Have you ever wanted to run Android apps on your PC? Well now you can with the App Player from BlueStacks.
I’m going to give this a try, so I will let you know how I get on!
Have you tried it yet? If so, let us know.
Download the BlueStacks app player from here
The Nokia Music app for Windows Phone has been updated to version 2.0, bringing with it a number of UI tweaks.
Discover a world of music and local gigs with Nokia Music.
With hours of online listening choose mixes from our music experts, recommendations based on artists you love, or created from your personal music DNA. You can even choose mixes to listen to offline.
Play your own music, download new mp3s or find the latest gigs nearby.
Download from the Windows Phone Marketplace
Google have added Play to their Google navbar, meaning you have a quick link anytime you visit a Google site.
Google Play is the new (ish) name for the Android Market, the place you go to select, buy and download apps for your Android devices.
I’m personally still not convinced on the name though!
Apple has just released an update to it’s Safari browser, taking it to version 5.1.5.
Safari 5.1.5 contains a fix for an issue that could affect website usability when running Safari in 32-bit mode.
The update is a little under 47 MB.
Learn more from the Windows Blog Today Microsoft has released an update to its Windows Phone SDK, taking it to version 7.1.1.
The 7.1.1 Update is really just that – it’s an update to the existing WPSDK: it doesn’t add much in the way of new features to your WPSDK installation; it updates your existing install to do a few new tricks:
So are you going to develop an app? If so, let us know!
We have talked a few times about the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone here at CDW, and now Nokia have revealed the US release date and pre-order date.
![UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[27]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/UWHS-Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012-27.jpg?ssl=1 "UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[27]")
The Nokia Lumia 900 will be available for sale in the US from AT&T on April 8th at a price of $99.99. For those who want to get their Lumia 900 reserved, you can pre-order the phone in cyan or black from March 30 at http://www.att.com/lumia.
![UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[16]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/UWHS-Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012-16.jpg?ssl=1 "UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[16]")
![UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[18]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/UWHS-Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012-18.jpg?ssl=1 "UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[18]")
![UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[17]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/UWHS-Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012-17.jpg?ssl=1 "UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[17]")
![UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[23]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/UWHS-Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012-23.jpg?ssl=1 "UWHS---Nokia-Lumia-900-at-CES-2012--[23]")
So what do you think of the Lumia 900?
The Skype app for the iPad has been updated to version 3.8.
![skype-for-iphone-hero-2_thumb1_thumb[1]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/skype-for-iphone-hero-2_thumb1_thumb1.jpg?ssl=1 "skype-for-iphone-hero-2_thumb1_thumb[1]")
Optimized graphics for new iPad Retina display
Download from the Apple App Store
Yesterday was the Beeb@30 event in Cambridge, and Raspberry Pi was there. We got some hands-on with it and also got to talk to Eben and Liz Upton from the Raspberry Pi organisation.
There was a table set up with a working Raspberry Pi on it that belongs to the Centre for Computing History. For those who are interesting, theirs is board number 7!
Here is a closer look at the Pi:
The Raspberry Pi was also running a ZX Spectrum Emulator (FUSE) and people got to play on the classic Spectrum game Manic Minor. And it was cool!
Eben Upton took to the stage after lunch and gave a very interesting presentation that talked about how he got into computers, and he also gave an update on the status of the shipments. We took some video which we will post up soon.
What he said was that 1,950 Raspberry Pi’s were at that moment somewhere over Siberia and should be in the UK either Monday or Tuesday!
Below is a picture of the Raspberry Pi running Twitter via Midori. It was displaying real-time tweets at the event, and if you look closely the top tweet on the screen is actually us tweeting about the Raspberry Pi being there and working!
Have you ordered one yet? Mine should be here in May.
Point your Google TV here The Guardian has released a beta app for Google TV.
This is what the Guardian posted:
Eighty-six years after a reporter watched the first demonstration of a television system in London, the Guardian has launched a television app in the US. It’s a new way to view our latest videos, headlines and photo galleries on a TV.
The app works on Google TV. If you don’t have Google TV, be warned: we’ll be making our way to an internet-connected television set near you soon.
Our app is a significant move forward for our strategy to open up journalism to a global audience through digital media. After five years of multimedia growth and winning awards, including an Emmy, Guardian video can be consumed at leisure on some televisions.
What we’re releasing is a beta product – so it is not a finished product. It is built by a tiny but extremely talented team led by Guardian programmer Dan Catt (@revdancatt). With the help of our product manager Sharath Bulusu and design team, he has created an elegant interface that hooks directly into the Guardian’s Open Platform. A feed of selected content appears as it is published.
TVs are made for viewing, so we’ve tried to keep the experience clean and simple. When you first click on the app from the Google TV home screen, you’ll see the latest full-screen image from our acclaimed Eyewitness news photography series.Then a menu and grid of content appears. Down the left is the menu of options. Read our headlines for news, sports or arts and features. Watch some of the Guardian’s video (we make 10 hours a week) in HD. View the latest photo galleries. The rest of the screen has a grid of pictures and headlines.
We’ve focused on Google TV for now, because Chrome allows us to build an app quickly. In theory, this means we can create and release new versions of the app as often as we want, avoiding the lengthy approval processes required by some other connected TV platforms. We’ll experiment in real time with the content on offer and the user interface, tweaking both as we go.
Once happy that we have a “stable” prototype – v0, if you will – we’ll lock that design down and replicate it across other platforms, with a clear focus on the major UK platforms.
Have you tried it yet? Let us know.
Last week we told you that it was time to say goodbye to Using Windows Home Server. Well now it’s time to say hello to Connected Digital World.
So over the weekend the hard part took place, the site was moved to its new home and all the links and backend work was completed.
There is still a lot to do, and some tidying up to finish before we move on to the next stage.
Let us know what you think and if you find any problems.
And also let us know if you want to see something on the site we don’t do yet!
There has been another beta build from CoveCube! StableBit development marches on – now its beta M4 build 5933.
Here is how CoveCube describes this application:
This version’s change log:
1.0.0.5933 ———-
* [D] Alt. stream memory leak plugged.
Learn more from the new Stablebit DrivePool home Download Stablebit Drivepool build 5933 here
The guys over at XBMC.org have just released the final version of XBMC 11.0 Eden.
This is what was posted:
It’s been over a year in the works and today we are excited to announce that XBMC 11.0 is finally ready and available for download. You can find XBMC 11.0 here.
XBMC 11.0 Milestones include Addon Rollbacks, vast improvements in Confluence (the default skin), massive speed increases via features like Dirty-region rendering and the new JPEG decoder, a simpler, better library, movie set scraping, additional protocol handling, better networking support, better handling of unencrypted BluRay content and structures, adjustable display refresh rate in OSX (to match the already available feature in Windows and Linux), AirPlay support, an upgraded weather service with geoip lookup, and much, much more. Check out the highlights in the summarized changelog.
In addition to our many software improvements, we’ve increased our reach in the realm of hardware support since Dharma was released. Eden marks the first in-sync stable release for the Apple TV2, iPad, and other iOS devices. We’ve vastly improved the method by which we handle input, including heavily upgrading JSON-RPC support, making remote control support much, MUCH simpler in Windows, and enabling unique methods of device communication with hardware. And now even AMD devices are supported for GPU video decoding in Linux to some extent, thanks to the inclusion of VAAPI.
Beyond XBMC 11 for Windows, Linux, OSX, and iOS, we are also happy to announce XBMCbuntu Final.
XBMCbuntu is very similar to past versions of XBMC Live. By default, the user boots directly into XBMC, and if he/she chooses, he or she will never see the underlying OS. However, unlike Live, XBMCbuntu is now built upon a full LXDE desktop environment, which has a web browser (Chromium) with a fully updated (and updatable) version of Flash built-in and a GUI package manager ready to install and update all of the normal Ubuntu programs a typical Linux user might use. The user may now toggle between XBMC, which auto-starts, and a normal desktop if he or she chooses. And, perhaps most exciting for many users, XBMC will now be upgradeable, both from command line and from the GUI package manager, without fear of crashing the XBMC experience.
Naturally, those users who do not want to see the desktop will never need to. When you boot your computer, you will be booted directly into the XBMC homescreen, just as you are right now. The only clear difference is the new power underneath the hood. Those users who have already installed the Beta version of XBMCbuntu can upgrade to final using the apt-get upgrade commands.
This is great news and I will be downloading it later myself!
Have you tried it yet? If so, tell us what you think.
Microsoft has published a document detailing known issues of Windows 8 Client Computers Connecting to Windows Home Server.
Issue 1: The Windows Live ID credential used in Windows 8 may not be recognized by Windows Home Server.
Background
Windows 8 allows you to log on using a Windows Live ID, and will bind the Windows Live ID with a local account. This is not supported by Windows Home Server
Symptoms
After you log on with your Windows Live ID to a Windows 8 client computer, a balloon may show up as below when you open the traditional desktop. Also, while you browse the server shares or other server resources, you will need to enter the local account credentials.
Workaround
After you log on with your Windows Live ID, you need to add a Windows Home Server user account to the Credential Manager on the Windows 8 client computer before you can access server resources.
1. Open the Windows Home Server Admin Console, and manually create a user account.
2. On the Windows 8 client computer, open the Control Panel
3. Locate the “Credential Manager”
4. Click “Add a Windows Credential”
5. Type in the name of your Windows Home Server in the “Internet or network address” box, add the user name and password created in step 1 to the user name and password edit box, and click the OK button.
You will be able to access your Windows Home Server shares and resources now while still using the Windows Live ID to log onto your Windows 8 client computer.
Issue 2: Windows Home Server Client Connector setup may not install the OEM client software
Background
Windows Home Server Client Connector setup will launch the OEM client software setup package if they are named OEM.msi or OEM_x64.msi and are placed in the same folder of the Windows Home Server Client Connector (\\[ServerName]\Software\Home Server Connector Software). This is not supported for Windows 8 client computers.
Symptoms
After you install the Windows Home Server Client Connector on a client computer running Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you may find the OEM client software is not installed.
Workaround
Before installing the Windows Home Server Client Connector, browse to the client connector folder (\\[ServerName]\Software\Home Server Connector Software) and manually install OEM_x64.msi (if you have 64-bit Windows) or OEM.msi (if you have 32-bit Windows) by double clicking the MSI file. After the OEM package installs successfully, you can install the Windows Home Server Client Connector.
Earlier this week we told you that the Twonky Beam Browser for Android had been updated, well now it’s the time for the iOS version too!
Twonky Beam Browser provides you with a simple and familiar way to discover and enjoy Internet videos with your tablet or phone and beam them to your TV or other media players on your home network.
When you visit your favorite websites, or discover new ones, Twonky Beam Browser will display a Twonky Beam button over the media files that you are able beam to your TV or sound system. The home page of Twonky Beam Browser contains links to popular websites with great content you can beam. Browse many pages at once through tabs, with the home page always available to you as the main tab. You can also create and manage bookmarks, so that you can easily find your favorite sites.
A simple tap of the screen will beam the chosen content to your selected player, such as your Airplay enabled, UPnP or DLNA certified device. The beaming mode in Twonky Beam Browser can be toggled on and off, allowing you to use the application to discover and enjoy content locally on your tablet or phone.
One of the best ways to use Twonky Beam Browser is with Internet video, but it also works with audio and photos. You can also create playlists with a queue of multiple selections that will play continuously in the order you added them, or you can change the order and delete items from your queue. It is always possible to continue browsing, either on the current site or another site, while your media plays on the device.
UI Improvements
Tabbed Browsing
