I love my Raspberry Pi but like I said in my first review the board feels a little vulnerable and so when I saw a case design at the Blackpool Linux User Group I had to get one. The case is made in Telford here in the UK by the Shropshire Linux User Group and comes in a kit you put together in about 20 minutes. It’s made of laser cut acrylic and comes with everything needed including insulating pads and all the screws. The pieces are well made with no sharp edges, all the ports are labeled and the clear acrylic looks great.

The case costs £9.99 plus postage from ebay.

A couple of years ago I started using Simple.tv a service for Media Center that would automatically convert recorded TV shows to a format I could use on other devices like the iPad, it worked very well but I haven’t used it for some time. Today I got an email from them explaining that they are suspending sales of the Media Center application as they focus on hardware products.

It’s not surprising that 3rd party developers are scaling back their Media Center development given that Microsoft current attitude to the platform.

Dear Simple.TV for WMC User

A quick head’s up: we’re temporarily suspending sales of our Simple.TV for Windows Media Center application as we focus on bringing our hardware DVR to market (the shiny white box you may have seen in various articles and on our website). We’re “all hands on deck” to ship within the next 2 months.
Don’t worry: we will continue to support Simple.TV for Windows 7 — however, trial users will not be able to purchase the paid version until further notice.  We look forward to updating the PC software with support for iOS, Roku and HTML5 apps later in the year.
Sincerely,
The Simple TV Team
www.simple.tv

In the latest post on the Building Windows 8 Blog Microsoft have talked about the fast boot process in Windows 8 and with the use of UEFI firmware you don’t have to desperately press F8 to try and get in to the boot loader.  It looks like things like booting from a USB stick are going to be much easier and finally moving us from the 1980’s style boot screens.

As  with all the other posts on the Windows 8 Blog it’s very long and detailed but the summary of it is that booting is going to look better and work faster.  Read the post for all the details.

The core vision behind the boot options menu is to create a single place for every option that affects the startup behavior of the Windows 8 PC. Portions of this menu were discussed in detail in our previous blog post titled Reengineering the Windows boot experience. That post has the complete details and describes the fundamental changes made within the boot menus to enable touch interaction, Windows 8 visuals, and a cohesive user experience across the many surfaces that make up boot. Here is a screenshot of the boot options menu on one of my UEFI-based PCs:

Booting to an alternate device (such as a USB drive or network) is one of the most common scenarios that previously required interrupting boot with a keystroke. With Windows 8 UEFI-based firmware, we can now use software to trigger this. On these devices, you’ll now see the “Use a device” button in the boot options menu, which provides this functionality directly. As you can see in the above image, this functionality sits side-by-side with the other boot options. Windows no longer requires a keystroke interruption to boot from an alternate device, (assuming, for the moment, that you can reach the boot options menu itself without requiring a keystroke in boot. More on this in a minute.)

Into this same menu, we’ve added new functionality that allows you to reboot directly into the UEFI firmware’s BIOS setup (on Windows 8 UEFI hardware that supports this). On previous-era hardware, instructions for entering BIOS setup appeared at POST in messages like “Press F2 for setup.” (These messages have been around on PCs longer than perhaps any other type of UI.) They will still occur on systems that were made prior to Windows 8, where they will continue to work (primarily because these devices take several seconds to POST.) However, a Windows 8 UEFI-based PC won’t stay in POST long enough for keystrokes like this to be used, so the new UEFI-based functionality allows this option to live on in the boot options menu. After looking at the other items in this menu, we decided to place the button that reboots the PC into the UEFI firmware’s BIOS setup under the “Troubleshooting” node, within the “Advanced options” group:

Samsung promised Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) for the Galaxy Note and it looks like it’s finally here (at least for UK owners). I had given up checking for the update each day but today my phone prompted me to download the 318mb download. 

Once downloaded the Note rebooted, installed the update and after about 20 minutes it was up and running Android 4.0. The first thing I noticed was that all my shortcuts and widgets that I have setup over the last few months where replaced with the standard Samsung layout which was a little frustrating but it didn’t take to long to get the ones I wanted back. No files or app settings were lost.

The first thing you notice is that some of the fonts have changed to the new Android font and I have to say it looks better, other than that at first glance you would be hard pressed to see any changes. The changes are subtile but important. The first one is that the exchange email app has been improved, it syncs better and the widget is clearer, also the gmail app is much improved and there is a new gmail widget. Also notifications have been improved, it’s clear and seems to add more details, again is subtle but is certainly makes it better to use.

There is also a new task manager that lists the apps in a vertical list which is much better to use. There are nice little touches like the being able to make the patten unlock screen smaller so it can be done one handed which on the earlier version would require two hands due to the large screen

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As well as the ICS improvements there is also a new application from Samsung called S Note, the application designed for use with the Galaxy’s pen has a number of templates for taking notes and includes handwriting recognition, it will work with mathematical formulas that get calculated from Wolfram Alpha. I use Evernote for my note taking but it’s nice to see Samsung’s app work with the pen. There are also new S Memo widgets.

The performance seems unchanged and it’s to early to say if the battery life any different with ICS but so far I am impressed with the changes and it seems a nice incremental improvements. With Samsung’s Touchwiz sitting on top of ICS you can’t see some of the changes introduced in Android 4.0 but it’s certainly a nice upgrade.

Sonos have announced a new product the SONOS SUB, the Sub is a wireless subwoofer that links in the Sonos network. So if you need some bass with your Sonos system and have some cash free then the SUB will be on sale mid June and will cost £599 and in October a lower cost matte finish unit will go on sale at £499

INTRODUCING THE SONOS SUB

SOUL-SHAKING SOUND. HEART-POUNDING DESIGN. ONE-BUTTON SETUP.

Hilversum, The Netherlands – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 –

Fill any room with deep, clear HiFi bass
Wireless, one-button setup
Seamlessly integrates with the Sonos System
Place it anywhere in a room – even lying flat under a sofa or bed

Sonos, Inc., the leading manufacturer of wireless music systems, today introduced the Sonos SUB, a stunningly designed wireless subwoofer that takes the whole Sonos Wireless HiFi System one seismic step closer to the spine-curling, jaw-dropping, full body experience music was meant to be.  SUB will be available beginning June 19th.  For a preview video of SUB, visit the Sonos Blog.

“Like all of our products, our new SUB is designed from the inside out by Sonos,” says John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos, Inc. “SUB has all the hallmarks of a great Sonos product: Clear, deep, all-digital sound, an incredibly simple setup, and beautiful design you’ll be proud to show off in your home.”

Whether you’re listening to Beethoven’s thunderous 5th or the pounding bass line of the latest four-on-the-floor obsession, the new SUB will fill any room with thick layers of bottomless sound that let you hear and feel the weight of every chord, kick, splash and roll.

Place it anywhere in a room, plug it into a power source, press a button and follow some simple prompts on your controller. The SUB wirelessly connects with your other Sonos components for an optimized, whole-room listening experience. Within minutes of taking it out of the box, you won’t just hear the difference SUB makes—you’ll feel it with every bone in your body.

Whether the unit is standing up or lying down, the SUB’s unique design and smart wireless signal allows you to place it anywhere you want in the room—even lying flat under a couch or bed—without any loss in sound or performance.

And just like every other Sonos component, you can control the SUB from your computer, smartphone or tablet. All you have to do is download the free Sonos Controller apps for Android, iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC.

The SUB works with all Sonos amplified components: CONNECT:AMP/ZonePlayer 120/ZonePlayer 100; PLAY:5; PLAY:3. It does not work with the non-amplified Sonos CONNECT/ZP90/ZP80.

The SUB launches in mid-June and will be available in a high-gloss black lacquer finish for $699 USD ($749 CAD, $999 AUD, €699 EU, and £599 UK). A black matte finish will be available in October at $599 USD ($649 CAD, $799 AUD, €599 EU, and £499 UK).

Features of the Sonos SUB include:

• Two force-cancelling speakers positioned face-to-face: All the sound and energy from the music comes through loud and clear, and none of it is lost in cabinet buzz or rattle.
• All digital sound: All filter settings, active equalization and time alignment are done digitally through state-of-the-art DSP (Digital Signal Processing) circuitry for zero-loss audio quality and energy.
• Dual acoustic ports: Tuned to maximize the acoustic volume of the SUB and enhance bass resonance.

Powering the SUB are two state of the art Class-D digital amplifiers that have been perfectly tuned to match the speakers and acoustic architecture. The cabinet is made from proprietary resin to create acoustically dead walls with maximum internal air volume. The SUB’s specific dimensions are 15.8 x 6.2 x 15in. (402 x 158 x 380mm) with a weight of 36.3 lbs (16kgs). Full SUB specifications, details and a video can be found at www.sonos.com/SUB.

My Samsung Galaxy Note has just notified me of the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update for the Note. The update which includes Samsung’s Touchwiz skin, a new note taking app called S Note and a new S Memo Widget. My phone is unlocked running on O2’s network and it’s great to see it finally getting ICS

The update comes in at 318.89mb, downloading it now!

Netflix have updated the Android version of the Netflix app and they say that this version improves playback experience on tablets and phones and includes bug fixes and “improves stability”. The app is free from Google Play.

What’s in this version:

- Enhanced playback experience on phones and tablets
- Improved stability
- General bug fixes
If you are having problems updating your application, you can update your device manually by opening your mobile browser and going to this URL: http://tinyurl.com/nflx180
Once the application is downloaded please tap on it and follow the instructions to install this application. In some cases you may have to allow applications from untrusted sources to be installed.

As we are featuring the Raspberry Pi at the user group meet up I have been reaching out to some other tech communities and on Saturday I visited the Blackpool Linux user group. They meet each Saturday 10 till 12 and they are a great bunch of guys that made me feel very welcome. With Les and Alan we looked at getting the Raspberry Pi running with OpenELEC and Les had nice case for this Pi.

At the other side of the room there were lessons in Python and installing Debian on an old Thin Client, I also met up with Alan O’Donohoe who is organising Raspberry Pi events. Thanks to the guys for the welcome and they will be at our event in September showing off Linux distros, hopefully I should be able to make a few more meetings before then.

You can find out more about the user group at blackpoollug.blogspot.co.uk and I will have a short interview with Les on this weeks podcast.

The energyEGG^TM is a home automation/power saving device that does one job and does it very well.

The job the energyEGG^TM does is to turn of a socket or number of sockets in a room if that room is empty.

It does this using a combination of an Egg shaped PIR and one or more wireless sockets. All sockets can be turned on by pressing a button on top of the egg and they will power off when the PIR detects that the room is empty. One really clever thing here is that the Egg will detect occupancy even if the people in the room are totally still – what it calls the SitStill^TM  sensor.

To avoid turning off when you have just popped out to make a cup of tea the Energy Egg has a timer dial on the bottom which you can set for a delay between 5 and 30 minutes.

The device will warn you a minute before it is due to turn off and also if the device has switched off the plugs will beep at you when you re-enter the room to remind you to turn on by pressing the button on top of the egg.

This last was really my only concern with the device. To get the best sensor coverage I had to position the sensor the other side of the room to the entrance. This meant groping about in the dark to find the egg to turn the lights back on. Although I guess in any sensible house the main light switch would be near the door, It would still be nice if they could supply a remote switch with the energyEGG or an option to turn on when the sensor detects movement in the room.

You can have multiple energy Eggs in a house and it is easy to pair sockets to Eggs. By default each Egg only controls the devices it is paired to (Room mode) but you can set an Egg to control all the devices in the house by pressing the button for 5 seconds and putting it in house mode.

The solution is supplied in convenient sets with the egg and one or more plugs. Ours came with one plug so we really couldn’t test the house mode but as everything else worked so well I have no doubts it would work as described.

You can’t beat this device for simplicity of set up – as one of my colleagues described it: so simple it is boring. Sometimes boring is good though  and there is nothing at all boring about the potential energy savings with this device.

Perhaps not a device for the real Home Automation enthusiast as there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to integrate it with other systems but as a simple setup and forget unit to turn off devices when they are not being used it is really good. My only caveat would be the aforementioned issue with the only switch being on top of the device.

The set reviewed retails at 40 UK pounds more details at http://www.treegreen.net/energyegg.php

Microsoft are continuing to improve the Kinect for Windows SDK with version 1.5 being released today. The update includes a new seated skeletal tracking system so developers can track a seated users as in near mode as well as the standard mode.

The SDK has been split into the core SDK and a developer toolkit which includes the samples and now includes samples in c++, C# and Visual Basic. There is also a new tool called Kinect Studio a tool for recording and playing back Kinect data for help with developments.

I am looking forward to seeing what developers can do with the SDK, maybe it would be something worth showing off at the user group event.

You can get the SDK from Microsoft

via