Hello I'm Jackson

The internet is probably one of mankind's greatest achievements. At the very least it stands toe to toe with innovations like the automobile and the airplane in terms of how hit has revolutionized how we live. It gives each and every one of us instant access to untold amounts of knowledge, entertainment, and tools. So with that in mind, it makes sense that we have begun using it to aid the education process in many of our schools. From first graders with iPads, to high schools assigning personal laptops to students, the internet and the subsequent technology tied to it has begun to trickle its way into out schools. Now for many, this seems a bit absurd, but you have to think of it in context. Growing up, I personally didn't have my own computer until my last years of high school, and even then using them in class wasn't allowed. It was seen as a distraction and a disruption of the learning process. Nowadays however, this isn't the case. Many schools have seen the prac...

In short, Google Fiber is a new kind of internet service from, you guessed it, Google. But what is it? Well to understand what Google Fiber is, how it works, and why it's such a big deal, we need to first look at fiber optic cable; the heart of Google Fiber. Fiber optic cable is a special kind of cabling made from optical fibers that carry information using pulses of light. So instead of a regular copper cable carrying electricity, these cables transmit light waves across long distances. This literally means you are sending and receiving information at the speed of light. The reason why this is so important is because most of our business and communication these days is done through the internet. The ability to convey information at the speed of light is an incredible asset for businesses and individuals. From streaming your favorite shows, downloading large files, or doing your taxes, this technology can change how are information moves for the better. Thanks to Google, this t...

AI stands for "Artificial Intelligence". In short, a program that can learn as it gains more information on a given topic or set of instructions that allow it to make decisions on it's own without human instruction. The applications for this kind of software is incredible, from automatic maintenance on web servers, to self-driving cars. These smart machines are already changing the world. They don't come without concerns however. In the case of self-driving cars, it brings up the ethical issue of who's fault is a car accident? Is it the car, Is it the manufacturer, the passenger in the car, or no one at all? On top of that you would have to think about how an insurance company would cover such an incident. AI is touchy. It's a relatively new concept but its practical applications are immense. These programs can do mathematics calculations far faster than humans can and for infinite amounts of time to find solutions to equations. Scientists currently use them...

Starlink is an ambitious new satellite array being produced by SpaceX. The goal of the system is to supply the world with internet from space. With 2 sets of satellites already launched, it's safe to say that SpaceX is well on their way to providing "space internet". Why is this important though? Well the new system will provide internet worldwide at incredible speeds when completed. Areas that might not have had access to internet before will now have access to high speed internet that will allow for remote places to connect to the world and see all that it has to offer. It will also allow internet services to stay online in the event of a blackout in major metropolitan areas. The ability to connect through the internet has allowed for the massive sharing of information among individuals worldwide already, and allowing less fortunate individuals in remote locations will be a great step forward. This new system also promises to be much more affordable for the general pu...

"DDoS", or "distributed denial-of-service" Is whenever a person, or group of people flood a server with junk information in a mass "attack" that over-stresses the server causing it to lag or to crash entirely. In the article by "CloudFlare", they compare it to a traffic jam. A DDoS attack will send tons of "cars" (information) that isn't important through a server, causing it to lag out or stop moving entirely. This issue often is prevalent in online games where a malicious player, often one who is losing, will DDoS a game server in order to either kick everyone from the server, or to allow them to win while everyone else in the game is unable to do anything. This kind of attack is not exclusive to games however. Sometimes a group will DDoS a popular social media site such as Instagram and Twitter, or a chat service such as Discord. What happens in these instances is if the servers are not able to keep up with the attack they will...

Hello, my name is Jackson Shepherd. I'm a 19 year old college student currently majoring in Information and Computer technologies. I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and have lived there my entire life. I like to build computers and play video games in my spare time. I'm a night owl who doesn't go to bed on time ever but I still manage to get up in the morning. I drink lots of tea and coffee as well. I want to help change the world by working in the tech industry as most of our world relies on tech now. With companies like SpaceX and Google constantly making innovations to further technology and humanity as a whole it is a great industry to get into. When I'm not getting involved in tech myself I like to teach others about it or to do IT work for people who don't know as much about technology. I believe that it is vastly important for people to know about technology today as not knowing about it can often lead to doubt and even a fear of technology. I also ...