Solar Power is More Affordable Than You Might Think
Renewable energy, environmentally friendly, green technology…these are all words that we have become familiar with over the past few years. With the energy crunch and rising prices for crude oil and other sources of power along with the rising cost of traditional electricity, it’s no wonder that many homeowners have begun to take another look at Solar Panels Salt Lake City.
Using solar energy to power your home or business is nothing new. As a matter of fact, solar panel technology has been around for decades. However, most homeowners have stayed away from installing these systems in their homes due to the high initial cost of acquisition as well as installation costs and home retrofitting. The good news is that thanks to advancements in technology and a more eco-conscious environment, getting a solar power system installed in your home is not only more affordable than ever, it can net you additional benefits such as:
- Tax breaks -A few years ago, the federal government sought to increase the use of renewable energy sources and enacted tax incentives for homeowners who choose to install energy efficient appliances as well as solar systems in their homes. If you install a solar system before 21/31/2016, you can take 30% of the total cost to acquire and install your new system as a federal tax credit. In addition, many states have followed the lead of the federal government and have enacted similar tax breaks for those who reside in specific states or municipalities.
- Protection against cost increases- For those who live on the grid, periodic energy cost increases are simply a fact of life. However, for those who have solar systems installed, you don’t have to worry about seeing price increases on your bill. As a matter of fact, many who install solar systems in their homes get a check from the power company if their systems are properly wired so that they can feed power back into the grid.
- Home Value Increase – If you were to place two identical houses side by side, the one with a solar system will sell for more than the one using traditional power. Why? The cost savings you get using a solar power system simply commands a higher price.
Cost vs. ROI of Solar Panels
So, now that you know all of the benefits that you can reap by installing a solar power system, it’s time to discuss the one thing that has prevented many people from installing one in their home: cost. While it’s true that solar systems were expensive in the past, in some cases prohibitively so, in today’s world, thanks to advancements in technology, solar power systems have become very affordable. In addition to a lower cost of acquisition, many local governments have made low cost loans and other financial incentives available to homeowners looking to pursue this option. And, of course, not having to pay a power bill every month will allow the system to pay for itself sooner than you might think.
Many solar power installation companies not only offer in home solar panel installation, but Portable Solar Power Utah as well.
Are you looking to intall Solar Panels Salt Lake City? If so, Intermountain Wind and Solar is the company you need. They offer quality in home and Portable Solar Power Utah. Call today for more information.
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Starbucks updates app, making life even more efficient
What would life be without that daily cup of joe? For me, my need for coffee varies based on sleep, but if I need coffee, I need it as soon as possible. Starbucks is looking to remedy this.
The newest version of the Starbucks app has a new Shake to Pay feature, which displays your favorite card you use to pay at Starbucks. Simply shake your device while in the app, and there it is. To open the app more quickly, there are some new widgets to place on your home screen of your smartphone.
Along with this, you can now tip your barista digitally from within the app, up to two hours after your purchase, for all those times you forgot to tip them. You terrible person you.
To update, navigate to the Play Store on your device. If you don’t already have it, hit the link below.
Starbucks has always provided the coffee to make us more efficient. Now they’re providing an app to help us get this coffee. What more could we ask for?
via Droid-Life
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Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on sale October 17; pre-orders begin September 19
Samsung on Thursday confirmed the upcoming arrival date for its Galaxy Note 4 smartphone. Touching down on October 17, the device will be offered across AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular. The Note 4 will be sold in Charcoal Black and Frost White options though it’s not clear if each carrier will get both colors. Each wireless provider is expected to announce their respective prices, pre-order details, and specifications. According to Samsung pre-orders begin as early as tomorrow, September 19.
T-Mobile begins pre-orders September 24; total price will be $749.76
Samsung is offering customers a guaranteed total trade-in of $200 for any working smartphone should they trade it in before October 16.. For more information, visit www.SamsungGalaxyPromotions.com/Note4.
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T-Mobile: pre-orders for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on September 24
T-Mobile was among the first wireless providers to announce specific details as it pertains to the upcoming availability of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Pre-orders for the device begin at the Un-carrier on Wednesday, September 24 at 9AM PDT. Pricing is listed at $0 down and $31.24 monthly for 24 months which equates to a total cost of $749.76 when it’s all said and done.
Don’t forget that T-Mobile promises the best trade-in price in the industry; keep that in mind if you’re thinking of switching service providers and dumping your old phone.
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Moto Maker now available in France, Germany, and the UK
Residents in France, Germany, and the UK can finally enjoy the functionality that the US have had for some time now and can now use the Moto Maker facility to customise the new Moto X.
Despite the device not yet being available in those regions, Moto X went live for the regions pretty much the same time the new Moto X was made available in the US.
Despite that, you can still go ahead and design your Moto X and the design will be emailed to you, ready to be retrieved when the Moto X does launch.
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Anki Drive’s robotic race cars will play nice with Android starting in October
Ever since Anki Drive — a toy car racing system powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning — made a big splash at Apple’s WWDC 2013 keynote, it’s been iOS-only. That ends next month, however, as Anki Drive is finally coming to Android for the first time. Sean Levatino, Anki’s lead designer, tells us that one of the company’s big core commitments is accessibility, and Android compatibility is a big part of that. “We want to support as many platforms as possible,” he says. Anki’s goal, after all, is to bring robotics to the masses.
So what took Anki so long? Mark Palatucci, Anki’s co-founder, says that it really had to do with Apple’s early support for Bluetooth low energy. “Only really in the past year have we seen Android phones adopt the standard in any real capacity,” he says. Now as more modern Android devices support the standard, Anki’s finally able to roll out support for Android on a wide scale.
There is an important caveat however: for the time being, there is no cross-platform play. That means iOS users can’t race their cars against Android users and vice versa. That’s because the Android version uses WiFi for multiplayer support while the iOS app communicates via Bluetooth LE. “Eventually we’ll work on interoperability,” says Palatucci, but the team wanted to focus on bringing the Android app to market first.
In the meantime, the iOS app is getting a huge update in terms of gameplay. For one thing, now you’ll be able to play in “Team mode.” Players can gang up against an AI, or users can play team versus team, or you could even go up against three AI cars by yourself if you feel like a challenge. “We never really supported that,” says Levatino, though he says that according to surveys, people were doing it unofficially anyway. The most recent update lets folks mix and match up to four human or AI players in teams, even letting you pair up with an AI if you wish.
Another welcome update to the iOS app is something called “Balance Cars Mode” which essentially lets new users play with higher-level folks without getting their asses whooped. When this mode is enabled, upgrades in the higher-level cars will be disabled to match that of the lowest level car for a more even playing field.
Anki is also rolling out a new character as part of this announcement. Called “Spectrix,” the car has a trickster personality, with a special “Scrambler” ability that messes with other car’s systems and causes them to go out of control. “It’s fun to play on its own, but it really shines in team play,” says Levatino. “It’s a great support character.” The Spectrix is available today on Anki.com for $69.99 and you can purchase it from other retailers later this week.
And that’s not all. Anki has also dropped the price of the Anki Starter Kit from $199.99 to $149.99 in the US (£149.99 in the UK). The Starter Kit, as a reminder, comes with two cars, their charging cases, a 3.5 foot by 8.5 foot race mat, a tire cleaner and a fast charger. The aforementioned iOS update should be available starting today while the Android app will be in the Google Play store some time in early to mid October.
Filed under: Misc
Source: Anki
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These iOS 8 keyboards will free you from typing tyranny
iOS 8 is finally live for public consumption, which means it’s time for all those third-party keyboards to make their App Store debut. Yep, at long last, devotees of Apple’s mobile platform can swap out that boring ol’ default keyboard for something different — a neat trick Android users have enjoyed for some time now. Still, it’s better late than never, and already there are a slew of alternative keyboards for iOS 8 clamoring for your attention. Here’s just a few we think are worth checking out.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
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iOS 8 bug forces Apple to pull all HealthKit apps from the App Store
iOS 8 may be trickling down into people’s devices, but those long-promised health and fitness features won’t be along for the ride. Apple has discovered a critical flaw in HealthKit that’s so big, it’s prompted the company to pull any app that connected to the service from the App Store. According to The Next Web, apps like MyFitnessPal are now racing to prepare a HealthKit-free version of its latest update which added miCoach support. In a statement, Apple says that it’s “working quickly” to fix the issue, and that HealthKit apps like CARROT Fit, which is currently unavailable, will return to the store by the end of the month.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Apple
Via: The Next Web
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Apple Working with U2 on New Music Format to Boost Digital Music Sales
Apple and U2 have a long history of working together, producing a special edition U2 iPod in 2008 and more recently releasing the band’s latest album, “Songs of Innocence,” for free. According to Time, Apple and U2 now are collaborating on a new music format that will boost digital music sales.
Details on the music format or the secret project surrounding it were not revealed, but U2’s Bono says it will help musicians sell their music.
Bono tells TIME he hopes that a new digital music format in the works will prove so irresistibly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music—whole albums as well as individual tracks. The point isn’t just to help U2 but less well known artists and others in the industry who can’t make money, as U2 does, from live performance. “Songwriters aren’t touring people,” says Bono. “Cole Porter wouldn’t have sold T-shirts. Cole Porter wasn’t coming to a stadium near you.”
Digital music sales are declining as consumer interest in online streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora grows. According to Nielsen SoundScan data from the first half of 2014, digital album sales fell 15 percent year over year, while digital track sales fell 13 percent. At the same time, streaming music increased 42 percent.
In the U.S., iTunes currently is the market leader for digital music downloads, but Apple is not blind to the steady decline in digital music sales. The company launched the Pandora-like iTunes Radio along with iOS 7 and recently purchased Beats Music for $3 billion.
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Watch how Nissan’s hybrid supercar fares on Top Gear’s test track
Nissan’s hybrid supercar might have had to bow out of its Le Mans run with transmission issues, but there are plenty of other famous racetracks that it can run around. The vehicle traveled over to Top Gear’s test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome, where Ollie Marriage put it through its paces. The Top Gear Magazine editor was full of praise for the vehicle, complimenting the amount of torque the electric engine provides. He also confessed that in combined mode, with 700hp at his disposal, he managed to spin the car out on his first lap. We’ve got the video of the test lap tucked in after the break, as well as a view taken straight from the cockpit for your armchair racing needs.
Filed under: Transportation
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