LaCie CloudBox Appears Overhead to Protect Your Data At Home and in the Cloud

Safe in the Box. Secure in the Cloud. That’s how LaCie describe their new CloudBox product.

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The CloudBox is designed by Neil Poulton, who has designed a number of other LaCie items.

  • Automatic daily backup to the cloud
  • Recover your files from the cloud even in case of theft, fire, or physical damage.
  • AES encryption keeps your files secure

With the LaCie CloudBox, you’ve got everything you need for storage and backup. Just copy and paste your most files to your CloudBox, and they will automatically be backed up online daily. It’s that simple: your data is backed up on a local hard drive and again in the cloud for double protection. The CloudBox includes a one-year online backup contract for 100GB, which can be easily renewed.

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AES 128-bit encryption is used to protect your data in the cloud. This is very important, especially after the issues that Dropbox suffered this week. The last thing you want is your data that is stored in the cloud accessible to those who shouldn’t have access to it.

The CloudBox will be released very soon and will retail for around $199, and it will work with both Windows and Macs.

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Learn more from the LaCie website

Check out the video below:

Windows Small Business Server Migration Portal Now Available

Microsoft have created a Windows Small Business Server Migration Portal which provides links to information and tools that help guide you through the process of migrating to SBS 2011.

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This is what Microsoft said:

This latest enhancement to the Windows SBS migration information experience is designed to provide quick access to a broad spectrum of migration guides, tools, and community knowledge that can help guide you through the process of migrating from your current version of Windows SBS to a more recent version of the product, or to a new or significantly modified computer.

This portal does not mark the end of the work to be done in this area. Oh no. We are always learning, always evolving, always improving. And thanks to your passion, experience, and involvement, we like to think that your voices lend beautiful harmonies to our work. Or is that the other way around? Either way, we hope you find the Migration Portal helpful.

Access the Windows Small Businss Server Migration Portal

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

 

Windows Home Server 2011 Resources

This week Microsoft updated its Windows Home Server 2011 resources list. These resources include a Getting Started Guide amongst other useful documents.

WHS 2011 resources

Access the Windows Home Server 2011 Resources here

StableBit DrivePool for Windows Home Server Build 1864 Now Available

The latest beta version of the Windows Home Server Drive Extender replacement StableBit DrivePool build 1864 has just been released.

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  • 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.
  • All your data is stored in standard NTFS files. You can always access your files even if the Windows Home Server completely crashes or this add-in can’t be used.

The changes in this version are:

1.0.0.1864 (restart required)

* Extended expiration by 1 month.

* Corrected interop stack mismatch.

* Fixed error encountered when processing disk change notifications.

* [D] Fixed system crash related to an access violation when closing a handle.

Download Stablebit Drivepool build 1864here Learn more about StableBit DrivePool here

Have you tried it? What do you think?

Apple Releases OS X 10.6.8 Update

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Yesterday saw Apple release OS X 10.6.8. Is this the last update before Lion is released next month?

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The update is 273.5 MB in size, so it’s not small.

Here is what the update contains:

The 10.6.8 update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

• Enhance the Mac App Store to get your Mac ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Lion

• Resolve an issue that may cause Preview to unexpectedly quit

• Improve support for IPv6

• Improve VPN reliability

• Identify and remove known variants of Mac Defender

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4561.

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

Hands On with Ford’s Active Park Assist – Forward with Ford 2011

During the Forward with Ford 2011 conference, I had a chance to get hands-on with Ford’s Active Park Assist, and it reminded me a lot of Knight Rider!

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How active park assist works:

  • The driver activates the system by pressing an instrument panel button, which activates the ultrasonic sensors to measure and identify a feasible parallel parking space
  • The system then prompts the driver to accept the system assistance to park
  • The steering system then takes over and steers the car into the parking space hands-free. The driver still shifts the transmission and operates the gas and brake pedals
  • A visual and/or audible driver interface advises the driver about the proximity of other cars, objects and people and provides instructions
  • While the steering is all done automatically, the driver remains responsible for safe parking and can interrupt the system by grasping the steering wheel

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Active park assist is enabled by Ford’s advanced EPAS technology. In addition to helping with parallel parking, EPAS improves fuel economy up to 5 percent, while reducing CO2 emissions and enhancing steering performance compared with traditional hydraulic power-assisted steering systems. EPAS saves fuel primarily because the steering system is powered by an electric motor connected to the vehicle’s battery, as opposed to engine-mounted hydraulic pump steering systems.

By 2012, Ford plans to fit nearly 90 percent of the Ford and Lincoln line-up with EPAS.

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So on the last day of the event, we got to spend the morning on the test track, trying various vehicles and seeing technology (but more of that in a later post). I was quite intrigued with active park assist because I had heard of it before, but I hadn’t actually seen it working and I wasn’t sure just how good it would be. After all, if it went horribly wrong and I hit another car would my insurance company accept that “I didn’t do it”?

This isn’t new technology – its been around for about 2 years now, but Ford plan to have it in more vehicles and are making it better each time.

So I jumped in the car to give it a go – and you see how I did in the video below (a special thanks to Jennifer Moore of Ford for taking the video).

I have to say I was very impressed – it worked really well and by the end I felt confident enough to let the system do it’s job and park for me. It didn’t hurt that the first time I tried it I was in someone else’s car! And all the time I was humming the Knight Rider theme tune to myself in my head.

Forward with Ford 2011 – Global Design Convergence – Using 3D Modelling

During my couple of days spent in Detroit this week with Ford, I sat in a number of interesting sessions. One of which was called Global Design Convergence and included a demo of how Ford uses 3D modelling technology to design and test cars.

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The room we were in for this presentation had a huge long giant screen that could be used to show the cars full size to help the whole process.

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Ford have 9 studios around the world that they use for design and modelling.

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The process starts off with a designer or team working on a design either on a computer, on paper, or however they like.

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Then the design in made using clay.

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Then computer modelling is used to help show just what it will look like inside and out.

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Software called AutoDesk AutoStudio is used to help model the cars in 3D.

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Microsoft Releases Windows Server Solutions Log Collector Tool

Microsoft today announced the release of a beta version of a log collection tool for Windows Home Server 2011 and SBS2011.

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Have you wanted to be able to gather logs to help troubleshoot a WHS2011 problem?  Well, Microsoft just issued a beta tool that does just that.

Here is what they have to say about the tool:

The Windows Home and Small Business Server Team is happy to announce the Windows Server Solutions Log Collector Tool for Beta testing. The Windows Server Solutions Log Collector tool captures the context of the Server of Windows Server Solutions family or computers attached to it, at close to the time when the user experiences a problem.

It might be worth it to download the tool and take it for a spin.  When this goes into final release, we’ll be sure to let you know.

See The WHS Tool Here See the SBS Tool Here

D-Link Launches Amplifi Range of Home Networking Products

On Tuesday, D-Link announced its new Amplifi family of high-performance networking products, for managing high bandwidth HD traffic and streaming, pushing wireless signals into the farthest corners of homes and adding bandwidth over existing electrical wiring.

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The Amplifi family line includes the HD Media Router 1000 with HD Fuel® (DIR-657), Whole Home Router 1000 (DIR-645), Wi-Fi Booster with SmartBeam™ technology (DAP-1525), PowerLine AV 500 Adapter (DHP-500AV), AV Starter Kit (DHP-501), and 4-Port Gigabit Switch (DHP-540) – all aimed at optimizing the ever-increasing amount of Internet traffic in homes across the nation.

With HD Fuel to manage and prioritize high-bandwidth traffic, SmartBeam to optimize wireless signals in the farthest corners of your home, and PowerLine 500 to provide bandwidth over your existing electrical wiring, D-Link’s family of Amplifi products are not only the fastest home networking solutions on the market, they’re also some of the smartest. HD video streams, online gaming, VOIP applications, network storage drives – Amplifi has been engineered to let you do it all, all at once. Get uninterrupted connectivity to your digital universe with complete home networking solutions that are as reliable as they are state-of-the-art.

 

Here is the full press release:

D-Link Unleashes Amplifi™ Family of Premium,

Home Networking Solutions for Today’s Connected Homes

Optimized Routers, Boosters and PowerLine Products Offer Industry-Leading Speeds, Whole Home Coverage and Uninterrupted Connectivity for Gaming, HD and Standard Content in Sleek, Form Factors

 

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. – JUNE 22, 2011 – D-Link today announced its Amplifi™ family of high-performance home networking solutions, designed to offer best-in-class performance for today’s demanding connected homes. Optimized for the ever-increasing amount of Internet traffic in homes across the nation, the Amplifi product line includes the HD Media Router 1000 with HD Fuel® (DIR-657) for managing high bandwidth HD traffic and streaming, the Whole Home Router 1000 (DIR-645) and Wi-Fi Booster (DAP-1525) with exclusive SmartBeam™ technology for pushing wireless signals into the farthest corners of homes to deliver whole home coverage, and PowerLine 500 products (DHP-500AV, DHP-501AV, DHP-540) for adding bandwidth over existing electrical wiring.

 

“There are two main obstacles consumers typically face with today’s home networking – the need for a more powerful network to support HD streaming and signals throughout the home, and expanding Wi-Fi coverage into the farthest corners of the home, essentially having whole home coverage,” says Daniel Kelley, associate vice president of consumer marketing, D-Link North America. “D-Link has solved these issues by investing heavily in R&D, and is excited to introduce our new patented technology as part of the Amplifi line of home networking solutions.”

 

The Amplifi family of home networking solutions introduces all-new networking technologies optimized to enable consumers to do it all at once, with uninterrupted connectivity to their entire library of digital content:

 

Amplifi HD Media Router with HD Fuel® for Premium Digital Entertainment

The Amplifi HD Media Router 1000 with HD Fuel automatically manages traffic flow and optimizes broadband connections to give priority to high-bandwidth entertainment, allowing consumers to watch streaming content on their Boxee Box by D-Link, play online video games with Xbox® 360 or make Skype® calls without the lags or glitches found with standard routers. In addition, the Amplifi line of HD Media Routers allows for multiple media content streams to multiple devices at the same time with uninterrupted performance, including HD video, online gaming and large media file downloads. Featuring up to 300Mbps speed, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, USB SharePort™ Plus, and an SD card slot for accessing HD media and streaming USB devices, this IPv6-ready router keeps consumers in complete control of their digital entertainment.

 

Amplifi Whole Home Products with SmartBeam™ for Uninterrupted Coverage in Every Corner

The sleek new Amplifi Whole Home products with SmartBeam technology optimize home wireless network bandwidth to handle HD video streams, large media file downloads and online gaming applications for multiple devices, simultaneously anywhere in the home. SmartBeam uses six multi-directional antennas with a patented, sectorized design, to find and track individual devices, then focuses beams of bandwidth to those devices, ensuring a seamless connection anywhere in the home. D-Link’s SmartBeam products are ideal for homes or small offices where concrete walls, successive floors in multi-storied buildings, or other architectural hurdles can significantly weaken a wireless signal:

 

·         The IPv6-ready Whole Home Router 1000 features up to 300 Mbps speed, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, advanced QoS bandwidth prioritization, SharePort™ Plus for sharing USB devices such as printers or security cameras, and 128-bit security encryption with advanced Wi-Fi Protected Setup for a secure, plug-and-play home network.

 

·         The IPv6-ready Amplifi Wi-Fi Booster extends an existing router’s wireless signal to deliver uninterrupted coverage to up to four additional devices with no additional configuration using the Gigabit Ethernet ports – just plug and play. In addition, the Wi-Fi Booster also includes selectable 2.4GHz or 5GHz bands, SharePort Plus and Wi-Fi Protected Setup

 

PowerLine Products with PowerLine 500 for Access Anywhere

D-Link’s PowerLine 500 products use a building’s existing electrical wiring to deliver secure, fast connectivity to otherwise hard-to-reach places, such as a basements or attics. With the PowerLine AV 500 Adapter (DHP-500AV), PowerLine 500 Adapter Starter Kit (DHP-501AV), and the PowerLine AV 500 four-port Gigabit Switch (DHP-540), there are no cables to run, holes to drill or wireless signals to configure. Easily plug, play and transform any conventional power outlet into a fully-functioning Ethernet port and your entire home or small office into a wall-to-wall network. Optimized for home entertainment systems or online gaming, the PowerLine HomePlug AV compliant premium products 500Mbps transfer rate to  support multiple streams of HD content at blazing fast speeds, while the built-in QoS engine automatically prioritizes Internet traffic, ensuring glitch-free movies and gaming while web surfing and downloads are also in progress.

 

Availability and Pricing

The Amplifi family of products will be available throughout D-Link’s vast network of retail and e-tail outlets in North America, including Fry’s and Micro Center, and at the company’s online store,http://www.dlinkshop.com. Detailed specifications and information are available online at amplifi.dlink.com and availability and MSRP pricing is as follows:

·      HD Media Router 1000 (DIR-657) – available now for $149.99

·      Wi-Fi Booster (DAP-1525) – available now for $159.99

·      Whole Home Router 1000 (DIR-645) – available in August for $119.99

·      DHP-500AV Adapter – available now for $99.99

·      DHP-501AV Starter Kit (two adapters) – available now for $159.99

·      DHP-540 Four-Port Gigabit Switch – available now for $199.99

 

Drive Bender Beta 4 Release v1.1.5.1 Out Now

Today saw an update to Beta 4 of Drive Bender for Windows Home Server 2011 released, taking it to version v1.1.5.1 only a couple of days after v1.1.5.0.

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Here is what is included in the beta 4 update:

Release v1.1.5.1 – beta (2011-06-23)
– Bug fix: A number of minor code changes to fix potential lockup and service crashes.
– Bug fix: The un-installation routine now correctly restores service dependencies.

For more information check out the Drive Bender website

Video of Ford SYNC AppLink Controlling Pandora With Your Voice

One of the trend tracks I attended yesterday at the Forward with Ford 2011 conference was called Emerging Technologies. During this session Ford demonstrated Applink, which is a SYNC component and how it works with Pandora.

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SYNC AppLink is a free software program from Ford that works with smartphone apps to give you voice control. So for example, you could command Pandora, which is an Internet radio service, to change the station.

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It is integrated into the car display.

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If you are an iPhone user you have to connect via USB, where as Android and Blackberry owners can connect via Bluetooth.

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It’s very cool technology which can only get better in time. More Ford car models will come with SYNC as standard (in the US). And if you are in the UK stay tuned, we should have it soon.

Take a look at this short video to see SYNC AppLink working with Pandora.

 

The Home Server Show 141 Out Now

Dave and the guys have just released the Home Server Show episode 141.

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Here’s what Dave says about this weeks show:

It’s the podcast before the big meetup so obviously we will talk a little bit about that but we have a new podcast to introduce to you and have the host joining us on this episode.  We talk news, drive extender replacements(again) and more.   Thanks to our guest, Mike Howard and the his new show, jpeg2RAW.

As usual you can download and listen to the show from here.

Video of SYNC with MyFord Touch in Action at Forward With Ford 2011

One of the sessions I attended today was on Emerging Technologies, and during the session I saw a live demo of SYNC with MyFord Touch.

Ford Sync

In case you have never heard of Sync, here is how Ford describe it:

SYNC is an easy-to-use in-car connectivity system that allows you to make hands-free calls and control your music and other functions with simple voice commands.

SYNC features allow you to:

  • Access your phone, compatible mp3 player or USB drive with voice activated commands
  • Be connected directly to a 911 operator after an accident in which an airbag deploys
  • Generate Vehicle Health Reports that provide vehicle diagnostics, maintenance and recall information
  • Receive audible text messages
  • And, much more

My Ford Sync

I had the chance to sit in one of Fords cars that had Sync integrated, and I was shown a demo.

My Ford Sync

Ford Sync

I was very impressed at just how well it worked.

Take a look at the demo video below:

Learn more about SYNC with MyFord Touch here

Forward With Ford 2011 – Futuring and Trend Conference

This week sees an exclusive two day media event being hosted by Ford at their world wide headquarters in Detroit, USA, and I am lucky enough to be invited.

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Here is how Ford describes the event:

Ford Futuring and Trends Conference
Ford’s Futuring and Trends Conference is an interactive immersion into how Ford’s innovations, technologies and philosophies, in alignment with top consumer influences and needs, are shaping our world of tomorrow. Several major thought leaders and experts – Malcolm Gladwell, Ed Begley Jr. and Joel Garreau, to name a few – will help shed light on how Ford’s vehicles and technologies are linked to these significant global trends.

So watch this space to hear all about it.