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Tag Archives: download

Windows 8 Pre-Beta Available for download

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At their BUILD conference in the USA, Microsoft had shown-off Windows 8(the next version of Windows). Alongside that, they had promised to make a developer preview available for download.  I can now confirm that Microsoft has released this developer preview, and it’s available for download right now using the links below. 

This is a pre-beta version of the operating system, which means that development has not finished yet. Essetially, you are downloading a build which is meant for testing at this early stage in the development of Windows 8.

On the lighter side, you don’t need to be a developer to download this pre-beta edition of Windows 8 and you don’t need to have a product key for it. You just download it, put this ISO onto a DVD(or run it using VMWare or VirtualBox), install and enjoy. 

Windows 8 Developer Preview 64 Bit(English version)

Windows 8 Developer Preview 32 Bit(English Version)

Windows 8 Developer Preview 64 bit with SDK (English Version)

I am also going to be downloading this, trying it out for myself and giving you all my opinion.

How to Dualboot with Linux and Windows 7

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So, you have had windows 7(or Windows XP) on your PC.and you have decided that you want to set up your PC to have windows 7 and Ubuntu(A very popular Linux distribution) on the same hard drive. Additionally, you want to be able to choose whether to use Windows or Ubuntu. However, how can you do this?

Well, this is where WUBI(Windows-based Ubuntu installer) comes in.  Wubi will allow you to configure your Ubuntu installation to your needs. 

Before going ahead with this procedure, please back up your data to a safe place. 

So how do you use it?

Well, let’s start off by downloading the WUBI installer by clicking here .

Once you have done that, run the WUBI installer. If you are on Windows 7, be sure to right click on the installer and select “Run as administrator”.  

From there, you can configure your Ubuntu installation to your needs. You can choose how much hard drive space to allocate to the installation, the username and password, language and more. Once you have done this, the installer will download Ubuntu for you. If you have already downloaded the ISO file for Ubuntu install disk, then place the ISO in the same folder as the WUBI installer. This will save you a lot of time.  When it’s downloaded and prepared, the next step will be to restart your computer.

When you restart, your computer will ask which operating system you wish to boot into. If it does, then select Ubuntu.  From there, the installation is automated. After the installation, simply enter your username and password, and you have done it! It really is that simple.  

Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for any loss of data or damage this procedure may cause to your computer. You are performing this procedure at your own risk.  As I have said above, please backup your data before using WUBI. Apart from that, have fun!

Firefox 6 releasing soon

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On Tuesday 16th June 2011, Mozilla will be releasing version 6 of their web browser Firefox. However, the final release of Firefox 6 has already appeared on Mozilla’s FTP servers. From your browser, you can access the FTP servers and download your copy right now by choosing from the list below:

Windows

Mac

Linux (32-bit)

Linux(64-bit)

If you so choose, then download and install this new release and let me know what you think. 

Apple Posts Final Cut Pro X FAQ

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As many of you know already Apple’s Final Cut Pro 10 was recently released, but not without some backlash from Professionals, the media and others. The new application was released with reviews on Apple’s official Mac App Store being less than 3 out of 5 stars with the majority of reviews getting 1 out of 5 stars.  

To make matters worse, it seemed as if there was no way for educational institutions and corporate customers to buy Final Cut Pro 10 without having to buy each license individually.  

To try and calm some of the angry crowd, Apple has posted an FAQ article on their website. Though it was not mentioned, It seems like Apple will break their rule that essentially says, that all purchases in the Mac App Store are final on special cases. The special cases are relating to those who are complaining that they were not happy with their purchase. This is a case in point that Apple will do whatever they can to keep every single customer happy.  

This may be OK for the volume licensing side of the distribution of Final Cut Pro X, however, they have not considered the current problem of bandwidth for the download of the software.  There may be some people who want to buy Final Cut Pro X, but they may not have a fast enough internet connection for the download.  Additionally, there may be some people who have a fast enough internet connection, but their internet service providers only allow them to download a certain amount of data a month. There are also those who have a fast enough internet connection, but the traffic is shaped, so that only the most essential of services (such as email and basic web pages) are the fastest and file downloads are the slowest.  

iOS 5 beta 2 is ready for download

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Apple has released the 2nd beta of iOS 5(Apple’s operating system for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Apple TV). As per the firt beta release, this beta is released under a non-disclosure agreement(NDA). This means that both code and features of any beta release of iOS 5 cannot be disclosed to anyone.  

However, my sources have told me that the 2nd beta has added support for wirelessly adding videos, songs and other content to your iOS device.  There is also support for wireless iOS device activation in this build.  This means that you will not have to connect to your computer and open iTunes on your computer to activate your iOS device.  

If you are an iOS developer, then go ahead and download your copy of iOS 5 beta 2 right now and let me know what you think of it. Of course, don’t break your NDA if you are under an NDA.  

Firfox 5 is ready for download ahead of schedule

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for those of you who don’t know, Mozilla(makers of the web browser firefox) have promised that they would release the more significant version upgrades of Firefox such as versions 4, 5, 6 etc. on an increasingly regular basis. This was supposed to be the case for version 5 of Firefox, which was supposed to release on June 21st. However, I have received confirmation that final version of Firefox 5 has just hit Mozilla’s FTP server. Upon further investigation, I can also confirm that Windows, Mac and Linux versions of Firefox 5 are available.

If you would rather be on the safe side, then I suggest waiting as June 21st is just around the corner. On the other hand, if you would like to play with it right now by going to mozilla’s public releases on their FTP server.

If you have already downloaded this “Golden Master” build of Firefox 5, then please get in touch with me and let me know what you think. You can email me on Adi@adiman423.co.uk. Please note that I read all of your emails, but I won’t have time to respond to all of them. You can also follow me on twitter. My twitter handle is @Adiman423

Apple’s WWDC 2011 keynote roundup

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Today was Apple’s WWDC 2011 keynote address. There was lots of good stuff in there for us users.  This is just a few highlights of what happened.  If you want to get everything, then check back later. I will have a youtube video of keynote speech with the updates in there.  

Starting out like Phil Schiller did, Mac OSX Lion available in July 2011 and it will be only available from the mac app store for $30 US or roughly £20 GBP.  It will have some interesting multi-touch gestures.  This means that you can use many fingers on a trackpad to swipe between pages and pictures as well as different applications on your mac.  It will also have something called launchpad. This will essentially be a screen similar to your home screen on your iOS device.  

Next up was iOS 5.  With over 200 new features, this is the biggest update for the iOS devices to date.  It’s a free download which is supported by the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS. It will work on both the iPad 1 and 2.  It will also work on the 4th and 3rd generation iPod Touches, and it will ship in the autumn. When you buy a new iOS device in the autumn, you take it out of the box and activate it right out of the box. Operating system updates will be done right on the device using Wi-Fi.  To add to the awesomeness, you will only download the changes made to the operating system.  Other parts don’t get downloaded meaning that you save on bandwidth. Finally, wireless syncing, this means that instead of plugging in a cable, you connect to your Wi-Fi network. Then, you will be able to transfer songs, video and other content without the need for a wire if you choose.  I think that wireless syncing is something that should have been there since iOS 1.0.  

The third of the main topics was iCloud.  It will be a free service with 5GB of storage(that is enough data for just over 1200 songs) . This could mean that you can get more storage but there would be a charge of course.  I cloud will allow you to take some of your data on your Mac or iOS devices and have it stored in the cloud.  This means that data you upload to iCloud will be sent to the other devices. Also, any applications you buy on one device can then be downloaded to the other devices at no extra cost to you.  This is the same for songs that you buy from the iTunes store on your mac or iOS devices.  If you have an iOS device running iOS 4.3, then you can take advantage of iTunes for the cloud right now.  

Of course, Steve Jobs had that famous “one more thing”.  He introduced a new service called music match.  This will scan for music people have on their PC from their CDs and re-create their library online.  It will cost $24.99 US, no information on the release date of that.   

Now there was some other awesome stuff that I really cannot wait to use.  Be sure to check back here for a video of the entire keynote address. 

Amazon’s Mac Download Store is Now Open

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If you own a Mac, you know that Apple has their own software download store called the “app store”. Well, Amazon has now opened their own download store for the mac.  Over there, they have software that Apple does not have on the Mac App Store.  For example, the Amazon Mac Download Store has Microsoft Office available, whereas Apple’s Mac App Store does not.  

According to a press release from Amazon, the Mac Download Store “features an install-less download process where the customer gets just the product without any unwanted extras, making for faster and easier purchases”.  To add to that, all downloads are backed up to your “Games and Software Library where you can download an unlimited number of times for personal use.”

Now this is good to see some alternative Mac software stores where you can pay for and legally download software for the Mac.  Another alternative store is Bodega, you might want to check that one out as well.  Either way, I think that this will create competition.  The true test of Amazon’s new store, is how many people will use it as opposed to Apple’s software download store.    

What do you think? Which store will you use? be sure to let me know what you think.  

Ninite (install many apps, no fuss)

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As some of you may know, every time you reinstall Windows, you have to reinstall all your apps. This normally means going to the website for each of these apps, downloading and installing each one and doing a lot of clicking during the installation process.  Now I have found a great way to shorten down the time spent installing all those apps. 

Let me introduce you to Ninite. This app is possibly one of the most awesome apps I have used.  I have used it before on many computers and it has saved a ton of time. The way it works, is you go to ninite.com. Here, you will be presented with a list of apps that you have to check(tick) off.  Once you have checked(ticked) off the apps you want, click “download installer” and save it to a place you will remember to find it like a USB flash drive or your dropbox.  

Once you have downloaded your Ninite installer, open it and the rest should take care of itself. Once your Ninite installer has finished its work, you are done. You can also use it as a way to download updates to the apps.  If you want to uninstall any of the apps installed by ninite, then you can do so by using the add and remove programs app which comes with windows.  I should also make it clear that Ninite is also available for Linux as well as windows. 

I used it when installing windows 7 64 bit on my custom-built desktop PC, and it saved me a lot of time.   I have also used it on my Linux virtual machine and it saved me a lot of time. I know that Linux already has a similar feature, but I just thought that this is something I should let you all know about.  

So have you used Ninite before? what do you think of it? I would like to hear your opinions.  

What is bit torrent?

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So in my post about backtrack 5, I mentioned that you could download backtrack 5 using bit torrent.  However, what is this bit torrent?  Well, I am about to explain it to you right now.  

Now bit torrent is a type of P2P protocol, and it’s best if I use an example to explain exactly how it works.  Currently, there is a movie called “The Tunnel” which is available as a bit torrent download. When you go to the site to download the torrent, you download a file called a torrent which has the extension .torrent.  This is not the movie itself, it’s a pointer to people on the internet who have completely downloaded the movie or who are in the process of downloading the movie.  

the people who have downloaded the movie and have uploaded it are called seeders and the people who have only downloaded the film are called leachers.  When looking for a download, you want one with a high number of seeders and similar number of leachers.  

Now let’s assume you have downloaded the .torrent file for this movie, you need to have a bit torrent client.  There are many of these bit torrent clients available for all 3 major platforms, that’s Linux, Windows and OSX.  You then open your .torrent file with your bit torrent client and then tell the client where you want the movie to be saved.  At this point, the client essentially searches a distributed table and a tracker which has information about the users who are downloading or have fully downloaded the film. Once this table has found people who have downloaded/in the middle of downloading this film, you will be connected to these people and your download begins.  

When you download files from a website using your web browser, you normally download the whole file at once. This would sometimes mean that the speed of your downloads would be so slow.

In a bit-torrent download, you join a group known as a swarm. When you download, you are simply pulling chunks of the movie you don’t have from other people in the swarm. You are also sending chunks of the movie you have to other users who don’t have these chunks.  The more copies of the full movie available in the swarm, the faster your download will go.  After you have downloaded the movie, it is recommended that you keep your connection to the swarm active, and allow people to pick up chunks of the movie that they don’t have from you.  

Of course, with bit torrent there comes the issue of piracy and legality. I must state that it is important that bit torrent is legal. Any content that someone has created and the creator has said that people can download using bit torrent is legal.  An example of something that would be legal to download over bit torrent would be Ubuntu, a Linux Distribution.  Another example would be “The Tunnel” movie.  These are examples of content which can be downloaded legally using bit torrent.  The TV show Pioneer One has also been released as a free bit torrent download and is another example of a bit torrent download which is legal.  

However, bit torrent is used for illegally downloading copyrighted content for free.  For example, if somebody uploaded a torrent of a Playstation 3 game without the permission from the original authors of the game or Sony.  Also, Microsoft software such as Windows 7, or Microsoft Office 2010 being shared over bit torrent is illegal unless microsoft explicitly tell you that you can share over bit torrent.  Essentially, anything that you don’t have permission to download for free over bit torrent is illegal.  

An advantage is that it saves companies bandwidth costs. They simply create a bit torrent download out of it, and let everyone share it and be a distributed file host.

Another advantage is speed. The download speeds will be as fast as your internet connection will allow.  

A disadvantage is that it can slow down the internet connection for other users in your house or network.  If you are doing a bit torrent download, and someone else is trying to access the internet, then they will experience a slow speed.   

Disclaimer: I am not trying to encourage piracy of any form. Piracy using bit torrent can also lead to viruses and it hurts the content creators as well as the software developers. Instead, you should support them buy going to the stores and buying the software, movies, or other content. If you want to download, then do it legally. Websites such as direct2drive or the iTunes store allow you to legally pay for and download content. Remember that I don’t encourage, promote, endorse, glorify, condone or recommend piracy.