[Self Driving Cars] Are they the future?

If you have ever watched NightRider or seen any spy like movie then you're probably familiar with the notion of a self driving vehicle. A self driving vehicle is an autonomous car, also known as a uncrewed vehicle, driverless car, self-driving car and robotic car, is an autonomous vehiclesapable of fulfilling the main transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input.

Many large technology based companies including Google, Tesla, Audi and a few more have been experimenting with manufacturing cars that can drive themselves, think for themselves and become aware of their surroundings to better adjust to their current situation...much like a human does...

The technology behind this is really fascinating. Autonomous vehicles sense their surroundings with such techniques as radar, liar, GPS, and computer vision. Advanced control systems interpret sensory information to identify appropriate navigation paths, as well as obstacles and relevant signage. By definition, autonomous vehicles are capable of updating their maps based on sensory input, allowing the vehicles to keep track of their position even when conditions change or when they enter uncharted environments.

Here is an image of Tesla's Self Driving Vehicles:
Thanks to their innovation they have been able to make the batteries last much longer and make the over all car much faster thanks to it's electric high power motor. 

The Text

Texting. This new thing all the young kids are doing these days. It may be the cool think to do but what's the history behind it? Where did the term Texting come from? To answer these questions I took some time and looked into the history of texting and what I found was rather interesting. Let's take a look. 

According to Wikipedia, Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending brief, electronic messages between two or more mobile phones, or fixed or portable devices over a phone network. The term originally referred to messages sent using the Short Message Service (SMS). It has grown to include messages containing image, video, and sound content (known as MMSmessages). The sender of a text message is known as a texter, while the service itself has different colloquialisms depending on the region.

Now that we know what a text is let's look at it's history. In 1933 RCA Communications, New York introduced the first "telex" service. The first messages over RCA transatlantic circuits were sent between New York and London. Seven million words or 300,000 radiograms transmitted the first year.^{[citation needed]} Alphanumeric messages have long been sent by radio using via Radiotelegraphy. Digital information began being sent using radio as early as 1971 by the University of Hawaii using ALOHA net.^{[citation needed]}

The concept of the SMS (Short Messaging Service) was created by Friedhelm Hillebrand, while he was working for Deutsche Telekom. Sitting at a typewriter at home, Hillebrand typed out random sentences and counted every letter, number, punctuation, and space. Almost every time, the messages amounted to 160 characters, thus being the basis for the limit one could type via text. With Bernard Ghillebaert of France Télécom, he developed a proposal for the GSM group meeting in February 1985 in Oslo.The first technical solution was developed in a GSM subgroup under the leadership of Finn Trosby. It was further developed under the leadership of Kevin Holley and Ian Harris.

I think most of you out there reading this already know what text messaging is used for. Being able to send quick messages to anyone without having to pick up a phone and call them. 

The first text message was sent in 1992 from Neil Papworth, a former developer at Sema Group Telecoms. Mobile phones didn't have keyboards at the time, so Papworth had to type the message on a PC. Papworth's text "Merry Christmas" was successfully sent to Richard Jarvis at Vodafone. 

Like any new technology, initial growth for SMS was slow. The average American user sent 0.4 texts per month in 1995. Gradually, phones and networks adapted to better accommodate SMS. In 1999, texts could finally be exchanged between different networks, which increased its usefulness. By 2000, the average number of text messages sent in the U.S. increased to 35 a month per person. The first, most common method of commercial texting is referred to as "multi-tap." Each number on the phone is connected to three or four letters. For example, the "3" key displays "D," "E" and "F." Multi-tap is easy to understand, but not very efficient.

In the 1990s, Tegic co-founder Cliff Kushler invented T9, short for "Text on 9 keys." Instead of multi-tapping, predictive text technology displays words from a single keypress. As T9 becomes familiar with the words and phrases commonly used by the texter, they become correspondent in order of frequency. In 2011, Kushler invented Swype, a texting feature for touchscreens that enables users to drag their fingers to connect the dots between letters in a word.

So next time you send your significant other or your family/friends a text remember just new this is!

source citations:
         http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/text-messaging-history/#l5chprzRTaqZ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_messaging
        http://theweek.com/articles/469869/text-message-turns-20-brief-history-sms

My switch to Mac

Overview

So a few days ago I made the switch to a Macbook Air from a Windows computer. So far with my switch I've realized that I should have made this change a long time ago. For what I do on a daily basis this laptop is about twice as better as any windows computer I've used to date. That being said I'm still getting used to the new charger port and the fact that I have to either buy a new monitor or purchase an adapter to connect external displays.

I should mention that I have an older Macbook Air, the 2011 model. It's 13.3 inches, it has an Intel Core i5 clocking in at 1.7GHz. 4Gb's of DDR3 RAM.  I recently updated it to Mac OS X El Captain (10.11)

The Good

• is much faster in both everyday and serious.
• better than most opponents of Windows.
• Time of work still remains with the extra speed.
• 4 GB of RAM now standard 13-inch models.
• Thunderbolt opens fast memory, docking capabilities.
• Back lit keyboard is back in the end.
• Lion a good fit for your hardware.
• Still very portable.
• Excellent keyboard and track pad.
• Quiet in most cases.
• Sharp, low-glare display.

The Bad

• No more than 4 GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.
• user can not be updated.
• Not so fast, how expensive rivals.
• Battery life may be even longer.
• screen is not as vivid as the MacBook Pro or similar.

The redesigned MacBook Air in October 2010 sparked a small revolution in notebooks, ultra portables, after years(even Apple) is relegated to the margins, they were suddenly the future of computers. Intel went so far as to coin a new concept notebook, “ultrabook” to encourage manufacturers of PCs running Windows to Apple is doing. But with fierce competition emerging from Samsung, Sony, and even ASUS, Apple had to step up their games a lot faster and desktop-level external storage Thunderbolt. We will see in our review of the 2011 13-inch MacBook Air, is it enough to keep the lead -. And eventually replace traditional notebooks 

Source Citation: 
http://phone.gadegtspy.info/review-macbook-air-13-inch-2011-review/

Will Smart Homes be the new trend?

Many of you have read my article on Windows 10 and the use  Smart Homes and therefore will have a better understanding of the context of this article. With the technology growing at a rapid rate, the use of technology in the normal home is at an all time high.
        The fact of the mater is that kids are growing up with using more tech in their homes and getting more used to it. Using tablets and other pieces of smart technology does in fact increase a child's cognitive skills in the long term. With the world being more and more focused on where to implement technology and make things we do in our everyday lives easier we see that impact that it has on the younger generation's.

If we are going of the "Official" definition of what home automation is then let's look and see what Wikipedia has to say about it shall we, "Home automation is the residential extension of building automation. It is automation of the home, housework or household activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), appliances, security locks of gates and doors and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security. Home automation for the elderly and disabled can provide increased quality of life for persons who might otherwise require caregivers or institutional care."
          One of the advantages of home automation, and might i mention the reason it's gaining popularity is because of it's affordability and simplicity. The concept of "Internet of Things" has tied in closely with the popularization of home automation. 

I asked around on Facebook to see what other thought of the idea of smart homes or home automation in general and old lady brought up a good point what if you lose power? Would you be able to get in or even out of your home at this point? My response was I'd imagine that the house would use solar to story energy in battery's and also divide power to say a generator that charged itself with a car's battery gets charged, the more light energy passed through the more the alternator like device would turn thus charging a larger battery cell or a generator for like you said in case you lose power. But the downfall to that is what about if you don't get sun all that much you could resort to alternative sources of auxiliary power such as wind or hydro power.

The Rant

I still can't believe that even with the advances in new technology we still have to resort to using oil and gas for cars and for heating our homes, I would have thought that we would have been past that by 2015 or at least be using solar more often. I see homes with massive generators that cost as much as an array of solar panels and they don't give off pollution, i'm not an environmental nut but it bothers me when i see something like that. When asked about things like that people just say that it' more of a personal preference and that more reliable in the sense that with solar you have to have the battery cells full and make sure they get sun to keep then charged. It' the same with a generator, you have to keep it full of gas or else it won't start! I think there should be a compromise. A generator that's powered by a solar array. That way it's not using so much gas and it's taking advantage of that free sunlight we all have access to! 

My dream is to design and build a home that's completely "Smart"  when asked about how i'd create the balance so i don't become lazy i just say i'd make the simple tasks such as making coffee or opening the shades manual or automatic so you have the choice between having active mornings or just wanting to stay in bed. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day the question still remains the same, will smart homes take the world by storm in the next few years and completely change how we life? or will they just be a trend that only a small population of people have? I hope to find out more about smart homes in the future and thus make another article of them. Do you think they  will become a new trend? leave your thoughts below!