Ugh!

"Flat-Earthers" are the worst. Up there with climate-change deniers and anti-vac loonies. When did this sudden craze of anti-science become so popular?

2016. 2016 is the year populist ideals and anti-logic mentalities were, unfortunately, validated.  

I've written about this before, but there has been a drastic shift in western culture in the past 12 months that essentially changes the landscape when talking about freedom of speech or practical humanistic progression. 

Let's start with the basics: "My Truth" is not a valid English phrase. You can have your perspective, and you can have the truth - you can't have your perspective being perceived as the truth. Fact is fact, the truth is the truth. If it were different, the criminal justice system would be a hell of a lot different. 

Now, before anybody gets their 'you're a hypocrite because you advocate for adaptability in prior blogs' jam on, I want to address the succinct difference between failing to keep up with social trends or technology versus dismissing logic, science and reason altogether.

Wait, I just did.

Off the back of 50+ years of continued progression in humanity and, therefore, the most rapidly advancing social evolution in human history, we've managed to backslide a decade as a civilization, and have the audacity to celebrate it. 

So now we see a rise in cultist flat-Earth movements, despite said flat-Earthers' using technology developed by science to invent the satellites that rely on actual-earth physics that allow their keyboard-warrior tendencies to be exercised. Vaccines have been proven to be overwhelmingly effective for decades and have all but eradicated diseases such as polio from western civilization yet anti-vac idiot groups are on the rise in unfathomable volume. Climate-change deniers have suddenly appears out of the woodwork in greater numbers than ever, despite increasing extreme weather conditions, and nobody appears to be denigrating their ability to express themselves.

In all honesty, If I were a politician right now I would have to introduce a bill to advocate for a common-sense filter and actively mute people in the world trying to actively regress humanity towards a destructive, pathologically ignorant journey into oblivion just because "they know their truth". 

Fuck your truth.

You don't get to have a truth. You don't get to decide a fact. Despite political lobbyists best efforts, there is simply no such thing as 'alternative facts'. The laws of physics, and science, and universal powers that be decide that for you. You get to have a perspective, and that's all it is. An opinion. Your recollection of a situation or your personal views towards an occurrence in history. Your mental status is infinitely more questionable than universal law.

And if your perspective is in direct conflict of scientific fact that has been concluded from hundreds of thousands of hours of genius-level research far beyond the comprehension of ‘ya basic’ humans of the now, you receive the right to shut the f*** up - because you're patently wrong - and science has said so.

Now I realise the initial reactions of conservatives, the majority of baby boomers and perhaps even some extremely undeveloped left-wing social justice warriors will be quick to dismiss my paragraphs above as erroneous drizzle slated from some know-nothing who "doesn't know how the world works".

Please know though, that you're typing that from a keyboard developed by science, transmitting binary data through multiple interfaces onto a computer, phone or tablet developed by science, and ultimately will be transmitted to a satellite in the sky that works based on a spherical Earth, again developed and maintained by multitudes of science.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of "I believe therefore I'm right" advocates prancing around in the 21st century is the sheer stubbornness of their opinion, regardless of how flimsy their logic is to back it up. Arrogance and ignorance; it's a horrible combination - one that is far too common these days. 

Humoring a "Flat-Earther" and arguing to the point of algorithmic miscalculations in the theory of the flat Earth is simply useless when trying to drum sense into this methodology of thinking. Simple mathematics is dismissed in favor of theories of religious conspiracy that the powers that be created the 'round earth' theory for civil obedience back in medieval times when churches ruled the Earth. Points such as:

• Why is the moon always a crescent as opposed to a flat 1/2 at all times of the year?

• Explain the horizon at a beach?

• Explain satellite imagery?

• Rockets.

• Planets.

• GRAVITY

• Explain why it's impossible to look down 2 wells at least 10m deep at least 50km apart and see the bottom of the well at the same time during the normal rotation of the Earth?

There's about 14,000 other obvious reasons that flat Earth theory is about as dumb as anti-vaccine or climate change deniers now - but here's the real problem: We're humoring these people.

Politicians and corporate businesses are trying to appease these idiots because they appear to make up more than half of the Earth, at this point. I mean they voted in Trump! The epitome of every single thing that is wrong with Western Civilization right now; those who are are born rich get where they are through continued nepotism and wield incredible power despite an iQ just shy of a glass of water and not being able to read off a teleprompter effectively. 

And people agree with them.

Maybe it truly is time to stop letting the people have their say.

- Tom

There are many opinions about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to change the world with expectations about its capabilities for now and in the future. AI simply refers to intelligence displayed by machines in contrast to that displayed by humans. Although humans are intelligent, they cannot be programmed to exceed their current capabilities in the same way a machine can. This has led to the creation of smart machines that handle tasks otherwise difficult for humans to handle efficiently.

Artificial intelligence is gradually becoming a constant presence in many technological applications. From apps and websites that show accurate user recommendations to gaming predictions, it is changing user experience in many fields.

Fleet management is one of the areas that AI is disrupting. The growing need to put driver safety first without compromising cost or efficiency has led to the adoption of smart fleet management systems.

For the average driver, the presence of AI can be felt heavily in the use of smartphones and telematics devices that recommend the best routes to take in traffic. This used to be a herculean task marked by paper maps and listening to radio broadcasts of traffic routes; today, we have complex traffic apps that combine GPS and artificial intelligence to make drivers’ lives easier.

Fleets benefit from powerful AI-based applications that handle anything from route recommendation to road risk data analysis and even driver coaching. It provides the accuracy, efficiency, convenience, and ease that earlier technology failed to provide. As a result, it is becoming safer to transport goods and services.

What is AI Fleet Management?

AI fleet management is the use of artificial intelligence-based technology to manage fleet operations. In a constantly changing world, it streamlines the work of any fleet manager by gradually eliminating human error from the transport process.

AI-based recommendations ensure that fleet drivers, managers, and mechanics can make better decisions that improve the long-term performance of the fleet. It also serves as assistive technology, ensuring that drivers retain autonomy during each transport cycle. Here are some key aspects of fleet management that AI can optimize:

Real-time Fleet Analytics

Collecting data is a key element of any operational process because without analyzing past data, you cannot make informed decisions. With historical insights to inform millions of data points analyzed in real-time,  the result is the prioritization opportunities and risks so that fleet managers and drivers can determine the best course of action to take in potentially problematic situations.

AI fleet management systems can be used to collect data for predictive analytics; data such as traffic and road conditions, environmental hazards, real-time weather, and mechanical faults can be used to predict incoming risk. This allows fleet managers to make better routes, schedules, maintenance delivery, and dispatch arrangements that improve fleet outcomes and activities.

Finally, with AI-based analytics, drivers no longer need to go in blind and can stay prepared for any unexpected events.

Better Repair and Maintenance Decisions

In May 2019, autonomous driving car brand Tesla made headlines after debuting AI-based technology that allows Tesla vehicles to diagnose their faults accurately. Although this technology has existed for some time and has been seen in several modern cars, artificial intelligence is providing a more accurate self-diagnostics as well as solutions to faults.

AI ensures that potential faults can be predicted before they even happen. For example, a normal vehicle with a diagnostics system would most likely signal an engine problem when it has already occurred. On the other hand, AI-based Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and predictive maintenance, can lead to fault detection long before it eventually happens. According to a study by McKinsey, predictive maintenance will reduce costs by 10-40%, downtime by 50% and capital investment by 3-5%.

Predictive maintenance gives managers and their mechanics more than enough time for repairs which could potentially prevent accidents. More importantly, AI can recommend the most efficient and cost-effective solutions to mechanical faults. This has two major benefits:

• It saves mechanics’ time usually spent on diagnostics.

• It gives managers a clearer picture of the state of their fleets at all times. This could mean that service managers could save a lot of routine maintenance costs by carrying out repairs only when the AI systems show potential faults.

Fleet Integration

One major problem with fleet operations, especially in large fleets, is the number of moving parts within the system that need to be accessed. Several departments need a continuous inflow of information that needs to be in sync with all other departmental operations. Although a skilled workforce can make this happen, it is time and labor-intensive.

An AI system could simplify the process by seamlessly integrating every department on a single platform and feeding them information simultaneously. Service managers can save time and costs on planning, maintenance and monitoring operations since all data on those operations are fully accessible. This ensures that all personnel across the different departments have access to the data that helps them make informed decisions. It also leads to a more cohesive fleet, since every department automatically works in sync with the others.

Simpler Recruitment Process

According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The need for automotive and diesel technicians is expected to grow by up to 5% by 2028. The American Trucking Association estimates that there will be a shortfall of up to 175,000 truck drivers by 2026.

As the older generation drivers and technicians retire, there is a need for younger tech-savvy replacements; however, this presents a problem with onboarding and training. AI can simplify the onboarding process by capturing the specialized skills of these workers before they retire.

This is especially great for technicians with unique ways of carrying out their tasks. AI can also recommend the most qualified drivers that suit the needs of the company from a pool of thousands of applicants, reducing the strain on recruiters.

How is AI Integrated with Fleet Management?

AI-integrated software is usually a sophisticated system made up of several devices and applications such as Internet of Things, predictive data analysis and machine learning systems, HD cameras and sensors, communication and display systems, and WiFi.

For example, AI-based fleet management platform Driveri, currently deployed in fleets across the country is a combination of all of these components. There are also many other AI-integrated fleet management systems with one or more of these components.

Before understanding how each of these parts combines to create a fleet management powerhouse, it is important to know what each one does.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things refers to a network of actuators and sensors continuously collecting data from their environment. In fleet management, IoT ensures that enough data is captured for analysis while promoting the seamless sharing of information between all stakeholders on the supply chain such as retailers and manufacturers.

IoT for fleet management works through the use of 3 main technologies:

• Wireless Communication (4G, Bluetooth< WiFi ) convey relevant information

• Global Positioning System (GPS) for accurate real-time location tracking

• Onboard Diagnostics (such as OBDII and J1939) scanners for self-diagnostics and reporting

Machine Learning 

Machine learning technology allows fleets to learn from data collected over time and make managed adjustments based on that data. The result is the creation of smart systems in which AI can learn decision making capabilities that enable more effective handling of practical situations.

HD Cameras

Cameras ensure that video data can be captured, analyzed and accessed at any time leading to a better study of driver behavior, road conditions or hazards.

An AI system with all of the above components will be capable of performing the following tasks:

• Collecting accurate road data and transmitting it to other devices

• Passing information across every arm of the supply chain

• Analyzing data in real-time and advising the driver on the best course of action

• Detecting distracted or drowsy driving behaviors in drivers before they lead to accidents

• Capturing full video footage of accidents from different external vehicle angles

• Running Self-diagnostics and recommending solutions through predictive maintenance

This is significant because it creates a future of fleet management in which human error is reduced in different aspects of the transport cycle. This, in turn, could lead to better outcomes and cost savings.

How AI Fleet Management Will Shape the Future of Transportation

Today, the automotive vehicle industry is faced with several problems that affect fleet activities and profitability. If properly applied, AI can potentially solve these problems and create a better future for transportation.These problems include:

• Resource prioritization and efficacy

• Risky driving behaviors that lead to accidents

• Road risks

• Data collection and analysis

• Cost containment

• Compliance

Risky road behaviors such as distracted and drowsy driving are often accompanied by signs that drivers are told to look out for. These signs include:

• Yawning

• Constant blinking

• Missing turns or exits

• Drifting out of their lane

• Slower reaction times

• Picking up a cellphone

Ordinarily, managers rely on their drivers to avoid these signs and have no way of knowing if a driver had been texting while driving or nodding off at the wheel. Artificial intelligence systems could be trained to detect head turns, missed exits, yawning and blinking frequencies and other signs of risky behavior. These signals can be broadcast to fleet managers in real-time, allowing them to take corrective measures.

Changing road conditions present another challenge for managers because they are difficult to detect without proper technological tools. These conditions present a huge risk evident in the 42,000 deaths they cause annually. AI-based predictive technology can map reduce the risk associated with this problem by studying and mapping out routes while also drawing from data gathered by other vehicles. It can also be trained to make smart predictions about the weather and detect environmental changes such as fog before a driver reaches that point.

A good example of this type of risk assessment through data collection is Netradyne, whose product has already mapped out over 1 million unique miles of US roads. In the future, an extensive database of road conditions will be essential for promoting safety.

As discussed above, AI-based systems can help managers save costs through fuel economy and predictive maintenance. No matter what type of fleet you operate, from trucks to trains, city buses, or taxis, fuel and maintenance are major contributors to operational costs. Vehicles break down and fuel prices increase without warning, leading to more expenditure. The elimination of routine maintenance schedules using IoT self-diagnostics and fuel control could be the key to better cost containment in the future of fleet management.

Which is the Best Fleet Management Software?

Fortunately, AI-based fleet management software has gone from being dreamy concepts to reality. Several technology companies have created software that improves driver safety and fleet performance without compromising cost or efficiency.

In our research, we looked at the key components that made each one stand out.After analyzing their mapping capabilities, technological range, as well as sensor technologies, Driveri emerged as the best fleet management software due to the following features:

• An artificial intelligence DriverAlert system that captures and analyze every minute of driving time.

• Real-time analysis and feedback enabled by powerful Edge Computing capabilities.

• Internal lens that detects drowsy or distracted driving behaviors such as yawning that alerts managers in real-time enabling quick action to mitigate risk.

• Advanced data analysis system with more than 1 million unique miles of US roads analyzed and stored in an accessible database

• Forward, side, and interior HD cameras that capture high-quality videos in real-time

• Access to up to 100 hours of video playback for records and as evidence in the case of accidents in which there are legal consequences

• 4G LTE / WiFi / BT connection within fleets, to send and receive data, view video and analyze risky behaviors

• A mobile application for real-time feedback

• Single module installation system for quick and easy installation

Final Thoughts

The future of transportation looks more promising than ever due to the exciting applications of AI in fleet management. Unpredictable road conditions, operational costs, and driver retention problems could easily become obsolete as fleets move to AI-based systems. Every stakeholder stands to benefit a lot from the efficiency and reliability of this technology because of a reduction in costs, accidents, driver turnover, and other problems which could reflect on the pricing of fleet services. It could also ensure that other road users remain safe.

This article originally appeared on netradyne.com.

Creating a cryptocurrency is a good way to put a unique spin on how things are generally done. For example, Bitcoin is changing how money is transferred from one place to another, Ripple is focusing on banks and Stellar is aimed at the unbanked. Other platforms like Ethereum and EOS are providing different options to host applications. Cryptocurrencies tackle existing problems and are created for different reasons. 

Why would anyone want to make their own cryptocurrency? One way to look at it is by acknowledging that several digital currencies are heavily centralized. This means that to some degree, they are controlled by several parties and are intended to power certain products offered by these parties. 

Although these currencies use blockchain technology, they are not structured to be as decentralized as Bitcoin. One good example is Ripple, which has faced several accusations of centralization in the past for maintaining control of the network.

As you can imagine, such products – from crypto games to payment platforms – stand to generate massive revenue if successful. Creating a digital currency is just like starting any other company and is no longer as complex as it was when Bitcoin emerged. Many people have done it and you can do it too.

1. UNDERSTAND THE BASICS OF CRYPTO

Before anything else, anyone looking to create a cryptocurrency must have a firm understanding of cryptocurrency and blockchain, and how it all works. Even if you plan to outsource the development of your cryptocurrency, it’s important to carry out extensive research and learn the basics of crypto first. 

This ensures that you can weigh the pros and cons effectively before investing resources into the project. You also learn how different types of cryptocurrencies function as well as what type will be best suited for your goals. 

You can learn more about crypto by:

• Visiting the websites of some popular cryptocurrencies and read their whitepapers. Although whitepapers contain many technical details, they also explain the thought process, design and operation of the digital currency in question. The Bitcoin whitepaper is a great place to start since it was the first one in existence. 
  

• Joining cryptocurrency communities on Reddit. These communities, more commonly known as subreddits, are a more social way to learn about cryptocurrency. You can interact with other people who have the same interests and view different opinions on digital currency.
  

• Reading a crypto-focused blog like Mintdice. 
  

• Reaching out to crypto developers on LinkedIn. Connecting with crypto developers and asking them about some of the more technical aspects of cryptocurrencies is a great way to learn about them. There’s no better person to give you an opinion on cryptocurrencies than someone who has developed them.

2.  BUILD A BLOCKCHAIN

After extensive research, you have to create a blockchain or another foundation for your cryptocurrency. In most cases, it is a blockchain; Although rare, Directed Acyclic Graphs and other cryptographically secured data structures have been used as a foundation for cryptocurrencies. Since blockchains are the most popular option, it’s better to stick with them. 

There are two ways to go about this step. You can build your blockchain from scratch by watching tutorials on Youtube or Medium. The next best thing is to fork an existing blockchain. This means that you can modify the open-source code of an existing currency like Bitcoin. 

You can tweak it to suit your preference, name it something else and use it. Most blockchain open-source codes can be found and accessed on Github. Alternatively, you can develop your product on the Ethereum blockchain, which is built to hold decentralized applications; however, you need to have coding skills and experience to do so.

Building or forking a blockchain is not as simple as it sounds. If you’ve never programmed software, especially with Javascript, then you will find it difficult. Even Ethereum development requires knowledge of Solidity, its custom programming language. For better and faster results, you may want to outsource the process to experienced software developers. 

3. BUILD A CUSTOM TOKEN

Blockchains are merely a database for holding transaction records for whatever products are being developed. These transactions occur through the exchange of a central token or coin, so after building a blockchain, you have to create a custom token. You can give it any name as long as it relates to the name of your blockchain platform. 

Walletbuilders and CryptoLife are examples of platforms that allow the average non-developer to create custom coins or tokens. You can create your parameters such as a logo, fee structure, etc.  

Alternatively, outsourcing may be a better option, especially if the token will have any complex functions. 

4. CREATE A MAINTENANCE PLAN AND ROADMAP

Continuously revisiting and upgrading your cryptocurrency gives it a better chance against its competition. If you look at Ethereum, Ripple and almost every other top cryptocurrency, you’ll see a comprehensive roadmap of upgrades and developments. This is necessary for sustaining your product. 

In the early stages, it is advisable to stick to the necessary updates instead of making any grand changes to your code. This saves money and allows you to take things one step at a time until you figure it out completely. 

5. MARKET YOUR TOKEN 

Many cryptocurrencies have failed because they never reached their target market, even with solid products. The importance of marketing a cryptocurrency cannot be overemphasized. There are several ways to go about this. You can choose to:

• Publish press releases on popular cryptocurrency blogs. These can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the popularity of the site. 

• Discuss your cryptocurrency on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter. 

Pro Tip: anonymously compare your cryptocurrency to a more popular one with similar features on a Reddit thread to start an argument. This will ensure that anyone who wants to contribute to the argument researches your coin first. 

• Use the services of an ICOmarketing firm. This is the best way to go when you plan to raise funds by offering your coins in a public sale. 

• Offer your coins through an exchange. Exchanges get the most traffic in the cryptocurrency industry so an initial exchange offering increases your chances of being noticed by millions of people. 

• Book a slot to unveil your cryptocurrency at a crypto conference.

There are three main challenges you may encounter when creating a cryptocurrency: the difficulty of the development process, security risks, and the possibility of failure. 

The development process is extremely difficult if you don’t have a lot of experience writing software code. Not only do you have to build a back-end for your blockchain, but you also need a front-end that users will interact with. Your token has to work well with your blockchain and you must ensure that there are no security loopholes that can be exploited by attackers. Outsourcing to someone who has experience creating cryptocurrencies that have worked well solves this challenge. However, if your budget can’t cover it, you may want to try an enterprise blockchain solution like Truffle, Solc or Solium. 

As with any other software product, cryptocurrencies come with their own security risks. By choosing a good protocol from the beginning and regularly checking for bugs, security risks can be mitigated.

Many crypto products solve problems that not many people have. If yours does the same thing, it will most likely fail. Analyze your reasons for creating the cryptocurrency in the first place and ensure that you have an airtight product.

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence. It’s not uncommon for people to venture into the industry by creating their own coins to solve problems while competing within the market. 

Creating your cryptocurrency will most likely cost thousands of dollars, so it has to be well thought out. First, you have to be sure that your reason for creating one isn’t bogus. Ask yourself several questions: Is there a better way to solve the problem without creating a coin? Do you realistically see a future for it? 

If you’ve analyzed the situation and can say beyond doubt that creating a cryptocurrency is necessary, then the steps explained above should be sufficient to create a functional cryptocurrency. If you’re only looking to build one as a side project, then it may be fun to experiment with different protocols and see how they fit your goals. 

Although it’s safe to say that Bitcoin is a lot more popular today than it was even one year ago, it hasn’t reached a significant level of adoption compared to fiat money. Even though several products and blockchain projects have been built around it, Bitcoin has continuously shown that it cannot be used as a stable form of money.

This has led to regulatory problems, issues with banks, and ultimately, lack of acceptance by businesses. What good is money if it can’t be spent on the simplest exchanges of goods and services? As a result, it’s quite common to convert Bitcoin assets into fiat currency to be used for purchasing items.

Bitcoin has also proven that it can be a great trade and investment vehicle, but it also can be a terrible one. So if a user holds Bitcoin and there’s an impending decline in the market, it’s reasonable to liquidate BTC by converting it to cash.

There are four main methods of cashing out Bitcoin for fiat currency. They include peer-to-peer exchange, third-party broker exchange, Bitcoin ATM, or bitcoin debit card.

1. PEER-TO-PEER EXCHANGE

Peer-to-peer exchanges connect Bitcoin users and match them according to their buy and sell orders so that they can carry out the exchange by themselves. For example, if Person A is looking to sell Bitcoin at $7,000 per unit and person B is looking to buy some at a similar price, the exchange matches them and they carry out the transaction without the interference of the exchange.

Cashing out Bitcoin via a peer-to-peer exchange is great for users who want to avoid the prices set by centralized exchanges. It also helps them avoid the charges and long waiting time that accompanies cashing out with broker exchanges.

There are three ways to accept cash on a P2P exchange: through a cash deposit, bank transfer or in-person. Cash deposits and bank transfers are generally safe but it is advisable to request a proof of identity to avoid fraud. Arranging a meet-up is a great option because there’s no need for an escrow.

HOW TO CASH OUT BITCOIN ON A PEER-TO-PEER EXCHANGE

• Register on a P2P exchange and set a price to sell Bitcoin

• Wait for the exchange to match a buyer

• Contact the buyer and make arrangements for payment through a cash deposit, bank transfer or physical cash

• Put the Bitcoins in escrow until the payment is received

• Release the Bitcoins to the buyer

Pros

• It is fast compared to a third-party broker exchange

• It has fewer charges

• It gives users total control over who they transact with

Cons

• It is less secure than a centralized broker exchange.

Some existing peer-to-peer exchanges include Paxful and Localcoinswap, which have no charges, and Localbitcoins, which has a trading fee of 1%.

2. THIRD-PARTY BROKER EXCHANGE

Third-party broker exchanges, or centralized cryptocurrency exchanges as they are commonly called, handle the entire exchange of Bitcoin for cash. For example, on a platform like Binance or Coinbase, a user can enter a buy request and be automatically matched to another sell order. The exchange handles the sale itself with additional charges as part of the service.

This method is ideal for anyone who would rather not deal with others when buying or selling. The exchange is also liable in the event of theft or fraud that occurs on their platform. So if a user’s Bitcoin exchange account is compromised, their funds will most likely be replaced. It is also the best option for those who want to withdraw cash directly to their accounts after a Bitcoin exchange.

HOW TO CASH OUT BITCOIN USING A THIRD-PARTY BROKER EXCHANGE

• Research the best exchanges and choose the best one based on a personal set of requirements

• Register for an exchange account

• Deposit Bitcoin into the exchange account wallet

• Place a sell order

Pros

• It is more secure and less stressful than peer-to-peer exchanges

Cons

• Exchanges have more control over user funds

• Slow withdrawal times. For example, a cash withdrawal on Coinbase takes anywhere between 1 and 5 days to complete.

Some good third-party exchanges are Kraken, Binance, Coinbase, Bitfinnex, and Poloniex.

3. BITCOIN ATM

A Bitcoin ATM allows anyone to buy or sell bitcoin using a credit card or cash. It looks just like a regular ATM, except that it isn’t tied to a bank account. Currently, there are more than 2000 Bitcoin ATMs spread around the world. This is a good way to cash out without dealing with stress from Bitcoin exchanges.

It is straightforward and secure, and allows a person to withdraw cash or Bitcoin without dealing with another party.  Bitcoin ATMs vary by operation and some available types include Genesis1 Bitcoin ATM, Satoshi1 Bitcoin ATM, Lamassu Bitcoin ATM, and BitAccess Bitcoin ATM.

HOW TO CASH OUT USING A BITCOIN ATM

• First, locate the nearest Bitcoin ATM by visiting Coinatmradar, a site that shows a live map of functional BTC ATMs

• On the ATM, choose the cash withdrawal option

• When asked for a currency choice, pick Bitcoin

• Choose the withdrawal amount

• Send BTC from a mobile wallet to the QR code provided by the ATM.

• Collect cash

Pros

• It is secure

• The process of using a Bitcoin ATM is more straightforward than using an exchange

• No registration needed

Cons

• Bitcoin ATMs are static and cannot be used without being physically at the machine

• They are not common, especially in developing countries

Bitcoin ATMs are usually found inside restaurants, shops, retail stores, airports, or malls.

4. BITCOIN DEBIT CARD

A Bitcoin debit card allows a user to withdraw cash instantly even when it’s loaded with Bitcoin. One great example is the CEX.io debit card, which is linked to the CEX.io exchange. This a good way to cash out Bitcoins when there are more traditional ATMs than Bitcoin ATMs around.

HOW TO USE A BITCOIN DEBIT CARD

• Search for crypto debit card providers like Uquid

• Register for a debit card

• Add the card to the preferred exchange wallet

• Either sell Bitcoin on the exchange and withdraw the cash to the debit card or send Bitcoin directly to it

• Withdraw cash using the card at a normal ATM

Pros

• It is a better option than Bitcoin ATMs for developing countries

• Most card providers offer instant withdrawal

Cons

• Fees can be as high as $3 per withdrawal

• An Exchange account is needed most times

Some of the best Bitcoin debit card providers include Wirex, Cryptopay, Bitpay, and Uquid.

When dealing with Bitcoin, users will need to cash out at some point. Whether due to a fall in price, the need to convert crypto investments into traditional ones, or just the need to spend cash instead of BTC, the need always arises.

Centralized cryptocurrency exchanges are currently the most common way to convert any cryptocurrency to cash. In fact, they are usually the starting point for beginners. They have significantly less risk than P2P exchanges and are also easier to use. Bitcoin ATMs and debit cards are not as common but are also easy, safe ways to cash out Bitcoin.

It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each before choosing any of these options. Ultimately, they have the same outcome but depending on a user’s location, and other preferences, they are all drastically different.

Blockchain has been making headlines in many industries, including banking, gambling, real estate, energy, healthcare and even entertainment. The praises and misconceptions keep flying around about its ability to change every global industrial platform, yet many don’t know what it really is or have an idea of any real-world applications of this technology. Most assume cryptocurrency and blockchain are a package deal, but, especially in recent cases, this phenomenon has found application in other business realms.

So what on Earth is this new “revolutionary” technology anyway?

Simply put, a blockchain is a peer-based digital ledger or record storage system in which transactions can be immutably kept. This means that any information stored within this system can be referred to for record's sake, but cannot be tampered with. Of course, there are different types of blockchains and this feature is debatable depending on the type being used, as the case of the DAO has proven in the past.

Save for the occasional exception, the technological concept behind a blockchain mostly trends towards the inability to tamper with data entered into it. As a result, such data can be authenticated and events can be verified easily.

Blockchains are also mostly decentralized, meaning that they have protocols that allow members of the network to handle security and verification in a fair way, cutting out the need for a central authority to oversee the process. This is why cryptocurrency transactions like those carried out on bitcoin can be trusted. The system proves that a user’s balance and transactions are accurate and true at every point in time.

Food is important for the health of many living beings. Where human beings are concerned, there is a strict standard for what healthy food is. People also have many different preferences, pertaining to food types and sources. For some, a particular fish must be sourced from an exact part of the world, and for others, food must pass a certain religious condition, such as Halal for Islamic beliefs, or Kosher for Jewish beliefs.

Other needs can be based on pathological conditions such as epilepsy or broad spectrum autism.

People have conditions for the source and state of food products that can often be difficult to prove. It’s easy to tell a person that their favorite fish was sourced in Peru; however, in the absence of proof, anyone can lie about sources to ensure sales.

Theoretically, by stamping events and data as soon as it is recorded, blockchain creates an airtight supply chain in which the history of a food item can be verified.

Remember the Peruvian fish? Imagine if a person could scan a barcode on a fish pack and see the exact day it was caught, along with a geotag to show its location?

Imagine this system would also show the third parties involved in packing and logistics, as well as every process endured up until the point of reaching the retailer. Wouldn’t this be more convenient for the average person who has no way of knowing about their food products otherwise? This is what is possible with blockchain today.

For food tracking applications of blockchain technology, entering data into the system does not prove that the data is true in the first place. Such systems will most likely be consortium blockchains managed by the food companies, so they are not immune to manipulation.

The main importance of this system is that it erases the need for a lengthy paper trail that stakeholders cannot access. It also lays the foundation for data collection in a system that can be combined with other technologies such as sensors and actuators, to perform more complex agricultural tasks.

When there is no chain management system in place to trace the source of something as essential as food, bad things can happen. This is particularly bad for the United States, seeing as one-sixth of the population is affected by food poisoning annually.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this results in more than 125,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year.

This is a familiar story for Dole, a business that had to recall its spinach from 26 states, following a public outbreak of E.coli in 2006. This outbreak resulted in the death of three people, kidney failure in 31 people and symptoms like dehydration, nausea, and diarrhea in 205 people.

According to investigations, the outbreak may have come from the farm; however, without an airtight system in place, it was difficult to say for sure, therefore making it hard to find a solution.

There have been other cases, such as that of Foster Farms, a California-based chicken producer. In 2013, 634 members of the public were infected with Salmonella in 29 U.S states and Puerto Rico, leading to a recall on its products.

In 2018, another outbreak occurred, which spelled bad news for many people across the country who had gotten a bad batch of Romaine lettuce from Walmart. Like any other grocer would, the commerce giant cleared every speck of Romaine lettuce off its shelves until authorities could determine the cause.

Unlike other companies, Walmart did not stop there. Instead, it is investing in a potential solution -- a blockchain system to track food and detect which products may be contaminated. The technology is being developed by I.B.M and will require its suppliers to input real-time data on every product supplied in every transaction.

BETTER DATA FOR INVESTIGATIONS

When foodborne illness outbreaks occur, the authorities are faced with the task of combing through long paper trails to find the point of contamination. A blockchain supply chain can make this task easier, by showing where each product originated.

While this can be achieved by using a regular database, blockchains offer a high level of security that may be more difficult to bypass. Such data stored in one place can be useful not just for tracking the origin of infected food, but for tracing the buyers and ensuring that there are no further outbreaks.

CONVENIENCE FOR SHOPPERS AND RETAILERS

The application of blockchain technology in the food industry will give buyers a better idea of the processes involved in the creation and distribution of their food products.

Logistics could become less complicated because retailers would be able to check delivery truck availability in seconds within the same system while viewing the actions and transactions of other collaborators. The information would flow freely through such a system, creating much-needed transparency within otherwise private affairs.

DATA COLLECTION FOR RESEARCH

What better way to collect food data than through a secure system used by large corporations in the industry? Food tracking from the source to the final consumer can provide insights into how distribution can be optimized. From studying old food processes, better ones can be created.

Walmart’s application of blockchain technology is a giant step forward for the food industry. Finding a secure way to optimize the food supply chain network benefits every stakeholder involved. For example, if anything happens to a product along the line of production and distribution, Walmart can easily know who should be held accountable in every transaction.

Blockchain users have first-hand, decentralized access to real-time data that can be sold or distributed for free and have the opportunity to monetize their blockchain by allowing other companies to use it. Soon, blockchains have the potential to be a common presence in the food industry, and may eventually prove its value in other real-world applications. Albertsons has already made a play for a similar system, so who’s next in this blockchain revolution?

Advertising has become an essential part of promoting any type of business available and even plays a role in driving the data market further. The world of advertising is worth billions of dollars and is on course to hit $120 billionby 2021 in the US.

Every company, no matter what they offer, cannot function without reaching their target audience-- this is where advertising comes into the picture. Brands like Google live off consumer data which can be used to send targeted ads to the right audience. Unfortunately, there are several issues that make the process of reaching the right audience inefficient.

Currently, almost half of all ad traffic is generated by bots. This means that even though so many brands pay a lot of money to reach their potential customers, it does not guarantee that they will actually make any sales to real, paying customers. While the reach and even engagement generated by paid ads can translate to heavy figures, the useful leads are relatively low.

This situation can be fixed by creating platforms that will allow companies to target their potential customers individually and in a direct manner. This will ensure that bots can be filtered out and sales can be maximized.Blockchain applications and  smart contracts are great technologies to base such a system on.

A blockchain platform is an immutable digital ledger that stores all the transactions carried out on the network it supports. It has already been described as an emerging technology that will disrupt the way several industries function. It is now clear that digital marketing may be one of those ledger technology industries.

In the past few years, since the emergence of bitcoin, the buzz surrounding blockchain which underpins most cryptocurrencies has increased considerably. There are already more than 2000 digital currency, all with their own unique use cases and projects. The appeal of blockchain lies in the number of useful applications it has. In advertising, a blockchain platform would be able to target the users on its network without allowing bot activity to thrive. It could also change current the world of advertising by making the process more transparent and private.

HOW CAN THE NEW BLOCKCHAIN PROCESS BE USED BY ADVERTISERS?

Mostly, blockchain can be used to improve the process of running digital ads and paying out publishers as well as distributors. When implemented, the technology can improve the following:

FRAUD PREVENTION

Advertising has a fraud problem perpetrated by human accounts as well as bots. Usually, bots are created to crawl web pages carrying out helpful tasks, but they have become a medium for carrying out cybercrime.

Popular platforms like Twitter where advertising plays a huge role have reported a bot problem that they’re actively trying to combat. In fact, Twitter has begun making plans to implement blockchain technology in solving this problem.

According to “What Happens Next: How To Reverse The Rising Tide Of Ad Fraud,” a 2017 report, up to $16.4 billion of global advertising revenue was wasted on ad fraud in 2017. Unfortunately, this figure may continue to increase if nothing is done to fix the situation. There are several factors that make blockchain well-suited for fraud prevention, including:

• Immutability

• High levels of security due to its decentralized mode of operation, verification mechanisms and encryption.

• Transparency since transactions can be authenticated.

Overall, blockchain systems make it difficult to commit fraud because transactions are in the open. Also, blockchains do not have a single point of failure and as such, it is difficult to hack them. This can potentially save advertisers and publishers millions each year by protecting them against cybercrime.

DIRECT TO CONSUMER DIGITAL MARKETING

Platforms like Google and Facebook have come under fire recently for consumer-data distribution issues. Because such platforms make a lot of revenue off advertising, they collect consumer data to better target the right target audience. Unfortunately, this could feel like a violation of privacy for many users who would rather have more control over how their data is collected and what it is used for.

Usually, enterprises that run digital ads on larger platforms like Google and Facebook have to pay for this service. Blockchain gives them a way out. Since the information stored on blockchain networks are secured using various encryptions that can only be decrypted using the owner’s private keys, users retain control over their data. As a result, the services of middlemen will no longer be needed in the advertising data collection process. These blockchain platforms create a direct connection between consumers and enterprises.

Companies can also use blockchain to show people who their data is being sold to since the information cannot be deleted or manipulated. This will make consumers feel at ease without having to constantly worry about their data.

PROVISION OF EFFICIENT CROSS-PROMOTIONAL B2B CONTRACTS

Smart contracts are lines of written code in the form of distributed apps on a blockchain network. They are created to set up a binding agreement between parties based on their conditions. The conditions can be external events, like a price point, set of obligations or time limit with an expiration date. Since blockchain transactions can easily be verified, smart contracts cannot be forged and all involved parties can follow up the transaction.

These contracts can be used in any system from voting to app subscription and digital marketing. They help advertisers bypass lawyers and other middlemen by conducting the process of exchanging money, shares or any valuable assets. These contracts are created with conditions that are self-executed in a transparent and conflict-free way.

Influencer marketing is popular among brands but there is currently no regulatory third party to determine how terms are created and followed or even how payments are made. Using blockchain, businesses will be able to clearly state obligations that must be met for payments to be made, and a smart contract will enforce it.

This will make B2B cross-promotional marketing more efficient since several contracts change hands between marketers, writers, bloggers and even social media influencers daily. Ultimately, businesses will protect themselves and save money and time in the event of a contract breach.

TRANSPARENCY IN CONTRACTS AND WITH CONSUMERS

There are lot of cases in which advertising lacks transparency, such as platforms that show advertisers false metrics. For example, a platform could claim to gain millions of impressions on each ad they put out. Normally, there would be no good way to verify this information and find out the truth.

This presents an easy way for platforms to defraud enterprises through false advertisement. However, since a blockchain records such data in a way that cannot be tampered with, it can easily be verified.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Advertising will continue to be the backbone of commerce because most people will not buy a product if they are not given a reason to. However, like many other industries, it is due for a technological reform that will make it more efficient for all relevant stakeholders. Blockchain not only makes the advertising process easier, it makes it faster, more secure and transparent. As this emerging technology continues to develop, there will gradually be more stable versions of it that may become more valuable to advertisers.

Bitcoin network was all the rave last year, with its high-profit margins and an influx of new investors. However, it is safe to say that over the span of one year, it has matured considerably. Like Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin told CNBC, the future of Bitcoin may never have as much hype as it did in 2017 because so many people are now aware of cryptocurrency and how it works.

A lot of things have changed in the cryptocurrency sector since over-the-top forecasts were made in 2017, including a $160,000 price estimation for Bitcoin. One of such changes is the introduction of Bitcoin Futures which control the price of BTC by allowing large investors to exert pressure on it.

This means that predictions of large price values like the one above are unlikely to be met in the near future. Another change is the start of Bitcoin institutional investing. For example, both the Bakkt and the Nasdaq platforms claim to be open to offering cryptocurrency investing to institutions.

While stakeholders struggle to keep the BTC price at bay, one daunting question still looms: Will Bitcoin crash again in 2019 or will it peak and stabilize at a better price point than it currently has?

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

The last major cryptocurrency crash which followed the December 2017 peak brought about a need for an evolution in Bitcoin investment. Where Ethereum had ICOs as a new way to pour funds into the digital currency industry, Bitcoin lacked one.

Soon, virtual currency industry experts like the Winklevoss twins started looking towards exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to create long-term sustenance of Bitcoin as an investment vehicle. Unfortunately, these ETFs cannot function without approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, so the industry is at a crossroads: evolve and survive, or continue at the same pace and end in a bubble burst.

AN EMPHASIS ON NON-PHYSICAL BITCOIN ETFS

An exchange-traded fund is a security that tracks underlying real-world assets like gold, equities, oil, bonds, commodities or cryptocurrency. It allows investors to buy into it and earn dividends from their investment. Such shares are easy to trade like stocks and can get rid of any barriers faced by investors when trying to purchase those underlying assets themselves.

The submitted ETFs proposals describe funds that are primarily derivatives. They can be shorted or coordinated with a Bitcoin future. Only physical Bitcoin ETFs are currently a good fit for the Bitcoin market since derivatives bring about the unfavorable market to another state.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have been in the headlines lately, mostly for their rejections. Just recently, theWinklevoss twins faced a rejection of their own. This has not deterred other parties who are bent on seeing this new form of investment come to life.

Unfortunately, the SEC is building up quite a track record of rejections with a toll of up to 15 rejected Bitcoin ETFproposals since 2013.  

BITCOIN PRICE FORECAST VS. BITCOIN USAGE     

One major factor to consider when looking at the possibility of another crash is the adoption rate of Bitcoin. Currently, ownership is still quite low, only a few points higher than last year. This implies stagnation and also that investors have found other coins which they deem more competitive. The younger generation is generally more bullish on Bitcoin usage since they consider it a product of their age, but the older generation remains skeptical.

However, this brief stagnation does not prove that Bitcoin blockchain will crash. If anything, the introduction of Futures and the demand for ETFs make up for it and shows that Bitcoin is here to stay.

It also shows that users are serious about integrating it into their daily transactions, which may eventually save the pioneer digital currency.  

The introduction of stable coins like tether and application-tolerant platforms like Ethereum and EOS have given Bitcoin a serious run for its money. The high price point, which has been Bitcoin’s most attractive feature in the past has also turned out to be its Achilles’ heel.

Percentage increases in profit are simply not as good as those in cryptocurrencies with lower prices. For example, a user who buys $2000 worth of XRP at $0.3 can afford to purchase 6666 tokens while the same amount will only purchase about 0.3 BTC at $6000 per unit. While XRP can easily rise by 100% to $0.6, it will take a lot more for BTC to hit $12,000. This makes it more profitable to buy into smaller cryptocurrencies.

But what about the earlier forecasts of Bitcoin? How do they tie in with this new usage information? Simple, they do not. Several forecasts were made with assumptions of an ideal situation in which adoption would progress quickly and at a steady rate. Some of these forecasts have been revisited, with extended timelines that seem more realistic in light of Bitcoin’s recent performance.

WHAT ARE THE BITCOIN PRICE PREDICTIONS FOR 2019 AND 2020?

The recent issues faced by Bitcoin have not stopped industry figures from making future predictions about its price. Industry predictions generally fall between $25,000-$29,000 as a realistic price point for Bitcoin.

This is especially because it has been trending in its transition band, in which it will trade most of the time, since May 2018. This signifies an imminent major bull run in the cryptocurrency industry.

Some other significant Bitcoin price predictions for 2019 include:

• $28,000 by the end of 2019, according to Ronnie Moas, crypto bull and founder of Standpoint Research, in a report published by Cointelegraph.

• $36,000 by the end of 2019, according to Sam Doctor, Quantamental Strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, who based his prediction on the historical average 1.8x P/BE multiple.

• $25,000 according to Thomas Lee, Co-Founder and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors

• $1 million, according to John McAfee, Founder of McAfee Associates, who earlier predicted a $500,000 price point before modifying it. McAfee claims that he used the same model which was used to predict $5000 at the end of 2017.

• $10,000-$100,000 in the next 5 years, according to Joe DiPasquale, CEO of BitBull Capital.

• $10,000 by the end of 2020 according to Fred Schebesta, Co-Founder and CEO of Finder.

• $61,900 by the end of 2020 according to Bobby Ullery, CTO of Waysay who also predicted a shared market capitalization of $4.5 trillion between Ethereum and Bitcoin.

• $30,000 by the end of 2020, according to Matias Dorta, Founder of ICO Informer, who also sees several countries adopting Bitcoin as a reserve currency by 2030.

• $30,000 by the end of 2020, according to Craig Russo, Co-founder of sludgefeed.com

• $75,000 by the end of 2020 and a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion, according to Brandon Quittem, a cryptocurrency analyst & writer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Due to all the factors discussed above, including pending ETF proposals, stagnation, the introduction of Bitcoin futures and the competition among cryptocurrencies, it is difficult to say whether Bitcoin will indeed crash again in 2019. Considering its current performance, the leading virtual currency is at a point where it could either crash again or blossom into a widely accepted medium of exchange and investment.

As with almost everything else in this relatively new industry, the future of Bitcoin is shrouded in unpredictability and falls heavily in the hands of investors and regulators. However, there is no denying that Bitcoin is evolving every day as more people become exposed to it, including those who are not direct users.

Bitcoin is still generating as much buzz as it did in recent years. If anything, more people are now learning about it. Unfortunately, the stigma of its use in illicit transactions on the dark web, including money laundering, the purchase of illegal items, and trafficking has left a stain that is difficult to scrub off. There are also many accounts of Bitcoin being used in schemes to defraud users, so it is no surprise that many people are reluctant to touch it.

However, adoption is important for the sustained growth and evolution of cryptocurrency. This is why there are so many learning materials available for new and old users to see the true extent of global Bitcoin use and its continued development. Watching Bitcoin documentaries is an easy way to learn all of this, and there are many such documentaries on the internet. These are the top 5 Bitcoin documentaries based on critical reception, awards, and content quality.

1. THE RISE AND RISE OF BITCOIN

“The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin” is an American documentary which looks at the events and key players in the emergence and the rising popularity of Bitcoin. Directed by Nicholas Mross, the documentary premiered  on April 23, 2014, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. While several people and companies were interviewed to determine the weight of their roles in the development of Bitcoin so far, the film follows the life of Daniel Mross, a computer programmer and Bitcoin enthusiast.

He juggles family life with his love for cryptocurrency and talks about how far he has come since he first discovered it in 2011.  In 96 minutes Nicholas Mross captures Daniel’s journey to meet global Bitcoin pioneers. As the brother of the director, Daniel Mross gives the film a personal twist, as opposed to the average formal documentary.

It is informative and great for anyone who is just learning about cryptocurrencies, or curious about those who have pushed it so far.  Although the film did not see widespread release, its reception has been fairly good, with ratings of 67% and 73% on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB respectively, two of the biggest film critic sites. In addition to its ratings, it was nominated for the “Best International Documentary Film” at the Zurich Film Festival in 2014.

2. BITCOIN - SHAPE THE FUTURE

This is China’s debut Bitcoin documentary, which seeks to inform the public about the development of blockchain in the country since its creation. It was produced by Bitkan, a Chinese over-the-counter trading platform. Bitkan has been functional since 2013 and continues to operate in the country alongside other trading platforms.

The film covers the mystery of Bitcoin creation as well as its creator, the development and operation of local Bitcoin exchanges, the risks associated with the currency, regulatory efforts, grey areas, and many other topics. It also highlights the famous “Bitcoin Pizza Day” in which the first Bitcoin exchange occurred between two users in a pizza sale.

Filmed over the course of six months, the crew, including Chinese film director Li Yunqi and BitKan Co-CEO Fanny Yu, moved through Beijing, Dongguan, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Inner Mongolia. In these places, they interviewed prominent industry figures including former Bitmain CEO Jihan Wu, Bitkan Co-CEO Fang Yu, Bitkan CEO Yang Liu, Bixin CEO Gang Wu, Huobi CEO Lin Li, ViaBTC CEO Haipo Yang, and more than ten other executives. They also interviewed Bitcoin users and Investors, giving the documentary a quality that the average Bitcoin user can relate to.

3. THE BLOCKCHAIN AND US

Created by renowned economist and Filmmaker Manuel Stagars, “The Blockchain and Us” is a deep dive into blockchain, the technology that powers Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. It is packed with important questions that the audience and industry should ask themselves when approaching the subject of Bitcoin development.

These questions center around the potential public influence of blockchain, its potential to completely disrupt society, and its social implications. To get answers to these questions, Stagars interviewed some of the most prominent researchers, cryptologists, software developers, venture capitalists, financial experts, entrepreneurs,blockchain startup founders, and other experts from the US, UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Australia.

“The Blockchain and Us” is credited as the first blockchain-focused documentary film and has been screened at various international events and locations, including the World Economic Forum held in Davos, the Fraude Film Festival in Amsterdam, the Open Everything Film Festival in Vienna (where it won the award for Best Documentary Short), Tech Tuesday in Zurich, the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (SCCIJ), the Transitions Film Festival in Melbourne, the Analytics and Financial Innovation Conference (AXFI) in Minneapolis, and the Everyman Theatre and Coinscrum in London. Today, there are German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese versions of the film.

4. BITCOIN

This is one of the many country-specific Bitcoin documentaries, which gives its audience a glimpse into the currency’s development in Australia. The documentary covers the country’s adoption and future plans for Bitcoin.

It is no secret that industry figures in Australia see Bitcoin as the future of money, and this short takes an in-depth look at the reasons why. The film also shows the audience the Australian working culture, with a focus on Bitcoin startups.

The documentary highlights Australia’s rapidly developing cryptocurrency mining operations, as well as merchants who accept Bitcoin. The audience is able to construct a detailed timeline from the first signs of Bitcoin adoption in the country to the level of development it has achieved so far. It is packed with useful and interesting information and is certainly a must-see for every BTC user.

5. BITCOIN: THE END OF MONEY AS WE KNOW IT

This documentary takes the audience into a time when the world struggled with the great economic depression of 1929. At the time, the structures in place to control financial outcomes had failed and the repercussions were seismic.

From that point, the film shows the structural efficiencies and inefficiencies associated with traditional money in a clear way for easy understanding. The federal government’s role in shaping the use of money is also exposed in this 98-minute documentary.

Finally, the film shows the audience about a new type of technology that can give people total control over their money and other assets, which is what Bitcoin and other digital currencies propose.

FINAL THOUGHTS

While Bitcoin has grown in popularity over the past ten years, its adoption rate is still negligible compared to the population of fiat-only users. With the staggering amount of written content on the internet, it can be difficult to find out how exactly the world is reacting to the pioneer cryptocurrency. This is especially due to the rate of global development within the industry.

These documentaries show just how far development has gone, in a simple yet interesting way. They are also a great way for new users to learn the origin, benefits, and flaws of Bitcoin across several economies, industries, and applications. The promotion of such material is essential for pushing Bitcoin into global corners where it would not reach otherwise. It also familiarizes Bitcoin users with the makers and breakers of the industry who have the power to influence important decisions regarding the future of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

article originally published on mintdice.com

For a long time, people have sat around tables in casinos, betting on a game of blackjack. Now that sports betting games have made the crossover into cryptocurrency, it is no surprise that popular card game has become one of the most popular Bitcoin games.

Currently, Bitcoin blackjack accounts for a large portion of all blockchain gambling transactions. Most BTC casinos feature at least one Bitcoin blackjack game and there are numerous ways to play and win. Although blackjack is known as one of the most complex card games, people have been known to win it using specific strategies.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLACKJACK

The sole aim of gambling is to take home as much money or betted assets as possible. Blackjack seems to be one of the many ways to achieve this, but where did it come from?

Blackjack originated from an earlier game known as ‘twenty-one.’ When interest for twenty-one began to pick up in the United States, gambling houses started offering players bonuses as incentives to play. One of the most popular bonuses at the time consisted of a ten-to-one earning if a player had the ace of spades and a blackjack (either the jack of spades, or the jack of clubs) in his hand.

A hand consisting of these cards was known as a blackjack, and long after these bonuses ceased to exist gambling houses retained the name. In modern day gambling, a blackjack is a hand that consists of an ace and a ten or face card in any suit or color.

Since it had become a constant presence at gambling houses, blackjack became a subject of mathematical modelling. Mathematicians began asking how they could create models that increased a player’s chances of winning. In 1956, James McDermott, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel and Roger Baldwin published their research paper titled “The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack in the Journal of the American Statistical Association”. This formed the basis of organized research in the area of blackjack.

Since its creation, the game has evolved from the casino halls to playing with computers on several dedicated websites. Now that people can play such games online, there are no geographical limitations. Anyone can log onto a site and make a lot of money playing blackjack. Owing to the rise of cryptocurrency, betting games have been taken to the next level, excluding fiat payments completely and replacing them with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin.

WHAT IS BITCOIN BLACKJACK?

Bitcoin blackjack is a modern form of the game, one that allows players to place bets and receive earnings in BTC. Some popular Bitcoin casinos that offer this profitable game include BitCasino and MbitCasino. The rules of engagement are not so different from traditional blackjack, but it offers several advantages over it. They are:

• Sites that offer Bitcoin blackjack games are mostly decentralized. This means that the game itself is not controlled by a central authority, and the government cannot control the financial aspect of the game by imposing tariffs and taxes.

• Bitcoin payments can be made anonymously, without giving out any sensitive information. In traditional blackjack, players either take their winnings in cash or wire transfer it to an account controlled by a bank. During the process, the player’s information is exposed.

• The Bitcoin network takes approximately 10 minutes to confirm transactions, so withdrawals are quick and there are no bank delays.

• Players can bet and earn profit from the comfort of their houses, without their identities being revealed.

• Bitcoin blackjack gives players the opportunity to win massive amounts of money.

HOW TO PLAY BITCOIN BLACKJACK

Bitcoin blackjack is complicated, especially for a beginner. Just like anything else, it is possible to get better at it with practice. However, this depends on the player and how much practice is put into it. Almost every game has a strategy, which is basically a roadmap of steps, taken to beat opponents. In the case of Bitcoin blackjack, this basic strategy was formulated using a computer simulation of multiple blackjack hands.

Although these simulations are deeply rooted in mathematics, and may show a user how to better optimize their hand to beat the card dealer, there is no certainty that it will work for every player. Each action a player should take is shown to them in a simple way. For example, a basic strategy may tell a player when to double down or when to split, in order to win the hand.

The best argument for using a basic strategy is the mathematical component behind it. This component will always result in a predictable outcome that cannot be disputed in the long run. This allows players to be sure of their game and gives them a competitive advantage over the house. In fact, using a basic strategy could take the blackjack house edge down to 0.5%, leading to increased profitability.

RULES OF BITCOIN BLACKJACK

The main objective of blackjack is to form the hand closest to 21, without exceeding it. This means getting a closer figure to 21 than the dealer. A player can achieve this by beating the dealer to a 21-point hand using the first two cards in the deck, or simply make it a priority to stay ahead of the dealer while also staying below 21.

After placing a bet, the player is presented with options to choose from, including:

• Hit: This is when the dealer deals the player another card.

• Stand: This is when a dealer stops dealing the player any more cards, and they can play their current hand.

• Split: This is when a player splits each of their cards (which are worth the same number of points), into separate hands.

• Double down: This is when a player doubles the starting bet and is dealt another card.  

• Surrender: A player is allowed to give up, and receive half of what they originally bet.

BASIC STRATEGY

Before spending any money to play Blackjack, users must practise and memorize a strategy. Luckily for all aspiring players, there are free charts and resources online that map out the entire process. Some strategies include:

• Hit or Stand: The purpose of this strategy is to tell a player when it’s an appropriate time to hit or stand at various points throughout the game. Having to make a decision between the two is one of the most common occurrences in blackjack, so it helps to be fully prepared to make the right decision every time.

• Split: This lets a player know when splitting the cards in their hand is the right thing to do. It is common for beginners to do this when it is unnecessary, so it is essential to consult the strategy on this. This way, players may be able to minimize loss of funds.  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bitcoin betting games are continuously taking the brick-and-mortar casinos by storm. They give gambling a new meaning by allowing players to compete for huge profits anonymously. Bitcoin blackjack is no different, offering quick payouts, fair games and the opportunity to play from anywhere in the world. In addition to this, most Bitcoin casinos offer sports welcome bonuses to new players, allowing them to earn cryptocurrency. .

Originally posted on mintdice.com

By now Ethereum is the second largest name in cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin and has gained a lot of traction from the blockchain communities as an instrumental blockchain to support further development projects.

Ethereum gained momentum in 2017, seeing its coin (ETH) price go up about 11,000% from $8 per ETH on January 1, 2017, to $900 by the end of the year. This has caused Ethereum to attract a lot of attention from new cryptocurrency buyers and blockchain programmers alike.

The draw behind Ethereum is that it basically enables and supports the development of dozens of new cryptocurrencies to solve various problems using its native blockchain protocol. This has led some in the cryptocurrency communities to dub it Blockchain 2.0.

While the experienced blockchain community is probably familiar with Ethereum, those that are new to the game and less tech-savvy are probably wondering what makes Ethereum so popular. This comprehensive guide will go through the fundamentals of Ethereum and help you understand what’s under the curtain for this major cryptocurrency.

ETHEREUM VS. BITCOIN

Since most beginning crypto investors and traders are moderately familiar with Bitcoin and how blockchain works, it can be helpful to compare a cryptocurrency to the way Bitcoin works.

To start with the similarities, both Bitcoin and Ethereum operate on distributed blockchain networks. Both are decentralized and have no central authority or central point of control. For each blockchain, miners support the network by verifying transactions to earn either Bitcoin or Ethereum as block rewards. Furthermore, both Bitcoin and Ethereum represent cryptocurrencies that are heavily traded on the crypto markets.

However, there are differences between the two. Ethereum’s co-founder Gavin Wood explains the high-level difference: “Bitcoin is first and foremost a currency; this is one particular application of a blockchain. However, it is far from the only application. Take a past example of a similar situation, e-mail is one particular use of the internet, and for sure helped popularise it, but there are many others.”

So basically, Ethereum is using blockchain technology for a different purpose than Bitcoin. Bitcoin uses the blockchain ledger to keep a permanent history of digital currency ownership, enabling an innovative method for peer-to-peer currency transactions.

Ethereum leverages the blockchain for running the programming code of an application. Developers utilize the Ethereum blockchain to built and support separate blockchains, so the Ethereum blockchain and Ether coins are used for paying transaction fees on the network.

WHAT IS ETHEREUM?

So what really is Ethereum?

Ethereum uses the blockchain to store application code and smart contracts rather than have the sole purpose be for recording transactional information. So instead of a decentralized platform for financial transactions, Ethereum is a decentralized platform where applications can be built.

So what this means for developers creating new blockchain applications is that instead of building their platform and blockchain network from scratch, they can use the framework and Ethereum network to support their application.

Ethereum provides value in a couple of primary ways. First is this notion of building decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain using their native programming language called Solidity. Under that framework, there are now hundreds of new businesses being built around decentralized applications developed on the Ethereum network.

The trend is that developers will leverage Ethereum to build their blockchain application, and issue a new cryptocurrency associated with their application. Most blockchain companies release these coins through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) where they typically raise funds in Ethereum and issue their tokens through the blockchain. The tokens that generated on the Ethereum blockchain are called ERC20 tokens.

Now that Ethereum has gained incredible traction for developers, there’s a growing list of well over 1,300 decentralized applications (dapps) built on Ethereum’s blockchain. We’ll go into some popular examples in more detail below, but running so many dapps on their network has its pros and cons, and sometimes there can be too much traffic that’s congesting the network. One notorious example was late last year when Cryptokitties quickly became massively popular and caused major slowdowns on the Ethereum network.

WHAT IS ETHER?

The other primary way that Ethereum provides value to its blockchain network is through their token economics and how Ether coins are used in the system.

The Ethereum blockchain is a platform that intends to serve as a decentralized app store. This type of network platform needs a way to support the computational resources it takes to run a program of the app on the network. This is why Ether has value in the system.

Any decentralized applications operating on the Ethereum network needs to spend Ether coins to perform transactions on the blockchain. With so many applications and blockchain businesses running on Ethereum, this creates a lot of demand for Ether.

Additionally, when investors are looking to buy new tokens from an ICO, they often make that purchase using Ether coins. Another driver for the Ether coin’s value is that whenever investors or traders are buying and selling ERC20 coins using the Ethereum blockchain, they need to pay the transaction fee in Ether.

So every transaction on the Ethereum blockchain requires some Ether fees to reward the miners that are verifying the transaction. Ether is often referred to as the cryptocurrency that’s used as ‘gas’ to operate smart contracts and ‘fuel’ the Ethereum network. It’s similar to other cryptos like Bitcoin because a decentralized, open network of users controls Ether tokens.

So if a user is looking to make changes to an app on the Ethereum blockchain, they pay a transaction fee in Ether to compensate the network that is supporting the platform and processing the change on the blockchain. The amount of Ether it will take to complete a transaction on the blockchain is determined based on the required computing power and length of time to process.

HOW DOES ETHEREUM MINING WORKS?

Ethereum’s blockchain is based on Bitcoin’s protocol and design, meaning that it uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) method of mining and supporting the network.

PoW is a technique that many of the first blockchain networks use to support the system by making it difficult, costly, and time-consuming to create a new block of data, but very easy for anyone else to take and verify that data. Effectively it makes it increasingly hard for the nodes on the network to run the computations and create new blocks of data and receive block rewards.

Ethereum uses the same PoW model as Bitcoin but developed the platform in a way so it can support much more than just asset transaction. For the nodes on the Ethereum network, this means they are responsible for maintaining the updated version of the Ethereum blockchain ledger, which tracks current information and status for each smart contract on the network, all the smart contract code and where it’s stored, and each user’s balance.

When new transactions are made using the Ethereum blockchain, that data is grouped by nodes or miners on the network to form a block of data, then chained together with the other blocks on the ledger to create the blockchain. To bundle together a group of transactions, miners use their computing power to solve the computational challenge as quickly as possible to be the block creator and receive the reward.

The trick with PoW mining systems, like Ethereum’s, is that the more powerful a computer, the better chance it has of solving the mathematical challenge quickest and being chosen for the new block. A lot of miners around the world compete for block creation and validation on the Ethereum blockchain network because Ethereum’s coin has been rising in value and every time they add a block to the chain new Ether tokens are generated and awarded to the miner.

This makes miners the backbone of the Ethereum network, along with most other blockchain networks, and especially those that use a PoW mining model to support the network.

WHO IS VITALIK BUTERIN?

Vitalik Buterin has gained a lot of fame and popularity for his status as the guy behind Ethereum. As the story goes, Vitalik was a programmer from Toronto who was introduced to Bitcoin in 2011 and saw the immense potential of blockchain technology.

That same year, Vitalik started Bitcoin Magazine which served as an online media platform for information on blockchain and cryptocurrencies. But along the way, he saw the possibilities for blockchain technology past merely creating the perfect ledger of transactions. He dreamt of the idea behind Ethereum that would send blockchain far past the financial use cases of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Vitalik released the Ethereum white paper in 2013 that described his proposed blockchain platform designed to support any type of decentralized application that developers could think of building.

To get funding for the project’s development, Vitalik and the other co-founders launched an ICO to raise funds in 2014. Participants in the ICO bought Ether coins to support the development. In total, they raised more than $18 million and released the first version of the platform about a year later in 2015.

WHAT ARE SMART CONTRACTS?

While Bitcoin is aiming to unlock new opportunities in the global financial networks, Ethereum is looking to do the same with the global computational networks using smart contracts. Smart contracts are scripts of code that deploy on the Ethereum blockchain.

Developers create this type of contract on the Ethereum blockchain using a language called ‘Turing complete’ and providing a set of instructions to be computationally carried out. Smart contracts can set parameters so that any funds deposited into an account can only be withdrawn when all parties involved agree by consensus.

Another practical example of the use of smart contracts is if two people are trying to carry out an agreement. If someone is renting a car, the contact can outline that the digital keys will be automatically released once payment is received. The smart contracts sort of work on an ‘if-then’ approach, so if the renter doesn’t pay the agreed price, the keys aren’t released, and the network automatically generates a refund.

Smart contracts are simply programs on the blockchain that are executed according to how the programmer developed them. Smart contracts can also act as records or registries and digitally store membership details or identification information on the blockchain.

Here are some of the key benefits of using smart contracts:

Autonomy: Smart contracts don’t rely on third-party confirmation to execute the agreement. This reduces the danger of the contract being manipulated by a third party because the network manages execution of the contract instead of other parties who might have a bias or implement the contracts with errors.

Backup: The blockchain is designed to be distributed across the network to ensure that the document is duplicated many times over, so there is no risk of losing it through one central point of failure.

Speed: Smart contracts use software code to automate tasks, which streamlines efficiency and helps companies implement faster agreements. Using smart contracts helps automate several key parts of an agreement process and make for quick, reliable transactions.

Smart contracts are still fairly new technology, but they have a vast range of application is the world’s voting systems, global supply chains, health and medical records, financial systems, and more.

WHAT ARE DECENTRALIZED APPS?

So now we have a basic understanding of smart contracts and how they can be used in a blockchain network to create an innovative type of agreement. The Ethereum network uses these smart contracts in the development of decentralized applications on the blockchain. 

Traditional applications are well-known to most users who download apps from the App Store on iPhone or Android. Apps allow users to perform unique functions like checking bank account balances, scrolling through a news feed of friend’s pictures, or even play their favorite card game.

Dapps follow the same concept. However, it runs on a platform supported by a network of nodes instead of a central group. This allows for several benefits and advantages over our traditional apps.

Tamper-Proof: Ethereum benefits from the properties of blockchain technology meaning that it’s resistant to third-party tampering. Dapps can deploy on the network without worry of an unauthorized third party hijacking control. Furthermore, the blockchain is built using a principle of consensus, so that all nodes and users of the network are required to agree on each change before it’s executed. This helps mitigate the potential fraud and corruption of the network.

Decentralized: The Ethereum platform also has the key blockchain principle of decentralization. There is no single point of failure for the network, meaning the applications hosted on the network never fail or go offline. This also has security implications that protect the network against possible hacking attempts.

Open Source: Users can look at the dapp’s source code on both the back end and front end. This means there is no code ‘hiding under the hood’ that’s running extra functions that may not be beneficial to the user.

No Downtime: Because dapps run on a network of nodes supporting the blockchain, there is no one point of failure that can take the entire application down and offline. That means the application’s service is always operating and functional, mitigating the risk of system crashes and failures.

Easy Implementation: Dapps built on the Ethereum blockchain provide a lot of value for developers because they don’t have to go out and build a blockchain application from scratch. Instead, the framework exists through the Ethereum protocol and helps save developers precious time and effort when trying to create a new application. Then to use the Ethereum’s decentralized network, the dapps directly pay the network transaction fees in Ether.

WHICH CRYPTOCURRENCIES USE ETHEREUM?

With all this talk about decentralized applications using the Ethereum blockchain, there are several notable examples of cryptocurrencies that have their underlying blockchains running on Ethereum.

Some of the cryptocurrencies you may have heard of, but it gives a proper scope of what types of applications can be built and operated on a decentralized blockchain platform like Ethereum.

Golem: Golem is a global decentralized supercomputer that combines the computing power of all machines on its network. Users of the Golem ecosystem can loan out spare and unused computer resources to others who need the additional power to perform complex computations and tasks. Using the same model that brought Uber and Airbnb success, this is a way to capitalize on unused resources to make some extra money.

Augur: Augur is a decentralized prediction market built on the Ethereum network. Using Augur’s prediction market, users can bet on outcomes of future events to receive monetary rewards and prizes. The less likely an event is to occur, the more significant potential reward users can earn predicting its success. Augur uses a method called “The Wisdom of the Crowd” from the various predictors on their platform to create predictive data in real time that can often have higher accuracy than leading experts on a particular subject.

Civic: Civic is an identity management service built on the blockchain that allows users to control protect the use of their identity. Each time you are required to prove your identity, you go through the same authentication process over and over. However, Civic’s ID management enables users to verify their identity data once and then reuse that authentication in other places that acknowledge Civic identification.

OmiseGo: OmiseGo, or OMG, acts as a decentralized blockchain gateway and platform for high-value transactions and settlements. Their goal is to solve inefficiencies within the financial systems to allow for lower cost and higher volume transactions, such as payments, payroll deposits, B2B commerce, asset management, supply chain activities, or loyalty programs.

Storj: Storj is an open source, decentralized solution for file storage that uses encryption and file sharing, along with their blockchain hash table to store files using their peer-to-peer network. Storj is using blockchain technology to make cloud storage faster and cheaper.

ARE THERE DISADVANTAGES WITH ETHEREUM?

Ethereum has been a game-changing blockchain platform and led to a whole new direction and vision regarding blockchain use cases. However, like most things, there are pros and cons when it comes to Ethereum’s blockchain network.

So what are the potential disadvantages and downside of Ethereum and the future of its blockchain?

Well, just to give a little more credit, because Ethereum has been revolutionary in the blockchain community, they have secured the second spot among cryptocurrencies about the total market cap. Aside from the ultra-popular Bitcoin, Ethereum is the largest cryptocurrency in the space. They have a huge developer community, a massive and broad-reaching media and PR team, along with global distribution and a dispersed group of strong advocates.

But the Ethereum blockchain has been running up against some of the same troubles as Bitcoin lately, and that’s the scalability issues.

What we mean by scalability issues is that in the current state of the Ethereum blockchain, it wouldn’t be able to support a large enterprise level dapp. The way it’s structured now, the platform can only support around 15 transactions per second on the blockchain, which as we know is shared among the entire network of dapps running on the platform. To put this in perspective, Visa alone processes tens of thousands of transactions per second.

So while Ethereum is supposed to act as an operating system for dapps to run on, the practical functionality is limited to larger entities and projects. You can think of it like Apple making an iPhone that isn’t able to make a call or have the phone app, or a Windows system that isn’t capable of running an Excel spreadsheet.

This is where that notion of network congestion really comes into play. The Cryptokitties example mentioned above is just one horror story of how something so trivial in the grand scheme of things can have a major ripple effect throughout the entire Ethereum network. You can think of the Ethereum network like a single lane highway with traffic jams along the way when what’s indeed needed is a major multi-lane interstate highway to allow larger enterprises to use the existing blockchain framework for their applications.

Even with the current unscalable model, people surrounding the Ethereum blockchain know these concerns. The scalability issues aren’t a huge secret, but the supporting community assumes that it will get fixed.

While the core Ethereum development team has been working hard to resolve the scalability concerns for a while now, they’ve provided multiple proposals to the community, and nothing has gained much traction. They haven’t been able to put together and agree on a concrete plan going forward to solve the core scalability problems.

One recent development towards scalability is Ethereum’s new proposed consensus mechanism called ‘Casper.’ The objective behind this proposal is to move Ethereum from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake model. We discussed how the PoW method of mining and supporting the network requires lots of computing power and this is the core reason behind the scalability issues.

All blockchains operating on some form of Proof-of-Work model will eventually run into issues with scaling the network once it reaches a certain usage point. However, moving to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) might be able to alleviate some of the scalability issues. PoS provides an alternative way to process transactions on the blockchain, allowing miners to earn block rewards based on the number of coins they hold. So the larger coin stake a node has, the better chance they have of mining the block and getting a more substantial reward.

The ongoing issue for Ethereum is that they don’t even have a unified direction for Casper or the implementation of a new consensus mechanism. There are competing versions from a couple of prominent Ethereum developers that are supported by various groups within the Ethereum community. And neither proposed solution has a roadmap of timelines outlined.

When it comes to the Ethereum blockchain, there is a good reason to be skeptical of the potential application. At the very least, expectations should be tempered about major organizations and enterprises jumping on the blockchain bandwagon and using the Ethereum platform. It could very well end up that Ethereum is a great platform for issuing ERC20 tokens and providing a launch pad for small-scale applications.

HOW TO INVEST IN ETHEREUM?

The most convenient way to invest into Ethereum and buy Ether tokens is through a crypto exchange. If you are brand new to the world of cryptocurrency, and you’re considering buying Ethereum, Coinbase is one of the easier exchanges to work with and will take fiat payment in exchange for Ether tokens.

There are plenty of other great crypto exchanges to use if you’re looking to buy Ethereum. A few other popular ones are:

• Gemini

• Kraken

• GDAX

• Bittrex

• Binance

HOW TO STORE ETHEREUM?

If you’ve purchased Ethereum on one of the crypto exchanges above, you will want to properly store your Ethereum coins to keep them secure and off of the crypto exchange account. This means sending the Ethereum from your crypto exchange wallet to a separate crypto wallet you control.

The good news is there are plenty of crypto wallets that support Ethereum coins. Furthermore, if you start to take a more in-depth look at the applications built on the Ethereum platform, you might consider investing in those cryptocurrencies as well. Various crypto wallets support all Ethereum related tokens, called ERC20 tokens.

One great example is MyEtherWallet. Also commonly referred to as MEW, MyEtherWallet is a web interface that supports Ethereum and ERC20 token storage. Because Ethereum has over 1,300 applications running on the network, MEW makes it easy for users to store all related tokens and cryptocurrencies in one location and wallet.

Other wallets that support Ethereum are:

• Ledger Nano: Ledger nano is a hardware wallet that focuses on security, so beginners should be aware of the required two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security. This wallet stores your Ethereum, as well as other cryptocurrencies, on a small flash drive device.

• Trezor: Trezor is a hardware wallet and great for storing large amounts of cryptocurrency or Ethereum. The wallet interface is easy to use, and desktop versions are available too.

• Exodus: Exodus is a great desktop wallet and supports Ethereum along with many other coins. The user interface is great for new users, and they have a simple guide explaining how to back-up their wallet. One neat feature is in-wallet trading to convert between the variously supported cryptocurrencies.

• Jaxx: Jaxx is a crypto wallet that was created by Ethereum’s co-founder Anthony Diiorio in 2014, and supports Ethereum and a wide range of other cryptos. Jaxx is available in the desktop version, mobile application, and as a web browser extension.
  
  
  

IS ETHEREUM THE RIGHT INVESTMENT FOR YOU?

We’ve made it through a lot of information detailing Ethereum, its blockchain, its cryptocurrency, and how it all works together. By now you get the basics of how Ethereum is blockchain platform that enables other blockchain projects to become a reality.

It could be argued that without Ethereum, there wouldn’t be the incredible amount of cryptocurrencies on the market today. The enablement of creating ERC20 tokens has allowed new blockchain businesses to pop up and get a running start using the existing infrastructure through Ethereum.

Of course, the ramifications of this approach are two-fold: plenty of innovative and exciting projects are being built and launched through the Ethereum platform, but there is also the potential for bad actors to easily and quickly develop and release ERC20 tokens that have no purpose other than to attract dumb money from novice cryptocurrency traders. That’s why it’s so important to understand the business and use cases behind the tokens you purchase, especially for ERC20 tokens.

When it comes to Ethereum and Ether coins as a potential cryptocurrency for your portfolio, there are several factors to consider. While this isn’t investment advice for investors or traders, several factors that should impact your investing decision.

The first is that Ether coins have purpose and functionality within the Ethereum ecosystem and blockchain network. As mentioned above, Ether is like the gas that fuels the system. All participants need to use Ether to use the underlying blockchain that supports all of the applications.

This gives Ether a lot of value because, without Ether, these other applications wouldn’t be able to function. So it’s easy to see one area of defined value for owning Ethereum based on the cryptocurrency’s necessity for other cryptos and blockchains to exist.

The flip side of that argument is that the Ethereum platform itself is limited, and might not be used at the same rate in the future for developing dapps. If larger organizations aren’t able to leverage the Ethereum framework, they will probably opt for another blockchain platform, or put in the effort and build their own.

There is a realistic chance that the development team isn’t able to figure out the scalability issues and the network congestion problems for Ethereum only get worse. Without solving scalability, the future of Ethereum’s potential is quite limited. We’ve already seen some blockchain projects opt to build elsewhere to avoid the congestion problems.

So potential investors that are considering buying Ethereum need to look at both sides of the coin here and decide if Ethereum is the right cryptocurrency investment.

WHO ARE ETHEREUM’S COMPETITORS?

Also before buying into Ethereum, potential investors should look at the various competitors in the market that are vying for Ethereum’s place as a blockchain platform for decentralized applications. Several projects are trying to succeed where Ethereum falls short and innovate on the concept of Blockchain 2.0.

• NEO: NEO is often referred to as the Chinese Ethereum because they also offer a platform for smart contracts and applications to be built on the blockchain. NEO has gained a lot of momentum in China, and Chinese blockchain developers are using their platform for their new projects. NEO has more scalability than Ethereum and can process close to 1,000 transactions per second. They also support multiple programming languages like the popular C# and Java.

• EOS: EOS aims to combine the security aspects of Bitcoin and the dapp support of Ethereum to provide a more scalable platform. This includes features like shared databases, built-in authentication systems, account recovery mechanisms, and decentralized storage and hosting. Changes are facilitated through a community voting process to gain a network consensus.

• WAVES: Waves is another platform that allows developers to create tokens on the network for their application. The Waves platform has started to become recognized as one of the more accessible blockchain platforms for new businesses to launch an ICO or token. The Waves platform works on a Proof-of-Stake model where nodes with 10,000+ tokens are relied on to support the network.
  
  
  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Ethereum is a foundational blockchain platform that has set the stage for a lot of innovation in the cryptocurrency space. Vitalik and team took the concept of Bitcoin and applied it to a multitude of other use cases.

Now other blockchains have subsequently seen the problems with the Ethereum platform, and are trying to build upon its success and improve the value of their application-building protocol. It remains to be seen if these other blockchain platforms can upend Ethereum as the go-to platform for new dapps to be built.

But the limitations of Ethereum are well noted. There are plenty of other competitors in the marketplace. Ethereum’s development team is trying to maintain their top dog status, and for now, they are still dominating the marketplace for new applications. Ethereum probably had its best days behind it, but the good news for the blockchain industry is that innovation is happening all around and Ethereum serves as a great jumping pad for new platforms and applications alike.

Originally posted on mintdice.com

Many people have heard tons of news around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But at the same time, they might be scratching their heads wondering how to buy virtual currency. As Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrency become more popular, there are various ways to purchase these digital assets.

One of the easiest, most popular, and quasi-regulated ways to buy cryptocurrencies is through a crypto exchange platform. Crypto exchanges serve a key role in the entire digital asset ecosystem. Like purchasing stocks and shares of a company through a traditional stock exchange, there are exchange platforms that exist to serve buyer and seller of cryptocurrencies. Investors and traders can use crypto exchanges to convert their fiat currency into Bitcoin, and trade Bitcoin for a multitude of other cryptocurrencies in the market.

Crypto exchanges as a whole are still in the early stages of maturity. When it comes to user experience, security or regulatory protection, the existing crypto exchanges vary tremendously. This guide should give you the basics on crypto exchanges and equip you to execute your first cryptocurrency trades.

WHAT IS A CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE? 

A crypto exchange is simply a way for investors and traders to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, or digital currency. If you are an active stock investor or trader, the concept should be very familiar. Crypto exchanges support the open marketplace of people wanting to buy and sell a particular cryptocurrency pair.

For example, if you have Bitcoin, but you want to trade it for some Ethereum tokens, you would trade the BTC/ETH pair. This means you would sell your Bitcoin in exchange for the equivalent amount in Ethereum coins.

Relating it back to a stock exchange, this is like a transaction of trading your dollars for stock. You would be selling your dollars and buying the equivalent amount of shares in the company. In the crypto world, Bitcoin is often viewed as the dollar part of the equation and is used to purchase other cryptocurrencies, often referred to as ‘alt coins.’

WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR USING AN EXCHANGE?

Crypto exchanges are basically a mechanism to trade dollars or fiat currency for Bitcoin, and convert that Bitcoin into other cryptocurrencies trading on the market. So how exactly do you buy cryptocurrency?

The first step is to take our fiat currency (US Dollars, Euros, British Pounds, etc.) and convert them into Bitcoin after setting up a cryptocurrency wallet. The most common, and easiest, way to accomplish these transactions is by using a crypto-fiat exchange. These exchanges allow you to deposit fiat currency and trade for Bitcoin with low or no fees. We cover the process of opening an account in the section below.

Once you’re set up on a crypto-fiat exchange platform, the next step is to deposit fiat currency into the exchange. Similar to a stock exchange, you can use a wire transfer or bank transfer to send money to the exchange. Select exchanges even allow you to fund your account with a credit or debit card. Then you simply buy Bitcoin at the current market rate using your fiat currency. Your exchange will then show your account with Bitcoins after the platform calculates the exchange rate automatically.

Most investors and traders don’t want to stop there. They are interested in expanding past Bitcoin and trading other alt-coins. That’s where a true crypto exchanges come into play. Crypto exchanges don’t touch any fiat currencies. Instead, they only allow ‘crypto-to-crypto’ trades. The BTC/ETH trading pair is an example of a crypto-to-crypto trade.

So trading other cryptocurrencies generally requires you to open an account with at least two different exchanges. Once you’ve opened an account with a crypto exchange, you need to fund that account with the Bitcoin you bought on the crypto-fiat exchange.

Again, this process is just like sending money back and forth between stock exchanges. You simply initiate a withdrawal from the crypto-fiat exchange and input the Bitcoin address from your crypto exchange account you set up.

From there, the process involves the crypto-to-crypto trades you want to make. You identify a particular coin you want to buy, then find its Bitcoin trading pair. You can think of Bitcoin as the digital reserve virtual currency for these trades, rather than the dollar. The cryptocurrencies you want to buy will be priced in Bitcoin.

When viewing the trading pair on the exchange, there is typically a buy and sell wall to show the open orders in the marketplace. You can select one of those, or place your order to buy the specific cryptocurrency, choosing the number of coins you want and the rate at which you’re willing to buy.

HOW DO I OPEN AN ACCOUNT ON AN EXCHANGE?

Opening an account on a crypto exchange is very similar to any other online account. Generally, you visit the website and go through the process of setting up an account with your email and a password. The thing to take note when opening an account with a crypto exchange is that they will probably require some extensive due diligence.

As regulators are chiming in on how cryptocurrencies should be treated, regulated and traded, crypto exchanges are under constant pressure to run a tight ship with their users. So you will find the level of diligence for crypto exchanges is often on par with the process of opening a bank or brokerage account.

In order to stay in compliance with the multitude of regulators, digital currency exchanges are regularly performing Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks on customers opening new accounts. As you move forward in crypto trading and investing, the KYC and AML terms and processes will become familiar. This ensures they know who is behind their accounts and they are putting forth the effort to eliminate any illegal trading activity.

Another thing you’ll notice when opening accounts with crypto exchanges is they require some extra security measures, such as Two-Factor Authentication. Exchanges might give you the option to enter your mobile number and receive authentication codes by text message. So when you log in with your email and password, the exchange sends you a text message, and you need to input the number in order to log in.

Once establishing the account, the exchange will probably require proof of identity and proof of address documents as part of their due diligence process. The specific documents required will vary by trading platform and also depend on your location, but a photo of your current passport or driver’s license is usually sufficient.

WHICH EXCHANGE IS RIGHT FOR ME?

When it comes to finding the right currency exchange for you, you need to identify your specific needs. There is no one crypto exchange that is a one-size-fits-all solution. Some crypto exchanges only support a select number of cryptocurrencies, while others have hundreds of active trading pairs. Some crypto exchanges have limitations based on geography and which country the user is physically located. Some crypto exchanges will only accept certain fiat currency deposits, while others might not accept fiat and only trade in Bitcoin or digital assets.

So the first step is determining your investing and trading goals with cryptocurrency. If you are simply looking to convert your dollars to Bitcoin, you want to find an exchange that is reliable and user-friendly. If you want to actively trade multiple cryptocurrencies, you want to find an exchange that supports a large variety of tokens and makes it easy to execute digital trades.

HERE ARE SOME CRYPTO-FIAT EXCHANGES TO CONSIDER:

COINBASE

• Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash

• Available in 32+ countries

• Allows USD, EUR, and GBP fiat deposits

• Ultra-popular exchange, user-friendly, mobile version available, accepts credit and debit cards

GEMINI

• Supports Bitcoin and Ethereum

• Available in US, Canada, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea

• Allows USD deposits

• Another popular exchange, reliable and easy to use, good security

KRAKEN

• Supports Bitcoin plus a couple dozen other cryptocurrencies

• Available in US, Canada, Europe, Japan

• Allows USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, JPY deposits

• Better for more advanced users, supports more coins, user interface is not the best

• Blend of a crypto-fiat and a true crypto exchange
  

AND HERE ARE A FEW CRYPTO EXCHANGES TO CONSIDER IF YOU WANT TO TRULY EXPAND PAST BITCOIN:

BITTREX

• Supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, 200+

• Available in nearly all countries

• Fairly easy exchange to use and navigate

• One of the most popular crypto exchanges

BINANCE

• Supports a large range of cryptocurrencies, 50+

• Available in nearly all countries

• Not the easiest exchange to use

• One of the most popular exchanges and has lots of trade volume

SHAPESHIFT

• Supports Bitcoin and 35+ other cryptocurrencies

• Available in all countries

• Fairly easy exchange to use

• No account required to trade

Welcome to the world of technical analysis, a trading approach that seeks to create pricing targets based on historical price movements and other available quantitative information.

A beginner diving into the world of cryptocurrency technical analysis trading videos will likely find themselves wrestling with several words they may not be familiar with, making it that much more difficult to extract actionable information. We’ve put together a quick-hits list of technical analysis terms you should know to get more value from your research. 

Average Directional Index (ADX):

Calculates the strength of a market trend over X-number of price bars. Typically used with the DMI to enhance accuracy. ADX (14) readings below ten often precede consolidation zone breakouts. Readings above 60 are unsustainable and warn of impending trend exhaustion.

Average True Range (ATR):

Used to ID volatility breakout trading signals and confirm trend exhaustion. Often used to create automatically-adjusting trailing stops. Breakout price bar ranges that are 2-3 times greater than the ATR (14) often initiate powerful market trends.

Bollinger Bands (BB):

Standard deviation envelopes that determine overbought/oversold extremes in trendless markets. BB’s are highly useful for breakout traders and for identification of price/momentum divergences. The ‘Bollinger Band Squeeze’ price pattern helps confirm a market’s rapid transition from an ultra-low to high volatility range.

Breakout:

A term used to describe a powerful price move out of a well-defined consolidation zone or chart pattern. Confirmed violations of trendlines or key support/resistance levels are also considered breakouts.

Commodity Channel Index (CCI):

This oscillator identifies overbought/oversold extremes in trendless markets and also helps identify ‘pullback’ trade entry zones in trending markets. CCI is also a highly sensitive price/momentum divergence indicator. Produces many varieties of short-term trading signals.

Consolidation:

A trading range marked by well-defined, low-volatility price swings. Occurs as a ‘pause’ pattern in a strong trend and can also occur at market tops and bottoms. Chart patterns such as pennants, wedges, and rectangles all depict consolidations. The longer the consolidation time period, the more powerful the eventual breakout may be.

Chaikin Money Flow (CMF):

A price range/volume indicator that measures the flow of institutional money in/out of a market. Highly useful in confirming volatility breakouts and trend strength. CMF is also an exceptional divergence indicator.

Cycles:

Repetitive patterns of buying and selling pressure that manifest as oscillating waves (price swings) in all liquid markets. Calculating the average cycle length (measured trough to trough) can provide traders with advance knowledge of high-probability swing termination and/or reversal zones.

Directional Movement Index (DMI):

A trend confirmation indicator, normally used with ADX to determine trend strength. Crosses of the DMI+ line above/below the DMI- line can be used as trading signals. When a high-value ADX line crosses either DMI line, a strong market trend may be at/near a stall/termination zone.

Double Stochastic oscillator:

A smoother version of the Stochastic indicator. Very effective in identifying the primary price cycle highs/lows in all liquid markets. Used to identify pullback trade entries in trending markets and to confirm price/momentum divergences.

Exponential moving average (EMA):

Calculates the average price of a market over X-number of price bars, putting more emphasis on recent price action. Responds to market price action faster than the SMA. Generally plotted as a line on a price chart. Primary use is to determine trend direction and momentum strength, but can also act as a powerful support and resistance level. Crosses of EMAs can also be used as trading signals.

Fibonacci retracement: (Fib):

A mathematical formula employed by traders to forecast high-probability support/resistance zones in liquid markets. Measures the most likely retracement levels of a developing market swing in relation to the size (distance in points or length of time) of a previous market swing. The most common ratios are 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, 78.6%, 100%, 127.2% and 161.8%

Keltner Channels:

These ATR-based price envelopes are used to forecast high-probability support/resistance targets and confirm price/momentum divergences. They are also used to generate breakout buy/sell signals.

Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD):

Calculates the 9-period EMA of the spread between the 12- and 26-period EMAs. Used as a momentum buy/sell signal and price/momentum divergence confirmation. Buy/sell signals occurring at/near the MACD zero line can precede significant market trends. A ’go-to’ trend confirmation indicator.

Parabolic Stop and Reverse (ParaSar):

A combination of technical indicator and trading strategy. Essentially a trend-following strategy that is always in a long or short position. Filtering ParaSar buy/sell signals to trade in the direction of the primary trend may improve trading results. Can also be used as a standalone trailing stop.

Relative Strength Index (RSI):

This oscillator identifies overbought/oversold extremes in trendless markets and also helps identify ‘pullback’ trade entry zones in trending markets. RSI is also an effective price/momentum divergence indicator. RSI (14) readings of 50 or more imply a bullish trend, readings below 50 imply a bearish trend. RSI (2) and RSI (3) pullbacks in a strong trend may offer high-probability, mean-reversion (short-term) trade entry signals.

Resistance:

A price level where advances in price are anticipated to stall/reverse. Previous swing highs/lows, trendlines, Keltner channels, Bollinger Bands, Fibonacci retracements, and high-volume VPOC nodes can all act as key resistance levels.

Simple moving average (SMA):

Calculates the average price for a market over X-number of price bars. Generally plotted as a line on a price chart. Primary use is to determine trend direction and momentum strength, but can also act as a powerful support and resistance level. Crosses of SMAs can also be used as trading signals.

StochRSI oscillator:

Combines Stochastics and RSI into a single oscillator. It identifies overbought/oversold extremes in trendless markets and also helps identify ‘pullback’ trade entry zones in trending markets. Also highly useful as a price/momentum divergence indicator.

Support:

A price level where declines in price are anticipated to stall/reverse. Previous swing highs/lows, trendlines, Keltner channels, Bollinger Bands, Fibonacci retracements, and high-volume VPOC nodes can all act as key support levels.

Swing:

A sustained bullish/bearish price movement. In bullish trends, price swings spend more time rising than falling, and vice-versa for bearish trends. In trendless markets, price swings are less directionally biased. A series of connected market swings can help confirm trend strength, trend reversals, and price/momentum divergences.

Trend:

Defined as a series of higher swing highs and higher swing lows for a bullish trend and a series of lower swing highs and lower swing lows for a bearish trend. The slope of an EMA or SMA is frequently used to determine trend direction/strength. ADX and DMI are also used together for the same purpose.

Trendline:

A support/resistance (S/R) line. Constructed by connecting at least two significant swing highs/lows and then extending the line forward. Subsequent ‘tests’ of the trendline are often perceived as trade entry points. Subsequent violations of the trendline are interpreted as a trend reversal. The more times a trendline is successfully tested, the stronger an S/R level it is perceived to be.

Stop loss:

An instruction (to a broker or exchange) to exit a long position if it declines to a predetermined price (vice-versa for short positions). The purpose is to limit losses from a losing trade or lock in gains on a winning trade. Often entered as a ‘GTC’ (good-til-canceled’) and/or as a ‘market order.’

Volume point-of-control (VPOC):

A key ‘volume at price’ indicator. Plotted as a histogram on a price chart. Depicts the price level at which the greatest amount of trading activity occurred. The longer/narrower the histogram peak, the more significant a support/resistance level the VPOC may be. Strong breakouts beyond a VPOC often initiate a tradable market swing.

Final Thoughts

This basic list of indicators and charting concept definitions will guide you to a better understanding of cryptocurrency technical analysis terms. 

What is the XYO Network? Decentralizing GPS and Putting Location on Blockchain

article originally published on coincentral.com

The XYO Network, short for XY Oracle Network, is offering a people-powered location network built on the blockchain. In a nutshell, the XYO Network is a trustless cryptographic location network that enables layered location verification across many devices and protocols. The network utilizes a cryptocurrency called XYO to function.

XYO taps into the Ethereum blockchain to allow users to “call out” for specific queries that revolve around location requests.

The XYO Network is a project launched by a company called XY, which has been around since 2012 building location technology solutions for autonomous drones, self-driving vehicles, smart cities, and space exploration. The first product XY launched is XY Findables, a network of over 1 million people connected by Bluetooth and GPS devices. These devices are essentially little fobs that can be attached to frequently misplaced items such as keys, backpacks, dog collars, etc.  

How Does XYO Network Work?

The XYO Network contains four primary pillars: Sentinels (The Data Gatherers), Bridges (The Data Relayers), Archivists (The Data Storers), and Diviners (The Answer Aggregators).

1. Sentinels gather location information through radios, sensors, and other methods. These act as the location witness.

2. Bridges take data from Sentinels and relay it over to Archivists. These act as location data transcribers.

3. Archivists store the information for Diviners to analyze it.

4. Diviners serve as oracles and analyze all the location heuristics to provide answers to queries and assign accuracy scores. Diviners then relay these answers back into a smart contract.

The XYO Network debuts an original Proof of Origin consensus algorithm combined with Transient Key Chaining to ensure that ledgers flowing into the network are valid while making it impossible to falsify the chain of origin for the data. The XYO Network stores the information on a public blockchain called the XYOMainChain.

Who Would Use the XYO Network?

Beyond the technical guts of the XYO Network lays a multitude of use cases that span several industries.

An example noted in the whitepaper is for eCommerce merchants who use XYO to offer a premium “payment upon delivery” service to its customers. The merchant would write a smart contract (on Ethereum’s platform), XYO would track the location of the package every step of the way until fulfillment, and only once it has arrived does the vendor gets paid.

The XYO Token Sale

XYO is only available for sale internationally due to a lack of clarity from U.S. regulators.

U.S. investors, however, can invest in XYO as an SEC Reg A+ Equity. This essentially allows U.S. investors to invest in the XY parent company, allowing them to hypothetically benefit on the upside of XY as well as the XYO Network.

Here’s the breakdown for U.S. investors.

1. XY is a U.S. Delaware C-Corporation regulated by laws and standards overseen by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

2. XY has 850,000,000 XYO Tokens (an estimated 3.5% of the token pool). Additionally, XY  operates the XYO Cryptoeconomic Reserve fund, which is allocated on a 1-to-1 basic for every XYO Token sold in the Public Sale

3. XY has generated roughly $10 million in revenue to date.

Here are the SEC filings and documentation.

The public token sale has a tiered pricing structure that starts off at 1 ETH: 100,000 XYO and maxes out at 1 ETH: 33,333 XYO.

• Smart contract platform: Ethereum

• Contract Type: ERC20

• Token: XYO

• Token Name: XYO Network Utility Token

• Total issuance: Finite and capped at the amount reached after the Token Main Sale

• Projected XYO Token Cap: $48 Million

• Unsold and Unallocated tokens: Burned after the token sale event

No further XYO tokens will be generated after the Main Sale ends.

XYO currently trades on IDEX, DDEX, Bitmart, and a few smaller exchanges, and currently has a market cap around $12,692,705 USD.

Final Thoughts – “Sorta like GPS, minus the government monopoly”

The XYO Network offering falls in line with one of the most popular narratives of the blockchain and cryptocurrency revolution: the removal and replacement of a third party intermediary with a decentralized and more technologically advanced solution to empower and incentivize the end users. XYO aims to replace GPS as it is with a decentralized blockchain-based system.

For more information, check out the XYO Network whitepaper and XYO Network site.

On September 6th, 2018, Joe Rogan hosted a podcast/YouTube video called "Joe Rogan Experience #1169 - Elon Musk". It quickly rocketed past 5 million views and upon writing this it's wrapping up on my 2nd monitor.

The video is, quite simply, awe-inspiring. In the 2 hours and 37 minutes that this video is composed of, Joe Rogan did an absolutely masterful job of conducting the conversation and composing the questioning to allow Elon Musk to flow naturally from thought to thought and give an insight to a man who's mind is simply on another level.

Amazing too, was the effortless calm that Elon Musk portrayed despite the fact that three major companies hinder on this one man's personality in all things PR. One slip of the tongue from the inventor of PayPal (Musk) that registers as bad enough could potentially bankrupt Space X, Tesla and the Boring Company. After all, this isn't American politics: You can't confess to public sexual assault and become president regardless where real money and business is concerned. The stakes are high.

Despite that, there are a few particularly interesting ideas that Musk expanded on that he had only hinted at before. The most exciting one to me, is the idea and subsequent development of the aptly-named "Neuralink".

By any measure, human progress in the past century is an astonishing feat. We've progressed from horse and carriage to literal rocketships, and now we're bordering on the emergence of real-life transport drones that require no license, no expertise and are as easy to fly from A to B as a video game.

But none of this compares to the fact that we are now all carrying around an infathomably convenient encyclopedia of limitless information in our pockets, all day, every day. Our grandparents could only dream of such privilege in their youth. So why do we seem to be getting stupider with each passing day as a species?

It's not the ability to attain information. That's easier than ever before. It's partially due to the majority of time on human interface devices (phones) being spent on social media - a fact that will be borne out shortly by Apple's new "screen time" feature that I'm sure will be collecting a harrowing amount of data sure to embarass the western civilisation into realising that the vast majority of us are, whether we like to believe it or not, wasting our time on our phone. But more importantly it's because it is harder to learn, remember and retain information than to while away the hours playing Candy Crush.

These days, those of us who have are careful enough to record information we may need in the future struggle with finding a convenient, secure way to store it. Many of us screenshot information we might know we'll need in the future. We save notes of current passwords and forget whether we saved them in DropBox, iCloud, the Notes app, Google Docs, OneDrive or, heaven forbid, on the single notepad that might be lingering around some millenials' parents house collecting dust with a dried up ball-point pen perched on top of it. Remind me; how do I use this again?

More than anything, our human limitation to education, sense and sensibility comes (in my opinion) largely from having too much information on hand at all times. In the back of our minds we believe that there's no fact we can't uncover. No curiousity that can't be instantly sated with a quick Google search or Alexa question. This is a power that no generation before ours has experienced. As a result, as so often happens, absolute power has lead to absolute complacency - and despite having all the worlds answers and glorious, wonderous, unlimited knowledge at our finger tips: we stopped wondering. Curiousity has seemingly died a horrid death amongst the majority of people. We're too busy "Living our best life" and expressing "My Truth" to worry about the troublesome ordeal of improving as a society or uncovering actual truths about the universe to evolve.

But here's the thing: Homosapiens’ actually are smart. Our brains are far more powerful, at this stage, than computers' for most tasks that can't be programmed into algorhythmic calculations. For example: Human's can still recognize faces infinitely quicker in real life and more accurately than a computer, provided the environment doesn’t perfectly suit a computers’ advantage. Human's can sense, somehow, a person's (or animals’) behaviour and mood, and can quickly ascertain what has caused it. Our primal instincts intake, process and distribute information from, and to, our nervous system and musculoskeletal structure at an incredible pace.

Yet computers can calculate mathematical equations that human's could never mentally compute, and they can do it instantaneously. They can maintain cycles of calculations over huge quantities of data and mathematical equations for an indefinite length whereas the human brain needs to rest every couple of hours. In short: computers and human's complement eachothers abilities. This may change with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) - and who knows what will happen if limitations of AI/ML are broken - but we're not quite there yet (although we can't be far off given how much the AI buzz word is thrown around these days).

Still - there's no denying the human mind is an incredibly powerful machine when calculating the sheer raw data and computations happening per second sub-conciously to allow us to interpret information using all 5 senses (that we know of) and develop an outcome accordingly. But being able to consciously intake information and be able to recall and distribute that information at a moments notice is something that human beings will never be able to do on a useful level when compared to a search engine. At least, not from an biologically evolving standpoint. Without some form of technological assistance, we simply don't have the bandwidth through our frontal lobe.

At the moment, we're limited by how fast the internet on our phones is and how cleverly we can Google Search (the 4th language) the answers. But what if we had instant access to the entire internet with just our cognitive thought and processes? What if we had no limitation on long-term storage, and instead could access any form of any available data instantly, whenever we wanted? Taking this a step further - what if we were able to access absolutely unquantifiable amounts of raw processing power in the form of giant server farms that were solely dedicated to enhancing your speed of thought and cognitive abilities using an unlimited, untapped amount of information available on the internet? Basically: What if we had the internet in our heads, and no limit on how to use it?

This is the idea behind "Neuralink". At least, I think that's where the idea is going. It's a new company hinted at in 2016, further teased by Elon Musk in 2017 and now finally a real company with real goals (owned by Mr. Musk of course) in 2018, starting with mitigation of the effects of cognitively degradating diseases. And it's fucking incredible. Of course we're decades, if not a century, off the above idea coming into fruition - and my primary source of frustration in the world is that I'll most likely be dead before I get to experience a lot of what I can see coming around the corner not long after I'm buried - but it's a very real possibility that a few of us fortunate people will get to experience some form of cognitive enhancement hitherto unknown within our lifetime. The rest of us will at least get to read about it when it happens. And for this I am most thankful.

Neuralink is only in it's infancy, and is seeking the best and brightest amongst us to tackle this project. And that fact, if nothing else, provides sanctity to my soul and regenerates my faith in humanity and hope in a world where everything else seems more dismal by the day.

Originally published on coincentral.com

Well into the second half of 2018 and it’s been a white-knuckle roller coaster ride for most. With Ether shedding 44 percent of its value in just two weeks and the media speaking of a Bitcoin bubble, is it possible to lose faith in crypto but remain bullish on blockchain? Apparently; if continued corporate statements like the UBS blockchain endorsement are anything to go by. But can you really separate cryptocurrency and blockchain?

UBS Bullish on Blockchain, Bearish on Bitcoin

CEO of Swiss investment banking giant UBS, Sergio Ermotti, came out with a bold claim recently. He said that blockchain was “almost a must” for business. UBS blockchain support is nothing new, however. Neither is their stance that cryptocurrencies are risky and will probably never become mainstream currencies.

Yet, when it comes to blockchain, UBS changes their point of view. The bank believes that blockchain technology can help companies become more efficient and reduce their operating costs across the board, from healthcare to finance. This implies a separation between cryptocurrencies and the technology that they run on.

But is it possible to separate the two? Furthermore, since the original vision of Satoshi was to send peer-to-peer electronic payments without the need for a middleman, UBS blockchain support could be misplaced.

Disrupt or Be Disrupted

“While we are doubtful cryptocurrencies will ever become a mainstream means of exchange, the underlying technology, blockchain, is likely to have a significant impact in industries ranging from finance to manufacturing, health care, and utilities,” UBS wrote in October of 2017.

Adding that, “Just as [the] internet has transformed our lives with email, e-commerce, or smartphone apps, we believe blockchain as an infrastructure technology can power future disruptive technologies through distributive ledgers, smart contracts, tokens or identity management.”

So, what about cutting out the middleman? The centralized authority taking its fees? UBS blockchain research does acknowledge a certain level of risk, although they limit this to technological shortcomings and an uncertainty as to which application will benefit the industry most. They fail to mention whether digital currencies will threaten fiat ones, or if central authorities will be cut out of the loop.

In fact, within the financial sector, UBS predicts that blockchain technology will have irreversible and positive effects. And UBS blockchain support doesn’t stop at words. The bank is also investing in research into distributed ledgers and smart contracts in its business model.

UBS currently holds a number of blockchain patents. Yet, despite Ermotti’s bullish stance, their blockchain activities are dwarfed by other large banks and credit card companies. The list includes American Express, BBVA, Mizuho Financial Group, Goldman Sachs, BNP, and Bank of America (who’s buying up blockchain patents like they’re expecting a war). Is this a bid to disrupt or be disrupted? Or a defensive maneuver to protect themselves against blockchain innovation?

Blockchain and Bitcoin Are One and the Same

Plenty of people criticize Ermotti’s point of view, seeing it as a convenient way of taking a politically acceptable view and a safe position. Leaving the door open without scaring away existing clients. Others believe that more than just convenient, it misses the point completely. After all, blockchain and cryptocurrency are one and the same.

Consider the Bitcoin network for a moment. The way it was created requires miners to believe that the value of the Bitcoin they are rewarded will increase over time (or at least, not decrease in value). Otherwise, there is no incentive or rational reason to invest in expensive mining equipment, electricity, and time.

So, for those like UBS that are skeptical on Bitcoin, but busy singing the praises of blockchain, they may not fully understand. In an interview with Malta’s Steve Tendon, a member of the country’s Blockchain Taskforce and author of Malta’s National Blockchain Strategy, he expressed his concern with viewpoints such as the UBS blockchain one.

He argued that many regulators and institutions tried to draw a distinction between blockchain and cryptocurrencies, viewing crypto as a bad thing because of its criminal associations and scams, but blockchain as a positive technology with infinite possibilities.

“There is no way you can have a smart contract platform that is as sophisticated as the one that Ethereum has implemented today (but there will be others in the future) unless you also have a cryptocurrency that is being used to “pay” for the computation. So the distinction between cryptocurrency and blockchains are really artificial: they are just two aspects of the same coin,” he said.

Final Thoughts

Ermotti and the UBS team may be making headlines with their views on the transformative technology. Calling blockchain “crucial and disruptive” is all well and good. But frowning on Bitcoin at the same time may just be missing a trick.

This article is originally posted at Coincentral.com

Like any nascent technology, cryptocurrency has to go through its paces before becoming widely used. Theories on electricity were published as far back as the 1600s, but electricity didn’t arrive into homes until the late 1800s. Even today, there are still around one billion people around the world who live without it. It’s not surprising, then, that in just one-decade mass cryptocurrency adoption is still a long way off.

So why is there so much pressure on cryptocurrency and the powerhouse technology behind it? We’ve reached the peak of inflated expectations with blockchain being touted as a solution to all the world’s ills. In fact, one of the main barriers to mass cryptocurrency adoption may simply be that we’ve marketed it too much–with little substance to back up our claims.

According to a recent survey by Deloitte, “blockchain fatigue” is starting to set in around the world. But beyond the fact that people are bored of hearing about this digital money they don’t fully understand, there are plenty of other barriers to mass cryptocurrency adoption. Let’s take a look at the top nine.

1. Lack of Clarity

When we hear claims that blockchain is immutable, then later read that it isn’t really, or that Bitcoin is anonymous, but not as anonymous as we thought it was, blockchain becomes shrouded in mist. There’s a lack of clarity from the cryptocurrency community and regulatory indecision isn’t helping.

If the people in charge of protecting investors can’t decide what to call the tokens they’re regulating, how is the public supposed to know? What’s the difference between a utility token, security token, and equity token, anyway–and why do you have to store your invisible money in a physical hardware wallet?

A lot of these questions are hard for crypto insiders to answer, let alone the layperson who’s receiving a watered-down version of explanations.

Smaller countries like Malta are launching programs to educate the general public, particularly the people who will use blockchain tech on a daily basis, such as government employees.

Other countries, including Ireland and Australia, are working to create Ph.D.s and other university courses in blockchain technology. They’re also going into schools at an early age to encourage children to spark an interest in programming. And companies like ConsenSys are offering crossover courses in the Ethereum blockchain to developers, mathematicians, computer scientists, and enthusiasts from other disciplines who want to explore this new technology.

There are also a number of courses online, including free podcasts, and YouTube tutorials. But until we can tighten the narrative, stop selling the emperor’s new clothes, and start on useful education initiatives to provide much-needed clarity, widespread cryptocurrency adoption is still a long way off.

2. An Overwhelming Amount of Cryptocurrencies

There’s something like 1,800 cryptocurrencies currently listed on Coinmarketcap. Not all are created equal, nor intend mass adoption (some are for gamers, others for agriculture, others still for music or art). Many of them show extraordinary promise and rock-solid theories, use cases, and community support. But there are plenty more companies launching tokens purely to raise funds.

Until we cut out the useless cryptos and improve interoperability between blockchains, mass cryptocurrency adoption will be hard. With so many on offer, how do people with little experience know which ones to buy or whether one will emerge stronger than the rest? 

Moreover, if the point of cryptocurrency was to allow for borderless, frictionless, peer-to-peer payments, why do we need so many? There are only 180 government-issued currencies, so aren’t we complicating things a little too much?

3. Usability

If you’ve ever shown your Grandma how to send a text or stop your parents signing off with their name on Facebook, you’ll know that getting them to save private keys and public addresses may be a little hard.

The majority of the crypto community may not mind the complexities of entering in 42-character addresses or securing private keys. But the wider public does. The reason the cybercrime industry is so prolific is that we continually opt for convenience over security. We choose simple passwords that are easy to crack, stay logged into our sessions, or sign up for new accounts using Facebook.

Making cryptocurrency transactions smoother and account creation simpler remains a barrier to mass cryptocurrency adoption. Many people are currently put off by having to upload a selfie with their ID card, but as regulators get tougher on KYC/AML requirements, usability will continue to be a hurdle.

4. Scalability

Scalability is a thorn in many a developer’s side, and an extremely prickly one at that. The Ethereum network can still only support around 15 transactions per second. Bitcoin’s maximum transaction processing capacity is somewhere between 3-7 per second. While other blockchains such as NEO or non-blockchains like the DAG are offering new solutions, they don’t come without their own challenges.

We can’t support mass adoption of cryptocurrencies when it takes 10 minutes or more for a transaction to clear. Scaling to onboard more users is one of the greatest challenges there is.

But if we think back to electricity, then that’s actually okay. After all, we’re still waiting to connect the rest of the world to the energy grid. 2 billion people around the globe are still waiting for an internet connection. So, it’s unlikely that mass cryptocurrency adoption will happen any time soon. The technology needs time to mature and figure out solutions to its problems first.

5. Scams & Hacks

Just as bad news always makes the headlines, the media is filled with stories of cryptocurrency exchanges being hacked and investors losing their funds. Since there’s no insurance policy on most exchanges or clear regulation in place, your money could be there one day and gone the next. Think Mt. Gox, Bitfinex, or The DAO.

Then there are the ICO scams happening on a far-too-frequent basis. OneCoin will go down in history as one of the most sophisticated Ponzi schemes ever invented and exit scams are rife.

The SEC is trying to educate people in the US on these types of problems through initiatives such as the HoweyCoin scam. This is to show investors the possible red flags to watch for when backing an ICO. Tighter regulation will weed out more fake ICOs. In fact, Malta’s latest laws have some of the strictest requirements for white papers out there to purposely remove bad actors from the space.

6. Volatility

You may be a fan of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, or Cardano. But you have to admit, none of them come close to being effective as a means of everyday currency. Even Dash still fluctuates far too much to make large purchases with confidence (unless you’re living in a country with hyperinflation).

If we’re to use cryptocurrency as a currency and not an investment vehicle, we need to lose the volatility. 

7. Criminal Association

Bitcoin was part of the reason that the Silk Road grew to its dizzy heights of fame selling drugs, weapons, and even hitmen online. Thanks to money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal activity, Bitcoin earned a sketchy reputation.

In fact, Bitcoin was also the most popular payment method for cybercriminals in Ransomware attacks in 2017. And now cryptojacking is the biggest cyber threat this year, growing by 8,500 percent in Q4 of 2017.

While it’s true that not all ICOs are scams, not all cryptocurrency funds are hacked, and most criminals prefer the US dollar to launder money, the negative associations still linger on.

8. Regulation

Regulation, or rather, lack of regulation is still keeping many people away. We’ve seen some major moves this year from ICOs to STOs, and new legislation from smaller countries like Malta, but there are still far too many gray areas. And of course, there’s too much disagreement between jurisdictions.

While setting a global standard in regulation may not be possible (or even desirable), at least a basic agreement on KYC/AML practices could prevent further crime and encourage more people to enter the space.

9. Environmental Impact

Nearly three in four millennials would pay extra for sustainable goods. There’s never been a generation as conscious about the environment as millennials. But while reports of Bitcoin mining’s disastrous effects on the environment and draining natural resources are rife, crypto remains a hard sell.

Sustainable mining is another problem developers are working on. Proof of Stake could be a viable solution, but it’s less secure and more prone to centralization than Proof of Work.

While countries like Canada and Iceland allow for cryptocurrency mining using sustainable energy resources, we need to do a better job of reducing the amount of computational power that blockchains need to run.

Mass Cryptocurrency Adoption Is Still a Ways Off

There are plenty of barriers to mass cryptocurrency adoption. Even just changing a mindset and a culture takes time. Blockchain may be slow and clunky right now, but it’s only been just over a decade since the smartphone appeared on the scene (remember your Nokia brick?). Cryptocurrency will enter the mainstream, but the technology needs to be better, faster, more sustainable, and easier to use before it does.

Off to the Races: The 4 Coins Competing for Crypto’s Top Spot

This article is originally posted at Coincentral.com

To date, there are well over 1000 cryptocurrencies in the market attempting to change every industry from bananas to finance. However, a few coins have consistently been on top in a race to be named the world’s number one cryptocurrency.

In this article, we’re going to analyze some of the competitors and outline why they have the potential to be number one.

Bitcoin/Litecoin

Our first competitor is actually a pair of teammates. Bitcoin has long been the leading cryptocurrency, but trends have started showing that this may not be the case for long. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin dominance is at an all-time low – just 35% of the market. This is vastly lower than the 85% market dominance it had at this time last year.

Increased interest in altcoins and a split Bitcoin community are just a couple of the reasons behind a possible fall for the king crypto. Recently, high fees and slow transaction times have caused many crypto enthusiasts to look into other coins for their day-to-day use.

Litecoin with the assist. Although a fork of Bitcoin, creator Charlie Lee has stated that Litecoin works best as a transactional complement to Bitcoin’s use as a store of value. As Bitcoin implements the Lightning Network and the two coins become interchangeable through Atomic Swaps, it’s possible for Bitcoin’s scaling issues to be a thing of the past.

If the duo successfully implements these second layer solutions in a timely manner, it’ll be difficult for the other competitors to overcome the Bitcoin brand and first-mover advantage held by the current champion.

Pros

• Bitcoin has a proven track record. It’s survived numerous attacks over the years and has shown to be a secure blockchain solution.
• Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency to a lot of people. Unless you’ve done some research, you’re probably not even aware that other options exist.

Cons

• The community controversy and constant hard forks are slowly chipping away at Bitcoin’s credibility.
• If the scaling solutions are ineffective or too slow to be implemented, people will continue jumping ship to other coins. More and more alternative coins are entering the limelight, and investors are realizing that there may be something better.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin with a simple change – an increase in block size from 1MB to 8MB. Supporters argue that this scaling solution is closer to Satoshi Nakamoto’s true vision of Bitcoin. Larger blocks can hold more transactions which generally lead to lower fees and faster transaction times even as the network scales.

Currently sitting at #4 by market cap, there have been a couple times since the fork that it looked like Bitcoin Cash may overtake Bitcoin. The closest “flippening” attempt occurred in November 2017. At that time, Bitcoin Cash reached ~35% of the Bitcoin price on a few pieces of news:

• Cancelling the SegWit 2x fork
• Mining power shifting from Bitcoin to Bitcoin Cash
• More companies adding Bitcoin Cash support

If Bitcoin still has scaling issues even after the implementation of the Lightning Network, it could be likely that people switch over to next big coin with the Bitcoin name. By switching over, they get the battle-tested security of the Bitcoin network as well as the potentially low fees and fast transactions needed for everyday transactions.

Pros

• A lot of the technology that makes Bitcoin so great and secure is the same in Bitcoin Cash.
• Miner support is critical in maintaining network security. If Bitcoin Cash becomes substantially more profitable to mine, a shift in mining hashing power away from Bitcoin could be a major catalyst in the two currencies switching places.

Cons

• Larger block sizes tend to lead to more centralization around the large-scale mining farms that run the network.
• Some people view larger block sizes as a linear solution to an exponential problem. Bitcoin Cash may have to continuously increase the block size as the network grows.

Ethereum

Many people argue that Ethereum has the best shot at overtaking Bitcoin as the top market cap coin. Instead of daily transactions, Ethereum’s primary value is as a payment method to use the Ethereum network for functions such as smart contracts. Both Ethereum and Bitcoin can easily live in harmony.

Ethereum is currently the second largest coin comprising about 18% of the market. Several popular coins, called ERC20 tokens, are built using its network. Examples of these include OmiseGo, Augur, and FunFair.

There’s strong evidence to support an Ethereum market takeover. Currently, over 1 million transactions are taking place on the Ethereum network each day. That’s over 4 times the amount of Bitcoin transactions.

Also, Ethereum appears to have a much more unified community with a clear strategy to address scaling issues. Vitalik Buterin, the coin’s creator, has begun implementing solutions such as sharding and a shift to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm to continue and improve Ethereum’s architecture.

Pros

• Ethereum has a community with strong leadership and an aligned vision. On top of that, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance includes some heavy hitters with a vested interest in seeing the coin succeed.
• The network is already processing more transactions than Bitcoin, a lot more.

Cons

• Ethereum’s scaling solutions are still unproven for the most part. A surge in network traffic, as seen with CryptoKitties, still causes significant congestion.
• Smart contracts are tough to write securely. The DAO hack and Parity wallet bug prove that even if the Ethereum network is secure, the DApps built on top of it may not be.

Ripple

Ripple may be the most controversial coin in the crypto community. This coin is a favorite of banks and other financial institutions, but opponents argue that its centralized nature is the complete opposite of what cryptocurrency stands for. Whichever side you’re on, it’s clear that Ripple is still a solid contender in this race.

Early this January, Ripple rose astronomically in price to an all-time high of over $3.20 to briefly overtake Ethereum as the second largest coin. Continued announcements of partnerships with banks and companies like MoneyGram lead many to believe that Ripple could eventually end up on top.

Pros

• Ripple has the support of several major banks and is the preferred choice for the financial industry.
• Ripple transaction fees and times are substantially better than Bitcoin.

Cons

• Companies aren’t required to use the Ripple token (XRP) when using Ripple payment technology. The technology could grow in popularity without the token following suit.
• The Ripple company holds the majority of the XRP tokens. This puts an unproportionate amount of control into the hands of just a few people.

Conclusion

With Bitcoin dominance slipping, it’s entirely possible that by this time next year we may see a new face at the top of the market. The coins mentioned here are just a few of the currencies that could establish market dominance, though. 

Because the cryptocurrency market is still relatively young, an unknown coin today could easily be the next big thing tomorrow. With the pace the market is moving, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a long-term champion that hasn’t even been created yet.

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]]>Off to the Races: The 4 Coins Competing for Crypto’s Top SpotPhotographyReviewCreationTechnologyThomas SchipkeSat, 09 Jun 2018 03:02:16 +0000https://schipkedit.com/thoughts/sony-a7iii-ios-12-tamron-28-75mm-and-more-update59053091d482e95dce661d89:590541c7e58c6203096d8258:5b1b36a68a922ddcbefdaf68

Well, it's been a while. 

First: A personal note. Over the course of the last 18 months, I've found that (somehow) a multitude of opportunities have eventuated that loosely involve my particular set of skills (cue Liam Neeson voice). This has, obviously, been an amazing period of growth and evolution of the "Schipke'd it" brand and has kept me well and truly busy during every waking minute over the past year or so.

As a result, unfortunately, my website and personal content has fallen behind. My apologies.

The other reason I've been conspicuously absent from the online space is, quite simply, I've been learning. Learning how to be a better editor, photographer, videographer, content creator, businessman and how best to take advantage of this amazing entrepreneurial time we live in. I'm not close to an answer, other than realising that there is no definitive answer. 

However more importantly (and excitedly), I've been learning how to use all this tasty new gear I've been fortunate enough to wrangle up: The much-lauded (justifiably so) Sony A7III Camera, complimented with the brand new Tamron DI iii RXD 28-75mm f2.8 lens, the Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal and a couple of other bits and bobs that aren't worth mentioning. 

Naturally I'll be making a couple of video's focusing on these products now that I've had time to learn and appreciate them, but a full review/taste won't be forthcoming this week. 

What I will be releasing tomorrow is episode 6 of my YouTube VLOG which will simply be a morsel of that buttery, tasty, full-frame, mirrorless, high-aperture, photogenic b-roll goodness shot with the Sony A7III from a recent weekend away in Canberra - the first opportunity I've had to take it out. 

 I also plan to write up, and create a video about the upcoming iOS 12 platform announced on June 4th at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). I had the developer beta installed before the keynote even ended, and it's quite something. A return to the positive aspects and quality of what makes Apple, Apple. 

Beyond this, I had teased a while ago on Instagram that a new aspect to my site and channel would be coming soon - "stay tuned" - and that's still the case. It will be exciting and challenging, and whilst it may seem trivial to some it will be a huge personal achievement for myself because it will involve maintaining a regular schedule which means I'll be forced to be more disciplined with how I spend my time creating, and less perfectionistic (is that a word?) towards my content.

If there's anything you guys would like to see me write about, let me know in the comments below. For now that's it guys. This was simply a post to let you guys know that the site is not dead, I am not gone and more will be coming soon. If anything, this is just the beginning.

- Tom

The problem with these opinions is there is a sub-divide on those who fancy themselves tech savvy, and both sides of that coin don't necessarily share the same motives behind the anti-Apple movement. High-level developers working with in-depth machine language, software or network customisation/programming such as C++ and corporate enterprise administrators (who want true open-source customisation options as well as a developer platform that is simpler to executee and distribute). These folks have genuine reasons to want particular customisation features that Apple are still too exclusive to want - such as high-volume distribution of network rollout. These opinions are vastly different reasons for 'hating' Apple when compared to inch-thick knowledge "wannabe's" who imagine themselves as tech guru's, yet don't understand the intricacies and in-depth complexities of how or why Apple do what they do. Unfortunately, the latter encompasses 98% of low-level IT support departments or, even more often, a big-headed gamer who has managed to build a computer or two in his life and thus, as 'gods gift to spec-based logic', is trying to equate desktop-level specs to a mobile processor environment. 

This opinion about Apple is further compounded by the ousting of Apple's strategy (which has been known for years by those paying attention) of throttling performance in older model iPhones in favour of providing better battery lifespan. Note: Battery LifeSPAN, not just Battery Life.

Here's the thing: They are horridly uninformed opinions.

Firstly - All companies do that. It may not be 'official', and Apple are the first to admit it, as usual - but EVERYONE deep in the tech industry knows it's a necessary feature of any modern smartphone to begin throttling performance once Lithium batteries begin to dwindle - otherwise you get sudden shutoffs and shockingly short battery life. It's not a conspiracy theory: it's factual, and necessary, and a fantastic example of when information is withheld from consumers in order to prevent ridiculous outcry over precious little knowledge. I can't wait to see what happens in iOS 11.3 when Apple enable the ability for users to run their 4 year old iPhone 6 at full-spec and watch their battery die within hours. I'm sure that will be Apple's fault, too. 

Anyway. Let's look at some common comparisons that I hear people state on a daily basis about comparing Samsung phones to Apple phones, or Mobile specs to Desktop specs. 

1. "The Note 8 has 6GB of RAM - that's more than my laptop!" - 6GB of LPDDR ram found in mobile devices (The LP stands for Low Power) is NOT the equivalent of even 1GB of DDR4 3000mhz RAM found in modern laptops. It's not even close. 
2. Samsung has 1240 nits of brightness in its note 8 phone - thus a better screen. 1,240 nits of brightness for small portions of screen area (Low Average Picture Levels) is not the equivalent to 640 nits total-screen average found on the iPhone X with better screen calibration and an actual average brightness of over 700 nits on auto in bright environments.
3. Apple are too expensive. Sure - tech has gotten expensive - but the Note 8 was brought out at $1500, the Pixel 2 XL was brought out at up to $1529 and until the iPhone X came out, Apple ironically were the cheapest of the current flagships. 

Now there's quick and easy explanations debunking those horridly shallow mindsets above, but I won't bore you with details. I will give one shining example though: Qualcomm 835 (the latest chipset found in most Android flagships to date) has 8-cores, at 2.1ghz for 4 and 1.8ghz for 4. This vastly outspecs, 'theoretically', the 6-core Apple A11 chip. But what people don't know is that the Apple A11 dye is double the physical size. Twice the size means there is far more estate to move information around on, and twice the transistors in a single CPU-dye.  The drawback of this is that larger processor sizes are far, far more expensive to produce than regular chipsets. The genius of this is, despite the added expense, is that Apple can recoup the extra chipset cost in-house and mitigate costs by customising said chipsets for Apple devices. Conversely, Qualcomm and ARM are both selling chipsets - so the key selling point here is CPU real estate and having a small footprint to fit in with multiple manufacturers' designs without sacrificing too much performance. But, since Qualcomm (and therefore ARM, who design Qualcomm chips) both want a profit from chips alone, there isn't the willingness to sacrifice profit of chipsets vs whole-unit profits - they're only selling chipsets after all.  

Apple, right now, have a 6-core A11 'bionic' chipset housed in their latest generation of iPhones, including the iPhone X. This chipset wipes the floor of all competition from
Qualcomm, vastly outperforming even the later-introduced SnapDragon 845 by quite a margin in terms of every measurable metric isolated to the chipset. This is quite astonishing, given the 845 is yet to officially hit the market, and the prior 835 was introduced more than a year ago in the android world. 

But this conversation goes deeper. The idea that one can simply look at a spec sheet and judge which 'chipset' or 'phone' is superior is laughable. This is an idea commonly held by the 'tech savvy' enough of us to know what mHz and RAM is, yet not savvy (or invested) enough to look deeper at true performance.

It's like comparing Usain Bolt and Lionel Messi in sports. One is the worlds fastest ever sprinter, but would be utterly useless in a football game. One is the best Footballer of all time, but would be at least 40m behind Usain Bolt in a 200m sprint. Either way, both athletes far exceed the dominion of mortal men and women in their own respective fields and neither men have any place being judged against eachother - for both of them are the best at what they do.

Similarly, a complex question of which processor is better or which phone is faster can not be answered by 'this chip has 2.0ghz 8core' vs 'the iPhone only has a 1.6ghz 4core'. Don't believe me? Explain the Basemark X benchmark of the Mate 10 vs Oppo R11 - despite the Oppo r11 having a "higher clocked" cpu technically, it scores literally half of the Mate 10's apparently 'lower' spec CPU in the exact same benchmark. 

So all that being said - when it comes to the pure chipset performances - Apple's a11 simply destroys the equivalent generation SnapDragon 835 in both synthetic benchmarks and real world applications, especially CPU-heavy applications. But when the RAM is pushed hard enough that someone has multiple high-consumption apps open simultaneously and is looking to quickly multitask between them, then 6GB of Ram vs 3GB will naturally win. Perhaps a better analysis is this: Samsung phones allow you to have 2 applications split screen and still multitask. That's fantastic, and tailors to 6GB of mobile RAM rather well - but it depends on whether someone is going to use that or not. Running one app at a time and realistically capping out 6GB, or even 3GB of RAM is simply a ludicrous scenario which can only be doctored for synthetic benchmark purposes. It's not realistic. And to that end - I don't see too many people using split screen, ever. 

Another great example of 'Spec before Fact' is the much-touted 1240 nits of brightness that Samsung love to brag about when talking about their own Galaxy Note 8 Display. The true brightness of the Note 8 is 423 nits of total-screen levels on manual settings at max brightness, or 560 nits with automatic in a high-ambient light setting. The true brightness of the iPhone X (according to objective tests) is 726 nits on manual and 809 nits on automatic brightness with high ambient settings. Once again, Apple underpromised and overdelivered - a constant focus for the brand, in direct contrast to Samsung, who tend to overpromise and explode (jokes). 

This isn't to say the iPhone X is the dominant smartphone in every category. In this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI1YELmjh9g - at 7:16 and beyond, you will see the Galaxy Note 8 destroy the iPhone X when loading apps and generally running when a huge amount of high-RAM consumption apps are open at once (as I eluded to two paragraphs above). I would also concede that, especially for the front camera, the Pixel 2 portrait mode, somehow, destroys the capabilities of the iPhone X when it comes to defining edges of foreground objects, especially non-humans. And it does it with software, rather than dual-lens, which is impressive. 

However - the iPhone X performs more than 3x faster in any CPU-heavy task (such as editing photo's - portrait lighting - editing video - high-spec games) than the note 8 up to the point where the RAM limit is reached, and the camera on it would be (in my opinion) at least the 2nd best if not equal best for rear-facing, photo's and 2nd best front-facing. So it's a pretty excellent balance between the two, and with by far (again, in my opinion) the best screen, and objectively the brightest screen with best colour reproduction.

The point here is this: Apple 'sheepiness' aside, I think there's a trending anti-Apple popularism that runs rampant in the slightly, but not overly tech savvy 'prosumer' crowd of 2016-2018 that vastly misunderstands the true hardware within both devices and draws comparisons that simply aren't relevant nor factual. And whilst I get accused of being an Apple sheep daily, I would argue there's a much more prevalent bias within those that accuse me - and I would be far more willing (and capable) to back up my perspective with objective fact in most instances. However, since the question of 'what do I think is best' is asked of me quite a lot, here is my current opinion of which flagship smartphone performs best at which particular category as of writing this.

Best Day to Day Performance: iPhone 8 Plus/iPhone 8/iPhone X
Best Camera: Google Pixel 2/Google Pixel 2 XL
Best Aesthetic Design: iPhone X
Best Practical Design: Galaxy Note 8 if you have big hands, otherwise iPhone X
Best Screen: iPhone X (close runner up: Huawei Mate 10) 
Best Battery Life: Note 8
Best Default Camera post-editing software: Note 8 (scaling bokha is awesome - but easily reproduced in 3rd party apps on Pixel's or iPhone's).
Best Ecosystem: Depends on other devices, but Apple's communicate better (W1 chip / Airdrop etc)
Best Voice Assistant: Google Assistant, with BIXBY second - Siri is utterly trash and horrible beyond belief in comparison. C'mon Apple.
Best Ergonomics: Galaxy S8/S8+ and, yes, the iPhone X. 
Best Bank for Buck: Huawei Mate 10/Note 8 on sale/Oppo A73 on budget/iPhone X if you're invested in Apple and money's not an issue - iPhone 8 Plus if you're invested in Apple and money IS an issue. I would say a Google Pixel 2 32GB is better than an iPhone 8 32GB though.
Best Use of Storage: iPhone 8/8 Plus/X - HEVC (h.265) on the latest iPhone generation allows for roughly 1/2 the space taken up by Video's and photo's with no loss of quality. That makes it outstanding in terms of physical local storage. Apple's PhotoStream has been around long before Google Photo's and operates exactly the same - so any arguments that Google has 'unlimited' photo's with the Pixel 2 is simply because they unlock unlimited storage space for purchasers of their phone. Paying $1.49 for 50GB or $4.99 per month for 200GB unlocks the exact same methodology of feature - but since photo's and video's are 1/2 the storage they are effectively 100GB and 400GB respectively (albeit not unlimited). Take that as you may.

Best 'Phone' overall: Not realistically Answerable. It depends on the user - just like every, single, other relatively unbiased informed consultant will always, and has always said. I personally don't believe there is realistic competition in tablets to the iPad Pro (an opinion backed up by the most reputable sources including MKBHD and Linus' Tech Tips among many others) - and I use my iPad daily as a work device - therefore I'm inclined to stick with Apple. If someone is heavily invested into Google Assistant or Google Home + LIFX or any of the many other Google ecosystem devices, however, I'd recommend the Note 8 or the Pixel 2 (depending on size preferences or importance of camera).

At the end of the day, I absolutely love my iPhone X and don't regret the decision to get one whatsoever. But there's also a couple of really interesting and unique features to the Google Pixel 2 that I wish my phone had - Notably Google Lens or the better edge definition to portrait photos. If I were to change from my iPhone X today - it would definitely be to the Google Pixel 2 XL. But I can't see myself changing anytime soon.

There you have it folks. My opinion on current handsets - as well as my opinion on typical anti-apple arguments. Shush, ignoramus. #inbeforehate. 

- Tom

I was one of the lucky few able to get my iPhone X on launch day within Australia on November 3rd. Delivered right to my doorstep in the early AM, when I had already departed, the iPhone sat unwrapped in courier plastic, whilst I had to work an entire day knowing my brand new gadget was awaiting my return at humble abode. 1st World Problems.

It was well worth the wait though. In my last blog post, some two months ago, I wrote a fairly lengthy review on my premature impressions of the iPhone X, based on nothing but the many hours I had spent watching YouTube videos and, of course, the Apple keynote. In that review I outlined a slew of exciting features that I was very keen to try, but noted that the whole iPhone X release and product "vibe" felt a little... incomplete. Somewhat "In opposition to the ideology of Steve Jobs", as I had previously stated.

You could not have been more wrong, Schipke.

After using the phone for just shy of 20 days now, I can honestly say, with absolute confidence, that this is by far the most glorious technological experience I have ever come across. Anything I said about abolishing Touch ID being a hasty decision fueled by panic and public opinion was clearly an opinion based on public ignorance and, yet again, a stubborn humanistic refusal to accept the sheer god-like lack of f***s given by Apple for other people's opinion. They shape the consumers demand, whilst the rest of the industry scrambles to get in line (like the good little whipping-boys they are) and satisfy the consumers, which have been largely shaped by Apple... ahh you get the picture. The point is that I was clearly displaying an attribute I loathe within others: A stubborn refusal to adapt to, or accept change, despite having put less than 1% of my total time into figuring out what's best in terms of security or convenience whereas entire teams of much smarter engineers devote their lives full time for years to come up with an ultimate solution.

And boy-howdy did that produce results. Face ID is definitely one of my top two favourite features of the iPhone X. It's quite amazing: It works with sunglasses, regardless of expression, at all times of the day and in all lighting conditions. It auto-fills the fields you want, unlocks your phone and truly gives you the genuine experience of having a password-less, hesitation-free world without sacrificing any security. Every time you need to login somewhere by navigating to a site and filling in a username and password, the Face ID has beat you to it, identified your face and logged you in without you needing to know anything about it. Anytime you pick up your phone and look at the screen for those hidden notifications the Face ID immediately unlocks and shows you the widgets that you're looking for. Face ID is so damn good that I am already frustrated with my 2017 iPad Pro for not having it. Not because I'm so lazy I can't be bothered to smother a button with my thumb, but because it's no where near as seamless an experience overall. It's truly a lesson in how much fractions of a second, when dealing with several hundreds of those a day, make up a decent factor in what is a good or bad experience with a smartphone (or tablet). And would I know any of this if the Touch ID feature was still within the phone? Probably not. 

The fact is, Apple needed to remove Touch ID for Face ID to work with the general public. Humans are stupid. The vast majority of us, myself included, would have simply dismissed Face ID as a gimmick like the Note 8's had it not been for the fact that it is the only option. If Touch ID were still here, I would have set my fingerprint (or 3) as always and gone about my business as if no amazing, new technological brilliance and innovation had been miraculously crammed into a tiny notch at the top of the screen. Face ID feels more than complete; it feels like the feature we wanted 10 years ago, only able to come to life in it's full form now. The beautiful butterfly to a capricious caterpillar. The fearsome Drogon to a diminutive dragon egg. 

Speaking of the notch: All I can say - like many others who have used it for more than a few days - is that it's freaking awesome. It adds instant identity to the phone which otherwise resembles so many other 2017 bezeless brethren, albeit with more polish,  and practicality is not lacking with lots of useful information crammed into those 'horns' that are so often abhorred by the general press and android fans. More than that, it means I can tell which way of the phone is up while I'm using it without having to flip the damn thing to see the camera position and determine upright vs upside down. I don't notice the notch, I certainly don't hate it and I never really found it to be an imposition. It's grown on me. 

And finally, the screen. That screen. No, THAT screen. My goodness it's gorgeous. There's a good reason this Samsung-made OLED screen scored higher than every Samsung phone in existance on the industry-standard displaymate.com, and it's all in the Apple-esqueness of it all. Superior tweaking and fine tuning has given the X a truly eye-popping aura of almost 3D-like, HDR, high resolution goodness. True-to-form wanky Apple name aside (super-retina, really?), the way it's designed is so close to the surface that it genuinely feels like the picture is actually protruding off the plane of the phone, and yet it's all in the genius of how the OLED is utilized by Apple to create that effect. Most reviewers put the screen as the biggest 'feature' of the iPhone X, and they're not wrong. 

But the iPhone X isn't perfect. 

There's a few software issues that need to be fixed before a truly seamless experience can be had on the iPhone X, some of which ironically DID feel rushed. Even Jony Ive, Apple's famous chief engineer has admitted that with respect to the iPhone X this year, the hardware has been the primary focus. The software we can expect to follow to make the most of this beautiful design over the coming year.

One example of this (and my biggest peeve with the iPhone X) is the way in which the default Photo's app handles scaling of video's, even captured by the very phone they are displayed on. Watch a recording in landscape without adjusting anything and you'll have giant bezels on either side of the video due to the strange aspect ratio. Double tap on the screen to zoom in and rather than 'zooming to fill', the image (or video) will zoom right in and you'll lose most of the picture and have to try and fumble about manually to fit the image as best you can to fill the beautiful display without losing any more of the image than necessary. The whole experience in this regard is distinctly anti-Apple. Another example is the lack of landscape mode on the home screen. It all feels so easily fixable, yet is frustratingly slow in fruition. 

In short, the Apple iPhone X is definitely a Portrait-mode phone. Which is a huge shame, given the amazing colour and sheer beauty of the screen so quickly lends itself to consuming content by the bucketload, which is always better in landscape. And that's made even more frustrating due to the iPhone X camera being a damn good unit for taking video and photos. 

Performance wise the iOS range is without a close equivalent at this time. The closest phone so far, in synthetic bench-marking, is the OnePlus 5T; the new flagship which we don't even get on Australian shores (and we really should). Even then we're talking scores of between 50% to 75% of the A11 bionic chip housed in the iPhone 8 and iPhone X series. Put simply, at the moment, Qualcomm, Exynos and MediaTek all need buckle up, grab a beer and do a tonne of hard-yards, long hours and homework in order to level the playing field with processor hardware. Because right now, it's no competition, and that will have more of a factor as process-heavy applications are adopted in mainstream use such as AR, VR and multi-player gaming. 

Gimmick wise, Animoji are a blast. However while the technology involved is nothing short of sheer enigmatic engineering excellence, the practicality of making expressions and talking to your phone like an idiot is limited, given most of us would never do this in public or within earshot of anybody else in the wild. What 3rd-party developers come up with to utilize this, however, is something to look forward to.

The front-facing portrait camera is... terrible. Don't get me wrong, it's still better than most flagship phones, but at $1529 AUD+, and flawless Face ID technology, it really shouldn't be a competitor in this arena, it should BE the arena. Yet despite the technology crammed into that notch that seemingly allows Face ID and Animoji's to work so flawlessly, it continually picks out the focal length for the actual face, and consistently blurs the ears and even edges of the hair as if it was part of the background, making for a very strange portrait picture indeed. Or maybe it's my face. Who knows. But this opinion seems to be shared pretty universally across reviewers from the very big (like MKBHD) to the very small (ie: me). The Pixel 2, I must say, does a far better (and definitely the best so far) job of intelligently defining the edges of the face, ears and everything within a similar focal distance, and correctly applying background blur to the environment using some pretty amazing machine learning and AI software. Kudos, Google. 

But that's perhaps the one remaining light at the end of a very bright tunnel for Apple here - they have the hardware, for sure, and software upgrades are free (for the public). There is no way that Apple are able to put 30,000 infra-red dots on your face in pitch-black lighting conditions and still satisfy security requirements for major banks and finance industries to unlock your phone (unlike Samsung's iris scanner) and not get portrait photo's right with a few tweaks. How long that takes will be a deciding factor here.

The rear portrait photo's of the iPhone X are simply without equal. In fact, in my opinion, rear-facing photos from the iPhone X are currently without equal. Take an iPhone 8 plus, increase the aperture of the telephoto lens and add optical stabilisation, and you have the best rear-facing bokha mode to ever exist in a smartphone. Couple that with some pretty amazing noise-elimination technology and you have the ability to capture some phenomenal shots in low-light conditions with less graininess than the world has ever seen from a smartphone. 

All in all, the iPhone X is an amazing product. It is sheer joy to look at the screen every time I pick up my phone, and it never ceases to amaze me when I have an excuse to use the excellent camera, awesome HDR OLED high-definition display and be able to reach the other side of the rather large looking 5.8" with ease in one hand - a feature Samsung's have admittedly had for a while now with the s8. Unsurprisingly, I think the iPhone X is the greatest smartphone yet by a fair margin - albeit the most expensive by a fair margin too. But Apple have never been the type to compromise, and now that other brands are launching phones at higher price points than the previous Apple premium, I think Apple are thrilled to have a product worthy of reclaiming the title of most premium (and expensive)  smartphone to date.

It's perhaps a little obnoxious, a touch egotistical and certainly not without its flaws; but there are very few who would argue the sheer engineering brilliance, subtle innovation and premium quality of feel the iPhone X is something to be admired.

A phone befitting of the man who envisioned it ten years ago; Steve Jobs.

Disclaimer: It should first be noted that I am writing this with merely a tonne of time spent watching the initial keynote and then a bunch of reviews of people who had face-time with the phone, but I have not felt, held or seen the iPhone X in person.

Moving on. Whilst the new iPhone boasts some impressive tech, and was certainly a shift in form factor that was sorely needed after 3 years of the same design, the whole presentation and unveiling of this product gave the vibe of the iPhone X being a little... unfinished. It felt, to me, that in the occasion of wanting to pay tribute to Steve Jobs, in the new Steve Jobs theatre, and the initial iPhone, they rushed to get the iPhone X as prepared as possible for release this year, ironically betraying the kind of polished quality that Steve Jobs was renown for. Given the "X" spelling out Ten was opportunistic, and all the other timelines worked out so nicely, it's perhaps forgivable that the iPhone X needed to be released this year to fit - but that's not how Steve Jobs would have wanted it. 

This was evident from the first second of the demonstration on the iPhone X, when the master phone simply wouldn't allow Apple Vice President Craig Federighi without first entering a passcode (similar to how touch ID won't allow someone to use Touch ID until the passcode has been entered at least once after restart). Whilst this was not a FaceID issue, despite being widely touted and criticised as such, it did resemble the kind of messy presentation error that indicated, perhaps, that the whole iPhone X ensemble was slightly premature.

Face ID, Apple's new biometric facial scanning technique, is now the primary access method replacing Touch ID for everything from unlocking the phone to Apple Pay. Whilst this technology does seem valuable, and Apple did a masterful job at selling it as the future of security, I don't believe this was the initial intention of the iPhone X. Rumours for months were swirling around the technological difficulties of getting Touch ID to work within the display itself; indeed both Samsung and Apple have struggled with this for potentially years. When the technology was first demonstrated as being possible, there was then an influx of news articles about Apple facing difficulties in mass-producing the technology, particularly in time for a launch in 2017. 

So what do they do then? Why, get rid of the button, of course. It would appear weak, and sloppy, to follow in the footsteps of Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung and many other manufacturers to take the 'cheap' way out and put the fingerprint reader on the back. That's not Apple's style. But is Face ID truly ready to be the primary security feature of the smartphone industry? I'm not so convinced. As forward thinking as I like to believe I am - I see some major design flaws that are actually a step backwards in convenience when compared to older models. For example, the requirement for 'attention', as Apple call it, for Face ID to function seems slightly annoying when compared to a simplistic and lazy thumbing of the home button that we're all so used to. In the middle of the night when lazily looking at a message with one eye half open I'm able to subconsciously unlock my phone by merely placing my thumb where it belongs and being able to use my phone without thinking. With Face ID, this won't work; both eyes need to be open, and your face needs to be looking at the screen. 

The speed at which Face ID seemed to unlock during the demo was also a little troubling. Granted, the phone is still 6 weeks away, but that's not a lot of time to perfect this little tid-bit given most of the phones would already be in mass production and this can only be rectified by a software tweak at this stage. And as difficult as it must be for the phone to combine and interpret 30,000 microdots, infrared camera data and model that out to be a 3D map of the owners face, perhaps that should have been introduced on the 2018 model of the iPhone Xs, or iPhone Xs Plus. No, that won't be the same of them - but you get the point. 

The gesture control on the iPhone X, too, feels somewhat sloppy. Apple have always waited until a product feels perfect and intuitive before unveiling it to the world. I was all for the removal of the headphone jack (and still am). 3D Touch on the iPhone displays from the 6s and later is amazing and yet to be mirrored on any phone. Portrait mode has only just now been implemented, albeit very well, on the Samsung Note 8 - but this was undeniably Apple's innovation and it was remarkable upon release, and has been a major draw for the iPhone 7 Plus since last September. 

Yet in the face of all this, the gesture's on the display of the iPhone X seem complicated and overly specific, when compared to the ease of use of the beloved Home button. Swiping up from the bottom to half way, and pausing, will enter multi-tasking, but only when the screen is already unlocked. Side note: I hate anything that involves a 'pause' - it always feels like it's too easy to be impatient. To unlock, you lift the phone up, wait for Face ID to unlock the phone, then you swipe up from the bottom to get to the home screen. Oh and to get out of an app and go to the home screen? swipe up from the bottom. There's a lot of commands from the swipe-up-from-the-bottom gesture, including distance and pausing specifics, that I think aren't necessarily as intuitive as Apple is stating. There's also multiple slide-down from the top functions, and whether your thumb is in the centre, to the left or to the right will impact what function that calls - and that feels slightly too concentration-heavy for a good user interface.

And then we have the power button. This, to me, is the worst part. I hate the bixby button on the S8, S8 plus and the Note 8, and I don't know many people who have a great love of love for it. For Apple to go this route A) after Samsung have just done it and B) for using Siri - well, again, it feels rushed. Granted Apple did implement it into the already existing power button rather than creating a whole new button, but then that brings its own set of challenges as well. I am certain there will be no shortage of complaints of people wanting to power the phone down and instead accessing Siri accidentally, or vice versa. Not to mention accidental bumps in bags, or putting on cases, or one of millions of other scenarios where that button will lead to accidental Siri activation. This is a poor design decision and as someone who does use Siri (to type to, mostly, not talk) I am incredibly disappointed at the design choice of activation of Siri. On top of this, the Apple Pay function requires a distinct double tap of the same button. Really?

Add to this the removal of reachability (Apple's double-tap on home button method to get to the top half of the screen), yet the shift of control center to the absolute top right of the phone as a swipe down gesture, and it really all feels like it's a uniquely un-Apple, Apple device. It's the same kind of ill-thought out design flaw that made the engineers of the Pixel put the headphone jack up the top of the phone, yet designed the rest of the phone to complement the pixel going into your pocket top-first. It constantly feels like a give and take, but where the take is too much. They introduce a useful and customisable control centre with iOS 11, but make it difficult to get to with one hand. They introduce an awesome edge to edge display, yet couple it with annoying software removals to combat the reduction in ratios. They have a little Face ID 'sensor section' that impedes on the display, but then jam half the notification bar icons to the right of it, and remove the ability to have the battery percentage shown, which is a core necessity and one of the first features I enable whenever I get a new iPhone. 

So that's my initial negative impression aspects of the new iPhone. I had to get it off my chest. But on the positive side, all the reviewers on the day who have YouTube video's up unanimously agree it looks gorgeous, and the keynote and pictures don't do the phone justice. Why the **** Apple chose the single most disgusting looking wallpaper, ever, to use as it's primary display image I will never know.

The new screen is awesome, albeit an OLED display that was and is supplied by Samsung. The brightness of the display of 625 nits is found wanting, given Samsung's Note 8 display has been recorded at over 1,200 nits (and also 1:1,000,000 contrast OLED ratio). But in my experience, Samsung's maximum brightness is actually a little too bright in most settings, and unless you're in direct sunlight trying to watch something that is dark on the screen, this is not going to be an issue. 

The Face ID could very well prove to be next level awesome, for all I know. It's a little too early to tell, and I am forever sceptical, but Apple have proved me wrong before - and we all tend to get used to new innovations quickly anyway. One of the features I'm most excited about is the fact that the screen is 5.8" large and yet is almost the same size as the tiny iPhone 7 (yes, the Samsung S8 did this first), and still has a dual-optically stabilised Telephoto lens and Wide-angle lens with better sensors than the iPhone 7 and, indeed, the iPhone 8 Plus.

One of the main features that is present on the latest iPhones' that is conspicuously absent on the Samsung S8 or Note 8 series is the awesome inclusion of 4k video at 60fps. This is massively beneficial, and is so rarely found even on professional cameras, much less a phone. Add to that 240fps at 1080p and you have a quasi-professional imagery powerhouse. That feature alone is well worth me getting this upgrade, as I personally shoot all my drone footage at 4k 60fps and having the ability to seamlessly mesh both version of footage together in a sequence without having to downscale frame rates is unbelievably convenient, and having the ability to slow-mo 4k is revolutionary for any smartphone. 

The other understated and often misunderstood feature that is unique to this phone is the ability to map a users face, in real time, constantly. This was demonstrated during the keynote with the use of Animoji's - a gimmicky little feature that allows you to take one of 9 characters that will fully animate, as a 3D model, to your particular facial features. It doesn't take a huge stretch of imagination to see what companies like Bitmoji or Snapchat can do (and have already done) with that kind of technology moving forward. 

Augmented Reality is unparalleled with this new a11 bionic chip too, having had a neural engine built in with an Apple-designed and built GPU for the first time ever. Again, the benefits and opportunities this represents is too vast to delve into here, but a quick google search of AR is enough to give people a quick understanding of what may be at stake here. Some of these features are, perhaps, as important and game-changing as that first iPhone 10 years ago. And certainly the camera, the 3D user face modelling and the Augmented Reality capabilities are worthy of the title 'Smartphone of the Future'. 

I just think the future needed to wait to be ready, maybe one more year.

- Tom

Before the battery issues that plagued the Note 7 became apparent, it was unanimously regarded as a piece of engineering brilliance wrapped in a gorgeous, ergonomic exterior. It's fair to say that many Note 7 customers who were forced to return the phone after Samsung disabled charging altogether were disappointed, and not just because they had to return a phone in general - but because they really, really liked their Note 7's. 

Fast forward a year and Samsung have had a flurry of successes with their new A-series lineup and of course, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. It remains to be seen how the Note 8 will fair commercially yet, but Samsung have worked extremely hard to ensure it doesn't suffer the same ill-fated end that the Note 7 did by implementing an 8-point battery check for each model. And Samsung at least learnt a lot from the Note 7, as lot of the design characteristics that people loved so much about it are clearly influential in the next model up. 

So then - how does the Note 8 look, perform and function? Let's dive in.

1 - Design

Let's begin with the truly unique aspect which broke the S8 apart from the competition- the infinity display. The same display, in all it's OLED Adaptive QWHD glory, is present in the Note 8 - albeit at a behemoth 6.3" corner to corner. The sides of the screen melt away into the composite glass edges much like the S8, although not as ergonomically. This gives the (probably unnoticeable) appearance of a slightly flatter edge to the phone, and allows for slightly wider viewing. The drawback is that, with the same ratio, the phone is ever-so-slightly wider to hold - though with the almost entire absence of bezels on each side, we hardly think it's a noticeable difference.

It's still a fantastic screen to body ratio, and impressively comfortable to hold for such a huge surface area. The back is almost identical to the S8+ with composite glass (necessary for wireless charging) covering the back and a now-flush camera (dual-lens, we'll get to that) and fingerprint sensor that has had its location moved in order to reduce people smudging the camera sensors with their grubby little fingers. In short - for someone with small hands - it's still an awkward place for the fingerprint sensor to be, reach-wise. Samsung did include multiple other ways to securely lock and/or unlock the phone, though. 

Whlist the Note 8 retains the same 18.5:9 ratio that the Samsung S8 and S8+ have, the rounded corners on the Note 8 are far more defined with a smaller radius. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, given it allows for more viewing space without losing some of the definition out of the corners when a typical 16:9 video is scaled up - however it feels a little to me, as an average consumer, like it loses some of the 'grace' (for lack of a better word) of it's little brethren in comparison. But the Note 8 is not designed for average consumers; it's a pro device for prosumers who want the absolute best with no compromises. And on that front, it succeeds masterfully. The screen's colour and clarity, as usual from Samsung, is brilliant. After all, they were making TV's before they were making phones, and it's a natural transition.

One important differentiation: The Note 8 is HDR compliant, and P3 photographic standard certified. That means it can both view a wider range of dynamic colours, and displays more accurate image reproduction. Whilst that would be hard to notice in a Note 8 vs an S8 - it's worth noting as a significant technical hurdle overcome. HDR will become standardised in the future in content - and streamable content on mobile devices is rapidly becoming mainstream -so it's good to know the hardware is catching up in that respect. 

All in all, the Note 8 has an enormous display yet is wonderfully ergonomic to hold, and doesn't feel out of place in a pocket or being used one-handed. It is a little heavier, at 195g versus the 169g of the Note7, but that's a good thing in my book, and to be expected from an additional 0.6" of screen space. The screen is excellent, and if I were to implore any other manufacturer on one thing to copy from Samsung, it would be screen quality. Other than the slightly clunky feeling on-screen corners (again, a personal preference issue) I'd give an A+ to Samsung for design.

2 - Performance.

As usual, Samsung crushes the performance game. To be honest though, most current generation phones sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 do. The Exynos 8895 chipset available in Australian models and developed in house by Samsung is, on most fronts, far superior still - and I find it strange it's not more widely distributed. It may be due to manufacturing limitations of the kind of volumes that Samsung require. That being said - neither chipset is realistically a bottleneck for the kind of performance that phones require these days, though that could rapidly change with imminent revolution of AR. That said - there are important differences in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that make it stand out from the crowd of Android's and even the Galaxy S8 and S8+. 

For one, it's a 10nm architecture chipset. Without going into hyper-geekmode here, 10nm architecture allows for significantly improved transistor density and efficiency. This allows the same amount of commands/processes/calculations to be processed through the CPU whilst losing less time on travel (yes, information needs to travel through transistors too) and taking less power and space. Side note: due to the technical change in dual dummy gate vs single dummy gate models, this will have an even bigger impact in future hyperscaling applications. For more on that, read this.

The highlight of this category though, is it's additional 2GB of RAM, to bring it up to a whopping 6GB. Personally, I'm sceptical of the need or benefits of having that much RAM crammed into a phone - but it's nice to know it's there in the advent of AR use going forward. 

I will mention one negative aspect of Android at this point though, and that's the use of Vulkan API as the graphics engine adopted by Android. Whilst it may (and it's a big may) be the second best graphics engine on the mobile market, it is still a profoundly inferior engine to that of Metal, Apple's own Graphic engine. And whilst I realise this is not a Samsung-specific issue - it irks me that they have advertised faster "graphics gameplay" with Vulkan API on their website. To me, and most people truly aware of the difference, that essentially spells out "well, we're stuck with Vulkan API - but we'll damn well be the best with it". Again, not a Samsung issue - but it's a weird thing to advertise. 

3 - The 'Notiness' of it - S Pen

The mainstay genius of the Note series has always been the exclusive inclusion of the S-Pen. Personally, I love the adoption of this in the Note 8. In fact, it's enough for me to kinda want one. How do you make the inclusion of an S-Pen genuinely useful? Easy - to make it react like an actual notebook and be ready for you, as soon as you pull the pen out. 

Let me paint a picture: You need to write some useful info down in the middle of nowhere, and you live in 2017 so you don't have a pen and paper handy. No worries. You're a prosumer, so you're already on a set of bluetooth headphones, or you can just pull the phone away from your ear, hit loudspeaker, and press the s-pen square in. The perfectly balanced spring-loaded release pushes the S-Pen out invitingly, and you quickly grab it and put pen to screen and voila - it automatically starts writing - no unlocking or awkward opening of a note app required. This is actually something Apple have done on iOS 11 with their iPad Pro series for months - but there is literally no other phone on the market with this capability. 

Still not convinced? With that note you can then convert it to fractions, mathematical equations, proper 'typed' text (if your writing isn't too messy) and for multiple pages. You can also add that as a background with the always-on display, so if you need to pick up milk you can jot it down, and when you look at your phone on the way home it'll hit you in the face that you need to pick up milk. 

Beyond this, there are various applications where the S-Pen is excellent - though they are too vast to get into in great depth here. However one feature that immediately struck me as a genius combination of software and hardware was the ability to intelligently crop photo's using excellent Bixby AI and S-Pen technology. Anybody who has done photo editing for a long time would know that cutting out specific objects from photo's without the use of a green screen and poor image has always been a challenge to do well. Taking this example, I was able to get a photo, crop out the head, and put it on another image with surprising accuracy in literally 60 seconds.

Okay, it's mostly AI here - but the S-Pen certainly adds precision. 

Whilst the S-Pen will remain as a gimmicky toy to a lot of Note 8 owners/users - and possibly as a stubborn refusal to adopt modern notetaking techniques to tech-heads - it certainly has its place in the prosumer community and I, for one, would love to have that functionality on my future phone.

4 - Camera(s)

Here's where I really feel Samsung caught up, and one of the key differences from the Galaxy S8+: The dual-OIS x2 optical zoom cameras. This allows for some awesome features. First, optical zoom, which has begun creeping into a few phones, but was first introduced with the Apple iPhone 7 Plus. Now the Note 8 can also optically zoom up to 2x without any image degradation, but it also takes it a step further and actually stabilises that image optically (as opposed to digitally) - something the iPhone 7 Plus telephoto camera does not do. 

But more importantly (in my mind) the introduction of proper, true blue depth-of-field. Depth of field, or 'Bokeh' in Apple language, is outstanding. To me, it has been a far stronger argument in the camera debate than 0.1 aperture here or a few megapixels there. It allows John Doe walking down the street to snap near-professional quality pictures at a moments notice with absolutely no expertise, and for it to look damn, damn good. And Samsung have nailed this. With some intelligence of the artificial kind, you are also able to adjust the background 'depth-of-field' blur for all photo's taken in that mode, which can provide some interesting effects and excellent options. For example you can blur out the background, save + duplicate that, and then bring the background back into focus and save that too - and use them as comparison pics. True, the iPhone 7 Plus allows you to save the original and bokeh-mode photo too, but it's only off or on, there's no varying degree of background blur. With the Note 8, you can decide the degree of that on a sliding scale. 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that, despite owning both an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 7 Plus, I would never have given up my depth-of-field camera for the smaller model despite having small hands and probably preferring that for daily use. That's the level of importance I place in a portrait mode camera, and I am certainly not alone. So with this inclusion, Samsung have ticked a major box that was conspicuously absent from every Android flagship available in Australia thus far (the notable exception being the Huawei P10 plus and the OPPO R11 - if you want to call that a flagship). And despite rattling off specs such as an excellent f1.7 aperture lens, dual 12MP sensors, 1/2.55" main sensor etc - none of that has really placed any phone camera in it's own category besides incremental improvements. Bokeh mode is necessary in 2017 and thank god the Note 8 has nailed that too.

Notable other inclusions are Slow-mo recording at a 720p, 240fps. A full 'pro-mode' suite of manual camera setting options, and the ability to record with both front-facing and rear camera's simultaneously and with Picture-In-Picture - a nice touch for those conducting interviews or reaction video's with their Note 8.

5 - Everything else. 

So there's a few other features to tick off here. 

• Waterproofing - IP68. All the more impressive given it houses a removable S-Pen and yes, it's waterproof even without that in it's holster. 
• Battery life - With a 10nm chip the Note 8 is more efficient than most phones and thus is able to sacrifice a bit of battery space (200mAh compared to the s8+, to be exact) and still retain a good battery life. This is necessary to include the S-Pen where the battery would otherwise be. That being said - initial reviews and benchmarks have the Note 8 at sitting slightly below the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in terms of overall longevity. That sounds bad - but the reality is that the added screen sensors and digitisation for the S-Pen as well as powering all those extra pixels for its monster 6.3" screen were always going to take more power. The Note 8 will comfortably last a full day with heavy use and have some juice leftover for tomorrow - and in my mind, that's the only 'benchmark' that any flagship phone needs to reach in this age. After all - these things are essentially out-processing many mid-range laptops these days.
• Sound - the Achilles heel. I've tested a few different Note 8's now, and I must say - they sound absolutely terrible. That's okay though, because no phone sounds good anyway, and Samsung have been nice enough to include some freaking awesome AKG headphones in with the phone (in most countries - not all - check with your retailer). The lack of stereo speakers is getting annoying, as it is rather easy to accidentally cover the one speaker jack on the bottom if you're naturally holding the phone in landscape to consume your daily dose of YouTube or Netflix. For me, and most other techies, we've made the transition to full bluetooth so this is of no concern. But for the select few among you readers who listen to the phone as is, this might be of concern. But that bring's me to my next point...
• Bluetooth 5 - Again present in the Note 8, as it was introduced in the S8. Brilliantly allows you to listen to two streams of audio on two separate bluetooth headphones, from one device. And what is REALLY cool, is that the Note 8 is able to easily handle 2 separate split window video streams (something the Note 7 could not do) and now you can add unique audio to those 2 different video streams. Bluetooth 5 is the key to this, enabling up to 2mbps of audio to one device (which is more than lossless) or 384kbps audio to two devices (which is still pretty much lossless, to my ear). 
• "Toughness" - Gorilla Glass 5 as standard, and as expected. Whilst there have been reports of Galaxy S8's being a touch on the fragile side, my answer to that is stop dropping your multi-thousand dollar devices or, if you're prone to doing so, cover it up with a case. Whilst accidents happen and you do want to be able to have a phone that can survive the odd small drop or two - I have no sympathy for people who drop a phone from chest height onto concrete or (as some exasperated people state) onto concrete with a thin layer of carpet over the top of it. Grow up. That all being said - it's waterproof, dust resistant and about as fragile as your average 6.3" smartphone - which is pretty fragile with no case on it. That's a lot of surface area, and not much thickness to reinforce it. 
• Memory - 64GB internal + expandable up to an extra 256gb. 
• Headphone Jack - Yes. It still has it. If only they had used the space that's taking up for more battery, 'eh? 
• 12 month screen assure - definitely a nice little touch. Purchase the Note 8 by 31st Oct and register the phone with Samsung, and your screen repair will be complimentary within the first 12 months (one time). That's not bad, given screen repairs can range from $200 to $800 - and this phone would likely be more towards the latter. 

So then - one item intentionally left off this review of what is otherwise a stellar phone, is price. $1,499AUD, or $929.99USD; the biggest price-tag ever put onto a mainstream android phone, only surpassed by the iPhone 7 Plus 256GB model at $1,519. That's a big price tag, but it's a big phone. Inside and out. Remember the Pixel was trying charge $1419 for its top-of-the-line, constantly faulty, outdated Pixel XL 128GB when it launched - and it sold like hotcakes. Still is (somehow).  That's without waterproofing, stereo speakers, expandable memory, a poorly placed (and present) headphone jack and a bizarrely huge amount of wasted 'face' space with the chins on the bottom and top.

The Galaxy S8+ is $1,349 AUD still, and given where it sits in terms of features and performance vs other phones, I would say that's a fair price. Certainly the market seems to think so, with S8 and S8+ sales well exceeding expectations - and that's the ultimate tick of approval. Add to that even more screen space (albeit not much more), 2 GB of extra RAM, the S-Pen and a second ever-so-important camera to the back, I'd say there's more than $150 worth of value in there. 

Some consumers would argue that $1,499 is too big a price tag for any phone - I generally call that an illogical and antiquated way of looking at it. There's a strong argument to be said that the phone we all have is the single-most used device that any of us need in our daily lives. We use it for emailing, maps, cameras (that are rapidly becoming genuinely professional), social media, browsing, home automation, reminders, notes, calendar appointments, memo's, recording, text messages and hell - some of us even still use it as a phone. If the price tag matches the quality and performance of the device we consistently use the most, every day, of our entire lives going forward - then it's worth a pretty penny. Given this is the undisputed king of the Android world right now - I'd say $1,499 is cheap, especially with free screen assure.

If you're tossing up between a Note 8 and an S8, should you pony up the extra dough? Maybe. Both are excellent android phones. The size and ergonomics of the S8 is a strong influencer of purchasers (as I've experienced in my retail life) - so the sheer vastness of the Note 8 might turn you off. That being said, if you value an unparalleled media consumption experience, S-Pen functionality or, as I would, the bokeh camera mode - then it is absolutely worth it. And when AR arrives - the extra 2GB of RAM may prove extremely useful too. 

The iPhone 8 announcement is 5 days away (as of writing this), and people are expecting the Pixel 2 announcement very soon as well - so it remains to be seen how much competition the Note 8 really has. Right now I predict it will be the ultimate prosumer device, and there will be a loyal fanbase determined to get their hands on one for power-use life. For the average consumer I think it will depend if people aren't too deterred by the price. If you, like me, just want the latest and greatest - the Note 8 won't disappoint. 

- Tom

Edit: I incorrectly stated the Note 8 had 500mAh less than the S8+. It is in fact 200mAh - the s8+ has 3500mAh and the Note 8 has 3300mAh.

Edit 2: Apparently real live photo's has been around since the Galaxy S7 - a fact I completely missed. This was brought up to me by a Samsung employee directly - so I will take it as gospel.

And that's where the thanks shall end. I'm amazed at the ability and patience of professional journalists who are able to maintain an even tone and impartiality whilst they write about an issue of totally indefensible corruption. I have no such patience, nor compunction to do so.

**** Bill Morrow, **** Malcolm Turnbull and **** the NBN rollout.

I've written before about how disgusting I find it that at a time where the government is stripping away penalty rates for the poorest 17% of our working class, they simultaneously decided to give a $1.2m bonus to a public servant who was already on a salary of $2.4m per year, despite being in charge of the most calamitous execution of a rollout program the world has ever seen.

I honestly can't express my hatred enough: **** Bill Morrow. 

Add to that the public sentiments of him saying "The public wouldn't use broadband internet if we gave it away for free", "the board decides my salary" and "blame the ISP's for your slow NBN internet". 

Man - **** Bill Morrow.

My own mother told me to edit back my original NBN article to avoid any potential legal issues - so I did. I won't again, because I don't generate enough traffic or interest for anyone to care, mostly, but also because I'm not saying anything that isn't readily available to read on whirlpool. So this is now at you, Bill. 

Bill Morrow - you selfish, greedy, corrupted disgrace of a human being. I was at Vodafone when you took the reigns to arrest a flailing, failing merger with 3 whilst haemorrhaging customers during the 2011 Vodafail debacle. I was there when you took the reigns, immediately cancelled all Christmas parties at short notice when the staff morale was at an all time low and they needed it most, to the tune of a couple million dollars saved. I was there when you then decided to pay yourself almost the same amount as a bonus.

I was there when you personally sent out a company-wide email that notified us that you had conducted a survey for customers to see what they were most dissatisfied with, and wait time in stores was one of the highest reasons of customer dissatisfaction besides network coverage. I was there when you said, in the very same memo, that we would add additional steps in store that would actually increase wait times for every customer. I was there when you failed to make that connection, signifying that even then, your ear has failed to reach the ground from the comfort of your cushy chair in your penthouse executive office. I was there when you gave up on the idea of salvaging Vodafone and left them at their worst yet, after failing to have any positive impact whatsoever. 

I was astonished at the decision to hire you as chief of the NBN, despite you somehow managing to leave Vodafone in a worse position than when Nigel left and you took over. I shouldn't have been  - I know how nepotism works and your weasly connections to the top. I was amused at the irony of Tony Brown saying 'he has no obvious political connections. Hopefully he can be an honest broker above the fray'. I am thoroughly disgusted, yet not at all surprised that you have managed to completely f*** up the NBN rollout. I am embroiled in rage, yet totally expectant of you blaming everybody except yourself for horrendous volumes of NBN criticism currently directed at NBN Co. So far you have blamed labor, ISP's and customers themselves - yet you have not taken any responsibility on behalf of NBN Co at all. You even managed to get your way out of legal trouble through, no doubt,  'influence' from a hacking scandal in 2012, 3 months after you took over from Vodafone. Needless to say, I don't believe for a second your hands are really clean of that, now that we know your history and character. 

Perhaps the greatest summary of what has happened under the Abbott government after you took over is from this article: 

I wonder where the ex-Vodafone execs idea came from, Mr ex-Vodafone CEO?

LNP, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull: **** you too. You managed to turn an important national infrastructure upgrade into a political gambit, knowing full well the general public wasn't going to understand any of the technical aspects and appealed purely to the $$$$ in their eyes. You knew full well the costs of the project using ageing copper wires would mean maintenance costs infinitely more expensive than a one-off expense of Fibre. You knew full well that using yesterday's solutions for tomorrow's problems would mean Australia is technologically behind in an age of economic unrest where now the top 5 companies in the world are technology giants. You knew full well that the infrastructure was going to cost a hell of a lot more than the original FTTP plans anyway - you lied to the public, you reported on those lies, you won an election on those lies and now you've managed to keep the utter failure of the NBN relatively buried since.

You all have absconded responsibility, managing to continue to blame private enterprise and the opposite political party for all the shortcomings in the NBN. There is no legitimate evidence to back any of your claims up, yet you persevere still, as facts seem to have no place near politics or popular opinion these days. 

You have had NBN whistleblowers' homes raided like it was Osama bin Laden's hovel, as opposed to addressing the information in the leaks. You have bought $800m worth of useless Optus HFC cable using taxpayer money, then declared it unfit for service, and managed to keep that quiet. You have publicly taken people off high speed HFC connections and stuck them on FTTN garbage connections for no feasible reason at all. You have added infinite complexity for everyone from Telco CEO's to retail ground staff and field technicians to actually provision NBN connections.

As anybody with the slightest technical knowledge of networks knew from the beginning, the FTTN model was never financially viable. The cost of the nodes, maintenance of the nodes, power to the street to power the nodes, the maintenance of ageing copper and complexity of multiple connection types and therefore multiple NTD types for different premises was always going to be more expensive. None of that was necessary with FTTP. That has now been proven to be correct many, many times over. Add to this the sheer volume of band-aid solutions and lack of communication between each party and the labor required to those issues and you have possibly the most inefficient business model that has ever existed. And the fault of this particular aspect, which overall is the reason the project is such a joke right now, is purely the fault of the coalition. Originally, the plan to simply replace copper with fibre was visionary and, as much as is possible when talking about large scale technological upgrades, relatively simple.

Worst of all - you don't attempt to justify any of this, or proceed with any transparency whatsoever. You're like the modern day Illuminati, only using taxpayer dollars and private jets to fund your fat exec bonuses. Using high-level corporate connections to quell media empires so the general public hear very little. In fact, Mr Morrow, you hilariously claim that so many of the issues are simply 'teething' issues and that retailers expectations being set are too high. Really? It's been 10 years Bill, and the technology being used is obsolete. How long are teething issues expected to occur? There's no doubt pressure to get this as completed as possible by the next election in order to shout 'hooray we've reached nearly 100% of premises earlier than expected'. Never mind the cost has gone from $29.5b (LNP quote for 2013 election) to $49b so far, is disgustingly inadequate and the rollout itself has been almost criminally incompetent. 

For anybody who wants to read more into this or thinks that my opinions expressed in this piece aren't largely grounded in fact, I implore you to read in full, as I have, the following articles (especially the first two):

• http://theconversation.com/the-nbn-why-its-slow-expensive-and-obsolete-47191
• https://www.pcauthority.com.au/Feature/416427,a-week-of-leaks-internal-truths-about-the-nbn-deployment-destroy-the-spin-cycle.aspx
• http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2017/02/27/nbn-chief-salary-labor-cut/
• http://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2017/02/13/faster-nbn-internet-speeds/
• http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-littleknown-bureaucrats-who-are-cashing-in-multimilliondollar-pay-cheques-20170202-gu4kmy.html
• http://www.zdnet.com/article/accc-would-prefer-nbn-and-retailers-to-reach-cvc-resolution/
• https://www.itwire.com/telecoms-and-nbn/79249-tpg,-myrepublic-slam-morrow-over-blaming-rsps-for-slow-nbn.html

No witty end to this highly opinionated (but correct) rant. I really, really hope a governing body that oversees fair market operations steps in here soon. I wouldn't hate Bill Morrow being hit by a bus tomorrow either. 

Despite sceptics' views on autonomous AI, the inevitable shift towards machine-learning purpose-driven technology is already here. Statistically, Google Home devices are able to understand speech better than humans. Automated drones can fly better and safer than the best manned aircraft. Decisions made in real-time in various emergent scenarios are almost always more successfully executed by machines than by professionals in any field. Given this inevitable shift, there is an interesting moral dilemma that even the best of us struggle to regulate.

What is the value of a human life?

Tesla has proven that their self-driving cars are exponentially safer than anything driven by a human. There are hundreds of video’s on YouTube where a Tesla dash cam has inexplicably detected anomalies in other drivers’ behaviors and instantly reacted accordingly, saving the life of the Tesla driver and, on occasion, the driver of the other car. In all of these instances the incident has happened so fast that a human driver without Tesla’s safety AI would unavoidably have crashed, regardless of their skill level. Often the Tesla driver was complying with every road rule in the book and the near-miss was completely external to their field of influence.


But in the extremely rare scenario where any course of action, no matter how extreme, results in the loss inevitable loss of life - who’s life should a machine take?

First of all, this is not a situation where ‘that’s not a call for a robot to make’ is a valid argument. It’s impossible to have a car that is using advanced AI to avoid accidents to also determine when it should and shouldn’t react to a potential accident - that’s simply not how AI works. The car must make a ‘decision’, even if that decision is to simply keep driving, and it needs to know the variables to which it is reacting. The ‘code’ that would be used to determine what values are placed in those variables to make the decision are programmed by us - humans.
 

So in a situation where, for example, a solo driver is following the law, and a bus driver makes an illegal maneuver that puts 30 kids in fatal danger, what should the Tesla do? AI is at a stage where it can determine size, distance and age of people very easily. So, in this situation, if the Tesla absolutely can not avoid the accident, and there is certain loss of life due to the forces of both the bus and the car involved, does the Tesla save it’s law-abiding owner’s life and kill 30 kids? Or does it run into the nearest street lamp, knowing it will kill the driver but save the lives of 30 kids despite being in the hands of an illegal driver?

Or how about a decision between a single driver and some poor child who runs on the road for his favorite toy without knowing any better? A family of 6 when there are 4 people in the Tesla? Aged passengers vs young adults?

At some point here, there is a moral decision to be made that ultimately means programmers are ‘playing god’ by coding in parameters that will decide who gets to live, and who gets to die. It’s easy to think that ‘whatever will cause the least loss of life’ is the correct answer - but that’s not what owners of Tesla will want when they purchase the car that they believe will value their own life above all else. On the other hand, it’s pretty scary to think that a Tesla will choose the owner over all else if the scenario with a bus-load full of people or random crowd is involved.

Personally, I’m of the view that whoever is abiding by standards and the law should ultimately be the safer of the two parties, unless there is a substantial difference in amount of people. For example if two drunk idiots are walking down the middle of the street and decide to ‘jump out’ in front of a Tesla for fun, then despite there being two of them I would still advocate for the driver to live. However if there are two people in the Tesla speeding stupidly down a narrow suburban road, and there happens to be somebody crossing the road around a corner, then I would err on the side of killing the driver and passenger. However if there are 5 people in the Tesla and the decision is between one person, even if they’re not doing anything wrong, and 5 people in the car - then I would lean towards the car being the higher priority.

It’s a tough choice, and there’s no ‘right’ answer in my opinion - but it’s a very real complication for AI and Machine Learning engineers right now. It's important to not lose sight of the fact that these accidents would occur hundreds of times less frequently then they do with a human driver, and you’re still safer in a Tesla than in a normal car. This is just in freak-of-circumstance scenarios that be unavoidable no matter how ‘smart’ the vehicle is - even if it reacts infinitely faster than a human would.

What do you think the value system should look like? Law abiding, vs number of people vs owner of car?  Let me know in the comments below!

Whilst global warming has been generally accepted amongst the reasonable majority of humankind, there are still some who deny it’s existence entirely, including the ‘leader’ of the free world. 

I put these people in a similar category to flat-earthers, (non) moon-landing conspiracy theorists and straight-up loonies, utilising flawed arguments and often ridiculous stereotypes to cling onto their own beliefs. These are the kinds of people who will believe one insane article of conspiracy because it aligns with their own views rather than look at the 14,000,000 mountains of evidence that prove otherwise. Kinda like climate change deniers. Despite advances in technology and science, however, they seem to be inexplicably increasing in number as time goes on. Or perhaps they just found their voice again.

It’s not simply global warming that is the heart of the issue though - the age ‘post-truth’ is truly upon us, and the threat could not be more real. Whilst this is certainly not as pronounced in Australia (yet), it is vapidly prominent in the USA - and the influence of that has begun. Unstable leaders at the head of powerful nations regularly threaten to start World War 3 whenever one of them decides to have a particularly childish tantrum. Global markets are on the precipice of disaster as the largely unacknowledged introduction (nay; revolution) of cryptocurrency looms around the corner. Environmental calamity races ever closer, unanimously recognised amongst scientific (and common sense) communities, yet dismissed by global leaders as a hoax. At this stage it's questionable whether it’s too late to reverse the damage or not.

Social progress over the past decade was tremendous. The wage gap has been decreasing (though not nearly quickly enough), racial disparity is declining (again, not quickly enough), the LGBTQ community was welcoming prominent figures appearing more and more in mainstream society, gay marriage has become legal in the remaining states of the US, and we had our first female Prime-Minister in Australia and first black President in the USA. Whilst it certainly hasn't been an 'easy' decade, with the GFC crippling economies, the tragic continuance of war on ISIS and civil unrest in the Middle East, there was definitely progress.

Yet, over the past 12 months there appears to have been a stoic effort amongst conservatives to undo most of that undeniably positive, and logical progress. 

Instead I see congress fighting over whether or not poor people in America should get access to health care or not. Whether the poorest people in Australia should become poorer or not. Whether Britain should exit EU or not. Whether climate change is real or not. And whilst these are all huge, important issues - albeit issues that should not require a f***ing congress to see what the logical choice is - It’s quite likely that we’re in a real-world Game of Thrones right now, squabbling over significant issues as winter draws nearer that threaten to make these very real first world problems... well, "First World Problems". 

My utter disbelief at the ability of people to accept pure, infallible fact in the face of all logic and reason, preferring to stick to ones guns in their own prejudicial beliefs contrary to evidence, is an ongoing theme in this blog. However I try to rise above - and so despite a short arbitrary rant, I’ll proceed to this question: “What is the reality that needs to take place to destroy this beautiful bubble of ignorant bliss?”

I don’t know the answer - I'd run for office if I did - but an astonishing move carried out by the South Australian government last week with the partnership of Elon Musk and Tesla (and undisclosed others), should certainly be a step in the right direction. Last week, the South Australian government and Tesla reached a partnership whereby Tesla will build the world’s biggest battery (three times the size of any effort previously) within 100 days of contract signing. I wrote about this not too long ago here, and I'm delighted to know that the deal is going ahead, largely thanks to the support and fighting of Jay Weatherill.

Side note: I am a huge fan of the South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill. He's stood up for truth multiple times in the face of politically driven lies.

This isn’t simply a battery deal that's likely to hammer the final proverbial nail in the coal industry's coffin, despite desperate attempts by big-business tycoons to renew interest in some backwards-bound coal resurgence. This isn’t simply a power-providing deal in a state that needs it most. This is a deal where renewable energy has ‘Trump’ed (pun intended) a traditionally profitable methodology of major industry in favour of reality. This is a deal where, finally, there has been a demonstrable benefit beyond reasonable doubt of the power of renewable energy and it’s existence can no longer be eschewed by those folks I mentioned at the start of this article.

My hope is that it goes beyond simple energy production, and can be a transcendent milestone in a shift back to reality and common sense in a decade that has rapidly descended populous outcry and ill-informed social views. My hope is that it's the first sign in quite a while that supports the notion of humanitarian progress for the better of mankind over bowing to corporate greed. My hope is that it's a sign of further things to come, where governance by the informed is more important than populist notions.

My hope is we have more leaders like Jay Weatherill or Julia Bishop rising to (even) more prominent positions, governing for the people in a responsible manner that accounts for social issues, reason, the laws of physics, the future of humankind and the good of the planet. Leaders who listen to all parties, and aren't afraid to take a stand for the good of the people, even if that risks an unpopular decision in an upcoming election. Leaders who will act swift, and decisively in matters of national security yet retain a measured and proportionate perspective that is required in this time of relative economic and global tension. Leaders who won't simply pander to the already-wealthy.

Perhaps for now I'd settle for leaders who aren't up at 4am in the morning, tweeting whatever geriatric prejudicial hate-filled nonsense happens to coalesce in their petty infant-level frontal lobe whilst they're taking a shit.

The more bandwidth you have, the more information you can push from point A to point B. Bandwidth determines how fast you download a movie, how easily you can stream Netflix, how fast Facebook loads on your phone or how quickly you can send and receive photo's. Bandwidth is a giant, fundamental part of everybody's life in this day and age - and despite how much people like to think they don't need to know about 'this techy stuff' - it will benefit you exponentially to realise how and what bandwidth is. Here's how it works.

• Think of bandwidth as roads. 
• You're moving house. You have a tonne of stuff. Or twenty tonnes. 
• You want to move all of your stuff from Brisbane, to Sydney. 
• The larger your car, or truck, the more stuff you will be able to carry in 1 trip.
• The more lanes the road has, the more trucks you can use to carry multiple loads at once.
• The better the roads, the smoother that drive of information is.
• The better the roads, the less likely a truck will hit a pothole, and lose some stuff out the back.
• When roads intersect with other roads, traffic slows down, including your trucks.
• There's no speed limit on these roads - speed is determined by the smoothness of your roads
• Speed is also determined by the lack of intersections or lane reductions
• Too much traffic, like real life, can cause congestion and traffic jams.
• Traffic jams occur on smaller roads easier, or with poor quality roads.

Now in the above list of obvious information - replace 'stuff' with 'packets of information' - data you are trying to get from point A to point B. Replace 'intersections' with 'interference'. Replace 'traffic jams' with 'network congestion'. 

When talking about how many lanes a road is, we're talking about how much 'bandwidth' you have available. This bandwidth flows two ways - downloading (information coming in) and uploading (information you are sending someone else). 

When you try and load a Facebook page on your mobile, that is mostly downloading information from Facebook servers on to your device. The more bandwidth you have, the more information can be loaded at once onto your phone so you see the information quicker. The lower your latency, the more 'responsive' your page will be.

Same goes with Netflix. The higher your bandwidth, the less time buffering you will face, and the higher your quality of streaming resolution will be. 

Some roads are high quality but very small, so only 1 car can fit through at a time, but it can go very fast. This is equivalent to low-latency connections but also low bandwidth. This is actually good for gaming, as gaming doesn't require good bandwidth (contrary to popular belief) - it requires low latency so that when I press a button, actions happen quicker in whatever server-world I'm connected to.

Other roads are high-bandwidth, but high-latency. This is equivalent to many lanes of trucks being able to carry a lot of information, but it takes a while for it all to get from point A to point B. This is good for downloading big files, movies, TV series etc -- as you will still be able to download fast, it just takes a bit to get going. This is not good for gaming, as high-bandwidth high-latency doesn't speed up responsiveness in the gaming world. 

Congestion occurs when you have heaps of cars trying to use the same highway and trying to merge on at once, or change lanes. This results in super slow (almost crawl-like) moving traffic - and can essentially kill a network. Optus have many instances of congestion right now - as they continually incorporate more and more subsidiaries and off-branch el-cheapo phone networks to use their single network for all of them. 

In Australia, ADSL/ADSL2+/VDSL is equivalent of generally single laned roads with potholes and quickly degrading infrastructure and a tonne of intersections. The closer you live to where you're trying to get to, the less intersections you face and the less potholes there are to slow you down. Even if you only live a few hundred metres away though, this is a pretty miserable road trip.

HFC (AKA Cable) is a 10-lane super highway one way (downloads) and a smooth 1-lane highway the other way (upload). Vastly superior to ADSL, with higher bandwidth AND lower latency - but it would be nice to have both ways opened up.

NBN is now a mixed bag of 10-lane highways one way (download), and 4-lane highways the other way (uploads), turning into off ramps made of potholed filled single laned off-ramps (Fibre to the Node) or having that highway go right into your living room (Fibre to the Premises). 

Obviously, as many lanes as possible to and fro on the best quality roads possible to enable as many trucks as possible to carry as much cargo as possible at the highest possible speed, is ideal. High-bandwidth low-latency networks exist on HFC and NBN FttP, but the fastest in Australia right now is actually 4GX with Telstra. Where NBN FttP and Cable are limited to 100mbps downloads, I recently speedtested 206mbps download in my closed room in suburbs in real-life. 

Also 5G launches next year, which will essentially reduce intersections, add lanes in both directions and make the roads even smoother for all mobile users. Unfortunately, right now, to use these roads is expensive. $150 per month will only net you 80GB of uncapped, full-speed road use with 4GX, whereas for $110 you can enjoy full speed 100mbps/40mbps NBN with 1000+GB of data. 

Hopefully this has cleared up some people's perspective on what Bandwidth is, and how it relates to your internet usage and speed. Did it help you? Comment below to let me know if you have any questions. 

And it's not slowing down.

After re-reading my own Bitcoin Going Banana's blog I decided I hadn't done enough to really explain cryptocurrency, and the sudden surge across the board of cryptocurrencies - the foremost being Bitcoin and Ethereum. Let me try and rectify that.

Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are forged from networks of user-based machines performing complex algorithms. Lost you already? Don't fret - it's complicated, but well worth knowing. Let's try another way, and we'll use Bitcoin as an example.

Bitcoin is a currency itself, much like the Australian Dollar is a currency. Except where Australian Dollars are for use in Australia only and are subject to exchange fee's when trying to use this currency overseas, Bitcoin is a global, digital currency. 

So how do bitcoins (the currency in trade in the Bitcoin system - note the capital B versus small b) get counted or created? By machines. Every single transaction that is ever made in the bitcoin system, past or present, is kept in a digital log. Like a giant bank statement, except that this bank statement has billions of transactions and millions are getting added on every day. I'm going to leave the technical stuff there for a minute, and post it in a 'tech' section below.

Ultimately - currency is only one small way in which Ether can and will be utilised. Most businesses will run on internal Ethereum blockchains in time - for everything from dollar value to shareholder stakes and even KPI earnings for employee's - all of which can have intrinsic value in the real world too. 

What you should really know is that Singapore, China and Japan have all legalised cryptocurrencies recently and this is a huge reason for the sudden surge of cryptocurrency value as currencies are becoming legitimised and widely used. Microsoft, JPMorgan, Intel and a few other giants are just some of the companies who are forming 'the Ethereum Alliance' - an organisation formed to suss out potential untapped uses of such a concept as Ethereum. 

Vladimir Putin just met with the founder of Ethereum, given credence to the rumour that Russia is likely to start using Ethereum as a valid currency. 

The point is - Ethereum is not going away, and it's still in its absolute infancy. 

So why is it not in a 'Bubble'? Because bubble's are when the intrinsic value of an item, be it digital or physical, increases without the item itself actually changing. For example, every country in the world has a 'gold' reserve that is meant to give some sort of benchmark for the value of a currency. Gold itself can go up and down in value in each currency based on market reflection, without the chemical composition of 'gold' or value in what it can do changing. After all, gold is gold - it's just a pretty metal. The same can be said of houses or land. A companies share market 'Value' can drop $100bn in a day without anything whatsoever in the company itself in terms of cash flow, projected earnings or product acquisition - merely on the perception of worth by shareholders or stakeholders.

Thus we have the difference. Ethereum actually gains value as more and more people use it. It's not tied to a physical or digital asset and therefore its intrinsic value is not limited by the artificial inflation of perceived worth to an item or service - it is independent of that. As more people use Ether on a day to day basis, the value of ether will rise, and ether itself is not the item in which that value is decided - merely the popularity of it's inception. 

On the flip side there's a very, very strong argument to be made that as the popularity of Ethereum eventually becomes mainstream, it will erode the value of the real dollar to the point of worthless - but incredibly this is not a bad thing. It will be the absolute derivative of current societal trends; more autonomous delegation of value to the masses, and by default a deflation of wealth gap between those in power and those being trod on.

If you want details on how to invest in Ethereum, subscribe to my email service and I will send you a detailed, step by step guide on how to buy Ether in Australia using coinbase, as well as other valuable tips and tricks that I haven't mentioned to utilise this cryptocurrency boom.

The TECH STUFF

A lengthy but good explanation of Ethereum is here, but I'll try and shorten it a little bit: 

Every time a transaction takes place from merchant to buyer, a unique and encrypted transaction ID is created. Then, thousands of machines calculate and reconfirm that the transaction that took place from merchant to buyer was in fact correct and true. This is called 'mining', and these days there are extremely powerful dedicated computers that are constantly mining, just rapidly combing through millions of transactions and confirming them over and over. Anybody can be a miner - it's not a central authority. 

The beauty of the system is that these miners get rewarded for their services in the form of created bitcoins, and simultaneously absolutely anybody can be assured that any and all of their transactions ever done in bitcoins are recorded on this giant log, or ledger. This ledger is called a "blockchain". 

But how is value calculated in Bitcoin? Unlike current 'real' currency, there are no gold reserves or coins and notes that integer value to the currency of bitcoin. At any given moment, a Bitcoin can be worth $4000AUD, and the next moment it can be worth $4010AUD. The beauty of it is, this value is not tied to any central authority, but rather is tied directly to the communal worth of Bitcoin. For a slightly more detailed account of how this value can affect merchants and buyers, see my past blog post. 

Now let's expand out from Bitcoin, and acknowledge that Bitcoin is simply one cryptocurrency, albeit the first and most common to date. Ethereum is a bit different, and simply superior. How is it superior? In a word: synergy.

You see, Ether is the fuel behind Ethereum, yet with Ethereum you can create a currency for anything. The primary differentiation between Ethereum is that Ethereum currencies are each 'smart contracts'. So, a transaction can take place in exactly the same way a Bitcoin transaction can: Merchant creates a contract that says 'Item A is worth $100USD', and therefore depending on the market value of Ether, at any given point in time that item is worth whatever the value of Ether that is equivalent to $100USD whenever that item is sold. The buyer provides the equivalent Ether, thus the contract on both ends is satisfied, so the buyer has successfully transacted $100USD worth of Ether to the merchant. In turn the Merchant (should) supply the goods or services.

However Ether goes a step further and allows for conditions on each 'smart contract' to come into play. For example - you can create a kickstart where everybody can put forward 'tokens' or 'smart contracts' provided the amount is reached. If the amount required to satisfy the kickstarter contract is not reached, everybody who put forward Ether to contribute to the kickstarter is automatically refunded all of their Ether. Nobody and nothing can come in the way of this transaction. It is incorruptible, infallible and unhackable. 

An important aspect of these smart contracts is that there is no limit to variables and conditions that are met, but once in play, terms and conditions can not be altered. This is extremely important and hugely beneficial, and why it is so significantly important to the lives of all of us right now. The fact that conditions are set, transparent, and incorruptible yields significant advantage over any central organisation where individuals stand to profit if something goes wrong (or right). 

Think: Autonomous, democratic governing on a points or currency based system where political bull**** is not a factor, and issues will be decided by a transparent yet anonymous voting system. Or going in on an investment or kick-starter where you don't have to trust or know anybody else to know that if it's successful, you will reap the rewards and if it is not, you won't lose a thing. 

At least ten times a day I observe an elderly person looking at a bunch of teenagers in a group intently staring at their phones and shake their head in disgust. A bunch of friends talking whilst scrolling through social feeds. Sometimes my partner and I will sit together in the living room and we spend long passages of time contently staring at our iPhones catching up on the day just gone, sharing occasional chuckles as we show each other a funny post or article and catch up on the day just gone. 

And that's just fine. 

This pretentious criticism of technologically savvy youngsters is, at the very least, an absurdity of illogicality that eclipses the deductive reasoning of anybody in their right, sane, mind. The notion of ignorantly disregarding people or technology simply because you don't understand it is hypocrisy at the highest level. And that aura of superiority is everywhere, as if to say "phones are ruining our society by creating isolationists". 

Don't get me wrong: There are plenty of examples of how technology has enabled otherwise cowardly or socially inept people to become misguided keyboard warriors in the safety of their home, free from any societel pressure to heed to morality and consequence, but that's a fraction of the good that technology has brought. 

Who's to say that looking at my phone on the train for 20 minutes is better than blankly staring out a window during my commute? Or awkwardly try and interact 'like the old days' with strangers across an aisle? Generally, I'll be reading news or articles on something I'm interested in. Even if I was only catching up on what my friends or family on my social feeds were doing, I'd still vehemently advocate that as being a better use of my time. I highly doubt that is going to ruin my ability to interact with someone in society properly.

You know what will? Not understanding pop culture references. Not being able to use technology. Not keeping up with events that are happening. Hesitating to adapt to work-roster methods that involve phone apps cloud-based collaborative software. Not adapting to programs and technology that will help me think better, work better, socialise better. 

Stepping back from individualistic examples - there is an absolute disparity of what constitutes 'traditional' behaviours that is perceived as acceptable by society vs what is serving a purpose. Chivalry is a fantastic example of an undeniably chauvinistic behaviour that once was deemed polite and acceptable and now can be seen as sexist, polite, antiquated or anything else in-between.

I would say it's far worse to exist in a time now where you can know which knife or fork in a 6 piece set you're to use for a particular course of a single meal, but can't turn your phone on. Or you can operate a 50 year old dial-phone but can't operate a semi-modern touch screen. If anything, we youngsters should be looking at you all with disgusted shakes of the head, right? After all, there'll be no more dial-phones moving forward, but touch screens will be around for a while. Such is the reverse-logic of abject prejudice mixed with ignorance.

I don't know what fork to use if someone gives me 3 of them to use in one meal. I learnt once for fun, but I don't berate myself on forgetting because it's not logically important - other than to impress elitists on whether I was born into a wealthy family or not. The family one was born into is not a choice anyone can make, and therefore it has no standing on what should be seen as prerequisite behaviour on whether a person is acceptable for whatever circumstance requires 3 forks for a meal (also - screw your 3 forks - pretentious jerks). 

Societal norms can impact on whether it would be beneficial for me to rock up to a royal gala with Princess Elizabeth without brushing up on my cutlery etiquette, but at it's core that would simply be a perception of those people stuck in that societal void of status-quo that would continue to think that. Unless 'fork 1' can do something 'fork 3' can't - then there's no feasible use for it. The additional 2 forks are tradition - and tradition only.

So why, then, is it beneficial for us to interact with people around us in 'traditional' ways than adapt to the world we currently live in? Is that actually the case? Or is it more a stubborn irrationality of some people, mostly elder, who believe that the way they were brought up to interact with people is the only way - and therefore the "correct" way of living?

I passionately disagree. In fact I would move to state that tradition, in the sense of the word, is illogical. That being said I do understand, and cherish, the notion of tradition when it comes to historical relevance and nostalgia. Side note: I understand the foundations of tribal elders and native land owners - tradition is the core of their people, and that's very different. 

I also have traditions, such as a bottle of wine between two and sushi with my better half whenever a new Game of Thrones episode comes out. But as with all things - and this is a theme you'll see throughout my blog - tradition should only remain tradition as long as it doesn't hinder or belittle evolution and progress of humankind.

Personally I believe I should be able to interact with whomever I want to interact with, whenever I want to interact with them (as long as its not a deficit of my current tasks at hand). I believe I have a right in my spare time to choose whether I want to read about the next iPhone coming out vs wandering around the city gazing at the same stores I've seen a billion times before. I think it's okay that kids will be able to gobble up information at unprecedented pace and learn to use the tools of the future of their own kind faster than we can even say 'instruction booklet'.

So, my gadget-gazing friends - gaze away. Fear not the loathing of older people who can't wrap their head around their own phone - they just don't understand, and often don't want to. The future of humankind is a vastly different world to the present and past.

But don't run into me on the street 'cause you're lookin' at your damn phone.

Jan Koum from WhatsApp. Steve Jobs from Apple. Bill Gates from Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook. Jack Dorsey from Twitter. What do they all have in common? Well - a lot of things, really. They were all brought up in mediocre environments (with the exception of Zuckerberg, arguably). They were all higher education dropouts who went on to be some of the most successful and arguably famous business people the world has ever known. They all showed an unrelenting pursuance of their passion in the face of social pressure.

Let me preface by saying this blog is less than two months old, and I am absolutely no authority on psychology, sociology or any other 'ology' (other than perhaps, technology) that makes one an expert. I just read a tonne. 

That being said - I can say with absolute certainty that I have never been more driven in any endeavour of my own, or that aligns with my passions than I am right now. Those who know me will understand that's quite a statement.

You'll notice I didn't say "driven to succeed". I am driven to succeed, and I want to succeed. Of course I want financial freedom. I want to be able to provide for my future wife and child on maternity leave with my solo passive and working income. I want to be able to do both those things whilst still having time-a-plenty for my future family (fingers crossed) and do all three of those things with just enough youth to be able to 'frolic', as it were, and not die of a heart attack shortly thereafter. Who doesn't?

But I've realised recently that whilst all of the above criteria are important to me, being able to write what I want, when I want, and turn it into something that people may have value in is unbelievably fulfilling, even if it isn't providing any useful income (yet). Being able to shoot, edit and create my own video's is also liberating to a degree that I honestly never realised was possible until now. 

It's the kind of desire that will keep me working eight hours straight on top of an height hour day at my day job and wish I had more time to work before I go to bed,  in time to get up to work at my day job. 

And I love it.

It's this startling epiphany that I think helps a lot of successful entrepreneurs truly discover themselves and ignites an internal fire that can break free of the monotony of every-day western life that can so often be encapsulating and imprisoning. 

But more than that - since I started this blog, it has lead on to so many ideas that I find myself starved for time more than ideas. Starved for sleep more than direction. There are simply not enough hours in the day to do all the things I suddenly find myself longing to do - and very few of them are recreational. 

During this process I've found myself expanding my philosophical point of view. I've found myself analysing and processing the world in different ways. I am still every bit as objective as I always have been, almost to a fault, but I've added a layer of perspective on to moments I simply didn't appreciate until recently.

The process of making this blog has, in a way, reignited a flame that had started to dwindle within me. I can't comment on everybody, but I do believe that same flame is in everyone somewhere, it's just hidden away until you find what it wants to burn for. For me, writing a blog was never something I had ever envisioned doing, and it certainly never occurred to me that I would find fulfilment by typing words out on a website.

And if it were only writing a blog, it might not. But when you design a blog, and when you start creating something that expresses yourself both in print and in design or creation, it becomes so much more than the words on the page. It really does start to fill in the gaps in your head of what you would like to spend more time doing, or what you can't believe you wasted so much time on before.

More than that, as I said above, it leads on to other ideas which in turn lead on to other ideas. It's a constant chain of self-inspiration and self-education that can only be healthy for the soul. In fact - this blog didn't start there.

About a year ago I started teaching myself coding through codeacademy, because I realised it was absurd for someone who regards their own knowledge of technology to be fairly high without having any knowledge of coding. Once I had taught myself Ruby, Java, SQL and Swift, I began developing an app which is still in progress. But the idea of creating something resonated strongly and the idea of the original website was simply a platform to eventually launch my app on - which lead on to a blog - which lead to now.

With that said I would like do to anybody what my friend Chloe did for me, and strongly encourage anybody out there thinking about starting a blog, a website, a portfolio, an app, a photography business or anything else to stop thinking about it and start doing it. It can be an hour a week at first - once you get going it begins to ramp up quickly once you're committed.

I know it seems like an unlikely phenomenon, but I swear that sense of creation is one of the most humanistic and satisfying feelings that I have ever stumbled upon. It can lead to great things, financially or otherwise, or it might not. But it will be a passion! And that's the most important part.

Because the other thing that Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jan Koum have in common is: None of them ever did it for the money. 

What are your thoughts? Comment below.

Internet of Things. Clouds. Apple ID's. Google ID's. Dropbox Accounts. Sync. Servers. Augmented Reality. Large Data. Artificial Intelligence. Automation. 

What does it all mean? How can anybody not born into this technology possibly hope to keep up? It's a tough gig, being born in post-war industrial era. Right before your very eyes you've suddenly witnessed the dawn, growth, evolution and now normalcy of the digital age. And it's only just beginning. 

For many (so I'm told) it seems like yesterday the new invention of the 'internet' sparked excitement across the globe, yet it was still a toy for scientists and geeks, as opposed to a revolutionary connectivity tool that would induce a tectonic shift in every industry on Earth. Not long after most workplaces transitioned to keyboards instead of typewriters. Monitors instead of pages of paper. And you kept up with it, mostly, for a while...

Now you walk into a store and the candy-bar phones that were so cherished and loved (Nokia 3315 anyone?) and relatively simple to use no longer exist. 2G is gone, and it took snake with it. Tablets are everywhere and old media is dying. Populism is taking over aided by consequence-free prejudices emerging from behind keyboards through social media. What's going on?!

Sales staff talk to you in unintelligible code, and roll their eyes in exasperation when you can't understand it. Gigahertz, Megabytes, Teraflops. Might as well be Pterodactyls. Networking protocol, NBN, Cable, HFC, ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, VDSL. Seriously - can those geeks make more acronyms? Google or Apple. Microsoft or Android. What makes a Smart TV Smart? Is it when I'm not smart enough to turn it on? Bandwidth, Capacity, Storage, RAM, ROM, Quad-Core, Dual-Core, Octa-core. What's the name for a 16-core processor? Make it stop!

Well, I have good news and bad news. 

The good news is: You're not alone. In my time at the front of retail technology sales or management for several years, the consistent trend I've noticed is an increasingly large lack of knowledge of what are fundamental principles of technology moving forward. This blog isn't specifically delving into what those are (check out Tech 101 for that - coming soon), but highlights a central undercurrent of today that I believe is largely ignored, often unnoticed and is in desperate need for acknowledgement and attention.

I would say, in my opinion, at least 80% of people I speak to on a daily basis have formed their own prejudices based on horribly malignant misinformation that is utterly untrue. Do I need iTunes for my iPhone? No. Is my 20 megapixel phone better than my girlfriends 12 megapixel phone? No. Is my Octa-core, 51ghz super-sonic warp speed omg awesome-a-tron LG better than a Huawei average-a-tron? Not likely. Can I drag and drop on Android? Sure, for some things - same as iPhone - but you're still thinking about cables. And that's the problem. 

On a daily basis I am routinely bombarded by customers or people who are infuriated by something forward-thinking that means they need to adapt to change, and quite frankly I am baffled by it. Change is good. Change is forwards. Change is evolutionary. And change is surging forwards rapidly at a pace unmatched in history. Change is making more things possible, all the time, for everybody. 

A stubborn resistance to change is akin to a hermit living in the woods. A stubborn resistance to change leads to being angry over ATM's taking tellers' jobs at banks. A stubborn resistance to change is lining up at checkouts with no carry-on for 45 minutes simply to talk to a 'real person'. A stubborn resistance to change is waiting on hold for 20 minutes to talk to your telecommunications provider rather than using a universally adopted live chat feature on their website. Or, much to my annoyance, simply using whatever online portal is available to do basic, fundamental account-level changes for yourself.  

A stubborn resistance to change leads to preferring fossil fuel powered vehicles over technically superior electric cars that will win in every category simply because "it's not the same". 

No, it's not. And in the example above, I challenge anybody to put forward an argument on how that's a negative argument? An electric car is zero-emission, zero-maintenance cost and 100% renewable. It's faster, more comfortable, more powerful and will soon (edit: already are) be driving themselves. You can stick an obnoxious v8 sounding engine in there synthetically if you want to remember the glory days, but no v8 will compete with an electric engine anymore. Deal with it. 

That means adapting to technology that will inevitably and invariably affect almost every single one of us in today's rapidly changing technological environments. Technology isn't simply a way of having an edge over competition in existing industries anymore. It is THE ultimate existing industry. Soon, it will be the only existing industry. Failing to adapt to change in today's world and keep up with basic, fundamental principles means you will fail in tomorrow's world.

The bad news is, that's on you.

It sounds harsh, and perhaps it is - but so is life. 'I just want things to stay the same' is not reasonable. Technology is not going to wait for anybody. Never before has technology been the universal currency by which new companies are born and previous leading companies destroyed. Nokia and Blackberry were sitting pretty 10 years ago and are now nowhere to be seen. On the same note, Google only became common knowledge around the same time and is now officially a verb in the Oxford Dictionary - the only company to have ever made that transition. Coal mining literally fuelled the industrial revolution and is now almost extinct, despite the efforts of a certain global leader who is also resistant to change.

I want to be clear though: Not everyone has to be Steve Jobs. People can lack specific technological knowledge and be completely fine, as long as they can utilise what's currently available. For example: A blogger can be successful - but only if they know how to use just enough of the internet and technology to effectively blog. A small business can still run on hard work and grit - but not without some of that going into effective social media marketing and web design. The best thing to do is embrace the advancement - it is here to help you - if you let it. Effectively utilising technology in this day and age is unbelievably useful, and crucial to gaining an edge over those who refuse to accept that there is a new age upon us. 

From your personal conveniences to professional competitiveness and everything in between, it is important to put the effort in to learn how to use the tools and environment around you. Regardless of what industry you're from or what your day to day life looks like. There is nothing more pitiful than watching someone look at a touchscreen in total confusion as if it were filled with hieroglyphs painted with invisible ink. There is nothing more frustrating than watching someone get angry at an inanimate object due to their own user error. 

It is crucial, now more than ever, for those of us who are currently shaping today and the future to keep in touch with technology and not let that aspect of our lives lapse.

After all, right now we're the generation where 'AI' is here and sparking interest all over the globe, and it will cause a tectonic shift for humanity over the next couple of decades. Not long before most workplaces will transition to AR instead of conference calls. Collaborative screen sharing instead of proofreading documents. Shared virtual reality instead of computer monitors.

So let's put down our typewriters and keep up.

- Tom

It's not that he's ridiculously intelligent. It's that he is so far beyond ridiculously intelligent that he struggles, publicly, to talk in a language that mere mortals can understand.
It's not that he's unfathomably gifted. It's that he possesses the most extraordinary combination of humanistic characteristics that is so improbable that a man of this distinction lives in solidarity once every few dozen generations.
It's not that he's introduced new theories similar to the likes of Einstein, Galileo and other historic icons of brilliance. It's that he has done that, and is now subtlety moving humanity forward hundreds of years in mere months - on several frontiers.

And he's only 45.

It is genuinely astonishing. You don't need to be immersed in 21st century technology or have an active interest in 'nerd-stuff' to appreciate what he's done or doing. Elon Musk has either accomplished, or is on his way to accomplishing feats that would normally take a countries' worth of brilliant scientists and engineers several decades - if they had correct political backing and unlimited funding. But as I've touched on in a previous article - Elon Musk decided to forgo the hindrances of politics and simply raise the capital himself, from nothing, to be able to quietly fund several giant infrastructure projects himself.

Here is a short but specific list of some of his ambitions - All of which I'll go into more detail about in a minute:

1: Deliver the Tesla Model 3 automobile - the first truly affordable ($35,000USD), fully-electric vehicle that is faster than any stock sports car under approximately $550,000USD today.
2: Deliver the new Tesla Semi - A project only hinted at for the very first time in a TED interview with Elon Musk this year.
3. Replace human drivers with autonomous driving, increasing safety around an estimated 10000% over the best human drivers.
4: Within a 15 year timeframe, make it a common sense decision to replace most household roofs with pure solar panels and erradicate household electricity 'grid' usage.
5: Pay students, interns and prospering engineers to develop and build the fastest form of land (and most air) transport known to man thus far: Hyperloop.
6: Create an underground global transportation system to end traffic and congestion - because Elon Musk hates traffic.
7: Deliver high speed, high bandwidth, low latency connection to every human on the planet, everywhere - for no cost to consumers.
8: Colonize Mars. Let me say that again: Colonize. ****ing. Mars.

Now this list of ambitions seems farcical, right? But this is the truly, unerringly astonishing part of Elon Musk - it's not. Let me go through this list with an update of progress.

1: The Tesla Model 3 has over 550,000 pre-orders, is in production and is expecting first deliveries as early as July 2017.
2: The Tesla Semi was first heard of during said TED interview above - where Elon casually remarks on how well it handles when he was taking it for a test drive earlier that week.
3: This is a video of a passenger in real-world conditions driving on a real world road in a non-simulated environment. It's here. Legislation pending, and expected to pass in November.
4: The roofs exist and are cheaper, more durable, longer lasting and more aesthetically pleasing than regular painted tile or wooden roofs. Oh - they also power your home.
5: Hyperloop exists and is in testing at one location thus far. It will be faster than a bullet train - times 10.
6: Boring is underway - we expect a tunnel to go from LA to New York by late next year. The travel time for commuters? 6 minutes.
7. First satellites earlier this year, as I've talked about in numerous posts so far - expected 4,200 satellites by 2021.
8. A step by mankind that rivals Neil Armstrong: Just last month, Elon Musk and SpaceX re-landed an already used and landed Falcon 9 rocket booster - a fundamental and crucial step in his plan to put a million regular people on mars in the next 10 years. Elon Musk thinks that step was potentially the most challenging obstacle to overcome, and see's no reason why his timeline can't succeed.

And who's to say he can't? Who in their right mind would dare question it? This is a man who came from a lower-middle class family in South Africa, with no money, and is self-taught in almost every facet of life. He taught himself programming and sold his first business at 12. He self-funded his trip to America to go to College, and paid his own way there. He created a few businesses in between until the spritely age of 18 when he invented PayPal, sold it for $1.5b and used that as a stepping stone to create Tesla. Then he taught himself ****ing rocket science - and improved it. Now founder and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, Hyperloop and Solarcity (being absorbed into Tesla) - he seems to be a one-man wrecking ball of established business practices. When asked to describe how he 'rejuvenated' affordable solar, he simply replied "It wasn't hard. It turns out when you look at the supply chains for solar manufacturing, it was incredibly inefficient."

And such is his language when describing his methods of brilliance. He makes it seem so simple. When asked how underground boring was possible he said: 'Well once you take the ventilation cross-section requirements out from fossil fuel based cars, you can save a lot of space. And since the cost of boring tunnels is a function of cross section times distance, it reduces the cost by a factor of roughly 8." He then goes on to describe a running joke at work where they have "Gary the snail" who can move approximately 12 times faster than the fastest tunnel boring machine (mole) and process currently.

Under Elon Musk, engineers have invented a mole that moves faster than Gary the snail, and reinforces the tunnel walls in the process.

When about his new Semi Trailer from Tesla, his interviewer voiced the concerns of veteran trucking company execs stating a battery-based semi trailer would never match that of the power of traditional diesel trucks. Elon thinks otherwise: in a tug of war his battery-based semi trailer, in reverse, was able to pull a traditional diesel truck. Moving forward. UP A HILL.

Perhaps most impressively when asked how he could possible achieve this pie-in-the-sky ambition of colonising Mars, Elon Musk simply directs questions to his presentation from late last year that outlines, in meticulous detail, the obstacles to overcome, business strategy in place to overcome them, costs involved and logistical stages already in action to achieve it. I, for one, could not be more excited. He will then point out that he's currently ahead of schedule, and under budget.

And finally, when asked about politics, Elon Musk simply sighed in exasperation and disbelief at being asked the question. Who cares? Mr. Musk does not need politics. His dreams are bigger than the confines of this planet, literally. If Christianity rings true, and Jesus has arisen to become our saviour, there's a strong argument to suggest that Jesus is a figurative Elon Musk, working his way towards a figurative rapture to chariot those of us who 'see the light' towards another planet, leaving the rest of us to suffer in the potentially-soon-to-be-hell. And so far there's nobody standing in his way. But since he was asked, Elon did mention he was the only one in the room on two separate advisory councils to President Trump who believed in, and spoke up for climate change.

Why wouldn't he? There is not a man, woman or tree-hugging hippie on this planet in all of human history fighting climate change harder than Elon Musk. And hey - if he can take us to Mars in the process, why not tag along for the ride?

But through all of this, I think it's so important to recognise and acknowledge the inspiration behind such a colossus. Elon Musk has a brilliant point about what wakes us up in the morning. What do we do it all for? What is our goal? He goes on to state that we either need to be come a multi-planetary species, or inevitably wither and die on Earth. And he finds that incredibly depressing. That's his motivation. To try and "focus on a future that doesn't make him sad."

Elon Musk is looking to put two civilian SpaceX employees into space for the first time since the 1970's this year. We stopped travelling past the International Space Station in 1972. There's an amazing belief in our society that technology automatically evolves, but it doesn't. For continuous technological advancement, it requires an incredible amount of work from highly talented and dedicated people, none more so than Elon Musk. Without these people human advancement ceases and technology, the hallmark of human intelligence, degrades. There are historically important examples of great civilisations who have simply forgotten how to be great. The Egyptians who managed to build structures like the pyramids and the sphinx, and then forgot how. The Romans who first invented aquaducts, and then forgot how. The Arabians who invented plumbing, and then forgot how.

How close we were to being the civilisation who made it to the moon, and then forgot how.

Long Live Elon Musk.

- Tom

And it's still six months away. Say what you want about Apple, their ability to market is still second to none. More than that, it proves that Apple still have an ability to excite. A intuitive tact for intriguing millennials and, indeed, the world into pondering the question: "How are Apple going to blow my mind this time?".

It's a valid question, and not just for Apple. Innovation and technology is moving at a faster pace than ever before, and it isn't slowing down any time soon. However, not since the original iPhone has a device emerged that has taken the world by storm and utterly changed the landscape, technological or otherwise. Ten years ago, when the first iPhone was about to be released, the idea that somebody could walk around with a phone that was also a camera was in its infancy and was still considered to be the cutting edge of technology. Now everyone's walking around with a supercomputer in their pocket; a constant source of information and social connection ebbing and flowing at the pace that most computers just five years ago weren't capable of. Mobile processors have advanced to the point where phone's bought five years ago were, on average, 1/7th the speed of current phones. 5mp camera's were good, and we would treasure those grainy photo's like the novelty they were (because really, that's all they were good for). Now there are feature-length blockbusters beginning to emerge filmed entirely on iPhone's and being released on Netflix as our thirst for entertainment, information and knowledge consumption continues to grow at a staggering pace. But the limitations of what we can do on a small, 2d screen are nearly maxed out. Hardware isn't limiting us anymore as much as our own cognitive ability to absorb information. Beyond our mental ability, our calendars in modern times simply won't permit us looking at a tiny screen all day to scramble through Facebook timelines, Instagram feeds or (if you're young enough - I'm not) Snapchat sexts.

So again, what's next?

Well - let's look at this objectively. Mixed reality is a certainty. I had the pleasure of trying on the HoloLens recently and can say with absolute certainty that whilst the technology is in its infancy, the limits to mixed reality are boundless and will provide technological opportunities that will advance the human race at breakneck speed. No doubt Apple and Google are working on their own. I'm sure this opinion will receive some criticism, but those critics would be wrong. When did the iPhone come out again? Imagine what ten years of virtualised 3d hologram development will enable the human race to do. It's the stuff of movies 10 years ago. Iron Man's gesture-based 'Jarvis' interface is here. Minority Report pre-determined.

Beyond that, the masses are finally beginning to appreciate the realities of what fast, unhindered data-heavy connectedness (or the Internet of Things) can deliver to the world. Demand for Netflix, Stan, YouTube, Twitch, Soundcloud, Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, iView and a hundred other streaming services has quadrupled in Australia alone in the past year, and we're the last to really jump on board in the world. Australia's broadband capacity is beginning to struggle on a national level, beyond individual scope. Another transcontinential pipe is currently in planning phases but will be at least two years before it's operational, and Australia is expecting a lot of data growth in two years.

There are three primary factors driving the world of business right now: Large Data, Cloud services and Artificial Intelligence (specifically machine learning).

Each of these requires an unfathomable amount of information travelling globally, constantly. Infrastructure changes, large-scale video conferencing, interplanetary holographic simulations, self-driving cars, self-piloting aircraft, live streaming drones and so many more technologies emerging need fast, unhindered, reliable connectivity. Add to that 3d modelling involved with mass-produced mixed-reality devices, and there's a definitive need for far more broadband capacity than what is currently available. And that goes for worldwide consumption, not only Australia.

Companies like Telstra have already realised what's coming, which is why they're heavily investing in mixed-reality tech and 5g, but importantly are openly transitioning to 'TechCo' investments rather than spending any more in outdated 'Telco-only' prospects, which leads on to what I personally believe Apple are positioning themselves to do next. Here we go...

I think by the year 2022 we will see an iPhone with no ports, and no SIM cards. I think everybody who buys an Apple product will have unfettered immediate access to permanent data access, without any Telco subscriptions or plans. Now before you go dismissing that idea as wildly outrageous, let's look at the facts.

PORTS: What currently requires ports on phones? Power and Headphones. That's it. The iPhone, HTC U Ultra and other flagship phones emerging now are already down to one port for both those functions. Now that Bluetooth 5.0 is here, having arrived with the Samsung Galaxy S8, the capacity for wireless audio is equal to wired audio. Headphone manufacturers are spurning out Bluetooth headphones at an alarming rate, with more and more now being truly wireless (no connecting cord between the two earpieces). Lossless audio requires 1.4mbps speed, Bluetooth 5.0 can deliver in excess of 2mbps. For high quality sound, 328kbps is plenty, being often indistinguishable from lossless (and yes, I am aware that's far from being ALWAYS the case. But for non audiophiles, it generally is, sorry). So then we face the reality of: Bluetooth headphones can deliver the highest quality of audio, at distances far greater than corded, with two separate audio streams being delivered to two separate people from one source simultaneously, all whilst avoiding the inconvenience of tangled cords and the inconveniences that come with them. Sure, they need to be charged once every while (I charge my Bose QC35's or Apple Airpods maybe once per fortnight and use both of them constantly - it takes 30 min to charge from flat to full) but right now, that's the only 'drawback' besides price with Bluetooth. Once wired limitations exceed wireless, which it now does, it's time to say goodbye to wired.

On to power. This one's easy: Who in their right mind wouldn't love their phone to be constantly charged, wherever they are, without worrying about battery life? And for those of you who seem to think this technology isn't here: Check this out. Originally there were rumours the iPhone 8 was going to arrive with the first true wireless charging capability of up to 15 feet. This rumour was spurred on by the entirely un-subtle hint by Energous CEO announcing that their first true-wireless charger would arrive with a 'huge product' around September this year. This doesn't look like it will arrive in time to come with the iPhone 8 (or Edition) unfortunately, but personally I believe it is almost certain to be here with the iPhone 8s, or 9, or X, or whatever the hell Apple will call it (seriously Apple - my only criticism of you - get your naming right). For those interested, I highly recommend checking out Energous - they have a very good illustration of the possibilities of true wireless charging.

With the above technical limitations removed, will Apple be brave enough to remove all ports? Well, obviously. They've almost always been the first to introduce, or do away with, new and old ports. They were the first to sport USB, the first to remove floppy drives, the first to remove optical drives, the second (but only just) to use USB-C. And of course, I believe they have been and will continue to be the first to do away with old ports when better, more accessible technology arrives. And good on 'em. Personally I believe Apple catalyse these advancements by forcing 3rd parties to adapt to superior technology quicker than otherwise would take place. The bluetooth headphone market has increased ten fold since word got out that Apple was removing the headphone jack, and I think the world at large will be better for it - though I'm sure no thanks will go to Apple for that.

That does away with the port(s). To be honest, everybody in the tech industry has known for a long time now that this was happening. Where it gets interesting (and where I'm taking an intuitive leap of faith) is the doing away of the SIM card. Let's dive in.

1. What is a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card? It's simply an identifier working to authenticate your piece of hardware with the providers network. Honestly, it's a relatively redundant piece of plastic playing middle man between two pieces of hardware. Now the SIM card will be registered to a provider network, and thus if you have a piece of hardware that is locked to one network, and you're trying to use a SIM card that is not registered with that network, it's a very effective way of stopping your piece of hardware from connecting to any cell towers. And that's just it: Cell towers. Remember that - I'll be coming back to it in a moment.
2. Why do providers still use SIM cards if they're outdated technology? Because it forces the old telecommunication model of business on to the customer. It's extremely difficult for someone like Telstra acquire each embedded SIM card registration in Apple's iPad Pro 9.7" cellular models allocated to them, which is why it took them 3 - 4 months longer to begin selling them on plans. As long as SIM cards are around, it makes for easy business onselling phones and plans to customers.
3. What if SIM cards were removed entirely? Interesting question, not without merit. In Australia, and most of the world right now, it would simply be impossible. Everyone with a data-capable smartphone would be scrambling for better signal from each most-local tower causing congestion to extremes, because there would be nothing indicating it was a 'Telstra' cell tower and therefore my 'Telstra' registered SIM has access but my mates 'Optus' SIM would not, so we're not fighting for bandwidth or capacity. But it's a temporary limitation.

Now let's get into the nitty gritty and - I promise you - unusually interesting territory. Why Apple, why now?

This question begins with a corporation called 'SoftBank'. This is an extremely intriguing and vexing organisation, with their hands in so many pies it's hard to keep track - especially when so few people know who they are. Without Wikipediafying it - SoftBank are a giant corporation who nobody had heard of, despite existing since 1981, until they bought Vodafone Japan out of absolutely nowhere on March 17, 2006. They then bought a bank (sorry, not one bank, most of Japan's banks), shed any independent stockholders and proceeded to quickly grow into the 62nd largest company in existence. By 2010, they had also acquired 30% of Ustream - another company you may not have heard of, but who dabble in a few streaming services: Live streams from Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama, John Edwards, Tori Amos to name some of them - Oh, and all of your Playstation, Samsung, Logitech, CBS, PBS streams too.

Moving on with SoftBank - in 2012 they purchased Sprint Nextel, the Optus of USA, for a "measly" $22.2b, a bunch of other giant companies and then Snapdeal - A company in itself who has bought out a bunch of smaller companies and is rumoured to be about to merge with Amazon, it's chief rival. Besides painting a portrait of the enormity of the expansion of SoftBank, the purchase of Sprint is important to remember. Fitbit, BuzzFeed, Yahoo, Huffington Post and many more are owned or heavily affiliated with SoftBank.

None of this holds a candle to Apple, of course, having grown almost exactly 100 times bigger in a mere 14 years to $143.66 per share (from $1.49 on Jul 18, 2003). At a value of $740.02B, Apple is literally worth more than half the countries of the world. In cash holdings, an estimated $240b is sitting in reserves for who knows what. But what we do know, is that Apple made an unusual move for them and invested heavily into SoftBank to the tune of billions. This is rare for Apple. Despite their cash reserves, they rarely make large purchases externally without acquiring a company directly.

This is what brings us to OneWeb. SoftBank conveniently also effectively own OneWeb. Now you may have read the word OneWeb if you're one of the three people that actually read my blogs to the end - and that's because I've touched on the following topic before. OneWeb are one of two major companies that have begun launching their Low-Earth Orbit satellites the other being SpaceX *drop mic moment*. What for, you ask? To deliver high speed, full coverage, low-latency bandwidth to the world. Satellite internet has previously been expensive and exclusive to regional areas where more traditional means of internet were more affordable and accessible. Furthermore, Satellite internet has provided high latency, low-bandwidth (though higher than dial-up) internet due to heights of approximately 35,786km above the earths surface. That's a decent distance for even light to travel. Low-earth orbit is as low as 160km above the earths surface. Brisbane to Sydney is 730km.

OneWeb claim, at this stage, to simply be supplementing the incoming 5g connectivity, and delivering connectivity to rural and remote locations as well as some connectivity to metro areas. I don't believe it. I think Time Magazines article on Elon Musk and SpaceX paraphrase my point better than I can. Supplementing internet and delivering to regionals is a short term goal - I think OneWeb, SpaceX, Elon Musk and especially Apple have bigger plans in mind, with immediacy.

Quickly swapping back to my points on SoftBank. SoftBank acquired Sprint in 2012 and ceased selling phones on plans with Sprint in 2016, days before Apple invested in SoftBank. From now on, Sprint sell phones outright or on lease plans like Apple's finance deals and Sprint also do SIM-Only plans.

SO - Where does this all tie in with the iPhone.

Apple have an infamous history of exclusivity and closed-circuit systems. They don't play well with others (although, they play better now that Steve Jobs has passed). But some features that make Apple magical are truly closed-circuit end to end and incredibly good - Airdrop, Airplay, Photostream, iCloud and iOS/MacOS compatibility to name a tiny few. Nothing compares to Apple's ecosystem at this stage. How far-fetched is it then to believe Apple will continue on with all their trends and history of being exclusive, removing excess ports, being front-runners of existing tech and innovative to the extreme in ways which seem ridiculous yet seem to become popular on every occasion?

My prediction is that Apple will utilise this heavy investment into SoftBank -> OneWeb to deliver closed internet access to every Apple iOS or MacOS device. This will allow Apple to bypass legendarily poor customer service issues that are inherent with every Telco worldwide, and be in control of user experience end to end. It will save billions on 3rd party handling fee's and complications from individual telco's for each nation that Apple deals with, and largely bypasses litigation due to there being next to no restrictions on 'Space' other than America's FAA.

Political Sidenote: Yes, there will be mountains of red tape as the established Telco's realise they're becoming redundant and the people at the top of the food chain who own telecommunications and media realise they're being circumnavigated entirely and can't profit from it effectively. This ties in with a lot of other tech trends at the moment (Read: Accidental Revolution). I welcome and embrace this change. I could not believe more strongly in anti-establishment movements in the tech arena. I do not believe that can be entirely disconnected from politics, democracy, security, economy or foreign affairs - And nor should it be, I'm not naive - but I welcome any ingenuity of the technological world that allows for effective bulldozing through the lacklustre lethargy that plagues governmental organisations when it comes to adapting to new technology, and vehemently believe it should not be hindered or intentionally blocked for want of profit.

So there you have it. My prediction for Apple moving forward. It may be fundamentally different to the pace set by current trends, and it may be a bit of a stretch to estimate 2022 will achieve these goals, but ten years ago the idea of today's technology was science fiction, until the iPhone changed the game. Now the technology exists. The infrastructure is launching. The concepts are alive and business acquisitions are aligning. And who better to lead that march into the technology of tomorrow than those who brought it here?

Long Live Apple.

-Tom

Edit: I incorrectly stated the 3.5mm adapter from the old 'quarter-inch' analogue headphone jack was implemented by Apple - it was in fact originally coined by Sony for their EFM-117J radio

It's 4pm in the heart of a bustling Brisbane City. I'm waiting at a cross sign on my weary way home from work, longing for nothing but a beer and a nap, thanking god I had the rest of the evening off to shut myself away and sleep. Just then my phone buzzes, and I read a clandestine-like message from an acquaintance I've come to know. "Are you in the city?".

Fifteen minutes and three mysterious texts later I followed my instructions and was ushered into a dark corner of a quasi-deserted cafe down the end of an alleyway, like an unsuspecting victim in a bad James Bond film. And then I saw it...

Jokes. But such was the occasion where I had to put my phone away lest I take a photograph, and we really did go in to a dark corner of a dark cafe away from prying eyes. And then I spent 45 minutes one on one with a Samsung rep (for which I am very grateful) who showed me every nook and cranny of what the Samsung Galaxy S8 was, and what it could do.

Damn.

Ahem... This is terrible timing. I honestly believed no Android phone would impress me any more, and yesterday I said so. Whoops!

I feel mighty hypocritical, but as I caressed the sublime metal and glass texture that wrapped around what is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most gorgeous looking phone I've ever seen, I realised I've never been adverse or close minded to a good piece of hardware. Now, as I laugh out loud at the thought my colleagues, friends, family - anyone I know really - simultaneously shouting 'Bullshit!' at that last statement, it would be remiss of me to say I've had some bias towards Apple in the past. And that hasn't changed. But more on that at the end of the article. On to the review!

It's been a difficult 12 months for Samsung. Between exploding phones, exploding recalled phones, exploding dishwashers and a string of horrid J-series releases, Samsung needs the Galaxy S8 and S8+ to pull a mighty rope-a-dope move and come out swinging to get Samsung back in the game. As such, they've pulled out all the stops for their Comeback-Kings - and what Kings they are! QWHD+ (Quad Wide HD+) screen (5.8" for S8, 6.2" for S8+), 4GB ram, dual-sensor 12mp rear camera with f1.7 aperture, new wide-angle 8MP front-facing camera with auto-focus and face detect, IPX68 water and dust rating and fortunately, in Australia, a world first 10nm architecture Exynos chipset developed in-house by Samsung. Quick note for my tech peeps: The Exynos is vastly superior to the Snapdragon chipset, but the US models do have the new Snapdragon 835, which is naturally better than the 820 or 821 in current flagships. Because it's obligatory to address the rest of the specifications in reviews; it has fast wireless charging, 64GB internal memory (expandable of course), and a ****ing headphone jack.

But what defines these phones has nothing to do with numbers. It can't be described on paper or seen on youtube. It must be felt and experienced to truly understand how much Samsung engineers must have been neglecting their sleep, kids, husbands and wives to produce this model. Yet, other than the screen, Samsung neglected to mention most of the jaw-dropping features of the S8/S8+ in their ad campaigns.

First off - the bezels are gone. There is a slight chin on the top and bottom of the phone, but the curved glass on the sides that melds seamlessly into the aluminum is executed flawlessly, delivering a much more exquisite and natural feel than what the S7 Edge features. The Note 7 had a similar edge, but the S8 is done better. The fact that I was holding a 5.8" phone was completely lost on me, as it felt much smaller in my hand than my bulky 5.5" iPhone 7 Plus. But it's impossible to forget that screen size when you watch any media. When a YouTube clip is loaded, the display will default to a familiar 16:9 ratio display, cropping out the edges in a landscape setting (though you wouldn't know it, the black perfectly matches the phone chins). It's a bizarre feeling - but it honestly felt like that was an amazing picture already filling the whole screen - and then the Samsung rep blew my mind: pushing a simple button on the edge of the display allows the clip to take up the entire screen. The edges of the phone disappear, and all of a sudden you are holding a clear piece of glass like something out of Iron Man and you feel involved in whatever clip you're watching. It is most certainly revolutionary.

But being the cynic I am, this got me questioning the edges. Since the edges really do go so far around, surely my fingers will be constantly touching the screen and registering as a touch like the infamous S7 Edge issue, accidentally ruining my experience with the entire interface. Not so - the palm (or touch) rejection technology is excellent. The entire time I used the phone, nothing I did felt unnatural or out of place. I never inadvertently touched anything by holding the phone or wiping the screen whilst a clip was playing, yet any time I intended for a piece of the phone to work, it performed flawlessly.

And this really sums up what is impressive about the hardware. The chip is faster, yes, the speakers are great, the iris scanner works well with face detection biosecuriy technology and could be genuinely useful. That's all kind of cool, however nothing overly revolutionary jumped out at me about the rest of the hardware - it was more evolutionary. That screen though.

The software, on the other hand, really blew my mind. There are some outstanding features which really worked well and they are NOT android features: they belong to Bixby. Bixby is Samsung's new version of Siri or Google Assistant, but better. Here are some awesome things I did with Bixby: Took a screenshot that contained text, then using the edge-swipe menu drew a rectangle around some of that text and a dialogue option of 'Extract Text' pops up - and you can then share whatever text was contained in that screenshot as an actual document to notes, emails, reminders, calendars, pdf's, docs, you name it. The really impressive part? It did this with photo's too. I took a photo of a menu that had custom fonts at the cafe in poor lighting and then was able to perform the same procedure and it worked (almost) flawlessly. Think of all the applications of that. And it was not difficult at all - I stumbled upon it almost immediately, it was that easy.

Another amazing feature that is truly understated is that the Galaxy S8/S8+ Is the first phone to have Bluetooth 5, complete with compatible audio codecs. Double the Bluetooth range of Bluetooth 4.3, four times the speed and the ability for two people to use two different sets of Bluetooth headphones and, if desired, listen to two entirely different audio streams from the one phone! How is this not listed as one of the top five features? It's barely mentioned!

The point is, the phone is excellent. But before Apple fans consider me a traitor, write me off as a bad mistake and cast me off to wherever it is Apple fanboys go after being cast aside from the crowd, I'm going to bring it back a bit. Because whilst I genuinely believe the phone is awesome, it's still Android.

And here's where I want to bring an important distinction into the fold. In my last post, I talked a lot about the Pixel vs the iPhone - and on my facebook feed a perturbed reader identified, correctly, that I didn't mention Samsung much. That was no mistake. After all, if Apple ceased to exist tomorrow, the world would move on. If Google ceased to exist tomorrow, we will have lost the primary resource of education of the latter generations, and the world would take longer to adjust.

My last post centred around Google being a service company that is trying to compete with hardware, whereas Apple was a hardware company making software that supported it's own hardware. Two very different approaches by two very different companies to connecting their products to their own ecosystem. And again, in my mind, Google is an astonishingly good software company. Apple is, in my mind, the best hardware company. But Samsung is somewhere in between.

Android phones in general continue to have the same myriad of issues across a range of different categories that it has failed to escape from since it's conception soon after iOS. They're difficult to develop for, because so many phones have so many screen sizes and pixel variations. The coding of Android software needs to account for performance ranges in hardware, and thus is not optimized for any single phone. This is also true of the Pixel. They invariably slow down over time, fail to be simplistic and user-friendly when compared to iOS and for all that extra customization, I'd argue the masses simply buy Android phones because they either don't want to pay for an iPhone, or hate the way Apple do business exclusively. It's very rare that I've had a customer genuinely excited for Android products. It's extremely rare that I've seen people queue anxiously on launch day for the next Samsung product, Huawei or Oppo. The Pixel had some excitement around it due to being attached to the Google brand, but it was certainly moderate when compared to the iPhone 7 launch.

Samsung are a hardware company, adopting Google software. Whilst I am optimistic and hopeful about the S8 and S8 plus, I am often let down by the android half of that equation, quite often after several months. Samsung do not develop Android software. They tweak it, modify it, and give it their own branding (previously: TouchWiz) but that still isn't the same as Apple developing the software for the hardware. They also currently do not have a comparable tablet that runs on Android (because tablet androids are so, so crap) and the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S series, whilst very nice, run on microsoft. And it's simply not possible to have the continuity and cross-platform grace of iOS and MacOS when they continue to be developed by two very, very different companies.

So yet again we come to the point of: "Apple locks you into an ecosystem that's hard to escape from". But I don't think that's true. Apple offer you an ecosystem that's yet to be paralleled. It's very different to 'locking' you in, since it's entirely plausible and easy to migrate away from iOS, if you really desire. But the reality is no company has been able to match the simplicity and ease that is the hallmark of Apple when it comes to switching between devices. Whether it's iMessage, copy+paste on another device, seamless syncing of photo's (and no, Google Photo's does not do this as fluidly as iCloud) or updating and sharing your Apps between your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro or iMac, Apple has allowed for all of it to work with all of it. When you buy an iPhone it's not just an iPhone - it's a doorway into the ecosystem that you are likely to already be a part of. Take a photo on your phone, view it on your iPad. Open it up minutes later on your Mac, edit it, instantly export it to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and your iCloud. Buy an App on your iPhone, your family can now download it for free. There's many ways the Apple ecosystem is vastly superior, still, to Google.

The other factor here is the fact that Samsung are a generation ahead of Apple. There is a lot of hype about the iPhone 8, or iPhone 'edition', whichever rumor ends up ringing true. Like every iteration of the iPhone, it is most likely to be launched in the 3rd week of September, and I can't wait to see what it entails. Rumor mills are ablaze and fanboys are loving it. For me, I think the hype is a little too much. I highly doubt a lot of the current rumors will coalesce come September, but they don't need to. There are reasonable rumors and then there are ridiculous rumors, and if the reasonable ones leaked by reputable sources come true, the iPhone will yet again take the crown. (Side note: My most interesting piece will involve what I genuinely believe the future of Apple looks like, and when, and I will be publishing that over Easter. Tune in for that one; it'll be a doozy).

But for now, the Samsung S8 is clearly the best piece of individual hardware in the industry. It's unfettered performance, boundary-breaking screen, and amazing new intelligent assistant slash operating system Bixby is a huge step in the right direction for Samsung. Right now, I will openly admit it overshadows the iPhone 7. And going forward I think it will be good for both Apple and Samsung to have some truly equal-ground territory to brawl on, because for the past 2 generations it's been all iPhone, and deservedly so. If Samsung are able to continue on the trajectory of innovation and even, perhaps, develop their own integration into tablet and 2-in-1 markets that involve their own operating systems then I could see them doing extremely well over the next generation, and will truly lay the gauntlet down to Apple for hardware extraordinaire. But for now, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is an ostentatious and revolutionary milestone towards that goal.

As long as it doesn't blow up.

Ah, yes. The war of the new-old ages. Apple vs Google. Apple vs Microsoft. Microsoft vs Google vs Apple. Apple is evil, premium and expensive (but oh-so-sexy). Google represents affordability, customisability and diversity (but oh-so-technical). Microsoft is dated, industrial and "businessy" (PC? Eugh... boring).

These are the general trends representing the opinions I hear every day en masse. If time in retail around technology has taught me anything, it's that most people are quick to judge and slow to forgive. Naturally the tech-savvy among us occasionally venture into an archaic dwelling called a 'store' in order to preview the latest in tech that they've already researched thoroughly, eager to confirm their own general bias and proudly exhibit their masterful knowledge and superiority over the first courageous salesperson to approach them with an offer of assistance, before shaking their head in disgust at the 'outrageous price' of the super-computer they're seeking to stick in their pocket as they leave to purchase said supercomputer off ebay or Kogan.

If you're one of those people, this article is not for you.

Before we begin - let's address the elephant in the room: I'm an Apple savant. The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not represent opinions of anyone I'm affiliated with personally or professionally. As you may have guessed from the giant feature photo I have on the home page, and each and every header on my website, I believe in the Apple product. But I am most certainly not an Apple "sheep", so to speak, and both Microsoft and Google have valuable merits. In fact, I will openly admit that Google, in particular, do a lot of things better than Apple. It's also important to state that I am not going to necessarily recommend Apple to you, the reader, blindly.

Now with that out of the way, I think the question of which brand is right for each person is overtly complex and thoroughly confusing - which is unfortunate, since in the case of a phone it is something that most people rely on all day every day. Whilst I also think the onus of responsibility for keeping up with technology and the world that you are living in is up to you - love it or hate it - it could be made much simpler if the 'tech industry' would stop throwing specs and fancy-worded features at consumers that are often misleading (read: megapixels means nothing) to try and grab market share. Consumers get new phones every two years on average, so every two years they attempt to navigate the murky waters of Snapdragon processors, Mali GPU's, XXXXmAh batteries and Siri vs Google Assistant vs Cortana - all from scratch - in order to make an almost impossible choice for their next real life personal assistant to accompany them around for the next 2 years (a phone).

Wouldn't it be great if there was a company that could make a product that just did what the majority of consumers want it to do, and not ram 'the latest specs' down their throat with each iteration? Wouldn't it be great if it was simple, intuitive, fast and most importantly reliable? This has been Apple's entire business plan since day dot - and interestingly the Google Pixel was marketed on an identical premise. The Google Pixel - Google's first foray into an in-house designed and produced phone - has no mention in it's marketing of processors, gigahertz, camera pixels or screen resolution. Instead, it focused on the fact that it was a Google phone by Google, it had Google Assistant, it had rapid charge (already on almost all flagship devices), it was designed by Google, you got some free cloud storage, and did I mention it was a Google phone by Google?

Androids have traditionally hailed themselves on having faster processors, superior specs, more customisability options - but whilst tech-heads get off on that, the majority of people simply don't understand and don't care. The worst part is, the most frustrating part to me in particular, is those tech heads I mentioned earlier are often so certain of their own speculative superiority because they understand what "2.1ghz" vs "1.8ghz" means, yet they're completely wrong most of the time. Arrogance combined with ignorance makes for an unbelievably horrible character trait (one which I'm ashamed to say I've been guilty of many times in the past - I'm working on it). Which means the true tech heads (exhibit me - yes I see the hypocrisy in that) struggle against every fibre of their being to not correct said tech heads and match fire with fire by more knowledgeable ramming of statistics and specs and benchmark figures down their throat (until they choke!). And since this is my blog - and since this post is already relatively personal - I will.

Let's talk specs.

When the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were launched in September 2016, geeks and nerds rushed to benchmark and compare every facet of perceivable performance variable to come up with every permutation of every argument against iPhone's being juggernauts in the performance arena in order to justify their Apple-bashing. They failed miserably. The iPhone 7/7 Plus at the time of launch floored the competition on every benchmark. Here are some numbers to back it up - each score is the iPhone compared with the top-performing android phone of each test.

Geekbench 4 Single Core test (single-core processor speed - top 4 phones are iPhones):
1. iPhone 7 - 3488
5. Huawei Honor 8 - 1720
Google Pixel XL - 1507

Geekbench 4 Multi Core test (multi-core processor speed):
1. iPhone 7 Plus - 5664
3. Huawei Honor 8 - 5447
Google Pixel XL - 4152

Basemark OS 2.0:
1. iPhone 7 Plus - 3751
5. OnePlus 3 - 2365
Google Pixel XL - 2281

AnTuTu 6:
1. iPhone 7 - 174532
3. OnePlus 3 - 141764
Google Pixel XL - 141186

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (frames per second):
1. iPhone 7 - 61
3. Galaxy S7 Edge - 49

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (frames per second):
1. iPhone 7 - 43
3. Lenovo Moto Z Force Droid - 32
Google Pixel XL - 19

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal:
1. iPhone 7 - 1547
5. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - 733
Google Pixel XL - 626

You may have noticed that I included the Google Pixel XL scores in each of those benchmarks. The reason there is no number next to it is because in almost all of the tests, the Google Pixel did not rank in the top 10 performing phones. iPhone 7 ranked first in every test.

Now those scores paint a pretty conclusive picture when it comes to performance and speed from the phones, and android lovers must hate it. They'll hate it more when they realised that those who bought the Google Pixel XL - being the exact same price as the iPhone 7/7 plus - bought a 'flagship' android phone that wasn't up to scratch performance wise.

So let's look closer in particular to the iPhone 7 vs Google Pixel XL - since both of these phones represent the pinnacle of each brands mobile tech:

1. The iPhone 7 has IPX67 water rating - meaning fully submersible in water - yet the Pixel is not water resistant.
2. The iPhone 7 has dual stereo speakers, the Pixel doesn't.
3. The iPhone 7 comes in 5 different colours, the Pixel comes in 2 (except for a limited-edition ugly as **** blue).
4. The iPhone 7 comes with options from 32gb, 128gb and 256gb - the pixel only comes with 32 and 128gb.
5. Both phones are exactly the same price in Australia, both on plans and outright.
6. Both phones do not come with expandable storage.
7. Whilst both cameras are amazing - low light might be SLIGHTLY better on the Pixel (and I do mean slight - I literally can't tell the difference in comparisons) but the iPhone 7 plus has Bokha and Zoom, both of which take absolutely stunning shots that no other phone can reproduce, including the Pixel.
8. You can clearly see the iPhone ranges from 25% to 130% better performance across the board.

Yet Apple is still hated and the Pixel has got raving reviews. Isn't that a beautifully ironic twist in tech plot - Google advocates always bashed Apple for having lower specs, less options and being exclusive to the rich - yet the Pixel is underperforming, has less options and costs the same - but then the Android fanboys will still claim it's a better phone. Who are the 'sheep' now?

Now - it seems like I've done a lot of good old fashioned biased Google bashing there - but I'm going to bring it back a bit. In my opinion, the Pixel is overpriced, underperforming and removes most of the options that give Android any validity of choice over Apple.

But Google is not a hardware company.

Apple makes its money off hardware. They offer closed-system services that work brilliantly cross-platform in order to encourage users to buy exclusively Apple hardware. The hardware is premium, and fantastic. The hardware, in my view, is well and truly head and shoulders above the rest. Apple does not on-sell browser data for profit. Apple does not offer any cloud service for free without purchasing extremely expensive hardware first. Apple costs a tonne.

Google, however, is a software company. They deliver services. They do it amazingly. Never before in the history of mankind has a private company managed to officially turn their name into one of the most commonly used verbs in multiple languages. They made a search engine (you may have heard of it), they provide free and brilliant emails, they deliver fantastic apps to support those services on a mobile platform, and they do it for free (or at least, as far as most people are concerned) by onselling metadata to governments and corporations in exchange for profit and advertising revenues. Some would argue this decreases security (and it does) but if it allows people access to Google Drive for $0 per month, so be it. Apple costs $4.99 per month as of writing this for a mere 200gb. Google also created and maintains Android, the most widely adopted mobile operating system on the planet used by dozens of hardware manufacturers.

Apple makes world-class hardware - and they support it brilliantly. Google defines world-class software - and they should stick to that.

Now that could easily be the end of this article - but we've left out one important factor: Microsoft.

Here's another defining feature of Apple: They are in your pocket, they are in your bag in the form of tablets and laptops, and they are on your desk at home in the form of an iMac or Mac Pro, and plugged into your TV in the form of an Apple TV. Google are in your pocket - I'm going to leave the tablet part out because Android tablet is a giant joke and I can't believe anybody still makes them - and they don't do laptops or desktops. They do Google Chromecast (which is also brilliant). Microsoft is not in your pocket. Microsoft failed miserably at mobile interface and scaling. PC's are on your desk or in your bag.

Apple: Phone - Tablet - Laptop - Desktop - TV
Google: Phone - TV
Microsoft: Laptop - Desktop (These will be defunct compared to mobile soon)

Apple is the only brand that is competitive in every arena. Because of this, the products work together extremely well no matter where you are or what platform you're using. It's all linked together under one Apple ID - the data, documents and media sync incredibly well, and neither Google nor Microsoft can offer that right now.

And Microsoft has suddenly decided to go on an all out price hike to break every Apple record for most expensive products ever. The Surface Book's go over $5,000 and the Surface studio can reach $6,000! A ******* adapter for a Surface Pro 2-in-1 notebook is at least $150AUD! I'm not sure what the game plan here is - but in my mind that takes Microsoft out of the running, at least temporarily, when compared to the other two. Nobody uses OneDrive. Siri says: "Who's Cortana?" and Google Assistant says: "Meh who cares." - Point is, Microsoft needs to do a lot to become relevant in the mobile arena and thus for the future.

Windows will continue to dominate enterprise until linux becomes King.

And finally - saved the best for last. "The iPhone 7 is the same as the iPhone 6, they just removed the headphone jack. What a joke." Neck yourself if you consider yourself 'techy' and ever thought this. This is literally 'it looks the same therefore is the same'. Despite absolutely nobody understanding what goes on under the hood. The iPhone 7 is by far the biggest leap in technology of its predecessor (6s) since the start of the iPhone's existence. Here's a list:

1. 40% faster than iPhone 6s - 100% faster than 6.
2. Stereo speakers.
3. Waterproof and Dust resistant.
4. Camera - Probably the biggest difference - iPhone 7 plus has dual lenses including the worlds first and only phone optical zoom lens, and portrait mode which gives depth effect. For examples of these shots and why novice photo-takers should care, go to gsmarena. Also has far higher aperture (1.8 vs 2.2) so much better in low light, insanely faster, etc etc... huge huge difference.
5. Haptic feedback engine on the home button to A) improve waterproofing and B) fix mechanical home button issues that sometimes occur after a few years.
6. Added colors (Matte Black is amazing)
7. 25% brighter screen - now also satisfies official p3 photography criteria (wide color gamut)
8. Longer battery life (Although takes too long to charge)
9. Double storage as standard (32gb / 128gb / 256gb vs 16gb / 64gb / 128gb)
10. They removed the headphone jack.

So for the sake of my sanity - can we please cease the notion that the iPhone 6s is 'the same' as the iPhone 7?

But wait. We have a new entrant: The Huawei Mate 9. This phone struck me as incredible when I first saw it - and it hasn't disappointed in reviews. First off - performance wise? Only Android phone to ever beat the iPhone 7 in any arena. Not only does it do that - it absolutely destroys the iPhone 7 in many arenas, leaving other androids eating its dust for christmas. It also adds expandable storage, a bigger screen (and one of the most gorgeous screens I've ever seen, by the way), better battery and yes --- probably the best camera if you don't include depth effect and zoom. It also has impossibly thin bezels and is generally awesome.

But it's still Android. So I fully expect it to slow down over time, start having overheating or battery issues because of software glitches. I expect it will be complicated for average users who are likely to download and run too many apps that will crash the phone. I don't necessarily blame Google for this (and I certainly don't blame Huawei - kudos to them for making such a nice phone) - but Apple simply removes that option for users to customize their phone in a potentially damaging way.

And thus we have the true nature of 'Apple hating' - removal of choice for the greater good. And much like politics, the fragile line between freedom and security (or in this case - freedom and reliability) is subjective and nobody will ever agree on where the line should be. Where it is for some, others won't be satisfied. Some won't be satisfied until the source OS code and kernel's are free to mess around with. I applaud Apple for their choice of balance and freedom in their mobile OS whilst consistently delivering excellent features and amazing performance.

As Apple has proven in Western society - people are content with having user-friendly tech that works and is reliable. Yes, it's pricey - but that's about the only criticism that's valid these days. iTunes is no longer used, Apple Music is awesome (and is across-platform). iOS is a lot less exclusive than it used to be - and workflow has basically changed the game on scripting (more on that later).

But hey - if Apple ceased existing tomorrow, the world would move on with new hardware. If Google to exist tomorrow, the world would stop.

If you are a tech head who made it to this point then you have an interest in tech and likely have your mind made up. Most IT pundits prefer Android. So if you're curious enough to wonder, then give it a go. At least after doing so you'll know for sure what you prefer. If you have other Apple hardware - stick with Apple. You're just giving up too much functionality if you don't. Do you want magical seamless integration between devices using things like Airdrop, Airplay, Airpods, Facetime, iMessages across every platform and photos synced? Go iPhone. If you want a tonne of storage space for free to store media and access it whenever wherever - go Pixel.

Or you could you can say **** it and get a Blackberry.

- Tom

Queue the exasperated groans from those who know me. This is going to be a much less 'objective' and well written post, and more of a rant. Now an ongoing theme of my blog, you may notice, is that whilst I don't blame the general public for not paying attention - I bet they'd be pretty angry if they did. I'll get to that at the end. It's been a while since I've paid due attention to NBN - despite being involved in it each and every day for my job. Amidst the turmoil of the world at large right now and the frenetic pace of technology globally, it is easy to stop paying attention to what is, without doubt, one of the largest mistakes of modern infrastructure.

Some personal caveats to begin with: I have been extremely interested in the NBN rollout since it was first announced in mainstream media circa 2007 (Kevin-oh-seven come at me). In a lot of ways, it was my introduction to the wider world outside that magical little bubble that so many teenagers believe will be the center of the universe for their entire lives. Also - whilst I have had experience working under Bill Morrow (current CEO of NBN) before, none of the information below is not available publicly in previous news articles.

Bill was hired to turn Vodafone around after a publicly calamitous 2011 where network underperformance and poor merger management between "3" Mobile and Vodafone bled the brand of any and all life (Nigel Dews - previous CEO - was famously let go for this). Bill was brought on to mastermind a titanic turnaround - arrest bleeding customers, bring the brand back on track and start making profits again. The idea was, in 2012, to spend a year or so building network capacity and reducing cost and to start being profitable again in mid 2014 (which was later revised to be mid 2015). In 2012, Vodafone lost approximately 450k customers. In 2013, they lost 1.2m. Bill left the sinking ship to take over NBN half way through this 'turnaround' program mid 2014. Vodafone was left in the worst state it had ever been in, with a CEO who had coined a three year turnaround program and abandoned ship when he realized it wasn't working. The next chief, Inaki Berroeta, has done a fantastic job - but firmly held his stance that committing to profitability mid 2015 was unrealistic when he took over. Credit to Vodafone, since Morrow's departure they have managed to arrest customer losses (somewhat) and seem to be genuinely turning it around.

Bill is now in charge of NBN. NBN was a lost cause before it started by being a political gambit. As I wrote in my last post, I do not believe that politicians and typical baby boomer aged CEO's are equipped to understand, much less direct, a technological rollout. Call me crazy, and many do, but Bill recently copped an unbelievable amount of flak for publicly stating that 'Australians don't want fast internet, and wouldn't even use it if we gave it away for free'. This is one of those times im so grateful that I can post whatever I want on here:

What a fu.... dingbat.

Here are the facts of the NBN rollout so far:

1. The original estimate of $29.5b from the Labor side of the NBN debate was unreasonable. No question.
2. However there is also no debate or question that the Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) proposal of NBN was technically superior by a magnitude of anywhere from 10x to 100x.
3. The main argument by, at the time, Malcolm Turnbull's communications team for Multi-Technology Mix (MTM) was that it would be cheaper, and be rolled out by 2016.
4. We are now in 2017, the NBN has scarcely reached anyone, and because of the MTM it's been more degrading then beneficial for the majority of people who have received it. The estimate for finishing is 2020 - the same estimated timeframe as the original Labor FTTP plan.
5. The cost of the NBN is now at $56 BILLION dollars - the maintenance costs are VASTLY more expensive than FTTP would be, and the speed is undeniably inferior - in some instances - even to ADSL 2+.

Let's take a moment here and consider that, shall we?

LNP's version of NBN is now more expensive, slower, technically inferior and completely redundant - making it a giant, epic, catastrophic waste of time and taxpayers money.

Thanks Malcolm, thanks Bill - bang-up job you guys have done.

So - redundant, I said. Why? Because NBN will arrive, for most, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. 5G is being tested as we speak, and I personally have been lucky enough to witness speeds in excess of 550mbps on a personal mobile testing unit in Australia with my own two eyes. This wasn't a lab-conditioned test; this was real world, impromptu happenstance where somebody who was privy to the testing network from Ericsson happened to be at a roadshow even I was attending - and after the seminar I asked him about it. 5G goes public during the Commonwealth games in 2018. But this is still minor-league. Add to this the fact that we have actually had Australia's best kept secret HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) internet that delivers speeds of up to 120mbps down, 2.4mbps upload reliably (as long as its Telstra's - not Optus) for 15 odd years, and it really does highlight how long ago we could have upgraded our nation (p.s: Anyone on ADSL now who is in a major metro area - do yourself a favor and check if HFC (commonly known as cable) is available where you are. Don't bother asking why, just do it. Only Optus and Telstra provide it - so don't bother with your smaller carriers).

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, SpaceX and OneWeb are now launching their own satellite internet systems - and these guys have major backers. Google are backing SpaceX to the tune of $10b, and Apple are backing OneWeb to the tune of who knows, because #Apple - but you can bet it is significant. So what do you get when the two biggest tech giants both back arguably the two most innovative companies in recent times? You get success. Success and lots of it - and fast. These satellite systems are poised to deliver internet at speeds that, initially, will simply beat NBN. In the long run however, it's very likely that these satellite systems will completely trivialise it. Not only will it be more reliable, faster, have better tech in place - but it will be able to reach anywhere in the world, all the time. How beautifully and uniquely tailored to the Australian environment.

So what prompted me to write about this issue? I saw an advertisement by NBN as part of their new campaign called 'Gen NBN' - and it centered around getting ready for NBN to (finally) roll out in non-regional areas and deliver 'next-gen' internet to Australians abroad. But that's just it - it's not next gen. The rest of the world has had speeds faster than Australia for 50 years, and now the rest of the world is moving on - just as we were about to catch up with FTTP internet. Yet we're still paying huge amounts of dollars to this project that, in all honesty, I believe we should just stop. If we reinvested the resources of this project into 5g and/or satellite tech, we could simply leapfrog the last vestige of wired technology and cut ahead of the game to truly next-gen internet. $55b for fixed-line internet is a disgrace for a nation of 22m people, given SpaceX's program of 4000 low-earth orbit satellites are only going to cost $10b, and OneWeb's 700 satellites are going to cost somewhere around $2b!

My final point is this: There was a time when Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott were all battling it out amongst Australian politics to see who could take the reigns and embarrass the country the least - and NBN was one of the top three issues at the time used to prey on the ignorance of the general public with a promise to reduce tax-dollars going into it. Now in 2017 at a time where, to me, the NBN should be at the forefront of the news cycle due to it being twice the price and slower than ever to roll out with inferior tech - I rarely see it on the news. Gone are the frantic media postings about each billion dollars the new nbn might cost, or how it was a major political debate during parliamentary sit-ins. Now that neither party is using the NBN as a political heave-ho (probably because they don't want to touch it) it seems to be getting away with far worse than it ever was before - and quietly.

Oh, and Bill Morrow just paid himself another $3.6m last financial year - tripling his bonus from the year before - extending his lead as the highest paid public servant in Australian history, ever. Are you mad yet?

Whilst the supposed leaders of our western world squabble over trivialities such as p**** grabbing, collusion with Russian diplomats and 'golden shower' debates, an encouraging sign of elevated humanity is quietly working in the background towards progress and survival.

The idea of 'government', in its current form, is coming to an end. There has never been a single successful democratic society, power or empire that hasn't cannibalized itself eventually. The repetition of history appears to follow a simple pattern:

1. Amazing feats of engineering, humanitarianism and brilliance give rise to an escalation of a particular nation or group of people, normally built on sound ideals and values.
2. This leads to an imbalance of power in the world which, for some reason, leads to powerful groups (or individuals) at the top of that echelon of power striving to rule the world.
3. The institutions in place that benefit the wealthy cause suffering for the masses, which inevitably backfires on the ruling monarchs and thus, chaos and societal self-canabalism takes place.

Without going into specific periods of history where this has occurred, it seems safe to say that there is reasonable grounds that it appears this current  state of public incredulity and resilient incompetence from the top combined with arrogance, entitlement and overwhelming ignorance from the general masses parallels with previous historical cycles incredibly accurately.

But there is hope.

NASA gave up on space exploration after the final manned moon landing of Apollo 17 on 11th December, 1972. Today, SpaceX successfully launched another Falcon 9 rocket into space carrying an Echostar satellite for Brazilian TV; it's 3rd successful launch in the past couple of months.  In the next 24 months, they will put two civilian customers on the moon. In 10 years, they anticipate Mars colonization commencing, for the median cost of an average home - and they have the numbers crunched as to how.

The U.S government just confirmed Betsy DeVos - a woman who's exceptional stupidity befits her name - as Secretary of Education. Mark Zuckerberg is building public schools with an intended curriculum that will be relevant in the age of tomorrow, where the minds of the young will be, rightly, focused forwards.

Governments around the world are squabbling like stubborn siblings about whether or not climate change is actually happening, much less focusing on infrastructure changes to help. Google Sidewalk Labs has partnered with Transportation for America and is building 16 smart cities that will eliminate carbon emissions and be ready for self-driving cars, ride sharing and will communicate initiatives that work and that don't to each other. And this is happening as we speak.

The list goes on:

Trump is trying to bring manufacturing of fuel-based cars back into America - Tesla has over 400,000 orders of it's next zero-emission, ferrari-performing, self-driving cars that can be bought for $34,000USD.

The Australian Government has wasted a decade and billions of taxpayer dollars trying (and failing) to bring NBN about - Just in time for 5g and low-orbit satellite internet to render it 100% useless.

Self driving cars are being developed by every major tech player and have been tested to be somewhere around ten times safer than an average human driver, infinitely more efficient and would allow commuters to work/rest/play during travel. Not to mention eradication of traffic jams, the need for roadworks and old-style infrastructure, road tolls etc.

You get the picture.

Governments are slow, in a world that needs rapid response more than ever. Governments are weak, absent of conviction lest the next vote go south. Governments are technologically incompetent, failing to adapt to a world becoming increasingly reliant on technological competence.

The reason is simple: The majority of decision makers are ailing geriatrics, stuck in a global society moving too fast for their little ego's to handle and only complicit in their shared love of outdated prejudices that should have been eradicated a long time ago. Along with them. Ahem - may be some bitter old man of myself coming out there...

But even as wikileaks again circumvented the CIA and released thousands of damning documents outlining surveillance of the masses by various technical means, a simple reddit search of Pangu or Tula Todesco casually breaking into the absolute pinnacle of sophisticated governmental security 'in their spare time' highlights the laughable concept of government tech being anywhere near the pinnacle of anything tech-related anymore.

Perhaps the greatest example of how technology has reached a stage where private organizations can finally bypass the bureaucratic nonsense was on 10th March, when Elon Musk stated oh-so-simply that he could fix South Australia's horrendous energy problems for next to nothing. Over Twitter.

When asked if he was serious about his proposal by tech Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, Elon Musk laid down the gauntlet: "Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or its free. That serious enough for you?"

"@ElonMusk Legend! You're on mate. Give me 7 days to sort politics & funding. DM me a quote for approx 100MW cost - mates rates." - The verbatim response from Mr Cannon-Brookes.

Now it appears that a few tweets, one week and 100 days is all it takes to solve a country's energy crisis - if the government doesn't stand in the way. And all I can think is how amazing it is that so little went into undoubtedly the biggest revolutionary step in Australian clean-energy infrastructure in the shortest timeframe imaginable at absolutely no cost to the Australian tax-payers, as if almost by accident. In fact, it will likely reduce electricity consumption by... infinite. I have no doubt that the tax-payers won't see a cent of this reduction in energy, because I'm sure it will be squirreled away into the budget for other uses - but its still an evolutionary step.

Are governments still necessary? Absolutely. For now. But I can't see the current bipartisan system hanging around for too much longer - and nor should it. More on this in a later post.

The privately owned (or floated) tech enterprises have stood up, and taken it upon themselves to improve large-scale infrastructure. Love it or hate it, this will contribute to the growth of private enterprise and minimisation of governmental influence - but not the same corporate greed style of private enterprise. Positive private enterprise. Not a single party in which I've mentioned here is an 'evil' company. None of them are doing anything other than greatly taking huge strides in humanitarian progress and indeed, human survival. Which is just as well, because right now the Elon Musks and Mike Cannon-Brooke's of the world must be rolling their eyes at the state of politics and its' major players like parents wearily trying to separate their bickering, sooky toddlers.

The time for governments is coming to an end. The dominion technology is just beginning. Whilst the baby boomers are dizzy with the pace of current technology, millennials impatiently await the iPhone 8 and the next innovation, all the while both parties blissfully unaware that they're caught up in an Accidental Revolution.

What do you think? Comment below.

On 21st Feb, 2012, Airtasker was launched. A simple idea, conceived and created by co-founders Tim Fung (CEO) and Jonathan Lui (COO). Airtasker is a simple concept: a shared local community of people are seeking outsourcing of everyday tasks, and that same shared local community of people are able to opt undertake those tasks. Today, Airtasker is the latest soon-to-be-business-behemoth in a series of apps (Uber, AirBnB, Zipcar, Amazon drones, etc...) with an astonishingly simple premise, executed brilliantly, designed to simplify life in the 21st century.

Why have 10,000 local business websites designed to individually attract one particular service that those businesses specialise in, when everyone can log on to a single app and access an individual specialist in a field who is unanimously rated as being an excellent service provider? Or, in the same app, can hire someone to do laundry quickly, simply and safely?

First came corporatism. Then came social media. Now comes automation.

Google, SpaceX, Amazon and Apple are all working on self-driving cars. I use 'working on' loosely, because as Elon Musk has publicly stated: "...Self-driving cars are a solved problem." The technology is here, tested, and in some cases, deployed. We are simply waiting for the bureaucratic process to catch up, and then self-driving cars will be commonplace, replacing 85% or more of the auto industry overnight. These cars will be electric, so oil demand will plummet along with the jobs of tens of millions of employee's in those industries. This is only a few years away.

There are 3D sensors already in alpha-phase testing within existing big-name grocery store chains able to recognise when an item is removed from the shelf, update the stock levels in the grocery database in real-time, restock the shelf automatically, and have electronic 'ticket' rails update pricing instantaneously, thus getting rid of the need for two thirds of the shelf-stackers, half of the major marketing divisions and all checkout staff.

Recently, I talked to someone (whos' name I won't mention for anonymity) who founded a very well respected firm that's working on the cutting edge of facial recognition software. This software is able to identify a persons face when they walk into a store, and from that facial recognition data they are able  to instantly access databases compiled using various collections of websites cookies' and form a personality profile. With this information, implemented into large data, they are able to get a horrifyingly accurate read on the demographic of people shopping in their clients stores. This person told me, on last testing, the facial recognition error percentage clocked in at less than 0.01%.

And there goes the remainder of your marketing, advertising, inventory analysis and sales divisions for almost any non-electronic product.

The list goes on.

The age of traditional western economy is coming to a close, and fast. Those who don't make it on to the 'tech-train' will be left behind, unless they're already so fat with cash they can afford to buy their way in at the top.

The bulk of our employable industries are currently centred around productivity; a task soon to be left to robots. But what about our more elitist professions? Surely the most highly respected jobs of doctors, lawyers and executives will be safe for generations to come?

A little longer, yes, but certainly not for generations. Despite what any baby boomer may vehemently argue about with regards to people being irreplaceable in certain complex or moral situations, that is only true whilst the weightings of morality and certain algorithms that define humanity's values don't yet exist. More than likely, AI will determine those algorithms through machine-learning.

Around the corner is the age where results of automated full-body scans can and will diagnose humans better than doctors. Legal transcripts, coupled with a digital profile of an alleged criminal and all known legislation and precedents can easily be fed in to an AI system and analysed with a correct result, free from human error, in precious nanoseconds.

Unmanned flight is infinitely safer than manned flight, as much as people won't trust it yet. Print journalism is all but dead and has turned digital to desperately cling onto relevance in a world overrun with 24/7 social media posts, presidents calling real journalists fake news and youtube footage. The financial sector is increasingly being automated. IFTTT has provided an individual user-driven way for people who don't know code to automate so many online services it's ridiculous (think: post one item to Facebook, and it then automatically posts on Instagram and twitter,  then sends a snapchat, then notifies the poster of any retweets with an email and iPhone or android badge notification).

The age of traditional supply and demand of currency is done. Elon Musk has talked about globalisation of economies eradicating the idea of state-controlled currency and the need for a universal currency in its place to combat the inevitable spiral that automation and AI will accommodate (think: bitcoin/ethereum - which I will write a separate post about in the coming weeks).

Right now, as touched upon by the founders of Airtasker, we are in a phase of transition between corporate worlds and whatever comes after it. An age of excess of the rich, denigration of the poor but with a surge in technology that is leading to communal based services where those with excess can provide to those who want access and forgoing corporate models. For example: Uber -   provides a global, easily accessible service usable anywhere, and cheaper and simpler than taxi's. Airbnb-  A way for those with extra rooms or housing to provide cheaper, easily accessible accomodation for those who want it. Again, global, trusted and simple.  Airtasker - the epitome of simplification for any task, anywhere, anytime, ever - for a cheaper price. In built in to all of these apps are accountability (ratings and logged tracking for safety), demand-driven prices in the purest form (if 100 people are wanting laundry services and only 10 are providing it, how much do laundry-doers start making?), and simplicity at its core. But this is only a transitional phase. A point in time where those lucky few who have recognised opportunities that lie outside corporate models are cashing in on traditional services provided better than conglomerates can adapt to.

What will come after all this change takes place? Who knows. One thing is for sure - the facade we're all taught growing up that working hard and knuckling down in our traditional roles for someone else is no longer the lucrative, or smart option. The scary idea is that all this could very well lead to a crippling depression and deflation like the world has never seen - but that's a glass half empty outlook. The optimistic view, from where I stand, is a world where very little 'base level' work will need to done by humans. I could foresee a world in the not too distant future where machines are essentially catering for our paradise and we are left to enjoy life for what it was meant to be: life. Family, Friends and Fun could once again take precedence in our priority list and the overwhelming pressures for success, meaning and achievement could take a back seat.

But of course - I myself would struggle to live without a purpose, and I myself am always looking to achieve. That's why I'm writing a blog at 1am on a Monday morning on a new website, after spending half a day coding a separate app, with my real day job beginning in 6 hours (and just to be clear: I enjoy my day job too).

I suspect many people are the same.

That base primal urge and essential desire to be 'recognised' and 'needed' is certainly strong in the majority of the western world - it may even be the downfall of paradise.

Either way - there are more opportunities in the world right now to jump aboard the side-business train than ever before. Blogs, self-composed music, YouTube film making, or simply taking an existing idea and making it better through a simplified presence - these are all easily achievable goals compared to the old days and can provide a valuable outlet and some pocket money (or hell, even replace your day job). My advice right now, during this fundamental transition stage, is to do something, nay, ANYTHING to ignite a passion or interest within yourself and to work on that, if only a little. Improve on it a little every day and branch out for yourself, until you realise that branch is something other people want to explore and you've created a valuable idea to offer others. It may be nothing but knowledge, or a world-changing app. It may be simply that you've found an amazing method of motivation. Whatever it is doesn't matter, just do it. Ideas, discipline and willpower will be the currency of the now into the future.

Opportunity lives exclusively outside your comfort zone. There are more doors to walk outside that zone than ever. Choose one, or create your own, and live how we were meant to live.

- Tom