IFTTT update: The power of IFTTT, now on Android

We are delighted to introduce IFTTT for Android. What’s available in the Play Store today is only the beginning.

Download the app for your phone or tablet and unlock six new Android Channels, including the Device and SMS Channels.

IFTTT update: New Long Press feature for WeMo Light Switches

Update your WeMo Light Switch’s firmware to take advantage of the new Long Press feature!

Simply press and hold your Light Switch for two seconds or more to fire off new WeMo Recipes.

For more WeMo Recipe inspiration, see Belkin’s profile.

Amazon Fire TV - Review & Opinions

What is Amazon Fire TV?
Fire TV is a small black box that connects to your HDTV to give you access to a world of online entertainment.
With a huge selection of TV episodes and movies, available to view through Netflix, Prime Instant Video, Hulu Plus, low-cost movie rentals, live and on demand sports, music, photos, games, and more.

What channels are on Amazon Fire TV?
Netflix
Amazon Instant Video
Hulu Plus
Pandora
Vevo
Vimeo
Crackle
Bloomberg
iHeart Radio
tunein
RedBull TV
PLEX
YouTube
Flixster
And many more besides

Hardware
The box itself comes with some great hardware specs... most notably
Full HD out
Quad Core processor
2GB RAM
Built-in WiFi
Bluetooth remote (no line of sight required)

Dimensions
4.5" x 4.5" x 0.7" (115 mm x 115 mm x 17.5 mm)
9.9 oz (281 grams)


The Amazon Fire TV has many great reviews from users lucky enough to own one too:-

I am just not really a casual user of on-demand content and devices. Having tried smart tv's from 3 brands, smart dvd/bluray players, Apple HTPC, too, TV, WDTV and Chromecast all kinds of other competing products to say--for streaming content, before box you actually had two options (to get a simple to use box that doesn't require additional items or tweaking):

First, is Apple TV which is easy to use (interface) but Apple limits the content you can get greatly (including no Prime Streaming built in) and it lacks a lot in features as well and is slow. The reason behind selecting Apple TV is if you have other apple items that unlock features (like Amazon's content).

The second option you can consider was Roku--which really means a Roku 3 box since it is heads and tails better than past Roku boxes with regards to remote and speed. Now Roku stands apart using the most content and the most features of any box together with the Roku 3. It is for this reason you will notice me address the Roku 3 so frequently in this review.

I actually have added quick summaries of other options to make certain we all know concerning the other choices around.

WDTV: Are great for streaming your personal content however, not very user friendly.

Chromecast: Is very cheap at $35 but requires other things to work with (no remote included! According to their own site with other content broadcast via Chrome's browser not at the same quality level, ), is limited to 16 channels. This does enable you to surf the internet on your own tv and is also amazing for your cost but is a lot more of the niche market than FireTV/Roku/Apple TV. But if you can live with the short comings, it really is worth a look at 1/3 the price of these units.

Smart TVs: A large number of are FINE for occasional use although not nearly as pleasant to utilize daily like separate boxes.

Pros:

Android Based (meaning many apps coming and the possible ways to gain and root more features

Ability to use Apps (Not just being forced to count on what's preloaded like to many older TV boxes and Bluray players)

Accurate voice search - That one surprised me, It genuinely worked, Much better than Xbox Voice Commands or Siri, and Better than S Voice...

Bluetooth remote (for many this really is a con, having said that i don't want another Wifi device jamming my crowded signal Please read on to find out why I think this)

It's not flashy - Matte Colors with out crazy lights

Quick to load - Just 28 seconds from Connect to ready to stream (My Roku 3 takes 78 Seconds to complete the identical)

Feels heavy - for that size it has good heft (Doesn't feel cheap)

Only 1 white light on front, This is a bit bright but not a deal breaker

Does Dolby Digital sound Out (DTS, 5.1 Etc) Via Optical or HDMI

Netflix In HD (Some android based players couldn't try this)

Cons:

Have to purchase separate gaming remote

No Headphone jack in remote

Low on apps first of all

No Native DLNA Support (Hopefully Apps will fix that soon)

No AC wireless band it has 5Ghz N but not AC

Case can pick up fingerprints, but they remove easily

Immediate update after first connect is big, Almost 900MB so it could take a little while

The power brick is bigger than I was hoping for, if you have a crowded power strip it might be an issue

Plex may be the only local media app available up to now.

Voice Hunt for media only works on Amazon Prime Videos, It will give you options to watch on netflix or Hulu when you go in, but if you want your personal network media you have to get into your app (Plex is the only person on the market today) and look manually (Voice search kicks you back out to Amazon Video if you try it.

EMC Retrospect Scanning incomplete, error -645 ( chunk file damaged during save) error

If like me you use EMC's Retrospect backup solution for backing up all of your companies windows and Linux servers then you know how frustrating it can be when you get an error crop up that no-one else seems to have yet resolved.

After an upgrade to the latest version 9 of the Retrospect server backup software I ran in to an issue on a couple of servers where the backup would scan for files and then error with the following error

Scanning incomplete, error -645 ( chunk file damaged during save)

After a lot of searching and trial and error I finally worked out that I could resolve this by removing the corresponding servers file from this directory and re-running the backup.

 C:\ProgramData\Retrospect\RtrSec.dir

This worked on two backups that had this issue (the reset had no issues anyway)

I hope this helps someone in the future.