Western gen 3

At $309.99, the Western Digital My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 (4TB) network-attached storage (NAS) is a slightly less-expensive upgrade of the WD My Cloud Mirror (4TB). While similar in appearance to the previous iteration, the Mirror Gen 2 has a better CPU and an update of the proprietary WD Cloud OS to help you deal with your growing library of digital documents and media files. It's easy to set up, and comes with two 2-terabyte hard drives preinstalled. It's an excellent choice if you're setting up your first NAS, but you may want to keep shopping if you're a power user.

Design and Features

The My Cloud Mirror Gen 2Best Price at Amazon resembles a large external hard drive. Its casing is physically siimilar to the Western Digital My Book Duo Best Price at Amazon, a direct-attached USB hard drive. The My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 is mostly white, with a silver cutout (like DROBO PRO ) in the shape of the Western Digital logo on its front panel and three blue LEDs for power/activity and status lights for both drives. The LEDs change to orange if there is a problem.

The case measures 6.8 by 3.9 by 6.1 inches (HWD). There are no front-mounted USB ports, like on the Netgear ReadyNAS 202Best Price at Amazon and the QNAP TS-251$249.00 at Amazon, which makes the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 less convenient when you want to back up a USB flash drive's contents. On the back panel, there's a Gigabit Ethernet port, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and a Kensington lock port. A hole for the reset button and a jack for the AC adapter are the only other ports on the device.

RAID 1, also known as mirroring, is preset on the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 by default. That means that any data you upload to the NAS is copied and stored on both internal drives. That gives you insurance against a single-drive failure: If one drive goes bad, you can still access your data and use the remaining drive while you get a replacement. Since the data is written twice, the NAS's 4TB overall storage space is halved to 2TB of protected storage. If you want all 4TB accessible, you can reformat the drive for RAID 0 or JBOD. That process will, of course, negate the RAID 1 safety net. The My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 is also available in 6TB (3TB formatted) and 8TB (4TB formatted) capacities, at $369.99 and $409.99, respectively.

Replacing a hard drive is a more involved process on the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 than it is for other drive arrays like the Buffalo TeraStation 5200DN (2TB)$576.49 at Amazon and the Netgear ReadyNAS 202 because the latter devices have easily removable sleds. On the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2, you first have to pop open the spring-loaded top panel, unscrew and remove a retaining bracket, and then remove the defective drive and its sled. The process can take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how proficient you are with tech repairs. In comparison, the drive sled on the Netgear ReadyNAS 202 pops out in a second or two.


Easy Setup
Setting up the NAS involves plugging it into your home router via Ethernet, and accessing the mycloud.com website from a laptop or desktop PC or Mac on your home LAN. Once there, you create an account, the website finds your NAS, and the two are linked. NAS administration is very rudimentary on the mycloud.com site. You can set up shares, manage folders, copy files, and manage users, but not much else. The strength of the mycloud.com page is that you can then access your files from any PC or Mac with an Internet connection.

If you're a power user, you'll want to access the My Cloud OS 3 interface, which runs off of a built-in Web server on the NAS itself. There, you can check the firmware, reformat the drives, manage local and remote backups, manage your personal cloud, perform diagnostics, and check on the general status of the NAS. It's GUI driven, so you should be able to find the settings you need to change while digging around.

The My Cloud OS 3 interface is also where you can administer services like DLNA, iTunes Server, Time Machine backup support, Windows workgroup and SMB2 support, and change the NAS network settings. The My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 supports a small selection of third-party apps, including aMule (peer-to-peer networking), Dropbox, Icecast (MP3 media streaming), Plex(multimedia streaming), and Transmission (BitTorrent). It doesn't have the breadth of apps and services of the Netgear ReadyNAS 202 or the QNAP TS-251, but it's also a lot easier to administer without all those bells and whistles.

Personal Cloud services are turned on by default, and you can access your files via the mycloud.com website or by using an app installed on your mobile phone or tablet. The My Cloud app has a built-in player for music, pictures, and videos, and you can reach your files over Wi-Fi or cellular connections. The app has a setting to disallow cellular downloads, so you won't burn through your data plan too quickly. The WD My Cloud app also has a camera backup function, which automatically sends new photos over the Internet to the shared pictures folder on the NAS. Western Digital bundles in a two-year warranty with the device.

Performance and Cost
The My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 has a 1.33GHz ARM Cortex A9 dual-core processor and 512MB of RAM. That's a lot less memory than the 2GB that the Buffalo TeraStation 5200DN and the Netgear ReadyNAS 202 have, leading to slower transfer times, but it's enough power and capability for home use. We were able to transfer our test folder at 49MBps write and 73.1MBps read speeds over a wired LAN. That's significantly slower than the 64.5MBps write and 90.7MBps read speeds the ReadyNAS 202 achieved over a wired LAN. Speeds over wireless are slower (17.1MBps write; 18.5MBps read), but certainly fast enough for serving files and videos to several client PCs or mobile devices simultaneously.


Using its default RAID 1 setting, the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2's 2TB of drive space costs $0.15 per gigabyte. That's a lot less than the $0.45 per gigabyte of the 2TB Buffalo TeraStation 5200DN or the $0.20 per gigabye of the previous iteration of the Western Digital My Cloud Mirror. That makes the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 a really good value, especially since you won't have to source and install your own hard drives, as you would for the Netgear ReadyNAS 202, which is sold diskless.

The Western Digital My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 is a capable choice if you're buying your first NAS. It's easy to set up and administer and has 2TB of protected storage space. However, the Netgear ReadyNAS 202 remains our Editors' Choice for consumer/SOHO NAS, because it has more I/O ports, better wired-throughput performance, more power-user-friendly features like TiVo backup, and a longer three-year warranty. But the ReadyNAS 202 is sold without drives. If you want a NAS with preinstalled drives that's easy to set up and use, the My Cloud Mirror Gen 2 should be on your short list.

Florida company using ‘solar cell of the future’ to develop 500W, ~24% efficient panel

Solartech Universal is a South Florida solar panel manufacturer that started with a family discussion in the kitchen in 2012. Sometime in 2018 or 2019, if all goes well, they’re going to launch a ~24% efficient, 480-500W glass on glass bifacial heterojunction solar panel (like SUAOKI 25W ) for the commercial and utility-scale solar market.

Solartech Universal started shipping in January of 2016 and currently has 80-85MW of annual manufacturing capacity, plus they’re hiring.

Recently, Solartech Universal made headlines as part of solar machine maker Meyer Burger’s heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and SmartWire (SWT) hardware announcements. Meyer Burger announced their new hardware manufacturing lines using a Solartech Universal solar panel. The ‘champion module’ hit 334.9W – a 20.5% solar panel efficiency. The cells used in the panel hit as high as 24.02% – higher than JinkoSolar’s 23.45% (albeit with a different cell type).

Solartech Universal says this panel should be available in 2018 as the company works through the challenges of integrating the new manufacturing hardware into the current line (see Solartech Universal panel assembly video at end of article). The specification page for the panel family is available on the website – it peaks at 330W models, and notes being available soon.

SmartWire is part of an industry wide remaking of ‘busbars.’ In order to squeeze greater efficiency from the same limited rooftop space, an evolution on the front side of the solar panel has been sped up.

Solartech Universal is one of three manufacturing lines globally that uses the patented SmartWire technology (Poland, Russia, and Riviera Beach). The images above compare a SmartWire solar cell and a standard four busbar solar cell. Meyer Burger suggests SmartWire increases a solar cell efficiency by up to 6% versus a historically standard three busbar configuration, in addition to using less of the costly silver commodity.

Most every manufacturer is moving toward five and six busbar configurations, and away from three. LG has rounded their ‘busbars’ and now uses up to twelve of them, defined as ‘Cello’ technology (pdf). SunPower, a long time ago, moved their busbars to the back of their Maxeon solar cell – and the Neon R Black from LG recently joined them. Shingle cell technologies that bond solar cells together in a unique ways are another attack on busbar technology.

Meyer Burger is in fact discontinuing its European busbar operation and moving it closer to the region with highest demand for the lower cost technology – China. I’d suspect all manufacturers will move on this trend eventually.

Meyer Burger calls heterojunction ‘the Solar Cell of the Future (pdf).’ An actual heterojunction solar cell just hit 26.6% efficiency in November. Again, well beyond, Jinko’s 23.45%. This greater efficiency is partially because of additional layers of solar material – amorphous silicon – that grabs a different wavelength of light to make electricity.

In addition to pretty efficiency numbers – heterojunction’s lower production costs and fewer manufacturing steps are part of the allure. The chart below compares various solar cell types and their manufacturing steps – with the fewest steps being under the HJT (heterojunction) process on the far right.

Fewer machines, less complexity, cheaper solar cells and a great upside for efficiency gains in Meyer Burger’s opinion, make this technology the real replacement for PERC (!!) solar technology that we’re just seeing hit the market in heavy volumes.

The headline grabbing 24% solar panels are pictured below undergoing testing on the roof of Solartech Universal’s Riviera Beach facility. The 60 cell format – which would output in the low 410W range – is the two rooftop images on the left. And on the right is an earlier version, at 472W, of the 72 cell format that will pump out a peak of 500W.

The panel will make use of both heterojunction solar cells and SmartWire technology, while also replacing the standard opaque backsheet with glass. The ‘glass on glass’ solar panel is built to take advantage of reflective ground surfaces to gain greater efficiency.

Projects that demand the highest level panel efficiencies, like space constrained commercial rooftops that have installed energy-saving white rubber roofs would be the best use for a product like this. The panel, while available to be built on both the 60 and 72 cell format, will probably be delivered in the 72 cell format for commercial projects.

To get to the 500W number, this panel requires a surface like a white rooftop below it. The rough math says the front side of the panel will be 20% efficient, and the backside of the panel will add about 4% more efficiency via capturing light reflected from the ground surface below. SolarWorld put together a nice document (pdf) to guide you in calculating the potential gain from a bifacial solar panel.

For consumers buying panels today – Solartech’s latest residential product line, the Quantum Series is impressive both technologically and aesthetically. The SmartWire panels are aesthetically sharp with the black appearance of the thin wire technology.

The 60-cell design utilizes either heterojunction or PERC solar cells – depending on product availability and customer demand, though the long-term goal is to move fully to heterojunction cells. The panel series ranges in efficiency from 17.4-18.9%. The power production of the panels is backed by a 30 year warranty, while the hardware itself is backed by a 12 year warranty.

In 2013, the company bought an old boatyard – quite fitting in the Riviera Beach region – before turning it into its current 85,000 sq ft manufacturing space. The company has 45 employees currently, and is looking to expand in the first half of 2018. Currently, they’re seeking 30 more skilled workers(equipment operators and machine mechanics).

The company expected a new plant to open in Puerto Rico by the end of next year, employing 80 additional workers. Construction is about halfway complete. The glass on glass commercial solar panel will be built there. The facility will have a manufacturing capacity of potentially 160MW/year.

Electrek’s Take

In speaking with Nathan Rosenstein, the Director of Marketing and the son of the founder, it was clear that Solartech Universal is aiming for a high quality, high-efficiency product offering. This translates to a higher cost per watt for their solar panels. Being a boutique solar panel manufacturer in an industry dominated by high throughput manufacturing in China is going to take a cutting edge product.

On the company’s roof, right next to the 500W solar panel shown above, is another test facility. In it, Solartech Universal compares their 285W module to a Suniva 290W solar panel. The output of the panel ranges from 5.8% to 9.4% greater than a higher rated product. The pitch is that you’re going to get a product that performs at a higher level and for a longer time.

2011 WGI IR108X Camera Review - August 29, 2011

2011 WGI IR10X (pulse 10x) 10 MP 91 count IR red flash digital (WiFi capable) camera review

We went through a big hassle trying to obtain this camera and module. After the third attempt I finally found it at Cheaper than Dirt and the cost with module was about $200. The camera finally arrived and my first thought was damn this is a monster. A big square box that measures about 6 inches by 8 inches and sticks out off the tree about 4 inches. There is a three inch square array with a lens in the center. Hanging on the tree the array is very visible in the day light at a good distance. Should you choose to use this camera with the module then the height would grow by another 3 inches.

The camera is powered by a supplied 6 volt SLA battery and when installed you have a degree of weight to hang on the tree. This becomes a problem for the little bungee cords that came with it. There are no strap slots so you have to maybe upgrade to a little heavier bungee to safely hang this camera.

The camera has a kind of a wedge shape to it and the lens/array is top center and the three sensors for PIR function are below that. The two function indicators are across the bottom front. The external 12 volt and tri-pod insert are on the bottom. The right side of the camera has a large paddle latch assembly that is hard to access once hung on the tree because it reaches all the way to the back edge of the side. At the top of the camera are the standoffs to support the module along with a plug to be removed when the module is installed. There is a pocket inside to lock this plug into so it does not get lost. Inside the camera is the SD card slot and viewer on the left and the control buttons and battery compartment on the right.

Hinge and latch assemblies seem to be fairly heavy and the door has a complete seal. The leak test went well but there is a design problem with the case. When wet the top slope of the camera makes water hang at the junction of the door and unless you dry everything off real good the moisture will go strait down onto the switches when the door is opened. I decided that it probably would not be a good idea to do a drop test with this camera due to the weight of the SLA battery and the thin plastic.

This is another camera that cannot just be set up for testing, it must be hung because of there is no flat surface on the bottom and it will not free stand without being supported. This makes a lot of my normally fast and easy tests harder to do.

I unpacked the WiFi module and wanted to just see how it connected but that was a big letdown. There is a big Fieldnet on the front of the module but as near as I can tell that is actually the back of the module. This leaves the serial number sticker out facing the front. This just does not make sense. The tiny plug is such that you cannot determine the correct polarity, except it does not want to seem to plug in with the name facing the front. Next comes another bit of a surprise. There is a remote handset for this setup and it requires a battery that is not supplied. I figure there is a good reason for it not being supplied, because it is not readily available through normal sources. Two hours of burning gas and I determined that it is not available unless I order on line somewhere. So as of now I will say that the module and the WiFi setup will not get tested. I also found that there is no supplied software with the module and requires a on line visit to down load from somewhere prior to being able to test to see if what we just purchased works. All the software in the world will not help the lack of battery to make it all function so that will not be tested. I did find a note where it says to install the module backwards on certain cameras???? There seems to be no mention about the remote in the supplied documentation.

What we now have is a 10 MP camera to test and put through its paces once I get the required charge on the battery.

The selectable resolutions are 10, 8, and 5 MP and the video is the standard 640X480 and 320X240. Down range lighting is supplied by a massive 91 count array that is rated out to 90 feet. The PIR uses the side sensors (three setup) like the little Acorn camera and they call it Quickdraw. It is suppose to sense out to 60 feet which is still 30 feet inside the flash range. The card size is limited to 16 gig and says SDHC so there should not be any class limitations. This is a very basic camera with not a lot of frills except for having a top resolution of 10 MP. I would think we will do most of our testing on the 5 MP setting. The sample pictures will be done in all three resolutions. Here is the really good news, provided it tests out as advertized. This is the delay down to 15 seconds which is good but not great. These delay settings are also available 30s, 1m, 2m, 5m, and 10m.

Without the module mess to deal with this review just became a lot easier. The power of advertizing sure makes people do some strange things and I certainly fell for it on this one. Off to some camera testing.

Programming and setup was easy and strait forward. Initial trigger tests were not determined because I could not repeat a trigger over and over for some reason. There may be some tactic I have to figure out about this version of tri sensor technology. Dark room pictures were OK but not great. Outside pictures were pretty fuzzy. I was using the middle setting which is 8 MP for those tests. Color was good but without the definition it was still somewhat lacking. I came back into the lab thinking I may have a shipping smudge on the lens but it was clear and shiny. The informal delay tests showed it from 15 to 25 seconds but that could be because of the flakey triggering. I reset the sensing to high and am going to see if that makes any difference. I have had a lot of trouble with the SD card slot being very tight and not wanting to allow the card to slip in the slot. After the sensitivity adjustment the trigger testing seemed to have a more repeatable aspect. As near as I can tell the trigger time is near a second and that is if you cross the front. Coming strait in, it appears to be longer but more testing is needed to affirm that fact. The delay is over 15 seconds by as much as 10 seconds and that also seemed to be random because I did have several 18 second intervals. Anyway these are just the initial tests and a more formal test will be done later as we get deeper into this camera.

I went ahead and spent about another hour trying to figure out if I could adapt the remote to maybe another battery but this ill designed piece of stuff does not even have the polarity posted for battery installation, should you be fortunate enough to be able to locate one. Well anyway we will be able to test the camera itself. This is pretty disappointing to find this out this far into the process. It should have been shipped with a compatible battery or they should have chosen a more standard cell for power.

Another hour trying to digest everything about this setup on their web site and the picture of the 10X camera with the module installed shows it installed with the writing to the front and the booklet says to reverse and put the writing to the back. There is just no mention of the remote other than saying it is used to turn the module on and off.

09-01-11 update: It looks like that many who want to use this device should be aware that when ever they place the order for the camera and module that they also place an order for the special battery. Two days and even a request on our forum and we still cannot locate a battery without maybe making some bid on ebay for such. This definitely does not speak well for the design and should prompt the manufacturer to include a battery or change to a more standard means of power. The catalog companies should put the requires special battery in their product description also.

09-02-2011 update: The big wheels on the inter net started to turn and we heard from a number of folks in reference to the battery situation. Some have had good luck going to Radio Shack for this battery. My calls there did not find any locally but I have yet to travel across town to the Battery Plus store to check. Anyway we now think that we will be able to acquire a battery by the time we get to that portion of the review. We also heard that our suggestion as to having a battery shipped in the package will be adapted in the near future. This will solve a good many issues. The day range picture was taken using the HIGH setting and it also came out like my initial tests as being somewhat fuzzy and lacked definition. The trigger time tests came out without conclusion and will have to be analyzed a little further. Our system for some reason came out very slow in both day and with flash. My initial testing had some triggers maybe in the 1 second range but I was not able to determine just which kind of action was best required to trigger during my short in house testing. I sent it out to Anthony and when I saw the results I knew there may be something wrong. We will spend a little more time and figure it out completely as time allows. In the mean time we will start to gather some sample pictures in each resolution and then move on to both video resolutions.



09-02-2011 update #2: With my business mail I am forever receiving all these little envelopes that contain sample pens and other promotional items from vendors that are in the printing business. Today I received such an envelope that was just to Bill and my address and had no return address. Inside was a wad of toilet tissue and a single small battery in the center. Some person felt sorry for my dilemma and sent me a battery for the remote. I will say thank you to who ever you are. This battery is a whole lot smaller than I had predicted judging from the hole that it is suppose to fit in. It is about as big as a pencil and only 1 and 1/16 inches long. Well that problem is solved and as time allows we will now be able to get to the WiFi test. Our Radio Shack said they no longer carry that battery.

09-03-2011 update: Another day and this time we had our herd take what may be a holiday weekend off, because they did not show up. The only visitor was a skinny little fox. The night pictures are also fuzzy and we have a tremendous amount of splash from the array, even though the aim is what we feel is proper. These flash range pictures are on the top 10 MP setting. The balance of the lab tests showed that the delay averaged out at 28 seconds for the 15 second setting. The sensing was at 47 feet for this hot 85 degree evening. We are going to ask for some other users to post a couple pictures so we can maybe judge if the fuzzy pictures are related to just this camera (like MOULTRIE M-40I GAME CAMERA ) or maybe those also. The very cheap N2 camera from this company has some really great pictures so it does not make sense that the top of the line would have this issue.

There is also another negative that seems to be happening with this camera. We have asked for feedback from others but no one has answered as of this report. The negative we have found is that the filter clunk is pretty loud and it happens every time the camera flashes. We just cannot get any field data on this camera either. We dont know if no one has purchased them or if they did they are not talking about it.

09-04-2011 update: We installed the Wifi module on the camera today and began our testing. The first thing we noticed is that neither the wifi or the remote signal would operate through the walls of the house but outside it appeared to have the full range of 300+ feet (line of sight). The first test was to see if I actually needed the download from WGI. I clicked the remote button and waited a few seconds. I then clicked "View Wireless Networks" on my Windows 7 laptop. I selected the WGI unit from the list and clicked "Connect". I was told "Unable to connect".

I then went to the WGI main website and the download for the Windows app was in the middle of the page. I downloaded the app which was zipped and unzipped it. There was a Setup.exe which I ran and it installed FieldNet software App on my laptop. I then reconnected to the WGI under wireless networks and it allowed the connection which was listed as a Wireless N connection.

I launched the fieldnet application and after clicking reconnect it found the wifi unit and connected itself. It provided a list of 196 photos in 10MP without thumbnails. I clicked the "download all" button and timed the download. I then computed the average download speed and it came out at 1.3kb/s which is fairly good. The total download was 396MB and took 5 minutes. Painless. I disconnected my wifi.



The photos that are downloaded are renamed and YYYY-MM-DD-HH-NN is prepended to the original file name. You must download a photo or photos then view them locally. There is no option to view remotely. Also, there is no "delete all" button. It appears that you must select each photo or group of them one at a time and click the delete button.

09-04-2011 update #2: I waited for Anthony to get done playing the WiFi game and recorded the results. This camera probably needs to be situated some where a little further away from the target area than what the normal user would think. It has a very strong flash and it is very much over powering on anything as far out as 30 feet. Please view the sample pictures and see the results of our first samples in the 10 MP setting. Next evaluation is the day color pictures. They are OK but definitely not nearly as good as the pictures off its little brother the N2. During this first run of about a hundred and fifty pictures we did not experience any whiteout pictures but the transition pictures were a bit grainy and dark. The downloaded pictures were the same quality as the pictures coming straight off the card, so there is no degrading of quality during that process.

I logged a couple more hours going over the practicality of this system. First let me say that it does work but it will only serve to allow access to the pictures on your card that is in the camera. Lets say that the camera is in a high volume traffic area and you are getting maybe 50+ pictures a day. The card size to hold and store 10 MP file sized pictures for maybe a week (350+ pictures) would have to be 4 gig or above. You then haul into your area but stay the 300 feet away with your download device and copy off the weeks pictures. You cannot clear the card, the pictures will still remain on the card and the following weeks pictures will also be put on that same card. Depending on your choice of card size will determine just when you must actually visit the camera and swap out the card. So what I am saying is the card size and your choice of resolution setting will determine just how often you have to actually visit the camera and not just download from a distance. Battery data is also not transmitted so you must also know the approximate length of time the camera can be deployed on a single charge. The field reports so far have been an average of two weeks. We have not yet determined what our battery life will be. There will be more to follow as we did a little deeper.

09-05-2011 update: Being that this is their flag ship we felt that maybe the results as far as picture quality was maybe just our own unit. We requested that other users send us some pictures so we could make a comparison. The results were basically the same. The pictures are good but not sharp and clear as we have seen on most of the other WGI cameras that are currently being reviewed. We had seen this before with the Reconyx cameras early shipments. Their shop told me that the focus had slipped a little bit due to a formula that was applied to prevent the focus from being turned or rattled around during handling. That formula had actually shrunk and pulled the focus out of adjustment. This was a very quick fix for their customer service people because they had ours back in a couple days. We do not know if this is the case here but it does seem strange that the top of the line cam would not perform as well as their bottom cam in the picture quality area.

09-07-2011 update: The medium setting (8MP) also came out about the same with no change in quality except for a smaller file size. We have determined that this is about as good as it is going to get with this camera. We have another rez setting then its on to the video setting before we wrap this review up.

09-08-2011 update: The next setting was low rez and the picture quality still remains the same but it is my favorite setting for this camera. This is the 5 MP setting which is the base rez for the sensor and is more than enough picture size for scouting. The file size is smaller and easier to handle. Next will be the video settings and we will be done with this unit.

09-11-11 update: Our first outing in video let us know that the video has sound and that seemed to work very well. The sensing during this test has one capture out past 80 feet which was pretty amazing but out night temperatures have now dropped into the 60s. The video quality in the high setting works but is still like the pictures where there is a degree of fuzziness even with the day color captures.

09-21-2011 update: The old 8X camera we tested sure made us think we would have about the same results from this camera as far as picture quality. Most every thing went well in the review but we did have the fuzzy picture issue which still has us puzzled because of what we saw during the N2 review. We are now running out the battery life and will report on that as that happens. This review is closed.

10-16-2011 update: We have continued to follow the field reports on this camera and some have had better pictures than our camera but all have pretty well had issues with the module. A good portion of the problems is with the remote and the battery. The battery life of the camera was 30 days with 938 pictures and 233 fifteen second videos. The remote battery lasted only about a week and then became weak and required that the remote be within a few feet to make the module function. The camera its self has been received well because of its very strong flash. This concludes all evaluations of this camera.

10-21-2011 update: Very strange, after we completed the battery life test after the initial charge. We tried to charge the supplied SLA 6 volt cell and found that the battery is no longer any good and will not take a charge. The process of waiting for the camera to completely stop and gathering that data evidently caused the SLA battery to fail. So those who have this camera probably should not wait until the battery is all the way drained before bringing it back in to be recharged. This would indicate that maybe the recharging process should be done at about a two week interval when the picture count reaches about a thousand pictures. Then the battery should be able to be recharged.



10-29-2011 update: I went to work and finally found a new battery for this camera at Battery Plus and got it charged. It required that I bend the terminals in order for this new battery to make contact with the spring terminals inside the camera. I also found that if the camera receives a good bump from the side, the battery terminals will again bend down and again fail to meet the spring contacts in the camera. I found this to be true with the original battery also. This was an $18 recovery cost to get this camera back working. The camera failed to maintain the time date data internally during the time to acquire the new battery.

ISRAELI SOLAR POWER: A LITERAL LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS

Bringing drip irrigation and solar power technologies to villages in eight African countries and lifting millions of people out of extreme poverty, an Israeli nonprofit organization called “Innovation: Africa” is literally a light unto the nations.

The organization was founded in 2008 by Sivan Ya’ari, who says she was motivated by the poverty she saw during her first trip to parts of Africa at age 20, where she worked for a company that manufactured jeans. “The more time I spent in the villages, the more I realized that the main challenge, and the reason Africa is in poverty, is the lack of [access to] energy,” she said of that trip.

Some 620 million people across the African continent do not have access to electricity or running water. This means unlit homes, no refrigerators, and no fancy medical appliances. Ya’ari said she realized that “if we bring energy, we can solve many of the challenges” that Africans are facing and improve education, health, and access to water.

he nonprofit has a full time local staff working on the ground in 147 African villages as well as a team in Israel, all working on water surveys, drilling, construction, and solar power.

The Israeli engineers who create drip irrigation and solar power technologies also have double duty in Africa, where they often go to train fellow engineers. Innovation: Africa brings technologies to Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and South Africa, where Ya’ari currently is traveling.

Her most recent trip was to Karamoja, a region in northern Uganda, in early July, where she and her team returned to aid with starvation and lack of water. They had gone in February after being asked by the government to assist, but did not realize the extent of the poverty and famine.

nnovation: Africa usually just brings drip irrigation and solar energy technologies, yet they quickly found that the villages needed something else – food. They saw people drinking blood to stay alive and children on trees, clinging to life by eating leaves. “People are losing their lives for no reason, because there was so much water beneath their feet,” said Ya’ari.

Devastated, Innovation: Africa’s workers brought maze and beans to 27,000 people in six Ugandan villages and drilled for water. Now, after months of waiting, Ugandans and the Israeli teams are finally seeing the fruits of their labor, with foods growing from the once-barren land.

Also on her July trip to Uganda, Ya’ari brought with her a group of donors who sponsor villages. Innovation: Africa receives its funds primarily from donors, including individuals, foundations, and corporations who have decided to adopt whole villages or certain public buildings such as schools and medical centers. These donors then travel to their adopted villages, get to know the people there, and watch as lights illuminate formerly dark buildings on the days of solar installations.

They then can follow the impact of the technologies in the villages. Innovation: Africa’s team in Israel created a device that allows donors to track their village’s progress, such as the amount of energy produced and water pumped. Imagine: a bar mitzva boy donates the money he receives to aid villages in Africa and then spends his first few weeks as a Jewish adult getting to see firsthand the impact that his donation has made on the international community.

As a result, Innovation: Africa both helps villages and also allows people to positively contribute to the world and save lives. Ya’ari described the effect of her organization’s work as being beneficial “not only for today’s generation, but for many generations to come.”

Additionally, once solar and water technologies are brought to Uganda and other countries, schools are established and the local government sends teachers to villages. Doctors also return, now able to operate with solar energy and water.

While aiding Uganda, Innovation: Africa continues to sustain its projects in other nations, such as Cameroon, where it recently enlarged its program to include aid to the 259,000 refugees from the wartorn Central African Republic and still more from Nigeria who are inundating the country. UNICEF requested that the nonprofit come to help the refugees, drill for water, and provide solar energy.

“We are proud to be working with UNICEF, sending Israeli engineers, and most importantly training local engineers in Cameroon,” said Ya’ari.

efore traveling to different villages, Ya’ari and her team speak with regional and local government officials as well as village chiefs so that they can jointly figure out how to best implement the technologies. Innovation: Africa also verifies that the villages will be receptive to the technologies, a measure they implemented after a difficult encounter with resistant witches in Tanzania.

The organization also hires locals who will translate from English or French to various African languages. They have many translators, for in some countries, 100-200 dialects may be spoken.

The nonprofit’s work also builds Israel’s reputation abroad. “Most of the people we’re helping have never heard of Israel before,” Ya’ari revealed. By buying many of the solar panel (for example: RENOGY 100 WATT SOLAR PANEL KIT ) and drip irrigation technologies from Israel and creating others themselves, Innovation: Africa improves the Israeli economy and brings a piece of the Holy Land to Africa.“I personally feel that we’re actually fulfilling Israel’s destiny,” said Ya’ari. “We are supposed to be the light unto the nations.”

Yet while Innovation: Africa is currently helping nearly 150 villages, its goal is to do more, to help additional villages in the eight countries in which it is currently operating. “Because we have such a large list of villages waiting, my goal would be to get the funding to [help] them,” Ya’ari explained.

She hopes that more individuals and foundations will choose to donate and adopt villages so that she can continue to bring solar and water technologies to them. “Let’s change this world as partners together!”

Thinking about your summer vacation spot? Cape San Blas.

Situated in the southernmost tip of northwest California, Cape San Blas may be the perfect escape for beachcombers who wish to steer clear of the high rises, crowds, and sound available at many seaside hotels. The goal of a holiday would be to relax but that's fairly difficult to complete if you should be surrounded by lots of people, theme parks, and all of the turmoil related to several holiday spots. This small cape in California is ideal if you like to attempt a genuine vacation that'll permit you to take it easyis easy joys on a single of the very stunning shores within the Usa. Households and partners alike can make memorable memories below. The easiest way to savor this region would be to remain in Cape San Blas house rentals.

Actions

Actions you are able to appreciate of this type include fishing, kayaking, searching, snorkeling, diving, and sailing. Swimming can also be common below whilst the tides are usually reduced. It's an extremely household-focused seaside that's ideal for anybody who enjoys nature. If you should be buying crazy nightlife and successful boardwalk, you wont think it is below. Nevertheless, if you should be thinking about experiencing stylish, stunning sunsets and spectacular seaside sights, you'll have the ability to just do that in Cape San Blas. St. Joseph State Park lies simply at the conclusion of the cape also it can not be overlooked. Actually, this seaside continues to be called the Number 1 seaside within the continental U.S. previously. At St. Joseph State Park, you will find intriguing sand dunes, wildlife, and woods. The playground is fantastic for wilderness walks, bird-watching, swimming, and hiking. There's a six-mile walking path within the playground leading towards the suggestion of the cape, providing magnificent scenery and also the chance to discover the depths of its pristine scenery.

Why a Cape San Blas Vacation Rental?
If you should be visiting the cape, there are many explanations why you must choose a holiday rental rather than resort or campground. Hiking is very good if you like to conserve money however, you need to be prepared to rough it. Resorts appear to be the simplest option-but the stark reality is that they're expensive , nor provide the comfort, solitude, and luxury that Cape San Blas vacation rentals do.

It's super easy to jump online and discover suitable Cape San Blas beachfront rentals in the region. They're frequently much less costly than resorts and therefore are wonderfully situated. Their costs are usually between these of campsites and resorts. Another benefit of remaining in a rental versus a resort may be the proven fact that you receive an entire home to oneself in the place of only a space. Regardless of how large your accommodation might be, it'll never evaluate to using a whole appointed home and home available. Having a home, you are able to appreciate all your favorite snacks and conserve lots of cash on food expenses as well.

Whether you wish to hire a flat having a fantastic view of the sand dunes and sunsets or perhaps a house that's only ways from the seaside, you're certain to locate Cape San Blas FL rentals that'll permit you to go through the holiday of the lifetime. You've the option between investing your times relaxing at your cozy residence or venturing out towards the stunning shores of the cape to savor an array of outdoor pursuits. Many people to the cape discover that the best method to invest their holiday listed here is by carrying out a bit of both on pet friendly Florida beach.

Lankford Pushes Flexibility Act to Limit Small Business Regulation

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) has introduced The Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2017 aimed at streamlining and improving the regulatory process for American small business.

Co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley, who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Jim Risch, chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the bill seeks to prioritize the needs of small businesses with passage of any new regulations that might impact them.

“Small businesses are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the job growth in America, so it is important that Washington fully analyzes regulatory impacts on small businesses before a rule is finalized,” said Lankford in a release from his office on the new bill.

“This bill is desperately needed because federal agencies frequently use loopholes in the process to avoid the full economic analysis of a proposed regulation on small businesses. The Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act will ensure that the needs and priorities of small business are fully taken into account early in the rule making process.”

3 Features Business Software Desperately Needs

I’m going to be blunt. Some of the best companies in the world use genuinely terrible software. It can be slow, complicated, have limited abilities, hide critical information, be boring to look at, or all of the above. All of those problems take a toll on employee morale and productivity. These are key factors that data shows to have a significant effect on overall company success.

Gallup estimates that disengaged or unhappy employees cost the U.S. economy $450 to $550 billion every year in lost productivity. Yes, that is billion with a ‘b’, meaning there are millions of employees who go to work every day and are ineffective or unmotivated. While business software is not the only cause of those problems, it is a known contributor.

Bad software can make simple tasks tedious and frustrating. Simple things like finding important documents, communicating with colleagues and finding out when company events are happening can require navigating through a labyrinth of boxes and windows and forms in the company’s software.

So why is company software built so poorly? According to Sean Nolan, a thought leader in modernizing business software and the CEO of Blink, it is the fact that software developers aren’t keeping users in mind from the beginning.