Best iPad 2 apps

Best iPad 2 apps

So you've got an iPad 2, and now you need to fill it with lovely iPad apps. But with 65,000 apps available just for the iPad what's the best ones to get and are there any that take advantage of the new features of the iPad 2. 

We've scoured the massive collection of iPad apps available (mid March) on iTunes to see what's on offer and what you should download. We've tried, tested and reviewed all of the following free iPad apps ourselves, rather than just guessing whether they're good or not.

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iPad 2

iPad 2

Last year, before the UK release of the original iPad (which was delayed by a month), Apple opened up pre-orders around three weeks before the 28 May launch date. We even received our iPad a day earlier than it officially went on sale after pre-ordering, and posted some cracking pictures to prove it. This year, for the iPad 2, we're four days away from the proposed 25 March launch date and Apple have still to open pre-orders. So it's unlikely that it will do so now. Unless, the only pre-order option is to pick-up your tablet sequel in store. Either way, it looks as if you're going to have to go down to your local Apple Store and stand in line for a number of hours if you simply must have your iPad 2 in hand on the 25th. There were suggestions last week that, due to the popularity of the iPad 2 in the US (where there is now a 4-5 week wait to get hold of one), the international launch might be delayed. Four days away though, and Apple is still insisting that a UK launch on Friday is happening, although other planned launches, such as the one in the Czech Republic, have been pushed back a month. It's all a bit panicky for eager fanboys, that's for sure. Our advice would be to get to the Apple Store of your choosing as early as you can and simply wait it out. We're hearing whispers of a 5pm UK launch time, although this would go against what Apple has done in the past. Other retailers, such as the Carphone Warehouse and PC World (as well as numerous phone networks) are all supposed to be stocking the tablet from Friday, but we're hearing suggestions that some of these third party launches may indeed be delayed (although a couple of Carphone Warehouse stores we spoke to were sticking with the 25 March line). For the moment, just keep your eyes on the Apple online store, as well as Pocket-lint, where we'll be bringing you release detail updates as soon as we get them.

UPDATE:


Apple has pulled the Czech Republic launch date back up to 25 March, have they found stock or was it a typo all along? In the meantime, check out our First Look: Apple iPad 2 review to see what all the fuss is about anyway and our Apple iPad 2: specs and details

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Sony: NEX-3 not canned, but no longer in production

Sony: NEX-3 not canned, but no longer in production

Sony’s UK digital imaging marketing manager, Andreas Georghiades, has clarified the situation over the company’s Alpha NEX-3 camera, while hinting that more snappers could be on the way.

“The camera wasn’t cancelled,” Georghiades told Pocket-lint at this year’s Focus On Imaging show in Birmingham, after we asked what was going on with the model launched last year. “It’s more of a case that we made the amount that we wanted to make and then stopped production.”

The comments clarify rumours circling the web that the company had canned the camera after it halted production in Japan in February.

Earlier in the month, Sony officially told us, “With regards to your query about the NEX-3  - production for Japan has finished and no other information is available at this moment.”

Sony says that those who want the interchangeable lens-sporting camera will still be able to pick it up for the time being. Plenty of stock is still in stores, which should last for the next 2 months.

After that... Well, it wouldn’t be inconceivable for Sony to launch a follow up, something that Georghiades chuckled at when we put it to him.

Could that mean new models on the horizon (the NEX-3 will be 1 year old in May)? While Sony wouldn’t officially spill any of the beans, we expect that it probably does mean just that.

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Canon PowerShot SX220 HS hands-on

   

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS hands-on    

The Canon PowerShot SX220 HS was announced back at the beginning of February and we’ve just got our hands on Canon’s new 14x travel zoom camera for review.

As we get stuck into the heavy details of assessing the quality and the practicality of the new features introduced on the camera - like the Full HD video capture and the new Movie Digest mode that captures a video clip prior to taking each photo - we thought we'd bring you some hands-on shots of the camera.

In terms of design it is very similar to the PowerShot SX210 IS that it replaces, with the same 14x zoom lens offered. It has stepped down in megapixels however, now packing a 12.1-megapixel sensor, but critically is has the HS moniker after the name, meaning it pairs a highly sensitive sensor with the DIGIC IV processor, promising enhanced performance. 

The top plate has been tidied up slightly from its forbear too, with the on/off button now moving onto the reverse slope of the body next to the mode dial. Full manual, as well as a range of auto and shooting effects are included, as they were in the previous edition.

The quality of construction feels good and we're impressed that so much lens can be squished into a body that really isn't that bulky, so it is still just about pocketable. 

We liked the last iteration of this camera, so we have high hopes for the SX220 HS - let's hope the enhanced image processing leads to cleaner images in lower light conditions despite the relatively slow F/3.1 lens.

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Apple iPod touch 4G review

Full Review

With the recent refresh of Apple's iPod range, the iPod touch has undoubtedly asserted itself at the top of the tree. With the nano stripping down, there appears to be a hole in the middle of what was once Apple's MP3 player offering. The iPod touch is safe though and you can't help thinking that this is the one that Apple wants you to buy. The business reasoning would be clear. All the hard work that has gone into refining the iOS interface is demonstrated here and Apple benefit not only from sales of music through the iTunes Store, but also their cut of app sales from the App Store, as well as movies. It works on the model of a little here, a little there, but most likely the iPod touch will be a continual trickle of income for Apple from the moment you buy it. Of course you might choose not to buy anything and only use free apps, but from that point of view, you are spoilt for choice. Some may say that the App Store is a closed shop, but it's well stocked. A pricy device it might be, starting at £189 for the 8GB version (a hike of £40 from last year) and rising to a staggering £329 for the 64GB (up £30), but you also get the best portable media player for your money.

         

Out of the box, the new iPod touch reflects the changes made recently to the iPhone 4, with a slimmer profile and the hint of a square design. The back is still stainless steel, with a slightly squarer profile than previously. The new touch is narrower overall and one of the changes has been to remove the way the casing wrapped around the edge in previous versions.

And we're not sure we like this change. Yes, to look at, the new iPod touch screen is now framed by only a thin silver border. This means that the edge is harder and less comfortable to hold. Whereas previous versions had a comfortable edge, the new iPod touch does not. Many, we suspect will use a cover, in which case this change will make little difference.

       

Otherwise the design remains more or less the same, with a single face button below the screen, a volume controller on the right-hand side and a standby button on the top. Again, the angular edges mean that these buttons now sit on a reverse slope, so they are more difficult to press than before. The inspiration behind this design is clear - minimalism. When looking at the face of the iPod touch you can't see these controls as they are now tucked away behind, but as a result, they are slightly less accessible. Other points to note are the front-facing 640 x 480 pixel resolution camera above the screen and a camera in the rear corner, with a mic next to it. The resolution of this camera is undisclosed, and Apple didn't declare that it wasn't going to give you the same performance as the iPhone 4's camera when they unveiled the new model, but more on that later. Across the bottom of the iPod touch we have the 3.5mm jack, dock connector and an external speaker.

         

Build quality is solid, as you'd expect and there is no doubting that the iPod touch is a very sexy device. It feels premium, it looks premium, but you'd demand that from the somewhat premium price that you pay for it. It now measures 111 x 58.9 x 7.2mm and weighs 101g. Of course the most significant change from the previous iPod touch is the display. We didn’t hear previous iPod touch owners complaining about a lack of resolution, but this is a big step from 380 x 320 to a cracking 960 x 640 pixels. A lot has been said about this display from the iPhone 4 and you get all the benefits of the high pixel density here. The result is that it can render incredibly fine text. You can head into a website and read the text where previously you'd have only seen fuzz. The limitation is no longer the screen so much as what your eyes pick out from the page. It's hugely impressive and a great step forward for mobile displays and we hope it will be a driver to pull the rest of the industry along with it.

       

But it isn't just visually that the display is impressive. Once again you get the silky smooth glass surface that responds instantly to your touch and gives you multitouch support too. Pinch zooming on images, webpages and maps is incredibly slick. This response is also due to the bumped A4 processor – the same as the iPhone and iPad - as well as all the benefits of iOS4, in this case the latest iOS4.1. That means you get the same performance as the iPhone 4, which is very slick, and the same experience. This doesn't just extend to media functions, which is what you might expect for something that has its routes in portable music, but you also get the likes of email, calendar and contacts that will sync with your Mac, but also all those connected apps and games, thanks to the device's Wi-Fi connection. iOS4.1 brings with it some new features, taking advantage of the new hardware on offer in the iPod touch. The first is FaceTime, using the internal camera to call anyone with an iPhone 4 or another new iPod touch. Video calling is nothing new on mobile phones and we're not sure it will ever be a mainstream feature, but we're interested to see where app developers take it. As it is, of course, you'll need a Wi-Fi connection to use FaceTime, but we successfully made a FaceTime call whilst walking around Covent Garden using MiFi, flipping the camera to show off a sight here and there. FaceTime might be of limited appeal to some smartphone users, but for those who have a simple pay as you go phone, it may mean a new affordable way of communication from home using Wi-Fi, and equally we can see it being used by those who want to call internationally without the cost. We also tried Skype and found that making voice calls was ok, the important inclusion of a mic giving added versatility. One of the new iOS4.1 features you don't get is the ability to capture/create HDR photos. Adding a camera to the new iPod touch was certainly one of the biggest highlights, but in reality it looks more like a token gesture. Apple have had a funny history with cameras in its mobile devices and the camera in the new iPod touch doesn't impress. Not only is the resolution low - even by basic camera phone standards - but the resultant image quality leaves a lot to be desired. Images are noisy and they lack detail: even shooting in fine conditions, the results are nothing to get excited about. To Apple's credit, they have managed to hold on to fairly vibrant colours, albeit with a slightly mottled finish. The other killer no-no is that it is a fixed-focus camera. Fixed focus lenses have hampered the performance of pocket camcorders and phones for several years. They result in images that lack sharpness, which is what the iPod touch gives you.Tapping the screen changes the exposure point, so if a scene seems wrong, metering elsewhere may make it look better, but in reality, we were expecting touch focusing. That said, this is a PMP afterall and its easy to get expectations inflated. The HD video results are average, performance akin to fixed-focus HD pocket camcorders shooting at 1280 x 720 30fps. There is a general lack of sharpness and detail, which is a real shame, as Apple could have had something pretty unique to offer here. That said, you can make a cheesy movie in seconds using iMovie and upload it to YouTube in HD, and the editing is so simple it's bound to be popular.

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Unlock your iPhone Easily and Safe

                                                                    

Now we can Fully unlock ALL iPhone 3G & 3GS & the latest model iPhone 4 with all available software versions, including 3.1.3, 4.0.1, 4.1 and latest 4.2 version Software (supported Baseband versions: ALL, including latest iOS 4.2 baseband 06.15 & iPhone4 baseband 01.59)!

We are proud to say that again we are one of the first services to offer a full unlock Solution for ANY version iPhone, including 3G(s) 3.1.3 iPhone 4 and the latest iOS 4.2 version.

Our iPhone Unlock Solution:

We have developed our own unique iPhone unlocking solution and we are confident to say that our unlock is the safest, most easiest iPhone Unlocking solution on the market today.

Our solution is simple and failsafe, and will fully unlock any version iPhone, completely hassle Free, without having to worry about updates or complicated instructions!

Our Solution Enables you to activate any iPhone on any network, any carrier, any SIM card. No need to provide any information to AT&T, This is not a technical hardware unlock, No need to soldering/opening your iPhone. You can restore your iPhone to original state, You can use it on as many iPhones you want, works with any iPhone, any Provider, any Simcard! Fully iPhone optimized.

Unlock Any network:

Our iPhone Unlock Solution is Proven to work with many networks like T-Mobile, O2, Orange, Telefonica, Vodafone, AT&T, TIM, Telstra, Rogers, Fido and Many Others.

The solution we provide for unlocking your iPhone is the easiest and safest solution available today. Unlocking is as simple as pressing a few buttons. The Video Instructions inside our Membersarea explain the process step by step.

Signup now and use your iPhone with any SIM card and any network worldwide! 

Features

     - FULL Unlock for Any Network! Worldwide!

     - Unlock solution for ANY iPhone version incl. the latest iPhone 4

     - MMS/SMS + Instant Messenger + PUSH notifications

     - Free Thetering Included: Use your iPhone as a high speed modem!

     - ALL Functions Working!(Includes 3G Data network and GPS!)

     - Very Easy unlock, no knowledge required! Anyone can do this.

     - No iTunes Sync or Airplane mode issues

     - This is the ONLY Reliable & Stable unlock Solution for the iPhone 3G/3GS and iPhone 4!

     - No Signal Loss like other Unlocks available!

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     - Instant Access to 1000's of iPhone Applications!

     - 100% Working, 100% Reliable, 100% Safe!

     - Update your iPhone worry Free

     - Experienced & Trained support team to answer all your questions 24/7

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Extra Features

Our Unlock Solution allows you to "Jailbreak" your iPhone. This will add the Cydia and Installer Application to your iPhone. These will allow you to add thousands of Free applications to your iPhone, like Games, Utilities, Tools, Nes Emulators, Custom Springboards etc. etc. Cydia and Installer are similar to the the iPhone Appstore, but all the applications are completely Free! Also included: Full tethering support: Use your iPhone as a high speed modem

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Latest Unlock iPhone 3G Software For Your iPhone 3Gs And iPhone 4

Latest Unlock iPhone 3G Software For Your iPhone 3Gs And iPhone 4

To unlock iPhone 3g/iOS 4.0 and unlock iphone4, one must exercise extreme caution, since there are many negative repercussions that can result. To start, for one to unlock iPhone 3g/4.0.2/iOS 4.0 they must spend quite some time to successfully unlock iPhone 3g/4.0.2iOS 4.0. Many have attempted to unlock iPhone 3g/4.0.2/iOS 4.0, but have had a bit of failure, and as a result, their iPhone had been damaged. 

Downloading special software has appeared to be the most popular way to unlock iPhone 3g and unlock iphone 4. People simply conduct searches online for unlock iPhone 3g, and what they have come across are numerous sites that offer programs to be download. It is highly recommended that installation instructions are carefully followed so that corruption can be prevented. A special feature included with the software is the ability to unlock multiple smartphones simultaneously. The price range most have found for software such as this is between $15 and $30.

It is not uncommon to find “free” methods to unlock iPhone 3g, but word to the wise. These “free” solutions usually have a heavier risk factor, and should not be judged lightly. It is recommended to stick with reliable, PAID membership sites that offer support with the transition. These paid sites also offer more information regarding the subject, which is always an added plus.

Terminology used to illustrate the act of unlocking an iPhone is jailbreaking. A new market has been developed as a result of this particular method. New applications have began to be developed for smartphones as a result of jailbreaking an iPhone. Additionally, as more information is acquired about jailbreaking iPhones, more improvements can be developed and applied to improve the statistics of the device use and performance.

One incentive to the development of jailbreaking is the opportunity for many more people to have an iPhone. A bigger incentive to this is that by having the ability to unlock iPhone 3g, an owner does not have to be limited to using AT&T as their phone carrier. With an unlock iPhone 3g, a consumer can easily insert a new SIM card with their preferred carrier and be happy. This rising jailbreak movement will most likely continue to result in a loss of loyal customers for AT&T.

When one decides to unlock iPhone 3g, recall involved risks, and how to conquer them. The best process to follow would be for one to have an individual or company with knowledge of the product to run the appropriate software as a service to you.

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Windows 2000 Member Server in Andrew Windows

Introduction

This document provides information on configuring and administering a Windows 2000 Member Server in Andrew Windows and includes the following sections.

1.      Overview: Andrew Windows 2000 and Microsoft Active directory

2.      Installation and Configuration

2.1.   Windows 2000 Server Licensing

2.2.   Installing Windows 2000 Server

2.3.   Upgrade to the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

2.4.   Shutdown Non-Essential Services

2.5.   Install the Latest Security Patches and Hot-Fixes

2.6.   Network Registration

2.7.   NTFS Disk Format

2.8.   RAID

2.9.   Install Required Applications

2.10.                    Macintosh Services

2.11.                    Printing

2.12.                    Backups/Restorations

2.13.                    Internet Information Services (IIS)

3.      Andrew Domain Configuration

3.1.   Creating a Server Organizational Unit (OU)

3.2.   Blocking Inheritance

3.3.   Custom GPO for the Server

3.4.   Joining the Domain

3.5.   Local Administration Access for Accounts and Groups

3.6.   Local vice Andrew Domain Accounts

3.7.   Local Logon Access

3.8.   Restricting Server Access

4.      Security

4.1.   Physical Security

4.2.   Registry Security

4.3.   File/Share Access Permissions

4.4.   Disable Guest Account

4.5.   Virus Software

4.6.   Auditing

4.7.   Vulnerability Scanners

4.8.   Other Security Links

5.      On-Going Support Activities

5.1.   User Privacy/Confidentiality

5.2.   Restrict Administrator Privileges

5.3.   Keep the Patches Current

5.4.   Review Event Logs

5.5.   Disk Defragmenting

6.      Trouble-shooting

6.1.   Resource Kit

6.1.1.      Group Policy Object (GPO) Processing

6.1.2.      Group Memberships

1.0 Overview: Windows Member Server Guide

This document is a guide to assist you in setting up a Windows 2000 Member Server within the Andrew Windows Service.  Readers should have a general knowledge of Windows 2000 and Active Directory terminology.

This guide is not meant to be a comprehensive resource for configuring a Windows 2000 Server.  In order to become familiar with Windows 2000 Server, Computing Services recommends that Computing Administrators complete a course similar to MS Course 2154: Implementing and Administering Microsoft Windows 2000 Directory Services, from a Certificated Microsoft trainer.  In addition, many good books exist for Windows 2000 Administration.  A book that we recommend is, Mastering Windows 2000 Server, by Mark Minasi.

2.0 Installation and Configuration

2.1 Windows 2000 Server Licensing

The Windows 2000 Server license is not covered under the Microsoft Campus License Agreement.  Departments must purchase Windows 2000 Server licenses in order to run Member Servers.  Windows 2000 Server licenses and media are available from the CMU Computer Store.  Client Access Licenses (CALs) are currently covered under the Microsoft Campus License Agreement and do not need to be purchased separately.

2.2 Installing Windows 2000 Server

Install Windows 2000 from a Windows 2000 installation CD.  The CD media can be purchased from the CMU Computer Store.  It is recommended that the media be stored in a safe place, as it may be required at a later time.

Until the Windows 2000 Server is patched and secured, the server should not be run on the open campus network.  Therefore, it is recommended that the network connectivity be disconnected during the installation process.

2.3 Upgrade to the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Upgrade the Windows 2000 Server to the latest Microsoft Service Pack.  The current Service Pack available is Service Pack 2.

2.4 Shutdown Non-Essential Services

You should limit the number of applications that your machine is running to essential services.  Services that must be removed for installation in the CMU Campus include WINS and DNS.  Services that should be considered for removal include FTP, WWW and SNMP. 

Examine the existing services via:

Control Panels->Administrative Tools ->Services.

            OR

Start menu->Run…->type “services.msc”

Check out the Microsoft website or a detailed description of the Windows 2000 Services.

It is a good security practice is to limit the amount of critical services that are running on any one machine.  Try to avoid running all of your critical departmental services on one server. 

2.5 Install the Latest Security Patches and Hot-Fixes

Install Hot-Fixes appropriate to your server while the server is still offline. To stay up to date on Microsoft patches, visit the MS Technet security site where you can join an e-mail list to notify you of new security fixes. The "Windows Update" function allows you to download many patches and updates, and allows you to be informed of critical updates, but it does not contain all security patches.

Microsoft has a number of tools that help with installing security patches.  Several that we recommend include:

MS Network Security HotFix Checker (HFNetchk) is a tool that allows you to check for missing security HotFixes.. It must first be run on a computer with network access to download a current list of HotFixes, but then it can be copied to unsecured computers not yet connected to the network. This tool checks for HotFixes related to the operating system and other core components like Internet Explorer. It will not notify the user of Hot-Fixes for applications like Microsoft Office.

A graphical tool, similar to hfnetchk, is the Microsoft Security Baseline Analyzer (MBSA).  MBSA will keep a history or scans as well as search for vulnerabilities in the operating system.

Qchain is a tool that allows you to install multiple HotFixes sequentially without requiring multiple reboots.

 Network Registration

The Windows 2000 Server should be registered to use the Campus Network via NetReg. After registration, the Server should be configured to run DHCP.  It will receive the IP Configuration information after a reboot.

2.7 NTFS Disk Format

Hard disks should be formatted with the NTFS file system. This format allows the most flexibility in security and audit policies and it reduces exposure to boot attacks. Windows 2000 allows the capability to upgrade to NTFS partitions without damaging data.  However, when a disk that was installed with FAT/FAT32 is converted to NTFS that the Everyone group has Full Control of all the files/folders on the entire disk, including the \winnt directory.

  

RAID

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology allows for high availability and increased performance for disk drives.  RAID has become very popular throughout server technology and it is recommended for critical File Servers.  Windows 2000 has built-in software RAID functionality that should be considered if hardware RAID is not cost-efficient.

2.9 Install Required Applications

It is a good idea to install all of the necessary Application Software to the Member Server prior to releasing it as a production server.        As was mentioned with services, it is recommended that Application Software be limited to essential programs.   

2.10 Macintosh Services

To provide File and/or Print Sharing to Macintosh Clients, you will need to install and configure the bundled Windows 2000 product “Services for Macintosh”.  Services for Macintosh requires the disk(s) be NTFS-formatted.  Since AppleTalk routing is being eliminated at CMU, this service will need to be run natively under TCP/IP.  The latest Microsoft UAM will need to be installed on your client computer in order to support the more secure NTLMv2 client.  Please see the Client Guide for Andrew Windows for specific instructions.

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Printing

Printing


Windows 2000 Server has the native ability to create Print Spools.  Although this capability has been tested and works sufficiently, Computing Services will not support departmental print spoolers.

Backups/Restorations

           

In order to protect against data loss, it is strongly recommended that routine backups be performed on critical file systems.  Computer Operations has a fee-based backup service.  It is also recommended that recoveries be performed periodically in order to guarantee the integrity of the data backups.

 Internet Information Services (IIS)

The IIS application provides access to Web, FTP, SMTP, and NNTP, and is bundled with Windows 2000 Server. Unfortunately, IIS has been the target of numerous security vulnerabilities.  If you decide to run IIS on your server, be sure to install core security patches and stay up to date on new security advisories.

The National Security Agency has produced a guide for securing IIS.  The University of Colorado at Boulder also has an informative site.

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Creating a Server Organizational Unit (OU) Domain Configuration

Creating a Server Organizational Unit (OU) Domain Configuration


In order to control your Server configuration for your Department in the Andrew Windows environment, we recommend that you have an Organizational Unit (OU) delegated to your department.  If you do not have an OU already, please send email to advisor@andrew.cmu.edu requesting an OU.  Please include the name and Andrew User ID of the primary point of contact for the OU administration.

After the OU has been created, we recommend that you create a sub-OU for your Member Server.  Please see the Administration Guide for Andrew Windows for specific instructions.

  

Blocking Inheritance

In order to ensure that software packages and GPO Settings from parent objects do not propagate to your Member Server, we recommend that inheritance for the Server OU be blocked.  Please see the Administration Guide for Andrew Windows for instructions on blocking inheritance.

Custom GPO for Server OU

We recommend that a custom GPO be configured for this Server OU.  To request the GPO creation, send email to advisor@andrew.cmu.edu.  This GPO can then be linked to the Server OU and configured with custom software packages.  Custom Security settings can also be adjusted via this GPO. 

The core Andrew software installers are currently available on internet. They are distributed as .MSI files, which utilize Microsoft’s, Microsoft Installer technology.  License permitting, these MSI’s can be copied and then linked to the local GPO.  If you do not have access to a desired MSI, please send email to advisor@andrew.cmu.edu.

We strongly suggest that you do not link GPO’s directly to the MSI’s on the Dist Server.  This core distribution is maintained for Computing Services Computer Clusters and may change without notice.  As an alternative, consider copying the MSI’s to a local file share.

In addition, many of the software MSI’s were custom built for cluster configurations and may not work as expected in your environment.  We will not support applications installed with these MSI’s.  Use them at your own risk.  At some point in the future, we hope to be able to offer stable and supportable MSI’s.

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