What is Windows Home Server?

Got a Raspberry Pi? Fancy a game of Quake III?

Andrew Edney

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Apr 28, 2012

Got a Raspberry Pi? Fancy a game of Quake III?

If you are one of the lucky few who already have their Raspberry Pi, would you like a game of Quake III on it?

This is what was just posted on the Raspberry Pi blog:

We have enormous luck with the people called Liam (three and counting now) who volunteer to do great stuff for Raspberry Pi. Liam McLoughlin (@hexxeh on Twitter) has so far got Chromium OS running on his Raspi, along with the very useful Despotify and a Raspberry Pi firmware updater. All the above are available at his website, and knowing Liam, I’m sure there’s more to come.

Liam put a call out last night for people who are lucky enough to have managed to get their hands on a Raspberry Pi, and who fancy a Quake III Deathmatch. He’s now made the Quake III binaries available (only tested so far on the most recent Debian release) at radium.hexxeh.net/quake3.zip. If you head over to #raspberrypi at Freenode IRC, you’ll find willing ~~victims~~ opponents in the channel.

The zip file compresses to 3.14MB, which we think is kind of serendipitous.

Check out our Raspberry Pi coverage from the Beeb@30 event

Have you ordered one? Let us know if you get yours before us, or even after us. I know a lot of people are tweeting their orders should be early May, so well done.

I have downloaded Quake III so that I am ready when mine appears!

Gotham City Impostors update now available

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Apr 28, 2012

1

Gotham City Impostors update now available

The newest game update for Gotham City Impostors is now live, and this update is free.

Gotham City Impostors allows up to 12 players to battle for control of an unhinged Gotham City overrun by Impostors inspired by the DC Comics characters Batman and The Joker.

In a continued effort to support the game with fresh content and improvements, Monolith Productions has delivered several game fixes, as well as a brand new “East End” map, a new “Bounty Hunter” mode, and more character voice customization. Players can find the free update in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Network, and Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace.

Downloadable content will also be available for purchase beginning today for Xbox 360 and will follow for PS3 and PC.

The “East End” map can be enjoyed in all multiplayer game modes, as well as the single-player challenge mode. The “Bounty Hunter” mode offers fans a variation on Team Deathmatch that rewards each team for collecting bounties from their fallen opponents, with the winner being the first team to collect 50 bounties. And for those who want to smack-talk in another language, they can now choose to have their Impostor speak in –game in any of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish and German.

The latest updates and news can be found here

The cost for Gotham City Imposters is 1200 Microsoft Points for the Xbox 360 version and £11.99 on PSN and Windows, the DLC pack is free.

Windows Home Server Security Tips: Force change of the initial password for a newly created Windows Home Server 2011 or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials Account

John Keller

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Apr 28, 2012

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Introduction

In the 2nd of our Windows Home Server Security Tips I’m going to go over is how to force change newly created accounts initial passwords upon logging into either Windows Home Server 2011 or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. While this is essentially the same as what I had gone over in Windows Home Server there are some minor differences between the two operating systems that should be paid attention to.

What version of Windows Home Server does this pertain to?

This pertains to Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials; while the steps are similar for Windows Home Server there are some steps that are different and it is recommend that this article is to be used only for Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

Disclaimer and Recommendations

While the methods and steps have been tested in a non-production environment to work as written within this article I take no responsibility and the user shall bare full responsibility if there are any repercussions from using the information of this article. It is also further advised to backup your server first before proceeding with any of the steps within this article.

Procedure

1. While the first part of this can be done from the Launchpad on your client PC it is recommended that you either Remote Desktop or Directly Console into your Home Server for the entire process.

2. Click on the “Dashboard” Icon on your home server desktop and wait for it to open

3. Proceed to create a new user account as shown in this following How To article provided by Farshad from addictivetips.com. REMEMBER to give the account you are creating an easy initial logon password (Example: Password1234), the whole reason for this drill is for the end user to change the initial password. Even through this How to is primarily aimed at WHS 2011 it is exactly the same for Windows Storage Server 2008 R2. Upon completion close the Dashboard.

4. Now click on the windows Start Icon , and on the right hand screen of the menu “Right Click” On the “Computer” icon and click on “Manage”.

5. Within the “Server Management” snap-in go to “Configuration”, then click on “Local Users and Groups”, and click on “Users”.

6. With the desired account highlighted (In this case CDW) right click on “Properties”.

7. Check the “User must change password at Next Logon” and click “OK”

8. Exit the Computer Management Console.

Please Note: The next part of this article will simulate the end user remotely accessing the home server remotely either locally (http://MYSERVERNAME) or abroad (https://xxxxxx.homeserver.com for WHS 2011 or https://xxxxxxx.remotewebaccess.com for WSS 2008 R2 Essentials).

9. Open your Web Browser of choice and have the End User enter your home servers URL address (As shown above).

10. Now have the end user enter the name of the and the initial password that was assigned to them into the Windows Home Server Credential Box and then click on the “Log On” Radio Box.

11. If the end user entered the correct account and initial password you should be greeted with box below. Re-enter the initial password originally given in the second box below the account name and then enter the new password in the subsequent boxes below. Then Click the “Green or Blue Arrow” Radio Button and Login.

12. The End User should now be greeted with your home server’s main menu page. Once the end user has completed their business then click on the “Sign Out” URL located on the top right corner.

13. Once you have logged off (as pictured below) close your Web Browser.

When should I use Force changing of the initial password for a newly created Windows Home Server Account?

The only time you really should have to use this method is if the End User (This can be Family Member or Business Associate) can only access the home server Remotely from its location (I.E. Different City, State, Country etc…). However, you can still employ this method locally if the intended end user is not readily available, at home; work or if you just want the end user to choose their own password instead. The Choice of course is yours.

So what’s next in Windows Home Server Security Tips?

The next two Windows Home Server Security Tip Articles will be covering complexity and the desired minimum length for your home server accounts.

Acknowledgment’s – I want to thank again Farshad from addictivetips.com for the excellent how to guide on making accounts on Windows Home Server 2011.

Feel the Force on your iPad with the Kinect Star Wars app

Andrew Edney

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Apr 27, 2012

1

Feel the Force on your iPad with the Kinect Star Wars app

Recently we told you about the Kinect Star Wars app for the Windows Phone. Now it’s available on the iPad! The app from Microsoft takes social networking on smartphones into a new stratosphere, by allowing fans of the world’s most iconic film franchise to view their Facebook and Twitter feeds in the style of ‘the crawl’, the iconic STAR WARS opening title sequence.

The new app helps mark the recent release of “Kinect Star Wars”, the latest blockbuster game from Xbox 360 that harnesses the Kinect’s revolutionary controller-free, motion-tracking technology to enable players to truly fight like a Jedi.

Synching seamlessly with Facebook and Twitter accounts, the app transforms smartphones into the ultimate social media dashboards by aggregating social media streams into one place. Fans can discover more about the full “Kinect Star Wars” game and even purchase a copy direct from the app, all wrapped up in an experience that gives a taste of the fun the game offers.

Download now from the Apple App Store Check out our review of Kinect Star Wars

R.I.P. VMware Server and who shall be its successor?

John Keller

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Apr 27, 2012

0

R.I.P. VMware Server and who shall be its successor?

The Death of VMware Server

Well, not actually dead anyways; however it has been officially Not Supported by VMware since June of 2011 and the last actual update to the core installation of VMware Server was back in October of 2009 with the last version release being Ver. 2.0.2 . While this is still a great Virtual Appliance for the Home or Small Business IT to run older operating systems (especially since it is free, you just need to register with VMware) within the last several months VMware Server has been showing its age. With the release of the Windows 8 and Server 2012 Previews and the improvement within Virtual Technology supporting the newer Operating Systems that are being released across all OS platforms it’s now time to move on to another Virtual platform than can do all the wonderful things that made VMware Server such an invaluable Virtual appliance, yet remain cost effective (Meaning it’s free).

What about VMware Player?

The mini me and free version of VMware’s big time Desktop Virtual Appliance VMware Workstation; VMware player was originally designed to only “Play” the virtual machines that had been created by VMware Workstation. Starting with version 3.x of VMware player you could also now create your own virtual machine with player (Of course none of the extra goodies like snapshots, cloning, and so forth is still not available) which makes it a great Virtual appliance for interactively trying out different Virtual Machines. As far as being a replacement for VMware Server it still lacks certain features to make this a viable solution as listed below…

– Cannot start as a service.

-Cannot start or stop virtual machines upon startup or shutdown of the Operating System.

– No Remote Web page Access.

– No snapshots or cloning features within the Appliance.

– The Host of the Virtual appliance must be interactively logged on in order for the virtual machine to continue to still work.

– Cannot play more than 2 Virtual Machines concurrently without taking a hit in performance.

How about VMware’s Free Personal Edition of EXSI Server?

Believe it or not there is a Free Licensed Edition of VMware’s main bread and butter bare metal embedded hypervisor EXSI Server. While naturally this is a watered down version of the fully featured product being limited to 1 physical processor , 32GB of physical RAM, and 8GB of vRAM per Virtual Machine this will basically do all the things VMware Server did and more. The only real drawback to this option is even through this is free you now have to come up with the extra hardware in order to run it. The EXSI server software is actually a Linux kernel variation that loads onto a separate physical machine and is managed on a separate client machine by a client application called vSphere. If your operating budget can afford the founds for purchasing the separate PC or Server to run the EXSI Server Software (You will need a machine that has at least a Quad Core processor and 8GB of physical RAM to be able to run at least 4 or 5 virtual machines) then by all means do so. While in the long run this may have been VMware’s plan is filling the hole to retiring VMware Server for the Home or Small Business IT on a budget this may not be the solution that you are looking for.

Enter Oracle’s Virtual Box

Virtual Box is a free Virtual appliance for Personal use that is similar in features to VMware Player which also includes on top of those features offered by player the ability to take snapshots and make clones of virtual machines out of the box. Thanks to a blogger by the name of Matthew Hodgkins from Down Under he has managed to take the out of the box Virtual Box appliance and combined all the extra home brew add-on’s by various contributors for Virtual Box and turned it into a very informative 2 part How to Articles. These Articles basically turns your instance of Virtual Box on your Home Server comparable to what VMware Server use to offer to include…

– Host Virtual Machines on Windows Home Server 2011

– Manage your Virtual Machines using a Web Interface

-Login to managing your Virtual Machines using WHS 2011 User Accounts

– Remotely RDP into your Virtual Machines even if they are Linux Machines

– Shutdown Machines automatically upon shutting down your WHS 2011 Server

– Start Virtual Machine automatically upon booting up your WHS 2011 Server

For those interested I highly recommend visiting Mr. Hodgkin’s website and instating the information in the 2 part how to article available below…

How to run VirtualBox on WHS 2011 – Part 1 of 2

How to run VirtualBox on WHS 2011 – Part 2 of 2

While Matthew wrote the articles specifically for Windows Home Server 2011 this can be easily tailored for any of the Windows Vista\2008 Operating Sytem Variants from little to no change to the original configurations mentioned in Matthew’s articles. This would also include Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft’s new line of Small Bussiness Server.

So who is the Heir apparent?

Like I stated earlier VMware planned for its free personal edition of EXSI Server to be VMware Server’s replacement but in the long run I believe Virtual Box (Once configured with the additions detailed in Mr. Hodgkin’s articles) is truly the new lord of the Virtual Jungle in both features and in cost effectiveness (Again, meaning it’s free). However, if your IT budget can afford the Hardware for it the Free Personal Edition of EXSI Server is a really close second.

Acknowledgements – I would like to thank Forum Member Andy Bison for making me aware of the Free Edition of VMware’s EXSI Server, which until then I thought VMware only offered the 60 day trail of EXSI Server. Again I would like to thank Mr. Matthew Hodgkins for all the effort and hard work he put into his very informative 2 part how to articles.

Review of the Samsung 23″ C23A550U Series 5 LED Hub Monitor

Andrew Edney

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Apr 27, 2012

0

Review of the Samsung 23″ C23A550U Series 5 LED Hub Monitor

It’s time to review the Samsung 23″ C23A550U Series 5 LED Hub monitor!

Product Description

The Samsung Central Station CA550 is ready to transform the way you work and play. With amazing connectivity available through the USB 3.0, USB Ethernet and the USB Hub, you can experience faster and simpler uploading, data transferring and web browsing. This also helps in eliminating bothersome cables and docking stations, while also cleaning up your desk space. And thanks to the innovative Dual Hinge Stand, it also serves as the perfect dual monitor. The CA550 picture quality is beyond comparison, featuring Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio and the Samsung Magic Angle. Add to this the Eco Savings and Auto Power on/off, and you have monitor that performs well in every category.

Specifications

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the monitor with stand attached, power supply, cables, product manuals and warranty information, user manual CD, cloth and quick start guide.

Raspberry Pi orders start shipping; an update from Farnell/element 14

Andrew Edney

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Apr 27, 2012

2

Raspberry Pi orders start shipping; an update from Farnell/element 14

Now that the initial batch of 2000 Raspberry Pi’s are in the hands of those lucky few who got in early, order updates are coming through from Farnell/element 14, so we shouldn’t have too long to wait!

This is the email I just got about my order:

Having successfully passed its CE compliance testing, we can now confirm that your Raspberry Pi will be delivered in the week commencing 28/05/2012.

Check out our Raspberry Pi coverage from the Beeb@30 event

Have you ordered one? Let us know if you get yours before us, or even after us. I know a lot of people are tweeting their orders should be early May, so well done.

I am also disappointed to see so many Raspberry Pi’s on eBay at the moment, especially those with Buy It Now prices around the £200 mark!

Microsoft and Central Saint Martins Partner to Reveal PC Hardware Designs of the Future

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

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Microsoft and Central Saint Martins Partner to Reveal PC Hardware Designs of the Future and Announce the Winner of the First Microsoft UK Design Award.

Microsoft today unveiled the twelve shortlisted designs and final winner of its inaugural PC Hardware Design Project with Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. Twenty four MA Industrial Design students were briefed to create and design a range of innovative hardware and user-experience devices which consumers could be using in the future.

Microsoft tasked participating Industrial Design students to conceptualise ideas which demonstrated new thinking in computer interaction – challenging each to devise possible alternatives to the mouse and keyboard or, alternatively, visualise technologies that could be used in the future, based on emerging tech trends of today.

The shortlisted designs were showcased in an exhibition at the College last night. One student, 24 year old Victor Johansson, from Sweden, was selected as the overall winner and awarded first prize.

Scott Smith, Principal User Experience Designer with the Microsoft Hardware User Experience Team and judge of the PC Hardware Design Project, commented: “It has been a fascinating experience to see students who hail from a diverse mix of backgrounds and nationalities developing fresh insights into the world of man/machine interaction. I was particularly impressed with Victor Johansson’s design as he successfully met the overall goal of the programme and really showcased a possible future trend which addressed a clear consumer need – a quality that is at the forefront of all Microsoft design thinking.”

1. Keyflex – Victor Johansson

Keyflex is an evolution of the humble keyboard. Rather than just pressing keys, the user bends, squeezes, twists and flexes the device to control it. It can also be bent upwards and downwards to control the volume. By pressing the ‘modifier key’ at the same time, the action of bending gets assigned to a different function (e.g. fast forwarding a movie). The device can also be twisted to pause or escape. When using social media, the user can squeeze either the right or left side to ‘share’ or ‘like’.

2. Designer Gloves – Duo Zhang

This product is targeted at a variety of designers offering different modes of use. Street artists can choose ‘outdoor mode’ to record and transfer content to a digital format. ‘Modeling mode’ enables product designers to create physical and virtual models and digitize their motion. Lastly, ‘on-desk mode’ allows virtual image designers to use gesture controlled recognition to create their designs.

3. Museo – Tom Maisey

Museo is an electric audio-visual interface, which makes recording and performing music a more enjoyable experience. It can be used with a range of instruments, but is primarily designed for use with a guitar and enables an experience similar to that of a professional using in-ear monitors and volume control. It utilises the freedom of feet to adjust input settings allowing users to continue playing and making it simpler to achieve the desired sound.

4. Bendy-Cam – Martyna Bielecka

Bendy-Cam is a concept challenging the archetype of a camera in a playful and intuitive way. The design explores the potential of gesture in relation to a camera input device. Squeeze to take a photo, slide apart to adjust length of the screen, bend to zoom in and out, twist to browse photos…Bendy-Cam doesn’t need a single button!

Twitter app for iOS updated to version 4.2; brings new Activity in Discover tab

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

1

The official Twitter app for the iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 4.2, bringing with it a new element for the Discover tab called Activity.

What’s New in Version 4.2

– Updated design and improved relevance of Discover stories
– Activity in Discover tab shows who your connections follow, updates to their lists, and which Tweets they retweet and favorite
– Spelling suggestions and related searches for search results in Discover tab
– Recent searches shown when selecting search box in Discover tab
– Username autocomplete and go-to-user when searching in Connect tab
– New push notifications for when your Tweets have been retweeted or favorited or when you have new followers
– New language support: Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish

Download now from the Apple App Store

Skype for Android Updated to version 2.8.0.920

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

0

Skype for Android Updated to version 2.8.0.920

Skype for Android has been updated and it has a restyled instant messaging view, and some other fixes.

Make free Skype-to-Skype video calls, and call phones at Skype rates on the move

Make free voice and video calls to anyone else on Skype, whether they’re on an Android, iPhone, Mac or PC, as well as IMs to your friends and family.

Features:
– Skype to Skype IMs, video and voice calls are free over 3G or WiFi.
– Make low-cost calls and SMS to mobiles or landlines from your Android.
– Send pictures, videos and files to any of your contacts.
– Enjoy high-quality sound when you call anyone else on Skype.
– Talk face to face or show what you’re seeing with front and rear-facing cameras.

What’s in this version:

Restyled instant messaging view
Video rotation support for many more devices
Faster app start up

Download now from Google Play

A first look at Battlefield 3: Close Quarters from Electronic Arts

Gaming
News

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

0

A first look at Battlefield 3: Close Quarters from Electronic Arts

Here at CDW, we recently got to see and play the brand new Battlefield 3 themed expansion pack, Close Quarters, from Electronic Arts and it’s great!

Battlefield 3: Close Quarters is a themed expansion pack bringing the team play of Battlefield 3 to tight indoor environments. The frantic close quarters infantry combat showcases the wide spectrum of battles that only Battlefield 3 can deliver, from huge open environments to intimate indoor gunplay. Battlefield 3: Close Quarters is amplified by unprecedented high definition destruction, new ways to play, added persistence, and new weapons including the ACW-R carbine, the M417 sniper rifle, the L86LSW machine gun and the M5K tactical machine pistol.

The HD Destruction in Battlefield 3: Close Quarters lets players riddle the environment with bullets, reducing entire locales to ruin. Everything from furniture to plaster can be shot to pieces, and players can see the result of the mayhem as rubble and broken pieces pile up on the floor. The tight level design and many opportunities for vertical gameplay create a highly competitive environment.

Battlefield 3: Close Quarters key features

Get plunged into frantic and relentless infantry combat on 4 new maps

HD Destruction lets you reduce entire locales to ruin

Complete 10 new Assignments and equip 5 unique dog tags

Earn 10 new weapons and bring them back to the base game including:

AUG Assault Rifle
SCAR Assault Rifle
ACW-R Carbine
MTAR-21 Carbine
M417 Sniper Rifle
JNG-90 Sniper Rifle
L86LSW Machine Gun
LSAT Machine Gun
M5K Tactical Machine Pistol
SPAS-12 Shotgun

This expansion pack will be available in June and will cost $14.99 for the Playstation 3 and PC download, and 1200 MS Points for the Xbox 360.

I really enjoyed playing the game, and I can’t wait to play some more!

LinkedIn app for iOS updated to version 5.0; brings with it iPad support

Apple
News

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

0

LinkedIn app for iOS updated to version 5.0; brings with it iPad support

The LinkedIn app for iOS has been updated, and it now finally supports the iPad!

Get on-the-go access to your professional network with LinkedIn for iPhone & iPad. Find and connect with more than 150M members worldwide, read the latest industry news, keep up-to-date with your groups, and share content with your network from anywhere.

What’s New in Version 5.0

LinkedIn is now available on the iPad
Optimized for Retina display on the new iPad
New calendar feature lets you see LinkedIn profile information for people you’re meeting with
Redesigned updates view lets you easily stay up-to-date with connections, industry news, groups, and more.

Download now from the Apple App Store

Microsoft reissues Office for Mac 2011 14.2.0 update (Service Pack 2)

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

1

Microsoft reissues Office for Mac 2011 14.2.0 update (Service Pack 2)

A few weeks ago we told you that Microsoft released update 14.2.0 (also known as Service Pack 2) for Office for Mac 2011. Microsoft pulled it from AutoUpdate because of a problem, but now it’s back!

Here is what Microsoft have said:

“As of this morning, we posted a 14.2.1 update that fixes a number of issues, including the Outlook for Mac database issue, and you can read more about the update in this KB.

“This update is primarily preventative and targets those who have not yet installed SP2; however, whether you have or have not installed SP2, please run this update to bring your installation of Microsoft Office:Mac 2011 to the latest version.”

Personally I didn’t experience any problems! If you did, let us know.

The Digital Lifestyle Show 351 Glass Half Full

Andrew Edney

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Apr 26, 2012

0

The Digital Lifestyle Show 351 Glass Half Full

This weeks Digital Lifestyle Show has just been released – and it’s show 351.

Here’s what Ian says about this week show:

This week Garry and Andrew were busy so Jason Coombes joins me to look over the weeks news. We talk about Microsoft’s decision to make Windows Media Center an optional component of the Pro edition of Windows 8 and the impact it will have on Media Center users. We also talk SkyDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox, Skype, Raspberry Pi, Windows 8 milestones, the 30th birthday of the ZX Spectrum and lots of other stuff. Plus we have our mystery prize giveaway, details in the show.

You can listen to or download the show from here.