Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s Azure cloud service went down for a while today in Western Europe, leaving those who use its virtual servers without access to them. ZDNet reports that the failure began around lunchtime UK time, and stayed down for a decent part of the early afternoon. Luckily, the outage didn’t last too terribly long, as Microsoft now has the service back up and running after working to fix the issue for about two-and-a-half hours.

“Storage accounts and running applications were not impacted throughout the duration of the incident,” Microsoft wrote on the Azure status page. “We apologise for any inconvenience this caused our customers.” It’s still unknown what caused the outage, and now that it’s back up, it seem unlikely that we’ll find out what the issue was. Still, at the time of this writing, Azure is operating normally in all sub-regions around the world, so all is well.

Also unknown is which data center was affected by the outage, seeing as how Microsoft likes to keep the location of its data centers a secret. It is widely assumed that Microsoft operates a major center in the Dublin area, however, so it seems pretty likely that the data center in Dublin was the one that failed. As stated above, Microsoft has the service up and running again, but with one outage already on the books for this Thursday, there’s a chance that the company isn’t out of the woods yet. Stay tuned – if Microsoft has any new problems with Azure, we’ll be sure to update you.

Microsoft Azure fails in Western Europe is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

iTunes movies are sold in multiple countries across the world, but the iTunes in the Cloud feature for movies was previously restricted to the United States. Apple has now rolled out the feature to 37 new countries, including the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Not everything that users have purchased will be available due to licensing agreements, but it’s good to see the feature expanding to additional territories.

The feature has expanded to multiple regions including Europe and Asia, with countries including Argentina, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Some regions have been left out, however, such as Germany, Spain, and Japan. The full list of countries that can take advantage of iTunes in the Cloud is available on Apple’s website.

iTunes in the Cloud allows you to download any previously purchased content to your various Apple devices, such as Macs, iPhone, or iPads. Movies were added to the cloud earlier this year, including an option for 1080p. Not all the studios were onboard the plan originally, with Universal and Fox movies missing from the Cloud scheme thanks to viewing deals with HBO. Universal movies made the jump to the cloud not too long ago, and certain Fox movies also recently appeared on the service.

[via MacRumors]

iTunes Movies in the Cloud expands to 37 countries is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

D-Link has launched the Cloud Camera 5000, which is a new camera aimed squarely at making home surveillance systems easier to set up and monitor. D-Link is attempting to turn mydlink’s cloud services into the star feature of this camera, saying that by setting up an account at mydlink, you can view the video your camera is capturing from any internet-connected computer. There are also free Android, iPhone, and iPad apps available for mydlink and the Cloud Camera 5000, with the idea being that you’re only ever one log in away from viewing what’s going on in your home.

The camera’s pan/tilt functionality allows for a 340 degree viewing field, so by setting the camera up in the right place, you can have a good view of pretty much the entire room. You can control the pan and tilt of the camera with the included remote control or through the mydlink portal and mobile app. The Cloud Camera 5000 captures video in 720p and can record up to 15 away in complete darkness thanks to built-in infrared LEDs.

Included is a microSD slot that allows for recording, be it continuous or motion-based. If you choose to go with motion-based recording, you can also set up mydlink to send you email alerts when recording begins. When the microSD card is filled, D-Link says the camera will begin recording over old footage, and you’ll be able to access recorded footage from the mydlink portal.

It sounds like a pretty cool camera packed with features that are aimed at ease-of-use, but it isn’t going to be cheap. Prices listed for various retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, and Staples range from $250 up to $300, so be prepared to plop down a significant chunk of change if you want this camera monitoring your home when you’re away. Check out some more photos of the camera in our gallery below, and be sure to have a look at our hands-on with the Cloud Camera 5000 if you’re interested in buying one!

[via D-Link]

D-Link launches the Cloud Camera 5000 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Steam’s Android app has thrown up a selection of new categories that point to the possibility of productivity apps and other types of non-gaming software being sold in the near-future. Ranging from photo editing to accounting, there’s ten categories that aren’t available on the desktop version. It would open up yet another branch for Valve, which already offers books and movies through its online store, but until these categories get fleshed-out — they’re currently empty — we’re left guessing as to what it’s likely to offer.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Steam store reveals a handful of new categories, hints at non-gaming app possibilities originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 07:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seems like everyone’s aching to store your files, these days — Dropbox, Sugar Sync, that new startup, Google. Logmein’s gotten into the game as well, launching its Cubby service in beta earlier this year, letting folks share files on their Windows machines, Macs and iOS and Android devices. The company’s looking to entice interested parties by offering up 1GB of storage for users who refer a friend to the service. Also new is unlimited sharing of “Cubbies” and a refreshed iOS app.

Continue reading LogMeIn’s Cubby offering up 1GB for referrals, tells Dropbox where it can store it

Filed under: Storage

LogMeIn’s Cubby offering up 1GB for referrals, tells Dropbox where it can store it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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