Kardashev Scale

The Kardashev scale is a way to measure a civilization’s level of technological advancement.  It classifies civilizations based on the amount of useable energy a civilization has access to.  Although we use this scale, it is only theoretical.  It was first proposed by Astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964.  The base theory has three categories of civilizations; Type 1, 2, and 3, but other people have proposed more types of civilizations.  Overall, a type 1 civilization has access to all energy on their planet,  type 2 has access to all energy in their solar system, and type 3 civilizations have access to all the energy in their galaxy.
A type one civilization would have access to, and use, all available power on their “earth” (estimated to be about 4 x 1012 watts for the human race.).  These power sources could include fusion of hydrogen (Technically not renewable), and other renewable resources.  Complete communication world-wide (Internet) would be available. Construction on gigantic projects, Megascale engineering, would be going on.  The civilization would start to colonize other planets/moons in their solar system.  On their home planet, the would have control of the weather.

Type two civilizations would have access to, and use, all available power in their solar system (calculated to be around 4 x 1029 watts for the human race).  One way to harness all the energy would to construct a Dyson Sphere around the sun.  Type two civilizations would be conducting interstellar travel, and interstellar communication.  They would be colonising other solar systems, and terraforming planets/moons.


The human race is on track to become a type one civilization.  Currently according to the Kardashev scale, we are a type .73 civilization, according to our technological advancements and energy consumption.   It is estimated that we will reach type 1 “status” in roughly 100 to 200 years.  World wide communication is a close future. With the Internet, we're able to communicate and share ideas/work with just about anyone. As countries develop, and Internet access is available everywhere , communication with anyone will be possible.  Space colonization is closer than you might think. There is currently a program called Mars One, that plans to send a colonizing ship to mars in 2024. Although, there are a few concerns.  As Michio Kaku said, “Terrorism in some sense is a reaction against the creation of a type one civilization.“  As we have the capabilities of destroying ourself, we will either end up destroying ourself, or advancing as a type one civilization.

Possible Concerns with Police Body Cameras.

Recently, there been many accounts of police brutality. Many case have been true, and others have been false claims. In both cases, the events have exploded on social media and the news. Innocent cops who were just doing their jobs are forced out because of a false claim made against them, and the officer has little clear proof that shows his innocence. Many officers now are scared to act, fearing they'll be the next big event. An easy solution to this problem is simply to provide clear evidence of what the officer was doing.

Police forces have starting issuing body cameras to officers in the field. These are small cameras that are able to be worn on their vests or uniform. They're able to record so many hours and then the video is uploaded to a server. The problem though is videos are naturally a large file.  Though the quality of the video isn't the best, and that saves space, but you're still recording many hours of footage per day, per the number of officers. That adds up to a lot of footage. These videos have to go somewhere, and they have to be kept for a while, because what good does holding footage for a days do.  

These servers that the video is uploaded to isn't free. Often companies offer some storage along with the purchase of cameras, but more times than other that storage isn't enough to hold a big police forces' footage for more than a few months.

Also I haven't even said anything about the cost of these cameras. Ignoring storage space, a single body camera costs about $200. In my city, we have a police force of about 100 officers. Cities like New York City has a police force of roughly 35,000 officers. These costs add up quickly for any size of departments.

Though body cameras are a great solution to the recent concerns,they're simply too expensive. It's not just the camera cost, but also the recurring fee of the servers that hold all the footage. This costs are a pain to both small and big police forces.

Taking Care of Your Battery.

Today you could consider that almost everyone has a cellphone. We live in the age of information, and for about 8 years, smart phones have become a big deal. Companies now offer a new version of their phone once or twice a year, and they usually make a big profit off each new product.  People are keen on upgrading their phone often, even though it can become costly, because their phone becomes slow, or their phone now has a very short battery life.  Though a phone becoming slow is usually a hardware issue that is out of your hands to control, there are many means for you to increase the battery life of your phone.

Most modern smart phones use a type of battery called Lithium Ion. A common smart phone will have a single cell Lithium Ion battery, and right off the shelf, will seem amazing. It's one of the lightest usable rechargeable batteries that we have created, and we continue to increase the capacity of these batteries.  They're very energy dense, which means they can hold a lot of power for their weight. Also they lose very little charge over time.  One of the biggest problems with lithium ion batteries is that they have a very short life. In research, most lithium ion batteries have a life of 2-5 years. Lithium Ion batteries at their current state, simply lose capacity over time. Though, it's not just simply time that causes lithium ion batteries to lose capacity, there are other factors in play. Depending on how much you discharge a battery can play a part in its life.  And the temperature of the battery can increase or decrease the decay of capacity. 

What does that all mean to you though? Well, depending on how you use your device, you can prolong the decay of capacity. If you use your phone intensively for a long period of time, you'll often notice that your phone is warm to the touch. This is not good for the battery.  The battery will decay at double the rate at room temp when it is around 95 degrees Fahrenheit.  So prevent your phone from getting too warm when you're using it. One other thing you can do is prevent you cell phone from completely dying, and charge your phone as often as you can.  Lithium Ion batteries in your phone has a capacity of completely discharging and recharging about 300-500 times. 

So when using your phone or tablet, keep in mind how you use your device. Are you keeping it cool, preventing it from getting to hot? Making sure that your battery doesn't go too low? If you are then you're sure to increase your life of your battery's capacity.

Links

• http://www.ingenuityworking.com/knowledge/w/knowledgebase/lithium-ion-battery-aging-factors.aspx
• http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/is_lithium_ion_the_ideal_battery
• http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

The Cut From Television to the Internet.

TV has been a popular thing for a lot of our lives. It’s been a main source of entertainment for many. Now these days though, the internet is becoming a replacement to this generation old source of entertainment.  

The Internet has became a popular form of entertainment. Since YouTube became more than just a collection of random videos, people have been tuning in as their main source of entertainment. People continued jump on the train to produce content in hopes to become famous. Today we have a large number of entertainers creating free content in a large range of interests.

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus are other popular sources of online entertainment. They provide streamable TV shows and movies when you pay for their services, roughly $8 per month.

The reason these options have become so popular is because of their portability. You can watch a YouTube video anywhere, and it’s free. All you need is access to the internet. You can be sitting in front of your TV, or in your bed, in a car, or outside. Streaming services like Netflix offer a way to watch TV or movies anywhere, and at your own convenience.  You don’t have to get to a TV at the time the next episode is released, or hope for a rerun, you can simply watch whole seasons at a time of a TV show.

People have also come accustomed to watching people play their favorite games. On YouTube or Twitch, instead of playing the games themselves, people are able to watch someone, and interact with them playing the game. It’s much more than simply watching a show. You’re able to interact not only with the entertainer, but with a whole community of people watching the entertainer.

One of the main reasons why people have cut their cable or satellite bill is because there is now a cheaper option, though might not be a perfect replica, but offer entertainment on a new level.  Satellite companies have taken a step in offering the ability to record TV episodes, and watch when you want. They’ve developed apps that allow you to watch select channels anywhere on the go. You’re also able to rent and watch movies. But what they have not been able to do is recreate a community that is able to interact with the content creator and each other.

What is the Ideal Ad?

In a previous post, "Why do People use Adblockers?", I discussed adblockers and why they're so popular. I also touched on the idea that many entertainers on YouTube and the streaming service, Twitch, live off the revenue the make from ads.  Some entertainers have expressed that the amount of people watching with adblockers has really increased, and has hindered their profits.  Communities of these entertainers often debate over the fact whether or not to use adblocker or not.

To me, I feel like to support the entertainer who is providing people with free entertainment, that I would do what I could to support them, such as watching an ad.  The only problem is, depending on the length of the video, an ad might interrupt you in the middle of a video, or you'll be forced to watch an extremely long ad before you are able to start watching the video. I find this very disruptive, and it annoys me very much. Though I want to support the creator, I'd rather not watch an ad that isn't even relevant to me.

In my mind, a perfect ad is one that isn't disruptive, isn't moving content around, isn't popping up on my screen, it's just there. It shouldn't take up the whole screen, but just beside the main content of the page. On video streaming services like YouTube, I'd prefer an optional short, 10-20 second ad before or after the video instead of a minute long ad before or in the middle of the video. 

In my opinion, Twitch has a decent system for ads. Before you're able to watch a stream, you're prompted with a minute long ad, and once it has finished you're allowed to continue along to the stream. The streamers are also able to play an ad during the stream. This is perfect for times when the streamer needs to leave the computer for a bit to take a break or has just finished a match in some sort of game.  They're usually played during a time when the viewer isn't missing anything, so there is little reason not to watch the ad to support the streamer. On the website the only still ad on the website is to the side out of the way of the main content.

Why do People use Adblockers?

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?

What is a Chromecast, and Why You Should Be Interested

A chromecast, what are you talking about? Is it a cast of the metal chrome, or does it have some relation to the browser chrome?  The second guess is more correct. The chromecast is a device made by Google that allows someone to stream content to their TV wireless.  It was release July 24, 2013, and has been a fairly successful device since. 

To use a Chromecast, all you have to do is plug the stick into an HDMI port, and connect it to power.  Once turned on, you have to simply download their chromecast app, available on iOS and Android, follow the instructions to connect the chromecast to wifi, and then you're all set up. To stream content all you have to do is go to an app that is compatible and you will have a little chromecast icon that you can click to stream content to your screen. Some of the most useful streaming capable apps include Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Play Movies, Spotify, Play Music, and Twitch.  

The chromecast is a great device to have around the house. You can have just one in the house, or multiple for multiple TVs, and stream your favorite video easily on any. It's very simple to setup and use. And the best part, is that it's only $35. If you look at other streaming devices, they pretty much all do the same job, but some devices has more compatibility in streaming services than others. Besides that, the chromecast is by far the cheapest option, with the most compatibility. 

Some bigger streaming devices include the Roku 3, Amazon fire TV, Nexus Player, and the Apple TV. All these devices are roughly $100 and are all about the size of a book. They are all devices you plug into your TV and use a remote to control. These bigger brothers are a whole different story.

The chromecast is a portable stick streaming device, and there are two main competitors; The Amazon Fire TV Stick and the Roku streaming stick. They're are all roughly $40, but have a range of different features. The chromecast is a link from your phone or tablet to your TV, and is completely controlled by your device. They other two come with remotes that control the stick's interface. Some people find these interfaces annoying and sometimes unresponsive. With the chromecast, all you have to do is open up any app that is supported, and click stream. 

Overall, there are a ton of streaming devices out on the market, and the chromecast is often overlooked. Though some of the more expensive streaming devices might offer more supported content, the chromecast is amazing for what it does, and only $35.

Links:

Chromecast Android App
Chromecast iOS App

Supported Apps