Movies Games and Tech

Which Tablet is Right For You?

Jim McCarthy

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Feb 12, 2011

So you think you want to buy a tablet device, but which one is right for you? We’ll explore the options to try to help you to make a decision.

Requirements

I don’t know about you, but recently I have been getting plenty of requests for help in picking out a good tablet for friends and co-workers. I thought that it might be useful to summarize those conversations and see if this helps anyone else to decide on the right tablet for them. Before we begin, what do you want to do with your shiny new tablet? Before buying any tech device, I try to make sure that I understand exactly what I want to do with it first. This should help to narrow options down to the ones that matter to you. Here are some typical uses that people have discussed with me recently for tablet devices:

Light-duty internet surfing
Netflix access
Access to corporate email and calendar function
Data access when traveling
Playback of video content, including Media Center TV recordings and DVD rips
Playback of music
Remote access to your home server
Gaming (of course!)
Ability to edit Excel, Word and PowerPoint files while on the go
Handwriting recognition
Integration with One Note

OK. Now that we know what we want to do with these devices, let’s look at the major options and evaluate.

iPad

Of course, we have to start with the iPad from Apple. According to this coverage, Apple has close to 90% market share for this category. My wife received a 64GB 3G version for Christmas this year and she loves it. So do I! The device is very well made, is convenient to use and is a useful size when travelling. This is how Apple describes this product:

A revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more.

How does it stack up against our requirements? Let’s take a look.

Requirement	Met?	Comments
Light-duty internet surfing	Yes, with limitations	No Flash or Silverlight support
E-reader capability	Yes
Well-developed app store	Yes	Widely regarded as the best available
Netflix access	Yes
Access to corporate email and calendar function	Yes
Data access when traveling	Yes	3G access with AT&T in US is $25/month for 2GB and £15/month on Vodaphone in the UK
Playback of video content, including Media Center TV recordings and DVD rips	Yes, if loaded to iTunes first
Playback of music	Yes, if loaded to iTunes first
Remote access to your home server console	No
Gaming	Yes	Broad selection of games, from racing games to first person shooters to educational for kids
Ability to edit Excel, Word and PowerPoint files while on the go	Yes, with optional software	Require Pages—word processor, Numbers—spreadsheet, and Keynote–presentation software at $9.99 USD per application. Limited ability to edit/update Office documents.
Handwriting recognition	No
Integration with One Note	Yes	Microsoft just released a One Note app for iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch.
DLNA compatibility	No	Air Video installed on your PC/home server/Mac is a good alternative that works well; Airplay is also available if you have a 2nd generation AppleTV
User expandable storage	No
Front and back facing cameras	No
Integration with handset	No
Battery life	10 hours	Yikes!

This device has been described as a content consumption device. It excels at surfing the web, as long as the site does not use Flash, and if you have video content in iTunes, it will look fantastic. With support for Netflix as well as the ability to buy and rent content in iTunes, this is an entertainment powerhouse. A drawback for a home server owner is that all video content that you want to load has to be loaded into iTunes first, and if you want DLNA capability, you need to load Air Video ($2.99 USD in the App Store). It supports corporate email and calendaring, and my company has also implemented Sametime IM for the iPad, which is really handy. Where it falls down a bit is editing Excel, Word and Powerpoint files. If you are just reviewing and commenting, the capability that comes along with Pages, Numbers and Keynote is probably enough to allow you to leave your laptop at home. However, any intensive sessions with generating content in these applications will likely leave you wishing that you had your laptop. With the 3G versions, you have the ability to be connected even when outside of Wi-Fi range. Pricing for the 64GB 3-G version is currently $829 USD/£714 GBP.

iPad Portal US App Store UK App Store

StableBit DrivePool for Windows Home Server 2011 Coming Soon?

Timothy Daleo

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Feb 11, 2011

10

StableBit DrivePool for Windows Home Server 2011 Coming Soon?

I just saw that a company named StableBit has announced on the Social Microsoft site that they have an Add-In solution for Windows Home Server 2011. Not much is known at this point, and no software download is available, but it looks like it might be offer some benefits to those who miss Drive Extender in 2011. We will let you know more as we get more information.

The original post can be found at:

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/whsvailbeta/thread/92977d6c-bd5a-4a0b-b0ab-166f4e7914e0

This add-in will let you add multiple hard drives into one combined storage pool on the Windows Home Server. You can create folder shares on this storage pool, and each folder on the pool can either be duplicated or not duplicated. Files placed in duplicated folders will be protected against single drive failure by being placed onto two separate hard drives.

Features:

Combine all your hard drives into one big storage pool (except the system drive with the OS).

Add and remove drives from the pool at any time without re-partitioning or manually moving folders.

Create duplicated folders on the storage drive pool that are protected against single drive failure. If a drive fails on which a duplicated file was stored, the contents of that file will remain readable even without the drive.

They go on to say:

The features list and screenshots are based on the current working ALPHA, so you can understand that there are some things still missing and subject to change.

This is the first announcement that we’re making, there will be a more formal announcement and a fully functional Technical Preview version available in the coming weeks.

We can only see screenshots so far.

The screenshots provided look cool.

For any questions, you can contact them @ http://stablebit.com/Contact

The Digital Lifestyle Show #292- Unboxing Andrew

Andrew Edney

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Feb 11, 2011

0

The Digital Lifestyle Show #292- Unboxing Andrew

This weeks Digital Lifestyle Show podcast is out, and it’s called Unboxing Andrew. I wonder why that is?

Here is what Ian has to say about this weeks show:

Finally Microsoft have the release candidate of Windows Home Serve Vail (now called Windows Home Server 2011) and Andrew can talk about it, so we let him out of his box for a bit to talk about what is new in WHS 2011.

Garry and I also talk about some of the news items from the last week including GMAbooster for booting netbook performance, BBC iPlayer for iPad, VideoRedeo, new Media Center addins, Android Remotes, and DVBLink competition winners.

Listen to this weeks Digital Lifestyle Show here

Win Feedsource Add-in for Windows Home Server

Andrew Edney

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Feb 11, 2011

5

Win Feedsource Add-in for Windows Home Server

A few weeks ago we posted that Sam Wood’s new Windows Home Server Add-in Feedsource was available. Would you like to win a copy of Feedsource as Sam as given us two licences to giveaway to UWHS readers.

What is Feedsource?

Feedsource is a Windows Home Server Add-In that publishes secure Really Simple Syndication (“RSS”) feeds for Shared Folders through the Remote Access web site.

Authorized users access Feedsource RSS feeds from inside or outside the home network to view new and changed files in Shared Folders using any RSS reader that supports authenticated feeds.

Features

Authenticated RSS feeds for Shared Folders that show create, delete, rename, and change events for files and directories
Granular control to enable or disable RSS feeds for each Shared Folder
Automatic integration with the Remote Access web site to view feeds from outside your network with no extra port-forwarding or configuration
Simple setup through the Windows Home Server Console
Secure authentication and authorization using SSL and existing Windows Home Server access controls
RSS 2.0 and Atom support

Learn more about Feedsource at the Tentacle Software website

So, if you want to win a copy all you have to do is leave a comment here and we will pick two winners at random.

The giveaway is open to anyone and the closing date will be Wednesday 16th February and the winners will be posted on UWHS then.

Good luck!

How to Enable TimeMachine Backup for your MAC to your Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials or Windows Home Server 2011

Andrew Edney

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Feb 11, 2011

4

How to Enable TimeMachine Backup for your MAC to your Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials or Windows Home Server 2011

Sean Daniels has posted an article on his own personal blog showing how you can enable TimeMachine backups for you Mac on either SBS 2011 Essentials or WHS 2011. But shouldn’t this be out of the box functionality?

Back in WHS V1 days (that sounds very strange!) if you had an HP MediaSmart Server you could backup your Apple Mac computers using TimeMachine on the Mac. I even wrote a walk-through guide on how to do it. Now along comes Windows Home Server 2011 and it includes Mac support, however anyone actually wanting to backup their Mac to WHS 2011 (or SBS 2011 Essentials) would have noticed that they can’t.

Well Sean has posted a work-around on his site showing you how to do it – and it’s not that hard. Thanks Sean!

Take a look at Seans article here

However, shouldn’t this functionality be included “out of the box” if it really does have Mac support? In fact, the Mac Connector even claims that you can backup your Mac to your Windows Home Server – so come on Microsoft, what’s going on!

WHS Phone for Windows Phone 7 Updated to Version 1.2

Andrew Edney

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Feb 10, 2011

1

WHS Phone for Windows Phone 7 Updated to Version 1.2

If you have a Windows Phone 7 device and a Windows Home Server then you will want to get the WHS Phone app and the WHS Phone Add-In for WHS, and WHS Phone has just be updated to version 1.2.

Tim wrote about the app a few months ago.

Here is what the developer has posted on his website today:

WHS Phone 1.2 will be in the marketplace soon. It requires WHS Phone Addin 1.2.1 and up.
This is the first big update. There are a lot of new features as well as some refactoring of old features.
Here are the list of changes for this release:

Changes

Add Document Support (word, excel, PowerPoint, PDF)

Add a user setting to pick the application home screen

Add a notification that there is an Addon update

Redo the Music playlist building gestures

Add Photo Navigation from the Photo Viewer (Swipe)

Add Pinch and Zoom feature to the Photo Viewer

Customizable font size in all lists

Handle Tombstoning Better

Multiple Playlist Support

Rebuild the File Browser to handle large amounts of data

Add a shuffle feature for the playlist

Sort Shares and Files by Name

Add music, photos, and videos count to server tab

Add a shuffle setting for the music player

Add a repeat setting to the music player

Remove the “Music” and “Photos” permissions from the WHS Phone Add-in and Add “File Browsing”

Add Custom Port for SSL connection.

Add Settings for photos text

Add Photo Setting for Number of Columns in the Photo Browser

Add Photo Thumbnail Caching

Integrate with the Music and Video Hub

Add a folder filter to the File Browser and Photos Browser

Rebuild the Audio Player

Add Album Art to Audio Player

Add Progress bar to audio player

Make all textboxes close the keyboard with the enter key.

Add a filter to the file browser

Add Photo swipe for photos that are not in the Photos folder

Add a setting to check for Add-in Updates

Update Language Resource Files

Add “New Playist” button to the playlist selection popup.

View Photo from outside of the “Photos” folder

Combine the Music and File Browser

Check WHS Phone Addin version when logging into with WHS Phone

Fix Delete Playlist

Fix buffer bar when reloading audio player while song is playing

Update Manifest for Music Hub integration

Bug Fixes
• Cannot load images with Ampersand in the path
• Going Back to the Audio Player Always resets Volume to 100%
• Password field does not scroll into view when editing
• Fix the connection settings “Auto Login” and “SSL” conflict.
• Fix the Create and Edit User Pages
• Delete user progress bar does not work.

You can learn more about WHS Phone here

The Home Server Show 123 Out Now

Andrew Edney

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Feb 10, 2011

0

Dave and the guys over at the Home Server Show have just released show number 123.

Here is what Dave has to say about this weeks show:

Windows Home Serve 2011 still has the attention in this weeks news. Episode 123 is mostly that but I think there is something for everyone in this show. We talk Add-Ins, Storage, Virtual Machines, Worm Holes, and every other topic we can think of. There is no set format in this one. We hit the ground running!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes(MP3).
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast in the Zune Marketplace.

Microsoft Release Windows Internet Explorer 9 RC

Andrew Edney

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Feb 10, 2011

1

Microsoft Release Windows Internet Explorer 9 RC

It’s been in beta quite a while, but today Microsoft finally pushed out the Release Candidate of Internet Explorer 9.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/products/ie-9/home

Installing IE9 RC is simple, you just download the application file.

Then you run it and wait while it downloads all the required updates and then installs.

Then when it’s finished, you have do do a reboot.

And that’s it – you have the IE9 RC running!

Have you used it? What do you think?

Android BBC iPlayer App Review – UK Only (For now)

jay_s_uk

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Feb 10, 2011

3

Android BBC iPlayer App Review – UK Only (For now)

The BBC released their own native android app for BBC iPlayer today so we’ve decided to run it through its paces to see how well it performs.

I should just state now that this is an Android version 2.2 and higher only application as it requires flash to stream the audio/video. So if your android phone only runs 2.1 or below, can I strongly suggest that you visit the forums at XDA Developers and look at rooting + upgrading your phone as 2.2 (or 2.3 if your phone is one of the lucky ones) is well worth the time and effort.

BBC iPlayer has been available to android 2.2 devices for a while now through the included web browser, so why give us a native application?

First off, lets look at the interface.

The image on the left is from the web version of BBC iPlayer and the one on the right is from the native app.

In the web version, the search, channels and categories function are listed under the section you are viewing, e.g. TV, Radio. In the android app, the search button is on the top right (the magnifying glass) and the menu button is the one next to it (the three straight lines). The TV section is also split into 3 pages, featured, popular and for you, where as the web version is all on the same page. When the menu button is pressed, you get presented with the following menu.

The categories and the channels choices are the same as the web browser, but the native app gives you the choice of choosing live TV as well. Now this choice is an added bonus over the web version.

Streaming live seems to work very well and doesn’t take long to load (this is of course dependent on how good your wifi is and how fast your internet connection is) although if you’re having problems, the video quality can be switched from medium (500kbps) to low quality (400kbps) in the settings menu. The video quality can also be increased to high (800kbps), which functioned perfectly fine on my N1.

The categories and channel sections function the same as the web site version of BBC iPlayer.

The radio section, like the TV section, gives you featured, popular and for you. When the radio menu button is pressed, the option of categories, stations and live radio get presented.

These three categories act the same as the TV section.

Windows Home Server 2011 Drive Mirror -Video Edition

Timothy Daleo

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Feb 10, 2011

18

Windows Home Server 2011 Drive Mirror -Video Edition

Mirror, mirror on the drive. I need my data to stay alive. Windows Home Server 2011 has a built in Drive Mirror feature that will allow you to create a synchronized copy of the drive. While this feature is not new to Microsoft products, the ease of setup from within the Server Manager makes it easy for the WHS 2011 user to create Mirrors. Check out the video!

Windows Home Server 2011 Drive Set Up

Before you start the mirror process you want to make sure your data is organized. Best practice would be to mirror before any data is on the the drives to save time, but if they already have data you are still ok.

Organize your data and decide which drive(s) you will Mirror.

Windows Home Server 2011 Drive Mirror

To create a Drive Mirror you use the Server Manager. If you do not see the Server Manager in your Task Bar, navigate to Administrative Tools through the Start Menu. You might want to grab your favorite beverage and RAID the cookie jar before you start this process.

The video will show you how to create a Drive Mirror.

Windows Home Server 2011 Drive Mirror Process

My drives had a lot of data on them when I created the Mirror. I would suggest doing this when they are empty if possible.

4 1/2 hours into the Mirror process. The drives were half full so I know it was going to take a while.

6 1/2 hours into the Mirror process. It was ok. I had time to go outside and spray the ants with RAID anyway.

Disable Backups During Mirror Process

I decided to cancel my backups during the Mirror sync since it was trying to backup C: and F: data while it was also moving D: and E: data. This taxes the CPU and just makes the whole process take longer. I would suggest starting the backup again after the Mirror sync is done and process is completed.

Conclusion

Creating the Mirrors in Windows Home Server 2011 is easy and works great. I feel safe that my data is backed up and am even planning on adding more drives as these start to fill up.

Windows Home Server 2011 Release Candidate

You can download Windows Home Server 2011 at:

Download WHS 2011

The installation of Windows Home Server 2011 has only a few basic requirements.

Windows Home Server 2011 is a 64-bit only operating system.

You can install the server software either manually or unattended.

System Requirements

1.4 GHz x64 processor
2 GB RAM
At least one 160 GB (or larger) hard drive
NTFS is the only supported file system

Supported networking configuration:

Your server computer must be connected to a router via a network cable
Windows Home Server works best with a UPnP certified device, but it is not required
The router works best in the 192.168.x.x subnet, but it is not required

Try Windows Home Server 2011 and download from Connect today!

And don’t forget to check out some of our other Windows Home Server 2011 Videos and Walk-throughs

BBC iPlayer Now Available on the Apple iPad and on Android

Andrew Edney

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Feb 10, 2011

7

BBC iPlayer Now Available on the Apple iPad and on Android

Today the BBC launched their official Apple iPad version of their iPlayer software here in the UK, so now you can watch BBC programming on your iPad! And it’s also available on Android.

You can download it now from the Apple AppStore – it is only a 3.6 MB file so it won’t take very long.

Using iPlayer on the iPad is very simple – you get access to TV:

Radio:

And you can even set up your favourites to find things quicker:

You can easily see what is on:

And search either by type of programme, or by programme title:

You can then choose something to watch and you can various details about it, including when it will be available until:

Then all you need to do is just sit back and enjoy whatever you choose:

The quality was fantastic and I had no problems at all. Well done BBC!

The BBC have also posted this on their website:

BBC iPlayer is now available on tablet devices within the UK. If you have a tablet bought in the UK, it will not be able to access television programs on BBC iPlayer when abroad. You can access BBC iPlayer by following the BBC iPlayer link on the BBC homepage or by typing http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer into your web browser.

We are currently supporting BBC iPlayer on the Apple iPad. In the future we expect to add support for other tablet devices.

The BBC doesn’t charge for the iPlayer service but your Internet Service Provider may charge you for the bandwidth used.

Always ensure that you have the most up-to-date firmware/operating system installed on your device – please refer to your manufacturer for any help with this – and that you have a strong enough mobile network signal or wi-fi connection. If you lose connectivity while streaming you may need to start again.

You could also try browsing our message boards, which discuss many aspects of the service including common issues and problems. Please note that because this content is not generated by the BBC, it is not searchable via our search tool; however, we suggest typing key words such as BBC iPlayer + your issue into your preferred search engine.

Have you used it yet? What do you think?

Windows Phone’s First Update Available Soon!

Jon da Silva

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Feb 10, 2011

1

Windows Phone’s First Update Available Soon!

Based on the Microsoft KB article 2484484 “Troubleshooting problems during software update for Windows Phone 7” which has been released in anticipation of the upcoming update for Windows Phone 7. It’s safe to assume the first WP7 update will be available soon.

Gregg Sullivan, Senior Product Manager for Windows Phone 7, has made recent statements stating the update is not too far away. According to Sullivan, Microsoft plans to release the first of two updates within the next few months. Obviously, the first update will bring copy and paste, which was announced at launch, as well as bug fixes and better performance when loading applications. The second update, which is planned for release in “the first half” of this year, will bring CDMA support for Sprint and Verizon.

If you read through the article; updating through the Zune Desktop client may not be as smooth as one would think, especially for the people that currently own a WP7 device but have never used the Zune Client. Hopefully the kinks will be worked out by the time the update is released.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM

Andrew Edney

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Feb 9, 2011

3

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM

Today Microsoft have RTM’d both the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 builds.

Here is what Microsoft posted on their blog:

Today we officially handed off the final release (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to our OEM partners. On February 16th Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will be available for MSDN and TechNet Subscribers as well as Volume License customers. On February 22nd, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will become generally available for folks to download via the Microsoft Download Center and available on Windows Update.

For Windows 7, SP1 will help keep your PCs well supported by delivering ongoing updates, many of which have been made previously available through Windows Update. It also includes client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory which are two new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Read more about those updates here from the Windows Server Team.

I’ve been using the SP1 beta for a number of months now and haven’t had any problems, so I will be updating to the final release when its available. I wonder how the 2008 R2 SP1 will affect the Windows Home Server 2011 RC?

Unboxing the Tranquil PC ixLS Power PC

Andrew Edney

-

Feb 9, 2011

3

Back in January, Tranquil PC announced their next generation ixL PC – the ixLS, powered by Sandy Bridge. Well ours has arrived and we give it the unboxing treatment.

Here is how Tranquil describe the ixLS range:

Bringing beauty, power, efficiency and reliability to your desktop. Designed from the ground up, to provide a reliable and fan less cooling system for the power user, the ixLS Power PC can process any application with ease. High definition video, complex 3D rendering, or just writing a letter – just do it. Fit your choice of Intel Sandy Bridge CPU- any version delivers stunning performance

With numerous audio / video outputs, high speed GBE LAN – the ixLS can be deployed in almost any environment, for almost any application. With the new Sandy Bridge CPU you can expect the very best performance – for more information on the main board / CPU options / Performance please visit here

You can now run the most demanding applications with ease, knowing that the power is there when you need it, and yet the power consumption is under 30W when you’re just idling along.

With specialised and enhanced cooling technologies, the ixL runs without fans, ensuring long term reliability, and almost zero noise – just like you want.

With the optional Media Centre IR receiver / HMDI output you can also even use the ixL as a Media Centre PC. With 1x 2.5″ and 1x 3.5″ HDD bays – you can mix and match your storage requirements.

Sandy Bridge Problems

As you may have heard, Intel discovered a problem with Sandy Bridge as reported by Tim a few weeks ago.

Tranquil have this posted on their website:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]The second generation, or Sandy Bridge systems were originally available in January, but Intel discovered a small fault and have announced that the main boards, equipped with the corrected ‘Cougar Point’ chipset will be available from early to mid April. Tranquil will deliver ixLS systems from that time.[/box]