstrator’s Companion has just been released, and I was the technical reviewer on the book.

SBS AC

The Administrator’s Companion is the comprehensive, one-volume guide to deploying and administering Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard edition. This edition is the ideal solution for small businesses with up to 75 users. And, a heck of a value. The software is built on Windows Server 2008 R2 and includes Exchange Server 2010 SP1, SharePoint Foundation Services 2010, and Windows Server Update Services. The Premium Add-on option provides SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business.

As the authors say, “The evolution of Microsoft Windows Small Business Server from its inception to the latest version in 2011 has been an orderly progression of improvements both large and small—and the total distance covered is immense.”

Learn more about the book from here

And don’t forget Working With Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, the book I have written with Charlie and Sharon which will be available very soon.

Windows Home Server Migration Assistant WHS2WHS Updated to Version 1.04

Andrew Edney
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0
Windows Home Server Migration Assistant WHS2WHS Updated to Version 1.04

We told you about the WHS Migration Assistant WHS2WHS last month, and now it has been updated to version 1.04.

printthis

The WHS Migration Assistant (WHS2WHS) is designed to help primarily with the planning of the data move from Windows Home Server to Windows Home Server 2011. There are two versions of WHS2WHS: the basic version and the Pro version. The Pro version, in addition to the planning functions, has functions for partially automating the actual data movements and other functions for saving, restoring and printing multiple plans. NOTE: WHS2WHS Pro does not directly copy, erase nor move any data. It provides a planning template as well as a framework for invoking other tools, using the plan as a guide.

Download WHS2WHS Basic here Learn more from the MediaDogg website Visit the Official WHS2WHS forums here

// Change History …

// Version 1.0 Initial Release

// Version 1.01 Fixed bug in “Add Entry” context menu

// Version 1.02 (Basic and Pro)

//  – Check for already running added

//  – Log / View added to Main Menu of Basic version

//  – “Open” added to Target disk context menu

//  – Source and Target servers UserID is now restored across sessions

//  – Tab order for controls has been improved to be more intuitive

//  – Target disk volumes now ordered in drive letter sequence

//  – Improved error messages and log entries

//  – Double click on blank rows of disk volume brings up disk info edit

//  – Discover folder size estimate improved (see note for limitations)

//  – When a copy is checked “Complete” on the plan, the Source server name is replaced by the Target server name in the folder path

// Version 1.02 (Pro Only)

//  – Improved discovery of BC and RichCopy on C: drive

// Version 1.03 (Basic and Pro) – Unreleased

//  – Added disk inventory. View Inventory plus Physical Drives Used

//  – In Pro, inventory is saved with the plan

// Version 1.04 (Basic and Pro)

//  – Added Tooltips, tooltips On/Off buttons

//  – Added help info header in edit dialogs

//  – Added task-oriented Help Topics

//  – Added smart sorting to Disk columns (by folder, drives not included)

//  – Added discovery of DE/Shares

//  – Rewording of some menu items and messages for clarity

//  – Discovery of folders sizes is more accurate

//  – Additional log messages and error recovery

//  – View Plan Image now suppresses display of File dropdown

Sony USB Wireless LAN Adapter Unboxing

Jim McCarthy
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1
Sony USB Wireless LAN Adapter Unboxing

I recently picked up a new Sony Blu Ray player and TV for the bedroom.  I also picked up a USB wireless adapter for the Blu Ray player.  Here are some unboxing shots.

UWABR100

Here’s what Sony says about this adapter:

Easily connect your compatible BRAVIA® HDTV or home video product to your home network with this wireless adapter.

Bring wireless internet access to your Wi-Fi® ready BRAIVIA® HDTV or compatible home video product with the UWA-BR100 wireless adapter. This adapter plugs into your TV’s USB input, and with WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) functionality, it’s simple to get your TV connected to your home network—no matter what flavor of Wi-Fi you are using.

Access Wireless Network

Access your home wireless network when connecting this Wi-Fi® adapter to a Sony Wi-Fi® Ready HDTV or Blu-ray Disc™ theater system.

Wi-Fi® Protected Set-up

Enjoy simple set-up when you pair this device with a Wi-Fi® Protected Set-up (WPS) wireless access point.

Some unboxing shots (note that my cat was interested in the box!):

2011 06 10_1352

2011 06 10_1350

This is hooking up to my Blu Ray player, a Sony BDP-S480, which is hooked up to my new Sony 32BX420 32” TV that went into the bedroom this weekend.  I am installing it tonight, so I’ll have a review posted up this weekend.  Stay tuned!

Microsoft Provides Twitter Analytics Tool

Jim McCarthy
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0
Microsoft Provides Twitter Analytics Tool
Today, Microsoft Tweeted about a Twitter analytics tool.  I downloaded it and tried it out…very cool stuff!
Microsoft Analytics for Twitter
Here is what Microsoft Tweeted a little earlier today:
RT @akipekka Wow, this is cool! Twitter analytics tool from Microsoft for @office #MSExcel 2010: http://cot.ag/mKQL7M
It sounded interesting, so I downloaded it and installed it. If you do a lot of Tweeting, it is a very useful tool. It runs in Excel 2010 and uses Power Pivot to arrange the data, and with reports all defined in pivot tables in Excel, it is truly a powerful reporting tool.
Here is how Microsoft describes it:
Microsoft Analytics for Twitter allows users to query Twitter directly in Microsoft® Office Excel 2010. Utilizing the free PowerPivot Excel Add-in users can perform their own analysis such as who are the top Tweeters, what #hashtags are they using and do they have a positive or negative tweet tone. Sample code, used to create this application, is included as a sample and how-to.
Microsoft Analytics for Twitter allows users to search Twitter and get dashboard views on Tweet statistics inside Microsoft® Office Excel 2010.
With this FREE add-in, you can:
  • Perform up to 5 parallel Twitter Searches (limited to 1500 results per query per day).
  • Drive ad-hoc analysis of tweets by day, by hour, by tweeters, by #hashtags and @mentions.
  • Customize your views (using slicers, DAX formulas or reference tables).
Important:
  1. Please note, that, after Installation, Microsoft Analytics for Twitter will manifest itself as a Microsoft® Excel 2010 file called “Microsoft Analytics for Twitter.xlsx” on your desktop.
  2. Please note that Microsoft Analytics for Twitter works only with the latest versions of Microsoft® Excel 2010 and of Microsoft® PowerPivot for Excel 2010. To download Microsoft® PowerPivot for Excel 2010, please go to www.PowerPivot.com.
  3. Please note that Microsoft Analytics for Twitter takes advantage of Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com/). During periods of high traffic volume Twitter Search does not always return search results. Please be patient and try your search again.
To use it, you simply update a cell with the Twitter accounts that you want to analyze, click the Search button, refresh the Power Pivot data and then update the data in the pivot tables. In less than 5 minutes, you get some useful insight into the last few days of your Twitter activity. I ran @aedney, @jpltim and @jam3ohio, the handles for your humble UsingWindowsHomeServer.Com staff, through the tool. A few sample reports:
image
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cool stuff!
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If you could use a tool to analyze Twitter activity, and run Excel 2010, this is a freebie that works well.  Check it out!
jpltim

Buy PerfectDisk 12 Home Server Today and Get 20% Off

Andrew Edney
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0
Buy PerfectDisk 12 Home Server Today and Get 20% Off

This week saw the release of PerfectDisk 12, including the Home Server editions. If you buy any PerfectDisk 12 edition before June 15 2011 you can get 20% off.

PD12 image

Read our review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition for Windows Home Server 201111 Read our review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition for Windows Home Server V1

So head over now to the Raxco website and use the code PerfectLaunch to save 20% on your entire license purchase through June 15, 2011.

What are you waiting for?

Win a copy of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server edition with UWHS

Apple Release iTunes 10.3.1- But What’s Different?

Andrew Edney
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0
Apple Release iTunes 10.3.1- But What’s Different?

Earlier this week we reported that Apple had released iTunes 10.3. Well today I have been offered an update taking it to 10.3.1, but I can’t see what’s different from 10.3.

10-06-2011 14-39-31

Apple Software Update reports it as 10.3! My existing version of iTunes says its 10.3.0.54. Rumour has it the update fixes a syncing bug, but Apple decided not to update their changelog!

10-06-2011 14-39-51

So I am updating anyway…..

What’s new in iTunes 10.3

Introducing iTunes in the Cloud beta. The music you purchase in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices. You can also download your past iTunes purchases. Where you want, when you want.

• Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your PC and iOS devices.
• Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music purchases again at no additional cost. Your purchases are available in the iTunes Store on your PC or in the iTunes app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.

iTunes 10.3 also adds Books to the iTunes Store, where you can discover and buy your favourite books on your computer and automatically download them to iBooks on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. This version also allows you to use Automatic Downloads with apps and books or download previously purchased apps and books from your computer or iOS device.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server for Windows Home Server V1

Andrew Edney
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7
Review of PerfectDisk 12 Home Server for Windows Home Server V1

Earlier in the week we announced the release of PerfectDisk 12, including the Windows Home Server versions. We then reviewed the Windows Home Server 2011 version. Here we review PerfectDisk 12 Home Server for Windows Home Server V1.

UWHS Review - PerfectDisk 12 Home Server for Windows Home Server V1

● Maximize streaming media performance
● Reduce back-up times
● Eliminate hard drive fragmentation
● Completely consolidate free space
● Bundles include PerfectDisk Professional for connected PCs

The main thing to note about PerfectDisk 12 Home Server for Windows Home Server V1 verses the Windows Home Server 2011 version is that the software is integrated into the Dashboard of WHS V1 (which is what you would expect of a WHS add-in). With Windows Home Server 2011. the PD12 application is a completely separate application so can only be accessed directly or via remote desktop. While this isn’t a major issue, it is just one more step to go through, so I am happy to see that it is integrated into V1!

Who Are Raxco?

From their website:

For over 30 years Raxco Software has developed award-winning defragmentation solutions and performance utilities that improve hard drive and server performance, simplify system administration and help our customers work more efficiently –at home and at the office.

Raxco has consistently been the first to support and receive certification on the latest Windows versions, including Windows 7, Vista, Windows Server 2008, and more. PerfectDisk’s innovations, such as the patented OptiWrite fragmentation prevention, patented SMARTPlacement optimization, Virtual Aware defragmentation for VMware’s vSphere/ESX Server and Microsoft’s Hyper-V, total free space consolidation, large drive support, Active Directory integration, single-pass defrag, and proactive enterprise console alerting and warning, continue to set the bar for the defrag market.

Why Do I Need It?

You might ask yourself why you would want to buy disk defragmentation software. Well the answer is that you may not want to. What do I mean by that? Well, put simply it is a matter of personal preference. Disk defragmentation software is one of those topics that often gets one of two similar responses – either “I must have it” or “I don’t want or need it”.

Personally I must have it. If you don’t know why you might want it, put simply, as files are stored, moved, deleted, updated and so on, over time they can be potentially stored on different areas of the disk rather than in a single block. This is called disk fragmentation. There could be thousands of parts of files scattered all over the disks on your home server. What this means is that it takes longer to read and write those files than it would do if they were all in the same place. That annoying delay waiting for that Word document to open? Could be disk fragmentation.

This is where disk defragmentation software comes into play. The software examines the disk and all of your files, figures out where the parts of the files physically on your drives are and attempts to move them together to make things run faster and smoother. This is a good thing – just imagine having hundreds of gigabytes of files scattered all over the disk.

What’s New?

Preconfigured to automatically optimize your digital life.

Optimize your entire Home Server environment so you can access your photos, music and videos quickly. PerfectDisk 12 Home Server speeds up processing times so your Home Server always runs like new.

Fragmentation Prevention with OptiWrite™

PerfectDisk’s new OptiWrite™ technology prevents most fragmentation on your drive before it occurs, which prevents your system from slowing down. OptiWrite™ detects when Windows is going to fragment files and intelligently redirects I/O to stop the fragmentation from occuring. System performance is maintained and the need to utilize CPU and Disk I/O resources to defragment files is greatly reduced. Because less defragmentation is needed, there is a direct benefit in the form of energy saved in both CPU usage and in the reading and writing to a disk. It saves users both in energy costs and in the time required to defragment a file system.

Intelligent Disk Optimization

For the limited fragmentation that can still occur, PerfectDisk’s patented SMARTPlacement optimization strategy optimizes disk drives according to your unique usage patterns. SMARTPlacement results in the most consolidated free space available, the elimination of most fragmentation before it occurs, and a reduced rate of fragmentation.

SSD Optimize is an optimization method for SSDs that focuses on free space consolidation without defragmentation of files. Solid State Drives are not affected by file fragmentation like traditional electromechanical disk drives. As such, it will leave files in a fragmented state while consolidating free space into large pieces.

Faster Start-Up

Experience faster system start-up times with our proprietary boot file optimization. Improve start-up time by 20% or more.

Auto-Optimization for Complete Unattended Optimization

PerfectDisk’s exclusive StealthPatrol™ tab is used to set automatic fragmentation prevention and optimize your system when it isn’t busy. Auto-optimization affords you the flexibility to optimize your system when it is idle or when the Windows screensaver is active. Auto-optimization provides the flexibility to not run during certain periods of the day or when a user-defined application is running. No other defrag or optimization utility proves this level of flexibility.

Advanced Boot Time Defrag

An important factor in faster PC performance is a thorough boot time defrag. PerfectDisk’s advanced boot time defrag capability is able to defragment files that otherwise would remain fragmented such as the Windows pagefile.sys or the file system’s MFT (Master File Table) and provides the best boot time defrag operation.

Total disk defragmentation and free space consolidation

PerfectDisk offers the most comprehensive solution for defragmentation by optimizing virtually every file on the system, including the Master File Table (MFT), all NTFS metadata files, paging files, directories, and datafiles, and completely consolidating free space. And it does it all in a single pass. There’s also a Selected Files Defrag option that is useful for defragmenting very large files such as video files, rather than defragmenting the entire drive.

S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring

New S.M.A.R.T. monitoring capabilities monitor the status of physical drives. It generates warnings and alerts for hardware performance and reliability, helping you ensure you are aware of any potential hardware problems.

CPU and I/O – control Resource Throttling

Perfectdisk provides resource throttling capabilities to manage resource usage as efficiently as possible. I/O throttling allows PerfectDisk to run on very busy disks without imposing additional load on the disk. CPU throttling allows you to raise or lower the CPU priority at which it runs. PerfectDisk uses very minimal CPU resources in its standard processing.

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