Photoshop is a great tool that can help you create amazing UI designs. But as powerful as Photoshop is, there is no denying it that accomplishing certain things takes time. In addition to that, sometimes you need to collaborate with others on the same design file which can get tricky.
That’s where Photoshop plugins come in handy. They speed up and improve your workflow and in this post, we’ve gathered the best Photoshop plugins for UI designers.
The Photoshop Toolbox Unlimited Downloads: 500,000+ Actions, Brushes, Mockups, Web Templates & Much More!
Thanks to this plugin, you can easily provide other members of your team with extra important information about your mockups by documenting your layers, from typography to effects and shape sizes.
Easily convert your Photoshop layers into CSS with the help of this plugin. The plugin supports text layers, border radius, gradient overlays, and more. All you have to do is click the button and the plugin will generate the necessary CSS for you.
This premium plugin will generate random relevant titles, leads, texts, dates and usernames. The plugin supports topics such as technology, eCurrently supports English, Ukrainian and Russian text generation for three thematic categories: Technology, Economics and Politics.
If you ever need to see the fine details of your design, the Zoom Tool plugin will come in handy. The plugin supports scaling the design area to real size and the size that’s 2 times bigger than the device area. Perfect for Retina screens!
With the help of this plugin, you will be able to easily generate HTML and CSS code from your designs. The plugin will also place the generated code inside a special block in Photoshop.
The Slice Maker makes creating Android’s DPI assets easy. This Photoshop extension does all the heavy lifting for you and gives you control on each generated image before the export.
Patterns can enrich any design and with the help of this plugin, you can easily create seamless patterns with a click of a button. You can easily preview the pattern before creating them.
If you use a lot of fonts in your designs, locating which font was used on which layer is cumbersome. Well, this plugin solves that as it allows you to easily locate and select layers by font used so you can update them.
Skeuomorphism is dead so there is no point in living in the past. This Photoshop plugin will help you become a flat design pro with the help of a button.
This huge pack of UI elements contains an impressive 180 blocks made exclusively for Photoshop. All of the elements are vector-based and use well-organized layers.
Ever wanted to see how your Photoshop design would look in browser without exporting it? Well this plugin makes it easy as you can capture the Photoshop document and turn it into a browser window inside Safari.
Thanks to this plugin, you can easily sync your Photoshop designs to InVision for better and faster prototyping. This can greatly speed up your workflow as it allows you to design, prototype, and collaborate within your design environment.
Use this plugin to export all the text in your Photoshop file to a plain text file. This is useful if you’re working with real copy as well as if you need to translate the text into a different language.
This modern and minimalistic UI kit can be used in Photoshop. It includes a 12-column layout, more than a 1000 icons, and tons of elements that will allow you to create a beautiful website mockup.
Easily see how your design will look on retina screens with the help of this plugin. The plugin will double scale your design without any loss of quality.
With the help of this plugin, you will be able to easily cross off those final edits of your to do list. The plugin contains 7 useful scripts for renaming layers, removing unused effects, deleting empty layers, and more.
Use this plugin to create custom grids in Photoshop. The plugin also allows you to create vertical rhythm, set gutters, and do other cool things with guides inside Photoshop.
WeDot is a premium UI kit for Photoshop that’s included as a part of your Envato Elements subscription. The kit contains 170+ templates so you can easily prototype or design any kind of website or app in mere minutes.
Use this plugin to transform generic Photoshop shapes into isometric creations. The plugin comes with 4 different transformations and can even generate cubes.
Layer comps help you provide more context for your designs but they can be tedious to update. This plugin makes it easy to update all your layer comps with a click of a button.
This paper wireframe kit makes it easy to create clean and impressive wireframes for your projects. The kit is available as a part of your Envato Elements subscription.
Long shadows are all the rage now and with the help of this plugin, you will be able to easily generate them whenever you want. The plugin gives you full control over the shadow’s opacity and length.
This plugin is a great choice for anyone in need of advanced export options. It offers combined functionality of layer comps, masks, and actions for advanced exporting tasks.
If you’re a 3D artist, this plugin will come in handy. Using it, you can greatly improve your workflow as it offers a set of utility panels that speed up slow, repetitive, and error-prone tasks.
Use this plugin if you export your designs as PNG files often. It offers greater control over the PNG export as well as better support for alpha channel handling.
This little plugin is one of the most popular Photoshop plugins and it offers a nifty functionality: easily convert pixel shapes into vector shapes so you can resize and manipulate them without losing quality.
This plugin helps you create website mockups inside Photoshop with ease. The plugin is lightweight and speeds up the workflow by allowing you to specify the number of columns, premade layouts, and more with a click of a button.
Ever wanted to create a seamless texture from a picture quickly? This extension will help you do just that and what’s even better, it’ll do it in a fraction of the time needed to do it manually.
Renaming your layers one by one is time-consuming. This plugin solves that problem as it allows you to easily rename multiple plugins at the same time.
Never wonder again which size is your document or a particular element in your design. With the help of this plugin, you will be able to easily add size marks to your Photoshop documents.
Brand.ai helps maintain consistency across your brand and now you can easily use your Brand.ai style guide colors in Photoshop.
Whether you’re trying to eliminate repetitive tasks or speed up your workflow, there is a Photoshop plugin out there that will help you achieve a certain task in a more efficient way. Stock up on Photoshop plugins from this list and easily rename multiple layers, gain better control over your PNG exports, and more.
Ketosis is a natural process that occurs in the body where ketones are produced in the liver to be used as energy. A low carb diet high fat is when you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin.
This carb reduction forces your body to rely on fats for its main energy source instead of glucose — thee process known as ketosis. When you do this, interesting things happen:
Enhance Energy Levels
Increase Body’s Ability to Turn Fat to Fuel for Weight Loss
Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that it will be chosen over any other energy source and insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream by taking it around the body.
Adopting Keto Diet
Research has shown that adopting this low-carb, high-fat diet can promote fat loss and even improve certain conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline.
With the keto diet your meals are 70 or 80 percent fat; about 20 percent protein; and about 5 percent carbohydrate. When in a day you consume less than 50 grams of carbs, your body will later run out of fuel (blood sugar). This typically takes 3 to 4 days. Then you’ll start to break down protein and fat for energy, which can make you lose weight. This is the process that naturally occurs in the body called ketosis.
When you deprive your body of carbohydrates, which are the main fuel source for people, you’re also depriving your body of its ability to keep glycogen stores filled up.
The ketones diet may help you lose more weight in the first 3 to 6 months better than other diets can. It could be because it takes more calories to chance fat into energy than it does to change carbs into energy. Also it is possible that you are more satisfied with a high-protein diet than a high-fat diet.
There are some great metabolic changes initially with this diet. Shredding excess weight improves, such as insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. It is true that fat oxidation does increase due to the body adapting to the higher dietary fat intake. However, fat oxidation and losing body fat are two different processes. When fat oxidation is higher it does not necessarily mean that there will be a reduction in body fat. Overall calorie intake and calorie burn will be the main determinant in fat loss.
Keto Supplements
These are known to aid ketogenic dieters. Ketone supplements are not anything new for 2019, but they have been increasing in popularity over the past couple of years. Popular talk show host Dr Oz, has featured these supplements in numerous segments on his talk show. Revealing how ketones can help individuals in losing weight.
Main Ingredients in SuperKeto
BHB;– It is an amazing and primary ingredient in every keto based product. This ingredient plays an important role in operating ketosis process. Without this ingredient every keto based product is useless.
Raspberry ketones;– These ketones are helpful in cutting down excess fatty layers. It also increases the metabolic weight in order to improve fat burning process.
Garcinia cambogia;– This ingredient is so popular in improving the metabolism system. It includes HCA that helps to control on eating habits. In fact, it is also responsible for slim and healthy body.
SuperKeto Ingredients contains Beta-hydroxybutyrate. BHB is the first substrate that kicks the metabolic state of ketosis resulting in energy.
SuperKeto Claims and Warrants
Everything has a disclaimer to it, so nothing has been fully tested in clinical trials. But the organization explains the importance of the keto diet and argues that users on their supplement can expect to experience dramatic weight loss. However, with the absence of definitive and dedicated studies on this particular supplement, these claims are difficult to corroborate.
SuperKeto Conclusion
While the listing for SuperKeto has a high number of positive reviews, its hard for us to say these are all legit product reviewers. Some may be, some may not be.
The perfect times for keto supplements drinks could be before a workout, on an empty stomach, after a high carb meal, or in between meals to improve metabolism. But with SuperKeto it’s extremely easy to use and experience fast weight loss results with.
Take 2 SuperKeto capsules daily with water
Eat keto-friendly meals and snacks throughout the day
Enjoy improved energy and focus while our body uses fat for energy!
The organization requests fairly cheap prices for their supplement compared to others on the internet. As always consumers who try these supplements are encouraged to review the product online, so that they can add to the existing research-base for keto supplement products and companies.
Update Incoming!
We will try and email the SuperKeto support team to find out more information and bring transparency to this ketone weight loss supplement. Be sure to check back on our website for updated information on SuperKeto.
Ketosis is a natural process that occurs in the body where ketones are produced in the liver to be used as energy. A low carb diet high fat is when you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin.
This carb reduction forces your body to rely on fats for its main energy source instead of glucose — thee process known as ketosis. When you do this, interesting things happen:
Enhance Energy Levels
Increase Body’s Ability to Turn Fat to Fuel for Weight Loss
Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that it will be chosen over any other energy source and insulin is produced to process the glucose in your bloodstream by taking it around the body.
Adopting Keto Diet
Research has shown that adopting this low-carb, high-fat diet can promote fat loss and even improve certain conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline.
With the keto diet your meals are 70 or 80 percent fat; about 20 percent protein; and about 5 percent carbohydrate. When in a day you consume less than 50 grams of carbs, your body will later run out of fuel (blood sugar). This typically takes 3 to 4 days. Then you’ll start to break down protein and fat for energy, which can make you lose weight. This is the process that naturally occurs in the body called ketosis.
When you deprive your body of carbohydrates, which are the main fuel source for people, you’re also depriving your body of its ability to keep glycogen stores filled up.
The ketones diet may help you lose more weight in the first 3 to 6 months better than other diets can. It could be because it takes more calories to chance fat into energy than it does to change carbs into energy. Also it is possible that you are more satisfied with a high-protein diet than a high-fat diet.
There are some great metabolic changes initially with this diet. Shredding excess weight improves, such as insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. It is true that fat oxidation does increase due to the body adapting to the higher dietary fat intake. However, fat oxidation and losing body fat are two different processes. When fat oxidation is higher it does not necessarily mean that there will be a reduction in body fat. Overall calorie intake and calorie burn will be the main determinant in fat loss.
Keto Supplements
These are known to aid ketogenic dieters. Ketone supplements are not anything new for 2019, but they have been increasing in popularity over the past couple of years. Popular talk show host Dr Oz, has featured these supplements in numerous segments on his talk show. Revealing how ketones can help individuals in losing weight.
Main Ingredients in SuperKeto
BHB;– It is an amazing and primary ingredient in every keto based product. This ingredient plays an important role in operating ketosis process. Without this ingredient every keto based product is useless.
Raspberry ketones;– These ketones are helpful in cutting down excess fatty layers. It also increases the metabolic weight in order to improve fat burning process.
Garcinia cambogia;– This ingredient is so popular in improving the metabolism system. It includes HCA that helps to control on eating habits. In fact, it is also responsible for slim and healthy body.
SuperKeto Ingredients contains Beta-hydroxybutyrate. BHB is the first substrate that kicks the metabolic state of ketosis resulting in energy.
SuperKeto Claims and Warrants
Everything has a disclaimer to it, so nothing has been fully tested in clinical trials. But the organization explains the importance of the keto diet and argues that users on their supplement can expect to experience dramatic weight loss. However, with the absence of definitive and dedicated studies on this particular supplement, these claims are difficult to corroborate.
SuperKeto Conclusion
While the listing for SuperKeto has a high number of positive reviews, its hard for us to say these are all legit product reviewers. Some may be, some may not be.
The perfect times for keto supplements drinks could be before a workout, on an empty stomach, after a high carb meal, or in between meals to improve metabolism. But with SuperKeto it’s extremely easy to use and experience fast weight loss results with.
Take 2 SuperKeto capsules daily with water
Eat keto-friendly meals and snacks throughout the day
Enjoy improved energy and focus while our body uses fat for energy!
The organization requests fairly cheap prices for their supplement compared to others on the internet. As always consumers who try these supplements are encouraged to review the product online, so that they can add to the existing research-base for keto supplement products and companies.
Update Incoming!
We will try and email the SuperKeto support team to find out more information and bring transparency to this ketone weight loss supplement. Be sure to check back on our website for updated information on SuperKeto.
507 Insufficient Storage is a status code that’s introduced by the
WebDAV, specification. It allows a HTTP server to tell a client that
for example their PUT or POST operation couldn’t succeed, maybe because
it’s too large to fit on a disk.
Even though it was written for WebDAV, it can be used outside of WebDAV
servers though.
Example:
HTTP/1.1507Insufficient StorageContent-Type:text/plain
Wow, that's a big file. Can you store it somewhere else? We're pretty cramped
here.
Many WebDAV clients handle this status pretty well, and will inform the user
that a disk is full.
Should I use this?
Even though I think this status is applicable outside of WebDAV, I think the
reality is that the usefulness of this status is somewhat limited.
Because 507 is specifically a server-side error, it kind of indicates that
the error was server side. Maybe the disk being full was not by design or
intentional.
When using a status like this for REST API’s, I feel that it’s probably more
likely that you’ll want to return an error when a user ran out of space, and
intentionally send back a message to a user telling them ‘YOU ran out of quota’,
instead of ‘OUR disk is full’.
If the intent is to inform the user that they exceeded their quota, it’s better
to use the more appropriate 413 Payload Too Large.
Exclusive: Athletes and fitness warriors are at high risk of inadvertently consuming drugs that are banned in sport and that could be putting their life at risk if they use protein shakes or other sports supplements.
Australians have died after using these products which often contain secret ingredients not listed on the labels, others have needed organ transplants.
And a University of Queensland expert says it is “highly possible” athletes like Shayna Jack could have inadvertently consumed banned drugs in a sports supplement if it was not tested before consumption.
A 2018 a study of teens in Greece who purchased sports supplements on the internet found one in 10 had banned substances including selective androgen receptor modulators (SARM), the type of drug Jack tested positive for, University Queensland doping expert Dr Betul Sekendiz said.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority has issued repeated warnings to athletes about the risks of using these supplements.
And in the last seven years the nation’s medicines regulator has twice banned supplements containing the stimulants DMBA and DHMA and DMAA.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration warned the chemicals were “toxic” and were associated with high blood pressure, psychiatric disorders, bleeding in the brain and stroke.
A 2016 study by Life Science Company found one in five sports supplements for sale in Australia contained substances banned in sport including steroids that were not declared on their labels.
The most common substance found in the supplements was the stimulant 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (also known as AMP Citrate) which was identified in seven products.
This substance allows the lungs to take in more oxygen and if detected in an athlete’s urine sample could see them face up to a four year ban from sport.
WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY’S LIST OF BANNED SUBSTANCES:
The testing also found anabolic steroids in various sports supplements available for sale in Australian stores.
It is common for people trying to build muscle to purchase products from overseas over the internet.
In 2017 a major review of studies around the world published in the journal Nutrients found between 12 and 58 per cent of supplements contained substances banned by the World Anti- Doping Agency.
“Non-intentional doping is a point to take into account before establishing a supplementation program,” the study said.
“Athletes and coaches must be aware of the problems related to the use of any contaminated supplement and should pay special attention before choosing a supplement, informing themselves fully and confirming the guarantees offered by the supplement,” the authors said.
Dr Sekendiz said Australians were taking great risks using sports supplements.
“It’s a worldwide issue that these products have been found to have substances banned by WADA,” she said.
Consumers who wanted to check whether the product they were using could be at risk could as to have it tested by HASTA or Informed Sport and Informed Choice organisation which carry out chemical analyses of products, she said.
“Consumers should look for the logo of these organisations on a product to ensure its safety,” she said.
THE RISKS OF TAKING SPORTS SUPPLEMENTS
2017 Australian mum Megan Hefford, a 27 year bodybuilder, died in August because a rare disorder prevented her body from breaking down her high protein diet which included protein supplements.
2016 Matthew Whitby from WA needed an emergency liver transplant after taking a protein powder containing green tea extract and a supplement with garcinia cambogia – a tropical fruit used in weight-loss supplements.
2016 National organ donor registries show since 2011 six Australians have had organ transplants after herbal supplements including those used by body builders destroyed their organs.
2015 A New England Journal Medicine study in 2015 found over 23,000 emergency department presentations in the US each year were linked to dietary supplements.
2015 British Journal of Cancer study found muscle building supplements were linked with an increased risk of germ cell testicular cancer.
2013 A British coroner found 30 year old runner Clare Squires died during the London Marathon after taking a supplement containing DMAA which in combination with extreme physical exertion, caused acute cardiac failure, which resulted in her death.
2013 The US FDA reported 72 cases of acute non-viral hepatitis linked to people using OxyElite Pro and Versa-1 which it found was adulterated with aegeline an unknown dietary ingredient.
It is not easy to get thinner; however only fatty people truly know the efforts they put in to achieve this. Intensive workouts, strict diet plan and what not. Have a word with them and you get to understand that how physical misfit causes them mental pressure restricting their normal life.
Keto diet pushes the body into a state called ketosis which functions on food intake consisting of almost fat. It involves having particular type of food which is able to provide a balance of nearly 75% fat, 20% protein and 5 % carbs.
on the authenticity of the product.
So what wold you do in such a case? Would searching on internet be enough? We would rather suggest taking an opinion from a dietician or a nutritional expert before taking a final decision
Here we are going to learn about one such supplement product called ‘Just Keto’.
Have a look at it ingredients, effects, working and decide for yourself.
What is Just Keto?
Just Keto is a fat loss supplement that claims to help you in a fast fat reduction in a couple of weeks of utilization. It is endorsed by FDA and is created by a natural process.
Acting as a supplement it initiates the ketosis in the body at an increased rate. This helps in fast losing of weight.
Ingredients:
Ingredients are key deciding factors in judging a supplement. While the exact proportion of the ingredients is proprietary information, you will receive the benefits of:
Potassium: Potassiumplays a major role in building immunity and supporting a healthy procedure of ketosis.
Green tea extract: It has composites of hydroxycitric acid, these mixes accelerate the serotonin level and lessen the successive hunger.
Raspberry Ketone: This helps to quicken the procedure of weight reduction and supplies nourishment to the body with its crucial and flexible features.
Garcinia Cambogia: This ingredient consumes additional fat compounds resulting in sound digestion to elevate the process of weight reduction.
Benefits of Just Keto
As studied through various reviews, Just Keto aids in thermogenesis procedure, which consumes the additional calories present in the body.
It helps in decreasing the retention of bad cholesterol in the body.
It accelerates the process of weight reduction with the help of ketones present in it.
It also targets at burning fat in the areas like shoulders and thighs where it is very hard to lose.
Points to Remember for Just Keto:
Do not consume the pills before consulting with the specialist.
In case of pregnancy, do check with you obstetrician as it may result in issues to the foetus.
Do not take it along with other weight reducing supplements and follow the directions properly as mentioned on the item to obtain safe results.
Diet is a trend nowadays. People follow some sort of diet either to stay fit or to shed those extra pounds. However, due to lack of knowledge about the diet and its functions, people land up following it incorrectly. It is not wise to follow any particular diet regime without knowing what they comprise of and how do they function in our body.
Equally important is to know the role of diet supplement. Do enough background work, talk to people consuming them already and effects/ side effects they observed and more than anything talk to your dietician for he/ she will tell about it in your body’s context.
Losing weight is not easy and losing belly fat is even difficult. A weight loss technique or treatment that works for someone else might not work for you. Every person has a different lifestyle, body type, medical condition and genetics, all of which play an important role in a person’s ability to achieve and maintain fitness results.
But the good news is there is one simple and effective method that can help everyone is losing weight despite their lifestyle, health condition, sex, age and endurance level.
Ayurveda promises not just to make you lose stubborn belly fat but also keeps you away from numerous lifestyle diseases. Excess belly fat is related to many serious health conditions including stroke, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke and even some types of cancers. Here is a list of five powerful Ayurvedic ingredients that can help you lose weight:
Guggul Guggul has been on the top of the list of Ayurvedic medicines for weight loss. Guggul is made from the sap (gum resin) of the Commiphora Mukul tree. It has plant sterol, guggulsterone that promotes weight loss. Guggul also contains substances that lower triglycerides and cholesterol.
Garcinia Cambogia Garcinia Cambogia is a tropical fruit, which works wonderfully as a weight loss supplement. The fruits block the body’s ability to make fat. Hydroxyxcitric acid, which is the main ingredient in the fruit, boosts metabolism and reduces appetite. The fruit is also called Malabar tamarind and is known to help in stress reduction, keeping the blood sugar steady and cholesterol levels in check.
Triphala
Trphala is a mixture of three dried fruits – haritaki, amla and bibhitaki. It has been used for ages to treat a number of ailments. This herbal mixture is thought to promote weight loss by flushing out toxins and improving your digestion. It is also said that triphala can help improve overall health. The mixture is consumed with a glass of hot water two times a day – half an hour before breakfast and two hours after dinner.
Dalchini Known as cinnamon in English, dalchini has numerous medicinal properties, which boost metabolism and help you lose weight effectively. You can consume a cup of cinnamon tea the first thing in the morning to get optimal results.
Punarnava Punarnava scientifically known as BoerhaviaDiffusa is one of the most effective Ayurvedic medicines used for weight loss. The plant has diuretic properties, which keeps the bladder and kidney healthy. It is also known to solve the problem of water retention.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article should not be considered as a substitute for a physician’s advice. Please consult your treating physician for more details.
I've never thought of myself as a "car person". The last new car I bought (and in fact, now that I think about it, the first new car I ever bought) was the quirky 1998 Ford Contour SVT. Since then we bought a VW station wagon in 2011 and a Honda minivan in 2012 for family transportation duties. That's it. Not exactly the stuff The Stig's dreams are made of.
The station wagon made sense for a family of three, but became something of a disappointment because it was purchased before — surprise! — we had twins. As Mark Twain once said:
Sufficient unto the day is one baby. As long as you are in your right mind don't you ever pray for twins. Twins amount to a permanent riot. And there ain't any real difference between triplets and an insurrection.
I'm here to tell you that a station wagon doesn't quite cut it as a permanent riot abatement tool. For that you need a full sized minivan.
I'm with Philip Greenspun. Like black socks and sandals, minivans are actually … kind of awesome? Don't believe all the SUV propaganda. Minivans are flat out superior vehicle command centers. Swagger wagons, really.
The A-Team drove a van, not a freakin' SUV. I rest my case.
After 7 years, the station wagon had to go. We initially looked at hybrids because, well, isn't that required in California at this point? But if you know me at all, you know I'm a boil the sea kinda guy at heart. I figure if you're going to flirt with partially electric cars, why not put aside these half measures and go all the way?
It's been 5 years, but from time to time I'd see some electric vehicle on the road and I'd think about that Intergalactic SpaceBoat of Light and Wonder. Maybe it's time for our family to jump on the electric car trend, too, and just late enough that we can avoid the bleeding edge and end up merely on the … leading edge?
I've somehow gone from being a person who basically doesn't care about cars at all … to being one of those insufferable electric car people who won't shut up about them. I apologize in advance. If you suddenly feel an overwhelming urge to close this browser tab, I don't blame you.
I was expecting another car, like the three we bought before. What I got, instead, was a transformation:
Yes, yes, electric cars are clean, but it's a revelation how clean everything is in an electric. You take for granted how dirty and noisy gas based cars are in daily operation – the engine noise, the exhaust fumes, the scent of oil, the black dust that descends on everything, washing your hands after using the gas station pumps. You don't fully appreciate how oppressive those little dirty details were until they're gone.
Electric cars are (almost) completely silent. I guess technically in 2019 electric cars require artificial soundmakers at low speed for safety, and this car has one. But The Oatmeal was right. Electric cars feel like spacecraft because they move so effortlessly. There's virtually no delay from action to reaction, near immediate acceleration and deceleration … with almost no sound or vibration at all, like you're in freakin' space! It's so immensely satisfying!
Electric cars aren't just electric, they're utterly digital to their very core. Gas cars always felt like the classic 1950s Pixar Cars world of grease monkeys and machine shop guys, maybe with a few digital bobbins added here and there as an afterthought. This electric car, on the other hand, is squarely in the post-iPhone world of everyday digital gadgets. It feels more like a giant smartphone than a car. I am a programmer, I'm a digital guy, I love digital stuff. And electric cars are part of my world, rather than the other way around. It feels good.
Electric cars are mechanically much simpler than gasoline cars, which means they are inherently more reliable and cheaper to maintain. An internal combustion engine has hundreds of moving parts, many of which require regular maintenance, fluids, filters, and tune ups. It also has a complex transmission to translate the narrow power band of a gas powered engine. None of this is necessary on an electric vehicle, whose electric motor is basically one moving part with simple 100% direct drive from the motor to the wheels. This newfound simplicity is deeply appealing to a guy who always saw cars as incredibly complicated (but computers, not so much).
Being able to charge at home overnight is perhaps the most radical transformation of all. Your house is now a "gas station". Our Kia Niro has a range of about 250 miles on a full battery. With any modern electric car, provided you drive less than 200 miles a day round trip (who even drives this much?), it's very unlikely you'll ever need to "fill the tank" anywhere but at home. Ever. It's so strange to think that in 50 years, gas stations may eventually be as odd to see in public as telephone booths now are. Our charger is, conveniently enough, right next to the driveway since that's where the power breaker box was. With the level 2 charger installed, it literally looks like a gas pump on the side of the house, except this one "pumps" … electrons.
This electric car is such a great experience. It's so much better than our gas powered station wagon that I swear, if there was a fully electric minivan (there isn't) I would literally sell our Honda minivan tomorrow and switch over. Without question. And believe me, I had no plans to sell that vehicle two months ago. The electric car is that much better.
I was expecting "yet another car", but what I got instead was a new, radical worldview. Driving a car powered by barely controlled liquid fuel detonations used to be normal. But in an world of more and more viable electric vehicles this status quo increasingly starts to feel … deeply unnatural. Electric is so much better of an overall experience that you begin to wonder: why did we ever do it that way?
Gas cars seem, for lack of a better word, obsolete.
How did this transformation happen, from my perspective, so suddenly? When exactly did electric cars go from "expensive, experimental thing for crazy people" to "By God, I'll never buy another old fashioned gasoline based car if I can help it"?
I was vaguely aware of the early electric cars. I even remember one coworker circa 2001 who owned a bright neon green Honda Insight. I ignored it all because, like I said, I'm not a car guy. I needed to do the research to understand the history, and I started with the often recommended documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?
This is mostly about the original highly experimental General Motors EV1 from 1996 to 1999. It's so early the first models had lead-acid batteries! 😱 There's a number of conspiracy theories floated in the video, but I think the simple answer to the implied question in the title is straight up price. The battery tech was nowhere near ready, and per the Wikipedia article the estimated actual cost of the car was somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 though I suspect it was much closer to the latter. It is interesting to note how much the owners (well, leasers) loved their EV1s. Having gone through that same conversion myself, I empathize!
I then watched the sequel, Revenge of the Electric Car. This one is essential, because it covers the dawn of the modern electric car we have today.
This chronicles the creation of three very influential early electric cars — the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, and of course the Tesla Roadster from 2005 - 2008. The precise moment that Lithium-Ion batteries were in play – that's when electric cars started to become viable. Every one of these three electric cars was well conceived and made it to market in volume, though not without significant challenges, both internal and external. None of them were perfect electric vehicles by any means: the Roadster was $100k, the Leaf had limited range, and the Volt was still technically a hybrid, albeit only using the gasoline engine to charge the battery.
Ten years later, Tesla has the model 3 at $38,000 and we bought our Kia Niro for about the same price. After national and state tax incentives and rebates, that puts the price at around $30,000. It's not as cheap as it needs to be … yet. But it's getting there. And it's already competitive with gasoline vehicles in 2019.
It's still early, but the trend lines are clear. And I'm here to tell you that right now, today, I'd buy any modern electric car over a gasoline powered car.
If you too are intrigued by the idea of owning an electric car, you should be. It's freaking awesome! Bring your skepticism, as always; I highly recommend the above Matt Ferrell explainer video on electric vehicle myths.
As for me, I have seen the future, and it is absolutely, inexorably, and unavoidably … electric. ⚡
