NVIDIA Release GeForce 285.79 Beta Driver

Andrew Edney
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0
NVIDIA Release GeForce 285.79 Beta Driver

NVIDIA have released a GeForce 285.79 beta driver for it’s graphics cards. This beta includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Battlefield 3.

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New in Version 285.79

  • Includes several bug fixes and performance improvements for Battlefield 3.
    • Fixes cases of irregular performance (stuttering) primarily seen on DirectX 10 GPUs. The fix improves the performance of both DX10 and DX11 GPUs.
    • Fixes shadow map corruption seen with DirectX 10 GPUs.
    • Fixes cases of black corruption lines/triangles with DirectX 10 GPUs.
  • Fixes black screen during playback using Windows Media Center.
  • Added or updated SLI profiles for the following games:
    • Aion v3.0
    • Anno 2070
    • Assassins Creed: Revelations
    • Bastion
    • Need for Speed: The Run
    • Payday: The Heist
    • The Adventures of Tintin
    • The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
  • Added or updated the following 3D Vision game profiles:
    • Airline Tycoon 2 – rated Fair
    • Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – rated Good
    • Batman: Arkham City – updated rating to 3D Vision Ready
    • Deus Ex: Human Revolution – rated Excellent
    • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – rated Excellent
    • FIFA 12 – rated Good
    • Hard Reset – updated rating to 3D Vision Ready
    • inMomentum – rated Fair
    • The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
    • Smash Cars – rated Fair
    • Two Worlds 2: Castle Defense – rated Good
    • Zombie Driver – rated Excellent

Other Details

  • Includes HD Audio driver 1.2.24.0.
  • Includes PhysX System Software 9.11.11.07.

You can read more about this driver on GeForce.com.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Sets All-Time Record for the Biggest Entertainment Launch

Andrew Edney
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0
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Sets All-Time Record for the Biggest Entertainment Launch

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Sets All-Time Record for the Biggest Entertainment Launch with More than $400 Million in North America and United Kingdom Sales Alone.

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Here is what Activision said on Friday:

More Than 6.5 Million Units Sold in U.S. and U.K. in 24 Hours

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Shattering its own day-one sales records, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced that its highly-anticipated Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 has become the biggest entertainment launch ever with an estimated sell-through of more than $400 million and more than 6.5 million units in North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours of its release, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

This marks the third consecutive year that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment, something no other entertainment franchise in any medium has ever accomplished. Last year, in North America and the United Kingdom, Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops™ had estimated day-one sell-through of $360 million and in 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, set day-one records with estimated sell through of $310 million, according to Charttrack and retail customer sell-through information.

On November 8, 2011, millions of fans attended more than 13,000 midnight openings at retail stores around worldwide. According to Microsoft, after just two days, the number of gamers playing simultaneously on Xbox®  Live® set a new peak concurrency record.

“We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc. “Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings,” two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.”

Eric Hirshberg, CEO, Activision Publishing added, “Call of Duty is more than a game. It’s become a major part of the pop cultural landscape. It is a game that core enthusiasts love, but that also consistently draws new people into the medium. It is the most intense, adrenaline pumping entertainment experience anywhere. I would like to thank our incredible teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games for making a brilliant game. But most of all, I would like to thank our millions of passionate fans worldwide. We made this game for you.”

Separately, Activision announced this morning that in support and gratitude for the efforts of American servicemen and women, this Veterans Day it donated $3 million to the Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit, public benefit corporation that seeks to provide job placement and training for veterans. This latest donation will be added to the $2 million that Activision has already donated to the Endowment, which has provided more than $1.5 million in grants and scholarships to veterans’ organizations across the country since it was conceived by Bobby Kotick in November of 2009.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Strong Language and is available now for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows® PC. For more information visit www.callofduty.com/mw3 and www.callofduty.com/elite.

We really enjoyed the launch party last week, and have been playing the game for a few days – watch out for our review shortly.

DVBLogic Update DVBLink Boxee Client

Andrew Edney
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0
DVBLogic Update DVBLink Boxee Client

For those of you running the DVBLink Boxee app, there is a new version included in the DVBLink 4.0.1 update.

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To access it, point your Boxee repository to dvblogic.com/boxee.

DVBLink Product Suit v4.0.1 Has Been Released

Andrew Edney
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0
DVBLink Product Suit v4.0.1 Has Been Released

Yesterday saw the release of version 4.0.1 of the DVBLink product suite.

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This release is a cumulative update for version 4.0 that contains all previously released patches.

What is new and fixed:

General

  • Fixed: Unstable channel synchronization/update in MediaCenter
  • Added: Full German, Dutch, Spanish, Danish and Ukrainian localizations
  • Fixed: DVBLink Server does not start if there is no active network connection
  • Added: Moved xmltv file location to ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv
  • Fixed: xmltv files with .XML (capitals) extension are not recognized
  • Added: ISO-8859-7 and Windows-1252 encodings to xmltv source

DVBLink TVSource

  • Added: Latest satellite transponder files from kingofsat
  • Fixed: Transponder files with comments cannot be read
  • Fixed: MediaCenter may display Playready message in the middle of viewing a channel for encrypted channels
  • Fixed: “Technical problem” stream is displayed after waking up a server from standby

DVBLink Connect! Server

  • Added: Use base streaming port (8080) as control port for DVBLink client
  • Fixed: No scheduled recordings are displayed on Recordings tab of mobile apps, even if there are recordings visible in MediaCenter
  • Fixed: iOS/Adroid app crashes when entering Recordings tab
  • Added: Timer recordings added from apps use default recording settings of MediaCenter
  • Fixed: DVBLink Network Client crashes if there is no connection to a DVBLink server
  • Fixed: Artifacts when viewing HD channels on DVBLink network client
  • Fixed: DVBLink Server crashes when trial period of DVBLink Connect Server expires
  • Fixed: It takes a long time to start live TV after standby on a DVBLink network client
  • Fixed: Streams containing AAC audio track are not played back in WinPhone client

DVBLink for Dreambox

  • Fixed: Stuttering playback of RTL4 (HD) channels
  • Fixed: Slow channel changes
  • Fixed: Dreambox with OpenPli2.0 cannot be used when it is in standby
  • Fixed: Second tuner cannot be used on a dual tuner enigma-2 based dreambox

Since there is a driver update involved you cannot upgrade your existing installation! You need to uninstall existing v4.0 DVBLink products and install DVBLink product v4.0.1 from the scratch.

Please use Backup-Restore functionality to restore your DVBLink settings after reinstallation! Do not forget about your modified transponders and a content of your Plugins folder!

Sorry for the inconvenience.

The installation instructions are described on our Wiki.

Important!

DVBLink Connect! Server v4.0.1 does not use anymore base port – 39876 – for control communication with its clients. Instead base streaming port is used – 8080.
Please change port value in your mobile apps for Android, iOS, WinPhone, Boxee for them to work correctly with a new version! Port 39876 does not have to be opened anymore on firewall/router for external streaming.

If you use direct http streaming (for MediaPortal integration for example) – change port value in urls to (base streaming port + 1) – e.g. 8081 if you use default port value.

XMLTV

The location of xmltv files is now fixed to ProgramData\DVBLogic\DVBLink\xmltv. This folder is writable without any special access permissions.

Download

The DVBLink products v4.0.1 can be downloaded from our main page at www.dvblogic.com

BYOB Podcast Episode 65 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
BYOB Podcast Episode 65 Out Now

The guys over at the BYOB podcast, including our very own Tim Daleo have just released episode 65.

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Here is what is included in this weeks show:

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]RAID5 expansion, server Anti-Virus, printing tips, Gigabyte’s 3d UEFI interface and LAN optimizer.[/box]

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Three: Volume Management

Jim McCarthy
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0
QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Three: Volume Management

This is Part Three of our QNAP TurboNAS Deep Dive series.  This article looks at volume management options.  Read on for details!

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In Part One of this series, we told you how to set up the ISCSI target functionality in TurboNAS 3.5.  In Part Two, we covered adding users.  In Part Three, we’ll show how to set up and administer the volumes and RAID arrays.  Let’s get going!

Volume Setup

QNAP’s TurboNAS makes setting up and changing RAID volumes pretty easy.  Let’s take a look.

Click on Disk Management to show the available volume and RAID management options.

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Click on Volume Management to start the process of creation of a volume set.  Note that the NAS that I am performing this on already has a RAID5 volume created that we will not be deleting, so I’ll show most of the process here while not damaging my RAID set.  You can see extensive options, including RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, RAID6, RAID10 and JBOD.  Simply select the type of volume that you want to create.  Note that TurboNAS also is telling me about all four loaded hard drives, including SMART data, and about the already-existing RAID5 array.  I could delete, format or check that array for errors here if I wanted to.

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The system will warn you that all services will be stopped for this effort, click OK to proceed.

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This is what happens when you have no free disks in the system; all four loaded disks are already in a RAID5, so it errors out.  If you had spare disks, you would have been able to select them and start to build the RAID array.  This is a very easy to use and powerful configuration tool.

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Once you issue the command to build the array, TurbNAS goes about building it and you can copy data to it during the array build.  I let this go overnight, and it was ready for action with full data protection the next morning.  Building a RAID5 array could not have been easier!

QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Two

Jim McCarthy
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3
QNAP TurboNAS Firmware: 3.5 Deep Dive Part Two

QNAP recently released TuirboNAS 3.5 for their NAS products, and I am doing several posts on features included in the updates.  This is Part Two and we’ll cover local user and user group creation.  Read on for details.

qnaplogo

We recently told you about QNAP’s 3.5 TurboNAS firmware here.  QNAP was good enough to lend me two units to review and this is Part Two of our TurboNAS 3.5 deep dive series.

We’ll look at this product from the standpoint of a power home user, but will also point out where there are business-focused features as we go.  Part One looked at setting up an ISCSI target and can be read here.  Let’s get started on creating users!

Administration of your QNAP NAS is through a clean, well-designed web page interface.  Log in at the Administration screen.

Admin Screen

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QNAP has done a great job at laying out the configuration options. The layout is very organized and readable.  Here is a view of the options:

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There are many interesting administrative features to look at here.  Let’s start by creating a user!

Create A User

If you have more than one person who needs to be able to access the NAS, you’ll want to create users and maybe user groups.  Let’s walk through the process.  First, click on Create a User.  The Create a User Wizard pops up to take us through the eight required steps.

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Clicking on Next brings up the following screen where you input the desired user name and password:

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I decided to give my daughter a user account:

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Apple Instigate iPod nano (1st generation) Replacement Program

Andrew Edney
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1
Apple Instigate iPod nano (1st generation) Replacement Program

If you have a 1st generation iPod nano then you will want to get it replaced by Apple as they said it may overheat and pose a safety risk.

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Here is what Apple has said:

Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006.

This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages.

Apple recommends that you stop using your iPod nano (1st gen) and follow the process noted below to order a replacement unit, free of charge.

Note: This battery issue is specific to the iPod nano (1st gen) and does not affect any other iPod.

Replacement Process

You may order a replacement unit via the web. Click here to begin.

Your iPod nano serial number will be checked to verify that it is eligible for this program. You will receive a replacement unit approximately 6 weeks after we receive your current iPod nano (1st gen).

If you have a personalized iPod nano, you will receive a non-personalized replacement. Make sure to use iTunes to back up any data on your current iPod nano before sending it in for a replacement unit.

Additional Information

Identifying an iPod nano (1st gen):

  • It has a black or white plastic front and a silver metal back – later iPod nano models have a metal front and back. See images on this web page.

If you need assistance with placing an order, please visit an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) and bring your iPod nano with you for serial number validation.

Your replacement iPod product is warranted to be free from defects for 90 days from the date of service.

So if you still have one of these, get it swapped out today.

The BlackGold BGT3650 Quad TV Tuner Now Available

Andrew Edney
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0
The BlackGold BGT3650 Quad TV Tuner Now Available

The long promised BlackGold BGT3650 quad tuner card is finally available and shipping.

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The BGT3650 is the world’s premium multi-channel tuner, digital demodulator, analogue capture, intelligent remote PCI-express PCTV product, implemented on a miniature platform. The product is capable of receiving standard and high definition digital broadcast program content, including the new UK Freeview 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), quad digital terrestrial including both DVB-T and DVB-T2, dual digital cable DVB-C. Giving 4 simultaneous HD terrstrial streams from a single low profile card.

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 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 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. (109mm x 69mm PCB outline including PCI-e fingers)
The BGT3650 is the perfect Windows 7 Media Center and other high end PVR application TV partner. No other product provides the maximum number of terrestrial tuners on a single platform.

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 and stereo audio – red/white phono connectors (Currently Media Center does not support Component Video RGB)

The product has been architected to allow simultaneous management of four broadcast program streams. Hardware tuner and demodulator technology supports the detection, receiving and processing of HD terrestrial 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.

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.

And it is available now and in stock for £139.00 plus VAT and delivery.

Buy the new BGT3650 from here

iOS 5 Battery Problems Continue

Andrew Edney
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5
iOS 5 Battery Problems Continue

We reported that we had experienced poor battery life on the new iPhone 4S and iOS 5 recently, and a few days ago Apple released an update to fix it. For some, myself included, this fix didn’t work!

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According to Apple, the update “Fixes bugs affecting battery life”. Personally I haven’t experienced any increase in battery performance, and it is just as poor as it was before the update.

Worse still, after applying the update I noticed that I had problems with my email on the iPhone. I had a number of messages that simply said “No Sender” and “No Subject” even though prior to the update they were proper emails.

Removing the accounts and re-adding them fixed that, but it shouldn’t have happened.

One good thing though was the over the air (OTA) updates from Apple worked like a charm (all be it not fixing the problems) and it was nice for one to only have to do a small download for the update instead of the usual 650MB+ per Apple device.

Regarding the battery problems, website AllThingsD are reporting:

“The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices,” the company said in a statement given to AllThingsD. “We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.”

So, come on Apple, fix this issue and fix it soon!

Did the fix work for you? Let us know…..

The Home Server Show Episode 160 Out Now

Andrew Edney
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0
The Home Server Show Episode 160 Out Now

Dave at the guys at the Home Server Show have released episode 160.

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Here’s what Dave has to say about this weeks show:

I had to Skype in from a remote location this week but I think we pulled off a great podcast. My audio is not the best but John and Jim sound great and the conversation was just as good. An add-in for an add-in and another good chat about VM’s, SSD’s, and drive extender add-ins. Outtakes thrown in for good measure! Enjoy.

As usual you can listen to the show from here.

WHS Add-in Update: CloudBerry Backup Updated to Version 2.5

Andrew Edney
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2
WHS Add-in Update: CloudBerry Backup Updated to Version 2.5

Our friends at CloudBerry Labs have been in touch to tell us that their CloudBerry Backup software has been updated to version 2.5.

CloudBerry S3 Backup is a powerful Windows program that automate backup and restore processes to Amazon S3 cloud storage.

New version of CloudBerry Backup 2.5 comes with an ability to backup data to local storage such as local disks, network shares and NAS devices. While the previous version of CloudBerry Backup had some basic support for local backup, with the newer version the users can take advantage of all product functionality available for cloud backup including block level differential backup, data encryption, data compression and data versioning.

CloudBerry Backup 2.5 lays the foundation for a full hybrid cloud backup implementation. The users can decide what data to store locally for high availability and what data to store in remote locations such as Amazon S3 and Windows Azure.

Local backup

With this feature you can backup data to local disks, SAN, NAS and remote file shares. This is useful if you like to backup only subset of your data to the cloud for advanced protection but also like to keep your data locally for fast access and reduced costs.

There is a new account type called File System Storage account and you have an option to choose it on the Backup Wizard dialog.

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All you have to do is to specify the path to the folder where you want the backup created.

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Everything else will work just like with any other storage provider. you can choose the Advanced Mode with the Block Level Backup option

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you can configure Purge options and how many versions to keep

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you can configure Compression and Encryption

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Kinect Sports: Season Two Free Game Add-On Available Now

Andrew Edney
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0
Kinect Sports: Season Two Free Game Add-On Available Now

If you have the Kinect Sports: Season Two game for the Xbox 360, then you can get a free add-on for it called Challenge Pack #1.

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“Kinect Sports: Season Two” Serves up Free Game Add-On to Separate the Pros from the Rookies

Launching Nov. 7, “Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1,” sponsored by Braun, brings six heart-thumping, sweat-inducing activities to elevate your game and inspire competitive fun for the whole family

 

Players, take your mark. The teams from Rare and Big Park Games today unveiled “Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1,” a free game add-on sponsored by Braun, and the first of our monthly updates for “Kinect Sports: Season Two.” Available Nov. 7 on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, “Challenge Pack #1” stirs up friendly competition in the living room with six new Challenge Play activities, helping eager athletes hone their athletic prowess on the field, green, court, slopes and even the dart board.

Invest sweat equity in all six new sports featured in “Kinect Sports: Season Two” through new exciting activities available in Quick Play and Challenge Play, allowing you to compete with your friends and family either in your living room or send a challenge over Xbox LIVE for friends to tackle later:

· Baseball: Frantic Fielder – Oil up your mitt and get ready for action! “Frantic Fielder” for Baseball gives all new meaning to playing catch. Fielding an endless stream of balls from a lineup of mascots tests everything from hand-eye coordination to speed. The more you catch the harder it gets – three misses and you’re OUT!

· Darts: Smart Shot – Exercise the brain and throwing arm simultaneously with “Smart Shot” for Darts. If hitting the bulls-eye wasn’t challenge enough, try competing against the clock with mathematical puzzles that require a sharp mind and even sharper aim.

· Football: Crazy Kicker – As the star kicker in “Crazy Kicker” for Football, you’ll discover the challenge of making a 40-yard field goal with all eyes watching. Account for factors like distance and wind to line up your shot perfectly and score! The crowd and mascots will cheer you on with every amazing goal.

· Golf: Champion Chip – “Champion Chip” for Golf takes the short game to a new level. Chip shots become increasingly challenging from different surfaces, distances, and with natural obstacles like wind steering the course.

· Skiing: Cool Ringings – Swoosh down the slopes with a license for speed, dodging mascots and ringing the cowbells for extra points in “Cool Ringings” for Skiing. Five different courses help players build their ski legs just in time for ski season.

· Tennis: Rapid Returner – Breaking a sweat is easy with “Rapid Returner” for Tennis, where mascots serve up a variety of zingers at increasing speeds to the forehand, backhand, net and baseline. If you’re looking for the ultimate Tennis training game, grab your racquet for and get ready for action.

New game add-ons will be made available each and every month through Spring 2012, with each release including some kind of free content to keep you on the field and in the game. Stay tuned for more details on additional challenges, features and even a whole new sport coming next year!

Apple Release iOS 5.0.1 To Fix Battery Life Problem

Andrew Edney
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1
Apple Release iOS 5.0.1 To Fix Battery Life Problem

Apple have just released the iOS 5.0.1 update to fix the battery life problems – hurray!

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iOS 5.0.1 Software Update

This update contains improvements and other bug fixes, including:

•    Fixes bugs affecting battery life
•    Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
•    Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
•    Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

Products compatible with this software update:

•    iPhone 4S
•    iPhone 4
•    iPhone 3GS
•    iPad 2
•    iPad
•    iPod touch (4th generation)
•    iPod touch (3rd generation)

My iPhone 4S is downloading the update right now!

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