Western Digital My Book

If you're addicted to downloading videos and snapping up every game you can find online, chances are you need inexpensive, voluminous storage (like DROBO B800I ) to house it all. The 8TB version of the Western Digital My Book ($249.99) can hold thousands of hours of video, or millions of MP3s or photos. It's backward-compatible with current and older Macs and Windows PCs, a plus right now as USB standards are changing. With a good mix of capacity, pricing, and performance, it's a shoo-in as our latest Editors' Choice for desktop external hard drives.



Conservative Looks

The My Book$184.99 at Amazon shares its vertical orientation with older WD drives like the 2012 iteration of the My Book DuoBest Price at Amazon, though its scalloped black polycarbonate sides are more like those on the recently redesigned My Passport$119.00 at Amazon drives. It measures 6.7 by 1.9 by 5.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.02 pounds. That's compact, but still made to sit on your desktop rather than fit into your pocket. You'll need a spare power outlet, since the My Book needs its (included) power adapter to operate.

The extra bulk also helps the My Book accommodate the desktop drive mechanism inside, ranging from 3TB ($129.99) to the 8TB model we tested. This capacity is made for the heavy downloader as well as the gamer who wants to put an external drive on their Xbox One$272.95 at Amazon, or later this year, their Sony PS4$339.96 at Amazon. With some of the larger console game downloads now approaching 40GB, an 8TB drive should be able to handle at least 200 games before filling up. But many games take up much less space (between 500MB and 10GB), so you will likely be able to install many more.
Affordable Storage

At its $249.99 list price, the 8TB My Book is much less expensive than the same-capacity Seagate Innov8$349.99 at Tiger Direct. That translates to 3 cents per gigabyte for the My Book, much less than most of the drives we've tested over the past couple of years, including the $349.99 Innov8 and the 5TB Seagate Backup Plus$200.00 at Amazon (both 4 cents), the latter our former top pick.

The My Book has a single USB 3.0 interface and it is formatted exFAT out of the box, so it will work equally well with both macOS Sierra and Windows desktops and laptops. The interface is a bit slower than Thunderbolt 2, seen in the LaCie 5big Thunderbolt 2$2,998.95 at Amazon and the Promise Pegasus2 R2+$659.00 at Amazon, but those drives are specialized for media content creation, and are priced much higher. The My Book comes with a three-year warranty, longer than the two years you get with the Seagate Backup Plus.
Everyday Performance


I tested the My Book on both a Mac and a Windows PC. On the Windows-based PCMark 7 secondary disk test, it earned a decent score of 2,000 points. To put that into perspective, the Seagate Innov8 was only 115 points ahead (2,115) using its USB-C interface. Smaller portable drives were much slower; the Toshiba Canvio Connect IIBest Price at Amazon scored 1,450. Dragging and dropping our 1.2GB test folder took 7 seconds, while the same test took 2 seconds on the Innov8.

The My Book was also a bit slower than the Innov8 on the Mac-based Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: 177MBps read and 176MBps write versus 185MBps read and 181MBps write. By comparison, the dual-drive-equipped Promise Pegasus2 R2+ was much faster than either, at 332MBps write and 374MBps read. The takeaway is that the My Book is speedy enough for backup purposes and local file transfers, but more specialized drives like the R2+ are better for use as work drives for art projects.
Highly Recommended

Most of us need a large repository for our data files, including the tens of thousands or millions of pictures we've taken over the years, music files, and those downloaded movies we've been meaning to watch. In that regard, the 8TB Western Digital My Book is an excellent choice, with enough capacity to last you for several years. It's more versatile than the Innov8, the only other mainstream 8TB drive we've tested. And it's a better deal than the Seagate Backup Plus, thanks to a larger capacity mechanism, better value per gigabyte, and a longer warranty. We have no qualms naming the My Book our latest Editors' Choice for external desktop hard drives.

Norwegian Solar offers PBES energy storage to support renewable energy generation

PBES and Norwegian Solar AS today announced a partnership agreement to provide PBES energy storage to support solar power generation in global markets. PBES will supply containerized storage solutions for Norwegian Solar’s systems being deployed in the USA and Saudi Arabia. This partnership underscores the rapid development of solar energy around the world, and the need for energy storage providers to create innovative flexible solutions to ensure maximum feasibility for renewables projects.

PBES’ storage solutions will be used to help the solar projects cope with peaks in demand by supporting higher output loads, as well as balancing out the supply by storing energy generated during the day at night. With the containerised design enabling rapid installation, this will contribute significantly to the success of solar projects around the globe.

“Norwegian Solar is a company with similar drive and ambition to PBES,” said Brent Perry, PBES Chief Executive Officer. “Their attention to quality customer service and ability to move quickly provide PBES with confidence that they are an ideal partner to bring our energy storage products to solar customers in the USA and Saudi Arabia.”

“We are pleased to announce the agreement with PBES,” stated Nils-Ivar Dyngeland, CEO and Founder, Norwegian Solar AS. “Much of the future of energy generation will be based on turn-key integrated solar and energy storage. After careful evaluation, the advantages of PBES’ innovations such as liquid cooling and CellSwap became clear. The company’s solution driven values fit well with our own.”

The PBES energy storage system (like RENOGY 200 WATT ) has been designed to the highest standards of performance, safety and sustainability. It is designed to seamlessly integrate with all types of power generation in a variety of applications.
PBES designs and manufactures high power industrial lithium-ion energy storage. Comprised of the most experienced team in the sector, PBES is focused on providing value and safety for industrial, marine and grid energy storage applications. Learn more at www.pbes.com

Norwegian Solar is an integrated independent solar EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) company with headquarters in Oslo, Norway. They finance and build solar power projects globally with high quality standards in a timely manner. www.norwegiansolar.com

What’s next for smart glasses?

There’s a revolution brewing in eyewear technology … and Snapchat Spectacles are just the start.

Snapchat recently announced a bold new pushinto the hardware business with their brand new wearable called Spectacles. It’s about what you would expect from video glasses (for example: MOULTRIE HD VIDEO GLASSES )working video and social media into a slick, stylish product that’s well-positioned for young people — but these Spectacles are just the beginning of an oncoming wave of smart eyewear technology.

Coming on the heels of Google Glass, however, consumers and investors have been reluctant to get excited. Eyeglasses, despite being one of the oldest wearable technologies out there, just aren’t sexy, it seems. But that may all be about to change.

Since their inception, corrective lenses have had a single job, and they’ve done it well: bend light. But from the pince-nez of 19th-century France to modern lenses, innovations in eyewear have added only slightly to this core, original function. As technology for everything from cars to personal computers has leapfrogged forward, glasses have stayed, well, glasses. But a period of rapid innovation is set to change consumer eyewear in the months and years ahead.

From the front lines, here are a few key trends I see in the not-so-distant future.

Smart lenses that adjust on-the-fly: Corrective lenses are poised for perhaps the first truly revolutionary leap forward they’ve ever experienced. Soon, it may be possible to produce lenses that can change their refractive profile in response to a software-controlled electric current, adjusting their prescription on-the-fly. Such eyewear could adapt to different wearers by allowing them to input their own prescription. With advanced digital refraction technology integrated into the eyewear itself, it could also potentially watch the wearer’s eyes and reduce eye strain by subtly changing its treatment of light in response to increasing fatigue throughout the day.

These sorts of dynamic technologies turn eyewear into all-around vision technology hubs, rather than simple lens holders. By controlling the refraction through software, we can take vision far beyond its current limitations, adding features like optical zoom and low-light enhancement on a remarkably short timeline — perhaps as little as five years, with sufficient investment. And with digitally controlled refraction, new technologies — and new medical insights — could be passed along to your smart glasses through a simple firmware update.

Goodbye smartphone: Google Glass showed the potential of smart glasses, but awkward design plagued the first iteration. Still, this much is clear: The door has been opened for smart eyewear, and it’s only going to grow sleeker and more powerful in the years ahead. The first real wave will take many functions currently performed by smartphones and host them where they truly belong: as part of vision.

When you see a scene you simply have to post on your Facebook feed, for instance, cameras embedded in your glasses will capture it precisely as it looks to you at the time. The difference between these offerings and the original Google Glass is that they will benefit from several years of advancement in battery and display technology, allowing them to remain sleek, attractive products while integrating more and more functionality.

Rumor has it Google Glass 2 could be released this year, so we know we won’t have to wait long to see at least one high-profile contender in this space.

True transparent displays that live inside lenses: The other significant limitation of Google Glass was that it essentially consisted of a tiny smartphone display on a pair of glasses — a digital dashboard in the corner of your field of view. True electronic glasses, however, will one day layer information over your entire view of the world. These transparent displays won’t require you to look up at a separate display, but will integrate seamlessly with your normal vision.

This is where eyewear begins to take smartphone functionality to all new places. For instance, when taking a photo, your glasses might display a bounding box over your vision to show the extent of the picture at your current level of zoom. Text messages could scroll over your view of a university lecture. There’s hope that the hearing impaired could one day use their eyewear to receive real-time closed captions for the world, even if the speaker isn’t in view.

Bringing it all together with AR: Augmented reality, which analyzes video in real time so it can integrate graphical elements that seem like real parts of the world, is still very much in its video-game infancy. Pokémon GO offers a primitive glimpse of what AR can do, but the technology still has a long way to go in terms of accuracy, performance and battery drain.

What’s clear, however, is that AR will play a central role in truly next-generation eyewear. It could let you follow driving directions clearly layered over the streets as you snake your way through jumbled cities. Or it could be combined with technologies like facial recognition to create an auto-Rolodex that makes sure you never offend acquaintances by forgetting their name — and by leaving notes, you can make sure to flatter them by remembering a bit of trivia, as well.

These are the sorts of applications that a smartphone — no matter how powerful its processor or how clear its screen — could never perform from its home in a purse or pants pocket. They’re the features that will let eyewear not just steal portions of your life from your smartphone, but replace it entirely.

The big picture: Major change is coming to the eyewear space, and it won’t be short-lived. Eyewear presents an approachable — even inevitable — platform for tech development, which means that existing optical companies may well be rivaled by digital players like Snapchat or Google in the years ahead. In fact, as eyewear technology improves, people with 20/20 vision could soon find themselves buying a pair of smart glasses just to keep pace with their myopic friends.

3 Proven Strategies to Give Your Small Business Competitive Edge

The last century has seen unprecedented rise in competition for businesses. With the rise of internet it has become easier than ever for businesses of all types to have a global reach. If you are going to have staying power in the business world you need to take advantage of the latest innovations, such as tapping into SIP trunking providers, developing an online presence, and using social media. To be successful you need to take a look around and learn from the success stories of your competitors. Find out what formulas are working and perfect them in your business model. The 3 time proven systems that are required to position your business against global competition will help you move in the right direction and ensure longevity of your business.

1. Focus on Staff

Your employees are the backbone of your business. No matter how great your service or product is, it will not get you anywhere if you don’t have an excellent team to support you. Provide your staff with professional development opportunities and incentives to give you their best. Respond to their needs and create a positive environment at the workplace. Be highly selective during the hiring process and go with your gut instincts when you feel you have an excellent fit. Pay attention to who is being productive and who isn’t. Offer constructive criticism to those who need improvement, giving them the opportunity to grow. Reward those who excel to continue moving in the right direction.

Benefits of Cloud Based Supply Chain Management System for Small Business

The supply chain refers to the numerous systems involved in moving a product from the supplier to the customer. Supply chain management (SCM) includes all the activities, individuals, and organisations involved in turning natural resources and raw materials into finished products. Any business involved in any way with the manufacturing process needs to keep SCM at the forefront of its priorities.

Steps to Take

One of the first steps take in improving SCM is investing in cloud-based systems. Even though modern businesses are now more dependent on technology than ever before, an I.T. department is out of reach for most startup companies. By using a management system in the cloud, a small company can reap the benefits of an IT department without having to employ extra staff. This leaves you and your in-house employees to further focus on day-to-day business operations. If modern day supply chains are to achieve their intended potential, there needs to be a more efficient means of both collaboration and communication.

How can Membership Loyalty Cards Grow Sales for Small Business

Customers are at the heart of any business. It sounds obvious, but it’s also worth taking a moment to think about. Happy customers who like what you offer spend money with you and then come back time and again are invaluable to your business. As a small business owner, you want to find more of these customers, and find a way to keep hold of the ones you have. So, how can you keep hold of those repeat customers? Try using a membership card program. Membership cards are great way to reward your loyal customers and keep them coming back to your business. Here are some additional benefits they can provide to small businesses.

Encourage customers to stay

One of the greatest benefits of membership schemes is the simple fact that membership cards are a great way of promoting customer loyalty. From rewards for length of time spent as a member of a scheme to points that rack up the more a customer spends, a well thought out membership card scheme gives your customers concrete reasons to stay with you. Knowing that they’re building up towards rewards, discounts or free gifts is an incentive to keep spending their money with you, establishing your business as one that gives back great value and then some.