Culture Change with the Internet

In an age where 66% of adult Americans have a cellphone, smartphones are becoming a big thing. It has changed how we navigate, communicate, and relax. Being constantly connected to the internet, people are able to communicate with the internet and other people from almost everywhere. Smartphones have really only been a thing for about 8 years, yet they've instantly changed our lives more than we realize. 

When I have to go somewhere new, the first thing I'll do is pull out my phone, type in the address, and have it navigate me to my unfamiliar location. I have no need to carry a paper map in my car, or go out and buy a separate product like a GPS, because I have the capabilities of both already in my pocket. Not only have we replaced conventional maps and GPS's, we have made a lot of improvements. Now we have the ability to see if there is any obstetrical on our route, and go around them. If you're navigating within Google Maps for example, you'll be alerted if there is construction or heavy traffic on your path to you location, and asked if you'd like to take a faster route.

Like I've talked previously on in The Internet is More Important Than You May Think, smartphones are extremely powerful tools that allow us with seemingly instant connection with anyone else almost everywhere. We're use to having this power of no matter where we are, you can start texting your friend and carry out a conversation. Teens are often told to "put down your phone, and talk to the people around you". Though they might be disconnected from the conversation around them, they're connected with other people and activity communication. It's not just being anti-social, but possibly just being a little too social because they're able to talk to someone at any time without being right next to them. 

Smartphones have become a replacement to other forms of entertainment. Instead of calling someone, you're able to join a group chat, and text to a group of people all at the same time. You can have a video chat and look at the friend you're chatting with, or show your friend something. You can play co-op games together, or compete against each other. You're able to watch a video, netflix, or TV anywhere you want. Connection to the internet offers you endless amounts of entertainment with all the apps and content you have access to.

Android Apps Coming to Chrome OS

Recently Alphabet (Google) has announced that they're taking Chrome os, the operating system used in Chromebooks, and are merging it with Android. All of the information out on this merge is still very early on, and many things can change or even be cancelled, but still the idea of Android on or incorporated into a new chromebook would be fantastic.

Like I've explained in Why I’m Still Interested in Chromebooks, Chrome OS though lacking in compatibility in general programs, it's able to make up for in the applications developed by users to replace those programs. Though no where near having the complete functionality of another operating system, the merge with Android would make a big jump to closing that gap.  With the ability to access the Play Store and download apps from would ever increase what you could do on a chromebook.

Though we don't know exactly what this merge entails for the new version of chrome OS, what it seems like to me is that they're trying  to make the chromebook more appealing, and able to compete with other laptops.  Before many people haven't heard of a chromebook, and if they had, they probably were not interested in using one. Stating a different operating system would of drawn away most of the potential customers before they might look further into it. If they could advertise an Android laptop, right away many more people would be interested and further look into the capabilities of the laptop.  This would be a way to combat against the massive outreach of Windows and Mac over the market. So many people have an Android phone, and it would give a connection to the Android laptop.

Overall though we don't have many details over what the merge would mean exactly, hopefully it will come with access to the Play Store, furthering the usability of the laptop. Also this merge could be for a marketing scheme to grow the popularity and knowledge of the chromebook.

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Why Consoles Offer a Lesser Experience

It's something that I've heard debated about throughout my life as a child. People argue about this, and often never persuade one or another whether xbox or playstation consoles offer a better gaming experience. Often overlooked over by many hardcore console gamers is the fact of another genre of gaming, PC gaming.

Often overlooked, but it's an amazing experience for gamers. Steam offers an online multiplayer experience without having to pay more after purchasing the game. You get access to a plethora of games, and actual free games that you don't have to pay a monthly fee to access.

Many game developers develop games for PC because they can easily get their game published through steam. The greenlight program offers a way for developers to send in their games to steam, and then have them rated by players to see if it's worth bringing into the steam marketplace. This brings in a lot of PC exclusive games that offers a wonderful gaming experience for PC gamers.

Civilization V Review

Sid Meier's Civilization V, also commonly called just Civ V, is another genius turn based strategy game with Sid Meier's name on it. So good infact, that steam shows I've spent over 350 hours playing Civ V. It's a game that I would recommend to almost anyone.

It takes leaders and civilizations from a large span of time, and starts everyone one off in an ancient era. From there, you research technologies, progressing from age to age. You expand your borders, and settle new cities in foreign lands. You improve your land around you, increasing the yield from it. You create trade routes between other civilizations and city states, filling your coffers up with gold. You can create a big army and navy and take over the world.

Civ V is just a game that has endless playtime for me. With forty three civilizations to choose from, each with some unique units and building. You have 5 different victory types that you can shoot for to win the game. You could capture and control all of the civilization's capitals, you could achieve a scientific victory by researching all the late game technologies, producing the rocket components, assembling the rocket, and launching the rocket ship off to the nearest solar system. You can also achieve a culture victory by exposing your civilization's culture to every other civilization, and having your culture dominate over theirs. You could also achieve a diplomatic victory by achieving enough votes through the united nations meetings. Or you could just score enough points by your set time limit. Civ V just offers you plenty of reasons to replay again and again.

Additionally, there is a plethora of mods created for Civ V.  One of my favorite set of mods is called the Community Balance Mod. It completely changes many mechanics of the game, offering a whole new challenging experience. As the name suggests, it's a set of game changes that the community thought the game needed, and that the game developers never delivered. It gave new life to the game for me, and added countless more hours of gameplay for me to enjoy.

Overall, Civilization V is a amazing game. It offers what seems to be almost unlimited gameplay, and the community has developed even more through the wonderful workshop of mods.

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Chrome Extensions: Floating YouTube

A chrome extension has recently caught my attention. The floating YouTube extension on the chrome browser allows you to view YouTube videos over top of other windows. Someone like me, I watch videos all the time. Often I'll sit back and watch a plethora of videos as I casually play a game. Usually this is done at my home computer, where I have a set up with multiple monitors. Watching a video while playing a game is a breeze with multiple monitors. But when I don't have access to a set up with multiple monitors, It sometimes gets annoying. If I want to watch and play a game on a single monitor, the only option I have is to split the window for both the video and the game, offering a not as desirable experience for gaming.

On my tablet, I often watch videos or live streams on Twitch. The twitch app offers an interesting feature. You can hit a button to have the live stream overlay on your home screen. From there, you can open up any app and continue to watch the live stream. I love this feature because it allows me to multitask on my mobile devices. Recently I decided there must be a program similar on computers.

Away to Google I went, and discovered that people shared the same problems as I, and developed programs to solve it. On the Google web store, there was a few extensions that solved my dilemma. The most popular one Floating for YouTube allows you to input the video URL that you want to watch, and then plays in in a resizable, movable, floating window. It works well, and I haven't experienced anything wrong with it. 

A few things that could be improved include a method of switching videos after finishing one. Currently, the only way to change your video is to close out of the window, and then relaunch the extension. A button in the current UI that would bring up the opening interface would be perfect.

The Problem With Smartwatches

A new year means new Smartwatches. We have many interesting watches that are coming out in 2016, but right now, the new watchthat has been making news is the iWatch 2. Most of what we know hasn't been directly confirmed, but we can assume that it will be included in the next Apple phone. We've heard of a new alloy of aluminum, a bendable display, and no headphone jack.  The first two are solid improvement so that as the watch gets thinner, the watch won't bend and break, but what has shocked many is that the iwatch2  won't have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is standard in just about everything.

When I first heard about this, I was reminded of a situation similar to this a few years ago. If any of you have an older Apple product, you use a different cord to charge your device. This 30 pin cable was standard when Apple started making the iPod touch and the iPhone. When the iPhone 5 was announced, there was an outrage by the community about the different port for charging. They would have to buy new cables and docks if they wanted to buy the next iPhone. When the phone was released, people still bought it and bought new accessories for it. Over time this fit was completely forgot about as the lightning port became the new Apple standard.

From the designer's standpoint, and where they wanted to take the phone, a smaller port was needed. The change saved a lot of room, and also made some money for Apple as people bought new accessories from their store. The same thing can be said $with the headphone jack. That's a lot of room that could be used otherwise.

What is expected, is that you'll use the lightning port to listen to your phone. This either means new earbuds, adapters, or Bluetooth. Because of Bluetooth though, I feel like the change isn't as big. Yes you won't be able to carry around one pair of headphones and listen to everything, but if you're like the growing number of people who use Bluetooth headphones, then you will be just fine with the switch.

problem with VR

Virtual reality has recently hit the news through the growing popularity of the Oculus Rift and other similar devices. People are excited by the fact of this product developing into a new wave of virtual reality video games.  Games are already being designed in an attempt to emerge the player into the experience of it all. With the use of virtual reality devices, could games be designed so that the player can directly and physically interact with in it? 

This next level of interaction, or experience, though may seem distant, is a feasible idea. Having a game that has a complete level of immersion would take more than just a piece of hardware covering your eyes. You would need devices that are not only able to track your movements, but also stimulate the player with the proper responses to your action within the game. These devices are currently being designed and tested.

The Teslasuit is one idea to the thought of complete immersion. This wearable suit is designed with conductive cables within the fabric that has the ability to shock certain points of the wearer's body with a jolt of energy. This is an attempt to stimulate nerves to simulate being hit by bullets or basic interactions with objects. The creators also boast that they plan to implement the ability to simulate temperature and weather with the suit.

Though completely far out product, the idea is there. If simulated response is there, what about physically controlling the game? The Virtuix Omni is one answer to that solution. Basically a infinite 360 degree treadmill. This platform allows you to control your game by physically walking or running, and rotating yourself. It's a really cool idea, that has a working model, and the company is looking at starting to sell units to the public.

This is all a interesting concept, creating a completely immersive gaming experience. One problem though is the initial price.  Buying these products when they are released to the public is going to set you back thousands of dollars. Only a select group of people are going to be able to buy these products. This will lead to video game designers to put this new control on the backburner, as only a few people would be able to use this control method. 

It looks better for devices like virtual reality devices like the Oculus Rift, as it will only set you back a couple hundred dollars. More people will have access to this, and developers would be more likely to design their game with Oculus Rift compatibility.

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Could Self Driving Cars be The Next New Thing?

If you haven't heard yet, self driving cars are a real thing. One big name, Google, has been pioneering this idea. They have been testing self driving cars for a while now, and are fairly close to a final product. This car will be able to drive to a location and navigate through traffic. The premise behind the car is lasers. It works by a laser sending out a beam and with the time it took to come back, it generates an image. The on board computer has been taught to identify things such as the curb, road lines, signs and pedestrians and react to them accordingly. Google has tested this car in many situations and even out on road. It has been predicted that a fleet of self driving cars will hit the streets soon and take over the roads. The premise of the roads being filled with SDCs would be a benefit, they would be able to communicate with each other and create a network of information about the road conditions and hazards. The only problem to this fleet, is selling the idea to the consumers. If you ask someone, they might not want to take a ride in a SDC, afraid for their lives. They might not feel safe driving alongside a SDC. Unknowingly though, you might already have driven along with a SDC. In 4 states, Nevada, California, Florida, and Michigan, the state governments have passed laws allowing SDCs to operate on the open road. Google has taken the opportunity, after a long while of private testing, to test the car on the road. Surprisingly this car is very refined and has only been in minor accidents, and every time, it has not been the self driving car’s fault. Another concern some people might share is the cost. Right now, Google has spent a lot of money in their cars. Though the amount of money put into developing it, it is only expected to add $7000 to $10000 to new car prices. This is a lot for some people who can barely afford to buy a car at current prices, but the technology is expected to drop even more in years following its release. Also, car companies are looking at taking the technology, and putting it into cars for cheaper prices. Overall, self driving cars will become a thing no matter if you like it or not. Farther into the future cars will become cheaper and more continent to build and ride.

Chrome Extensions: Adblock Plus

In an age where the internet could be debated as the main source of information, a lot of people are constantly checking the news, or getting updated on their friends through social media. All these services we're using, are not free to run.  For smaller sites, the fee for running the server and the payment are often softened with the use of an ad or two.  Sites that experience heavy traffic usually have plenty of funding from other sources, but still want to make a profit will put many ads into their website. Youtubers who live off of youtube do so because of ad revenue generated by their thousands of views watching an ad before watching the video. Twitch streamers often play an ad before views are allowed to watch the stream, and during breaks of the stream. Ads are basically everywhere on the internet these days. They're often designed to catch your attention by means of bright colors, animations, sound, or even a video. They're often placed on top of the content of the website, prompting you to wait till you can close the ad. Other times, you might be redirected to an ad you must watch or look at for so long before you can continue to the page you were originally wanting to go to. Ads placed within a website often push around content on the page, making a website look horrible because of their incredibly large size compared to the content on the page.

Many people find these kinds of ads intrusive and annoying, and that's a reason why they use adblockers. They'd rather not put up with these poorly designed ads because it wrecks their experience of the website. AdBlock and AdBlockPlus are two of the most popular Chrome web browser ad blocking extensions. The reason they are so attractive to people is because they are simply free. Why would someone put up with annoying ads when they can just click a button to never see ads again?