Windows Phone. You've now got a fighting chance! (Windows 8.1 feature set post)

• Swype support (Sorry iOS, your now out in the cold).
• VPN (Er... the business phone with Office and Exchange support but no VPN till now!!!)
• Rotation lock. ( Reading emails in bed will no longer be infuriating).

You've finally listened!

Now all I need is Sky Go but I can live without while I still have a tablet!

http://www.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-81-features

Other notable mentions:

Media

• Audio/video transcoding, Hardware accelerated

System

• Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• Chkdsk for SD cards to ensure card health
• Miracast, PlayTo, mirror and project via wireless display or USB-out
• Mouse and keyboard support (HID)
• Stereoscopic 3D support
• Wi-Fi Direct

April 8 - Don't even think about using Windows XP anymore...

You really do need to kill off that XP machine! It's going to be a prime target for malicious attackers. Either move to Windows 8.1 or get a Linux distro as they're dead easy to use these days. Try Ubuntu, or for older machines: Xubuntu.). You'll be more secure and supported for software updates.

The only downside as stated in the link below is there is no easy upgrade direct from XP to Windows 8.1. You need to backup all date and do a clean install. Then reinstall all your programs and drivers.

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/microsoft-belatedly-attempts-to-use-friends-and-family-to-get-rid-of-windows-xp/

Mavericks is free!

Yep, Apple have released it for free and its in a App store waiting for download.

Eurostar connectivity to get a lot better.

"Commuters travelling on the Channel Tunnel route could soon benefit from even faster wireless Internet access, alongside a seamless switchover at international borders, after Nomad Digital announced that its connectivity solutions would also be installed on 10 of their latest e320 trains.

The 320 series, which first surfaced at the end of 2010, can travel at speeds of up to 200mph (Miles per Hour) on parts of the track that support such performance and are also able to negotiate different signalling equipment and power supplies between countries (i.e. fewer changeover stops required)."

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2013/09/new-eurostar-e320-train-fleet-get-faster-wifi-internet-access.html

Shuttle SP35p2 and a AMD HD 7870 will work happily.

Everything went beautifully with the upgrade in physical terms.

UPDATE: Sadly after months of trying to diagnose the reboots I was getting I seem to have established that the cards cooler is pretty poor. I saw temps as high as 80oC in the case. I even modded a 120mm into the roof of the shuttle (looks so cool with blue LEDs) but I could not get it to stay cool.

I think it's only once ever got to the end of a run of 3D Mark and that was when I under clocked the card massively using the catalyst drivers sliders.It's pretty disapointing. You would have thought they would have designed the coolers to force the hot air out of the case and though the fins that way instead of having such as open design.

Even with the case off and all fans at 100% (it sounds like a jet engine) you still reboots.

The old GTX 275:

Without the GPU:

The new card (left) and the old (right):

Top down view:

The new card going in:

Everything back in the case:


PSU info (I doubt the Shuttle PC55 would make a difference as it not got the same efficiency rating):

Crucial firmware upgrade for SSD

From the email I got today:

"New firmware available for your Crucial® SSD!
Crucial SSDs are designed to support periodic firmware upgrades that provide enhancements to optimize how our drives perform. We're happy to announce that the latest firmware upgrade (040H/04MH) is now available for your Crucial m4, Adrenaline, or mSATA SSD on our SSD support page. This is an optional firmware update, but by upgrading you can benefit from the following improvements:
Faster boot up – we improved the time between when you press the power button on your computer and when the drive is ready to accept commands
Faster TRIM – we improved how our drives clean up files to make them more efficient
Better power management – we improved some power consumption elements so that our drives can draw less power

At Crucial.com, we're proud to deliver first-rate support to our SSD customers and that includes firsthand upgrade news. While you're on Crucial.com downloading the latest firmware, why not see if you can further improve your system's performance with a DRAM upgrade? Our innovative Crucial System Scanner accurately identifies the memory in your system and provides a list of guaranteed-compatible upgrades. Just another great service we can offer – thank you for being a valued customer!

-The team at Crucial.com"

At least its not a bug fix this time. Nice to see they are continually improving the product to keep it competitive. 

Graphics upgrade?

OK so I have some fairly hefty constraints on what I can upgrade my ageing Shuttle PC with.

First and foremost is power constraints with only a 450W PSU in the case ...
Then comes dimensions...With a precarious motherboard power connected in the lower left. I barely got my GTX 275 in there!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-275,2266-14.html

http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/graphics_cards_buy_now_uk.html

I'm thinking this Zotac will fit the bill in terms of size and power draw.

http://www.ebuyer.com/393783-zotac-gtx-660-ti-2gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-zt-60801-10p

World IPv6 day.

So some major sites are going IPv6 operational on a permanent basis from today.

Check out the video: