Have you felt the drops of a spring rainfall on your face? They fall softly, blessing each leaf and bud and flower. They remind us of winter and of melted snow but they’re tinged with hope, looking forward to summer. They chill and yet they warm.
The dawn sky
The day our MINI froze over
One winter day, as I finished work late in the evening, about eight o’clock, I went out to the parking lot and saw my MINI looking this:
I hadn’t expected that. It had rained earlier in the day, particularly during lunch and it had continued to drizzle through the afternoon. The evening had brought a freezing spell with it, and all that water had turned to ice, on the ground and in the sky.
What to do? I didn’t have an ice scraper with me, but I remembered someone had given me one of those mini-CDs and I’d put it in the car. After prying the door open, I grabbed it and started scraping off the ice from the windshield. Who knew that thing would do something useful someday? 🙂
It took about half an hour to get the windshield clean and another twenty minutes to warm up the car sufficiently so that it melted the rest of the ice from the windows. I loved every minute of it, in spite of the freezing cold. You know why? Because an unexpected adventure is a chance to experience something different, something extra-ordinary and it’s a welcome thing in my book.
What do you think I did after I got the car started? Did I take the highway and head home fast? No, I took the scenic route and enjoyed my MINI’s wonderful winter handling, with the aid of my winter tires, plodding through the freshly fallen snow and sliding over ice patches. I did a few donuts in the empty parking lot, slid the rear through corners, braked just so I could slide on the empty roads… I still smile when I think of that evening. Fun, fun, fun! 🙂
More details
I love macro photographs and I’m glad to see that you do as well, judging by the wild success of my last published set of photographs on this subject. So why don’t I give you more of what you want? 🙂
Hardware preview: ioSafe N2 NAS
ioSafe, the company famous for its line of rugged external drives that can withstand disasters such as floods, fires and even crushing weight, has come up with a new product: the N2 NAS (Network Attached Storage) device.
The N2 device comes at the right time. The market for NAS devices is maturing and demand is growing. Western Digital has even come out with a line of hard drives, the WD Red, specifically targeted to NAS enclosures. To my knowledge there is no such other NAS device out there, so ioSafe’s got the lead on this.
The N2 appliance is powered by Synology® DiskStation Manager (DSM) and is aimed at the SOHO, SMB and Remote Office Branch Office (ROBO) markets.
The high performance 2-bay N2 provides up to 8TB of storage capacity and is equipped with a 2GHz Marvel CPU and 512MB of memory. The N2 uses redundant hard drives as well as ioSafe’s patented DataCast, HydroSafe and FloSafe technologies to protect data from loss in fire up to 1550°F and submersion in fresh or salt water up to a 10 foot depth for 3 days.
Features:
- Local and Remote File Sharing: Between virtually any device from any location online
- Cloud Station: File syncing between multiple computers and N2 (like Dropbox)
- iTunes Server
- Surveillance Station: Video surveillance application
- Media Server: Stream videos and music
- Photo Sharing: Photo sharing with friends and family
- Mail Server: Email server
- VPN Server: Manage Virtual Private Network
- Download Station: Post files for others to download
- Audio Station: Stream audio to smartphone (iOS/Android)
- FTP Server: Remote file transfers
- Multi-platform compatibility with Mac/PC/MS Server/Linux
Hardware:
- Dual Redundant Disk, RAID 0/1, Up to 8TB (4TB x 2)
- 2GHz Marvel CPU and 512MB memory
- Gigabit Ethernet Port
- Additional ports for USB 3, SD Memory Card
- User replaceable drives
- Protects Data From Fire: DataCast Technology. 1550°F, 1/2 hr per ASTM E119 with no data loss.
- Protects Data From Flood: HydroSafe Technology. Full immersion, 10 ft. 3 days with no data loss.
- FloSafe Vent Technology: Active air cooling during normal operation. FloSafe Vents automatically block destructive heat during fire by water vaporization – no moving parts
- Physical theft protection (optional floor mount, padlock door security – coming Q1 2013)
- Kensington® Lock Compatible
Support and Data Recovery Service (DRS):
- 1 Year No-Hassle Warranty (for N2 Diskless)
- 1 Year No-Hassle Warranty + Data Recovery Service (DRS) Standard (for loaded N2)
- DRS included $2500/TB for forensic recovery costs for any reason if required
- DRS and Warranty are upgradeable to 5 years ($.99/TB per month)
- DRS Pro available includes $5000/TB + coverage of attached server ($2.99/TB per month)
Operating Environment:
- Operating: 0-35° C (95°F)
- Non-operating: 0-1550°F, 1/2 hr per ASTM E119
- Operating Humidity: 20% – 80% (non-condensing)
- Non-operating Humidity: 100%, Full immersion, 10 feet, 3 days, fresh or salt water
Physical:
- Size: 5.9″W x 9.0″H x 11.5″L
- Weight: 28 lbs
The N2 appliance is being brought to market with funding obtained through IndieGogo. I know it’s hard to believe it when you look at their products, but ioSafe only has about 20 employees. Sometimes they have to be creative in the ways they fund their R&D.
The ioSafe N2 will begin shipping in January 2013 and will be available in capacities up to 8TB. Introductory pricing for the ioSafe N2 diskless version is available for $499 on Indiegogo ($100 off the retail price of $599.99) if you want to get your own hard drives.
I’ve also written about ioSafe Solo, the ioSafe Rugged Portable and the ioSafe SSDÂ devices.
Raoul Pop 