Using Flickr

*Some more WEB 2.0 Stuff!*

Before this assignment, I had seen and heard of Flickr before but I had never signed up for an account or anything of that nature. I must say, using Flickr was pretty easy and simple to follow along. The only real gripe that I had, which I am not sure if it was due to a bad wifi connection, but I experienced a lot of glitches and errors when I was trying to navigate through the site.

It may have been an abnormal circumstance, but aside from that, Flickr gets an A for effort for being an easy site to share photos and create photo book creations on.

Additionally, there were users with some amazing displays of photography, I mean really professional works of art that was nice to scroll through and enjoy. (And as for how many used the same tag word that I did, there were 2,921,075 photos tagged with "web"!)

UPDATE ON FLICKR ISSUES.... As I mentioned I was having lots of issues with the website, for instance, when I searched for other images with the same tag as what my photos were tagged with, the page kept timing out. Then, shortly there after, the entire website was down and my Internet browser could not pull it up. Well, I took matters into my own hands, and googled "Flickr issues" and a nifty little website called downdetector.com came up with an up-to-date status on any reported issues with the site. Low and behold, people all over the world, from Portland, Oregon to Helsinki, Finland were reporting the same exact issues that I was experiencing. Also, there reports were all in the last few minutes, with one reading "a few seconds ago". It was reassuring to see that I wasn't the only one, but also very cool to see collective intelligence coming together.

The Open Source Zone-Apache Open Office

In the world of making documents, spread sheets, or any other office main staples of computer based work, it seems like the gold standard of programs is undoubtedly, the reigning champion of Microsoft Office. But in my review of some good Open Source equivalents, there is a pretty decent runner up with some solid comparables called Apache Open Office.

Apache Open Office offers a tit for tat, apples to apples, eye for an eye type alternative to programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While it would probably never take over the world of business, or render Microsoft's tried and true go-to's irrelevant, it does offer a great alternative to those who may be looking to use something different from the ever-so-common Microsoft mainstays.

And just like the clever boy vs. girl song "anything you can do, I can do better", the same claims are true of Apache about Microsoft Office. Simply put, anything that you would look to achieve via a popular Microsoft Office program, you could essentially do the same thing with Apache Open Office.

The Open Source Zone-Mozilla Thunderbird

It would be my guess, that almost everyone who has used email, has seen or dealt with Microsoft's Outlook in some form or fashion. I, like many people I know, have been required to use it in the work environment, for example. However, another equivalent email provider that could relate to the same rankings of Outlook would be Mozilla Thunderbird. 

Now, while the name sounds incredibly daring and exciting, it is a little bit... "meh" to say the least. In fact, it kind of looks like something out of the late 90's or the early 2000's. It is simply boring, despite having another cool icon that looks like a vivid blue jay hugging an envelope. 

But looks aside, it does offer a good deal of convenience in the realm of its capabilities. I think my favorite aspect of Thunderbird, aside from the cute little birdie, is that it can have all of your various email inboxes, consolidated into one place, just like a bunch of suitcases stacked and tied together with a big leather strap. This handy feature makes checking your email extremely efficient, which in turn makes Thunderbird a valuable program.

The Open Source Zone-FireFox

With such a wide range of available, and free, Internet browsers, there are many popular choices to chose from. You have some of the big hitters, like Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and more. For my first review of an open source browser, I chose to download and look into Mozilla Firefox. It is a widely popular Internet browser used by many, but until this project, I hadn't really used it much, as I am partial to my steady Freddy Safari.

When comparing the two, I did appreciate all of the customizations that could be played around with on Firefox, and the lay out and design was relatively simple, in my humble opinion. Additionally, the cool desktop icon that looks like a flaming cartoon fox wrestling with the planet Neptune was a cute, added perk.

However, at the end of the day, I don't really feel compelled to make the switch from my stock Apple Safari provider to Firefox. There wasn't anything wrong with the software in particular, but there wasn't really anything to write home about either... To me, even though there may be some claimed performance or operational differences between the two, Google looks pretty similar on both providers, so I wouldn't have a real reason to switch.

vs.

Artificial Intelligence- Full Steam Ahead for California (Good News for Tesla)

In another blog on the Top 10 Blogs Following Web 2.0, the details of California's DMV regulations regarding autonomous driving are laid out, as their new guidelines give the thumbs up for the testing and usage of such technology.

This is a major requirement that is necessary to move forward in order to develop and hone the technology of autonomous driving. It provides the opportunity to test in real life scenarios, which is a vital step towards bringing it further into reality.

Up to this point, Tesla's fully autonomous driving systems have been in "beta mode" in which the full capabilities have not been released, due to legislations and guidelines since the technology is so new, and the refinement of the tech itself, meaning that the systems continually learn and improve as it develops.

What's Next in the Transportation Industry

We are on the brink of witnessing a new wave in the automotive and land transportation industry. The change up of what we are about to see could be compared to the change up that occurred when cars ditched their horse "power" and started moving about with engines.

Tesla, a most notable name in new technology, is spearheading the movement towards leaving dirty ol' oil behind in the dust, when it comes to power. This power is incredibly efficient, especially when placed behind a vessel with four wheels. And don't for a second think that nixing a gasoline engine with all those cylinders and replacing it with a watermelon-sized electric motor means that you'd need extra space to merge onto the freeway; it is quite the contrary! In fact, there are tons of videos on Youtube that prove just how fast a Tesla is, outracing any supercar out there. (I especially love a race with Tesla's SUV against a Lamborghini Aventator ) But fastness aside, there are so many reasons that electric vehicles are better than ICE vehicles (internal combustion engine). Gas savings are just the ice burg, but beyond that, there are no more oil changes, transmission problems, blown gaskets, oil leaks, or any of the other maintenance issues that come with a gas engine that has so many moving mechanical parts. In a Tesla, there are approximately 20 moving parts to get it going and a standard ICE vehicle has around 10,000! So you can see how maintenance would be dramatically less. 

What's even more exciting is the impact that they are starting to make on the semi-truck industry. It is in it's infancy stages, but their first all-electric semi has been spied in California earlier this month. According to early witnesses, including long-time truck drivers who have seen it, it is a game changer. The semi is set to be revealed in November, but it is said to also provide autonomous driving capabilities which would be so much safer for everyone, since driving across the country for such long durations is incredibly tiresome to truck drivers with strict deadlines on their deliveries. That kind of technology would enable them to rest along the way, just as airplane pilots do, while their truck is on autopilot. Not a bad gig to run a big rig, if you ask me!

(photo courtesy of electrek.com)

In reviewing some of the blogs listed in the Top 10 Blogs Following Web 2.0, one in particular covered the up and coming technology of autonomous driving. The blog speaks about Seattle's plan to covert a portion of I-5, spanning up to Vancouver, to be a specialized highway made solely for autonomous vehicles. The plans are also set to gradually come into fruition over the next few years.

As the artificial intelligence for these systems grow more sophisticated, the way we travel will be changed forever. Simply put. There will be no more drunk drivers, long commutes and traffic jams will not be as dreary when you can sit back, take a nap, or conduct business on your lap top or personal electronic devises. Even yet, maybe the kids won't ask "are we there yet?" quite as often if you can turn your seat around and engage in a nice friendly game of Monopoly with them while you're all on your way to Disneyland for summer vacation. I think technology is definitely heading in the right direction!