Top 5 Citizen Upgrade Articles of 2021

Upgrade Your World! Upgrade Your Life!

Image by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Over the past year we’ve witnessed significant scientific innovation to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. While the long-term effects of the pandemic are still unknown, in the near-term more people have been working from home, retiring early, or leaving the traditional workforce. The very meaning of “employment” is shifting, allowing for more flexibility as people prioritize health, family, and hobbies for a more well balanced lifestyle.

Looking back over our year at Citizen Upgrade, our top viewed articles have a focus on do-it-yourself projects, programming for virtual reality, questions and answers from an American riflery program, and we published books on home maintenance and a cookbook (with a few drinks recipes to help send 2021 out as well). Our articles and books predominantly revolved around this new reality of being at home, career changes, and social distancing.

1. Networking Your Home: How and Why
   

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While creating your own ethernet network at home may sound intimidating at first, our how-to-guide breaks it down to easy steps. Especially in crowded neighborhoods with congested wifi airways, a hard-wired home network increases your speed, reliability, and security, which is helpful for both remote work and leisure-time streaming.

1. Modernizing a 2000 Jeep Cherokee XJ
   

Photo by Author

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global supply chain resulting in shortages and increased prices across the board. The automobile industry for both new and used vehicles is no exception to this trend. But, why buy a new vehicle when you can upgrade your existing ride? Our guide shows you how a 20-year old car can easily and affordably have many of the modern electronic amenities of a late model vehicle.

1. Project Appleseed: Questions and Answers

Photo by Author

This article serves as the second part in our series illuminating the American tradition of riflery. In our first article, History Comes To Life at Project Appleseed, we covered our experience with this program- learning about marksmanship and the American Revolutionary War. In response to increased interest from our readers, we decided to expand the aperture with this follow up article to include a deeper look into the goals and objectives of Project Appleseed.

1. How To: Build Terraced Steps in Your Backyard

Photo by Author

This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to build terraced steps in your backyard. Rather than hiring an expensive landscaper, you can save money and customize this project to your liking with simple materials and tools. These general instructions provide an easy template to adapt and apply to a variety of similar projects.

1. Quickstart Guide to Oculus Quest 2 and Unreal Engine 4

Photo by Eugene Capon from Pexels

The world of VR (or “The Metaverse”) has gotten a lot of interest this year. Facebook has rebranded to Meta and continues to sell the very popular Oculus Quest 2. Many people are looking to enter the field, and our article summarized all the steps needed to get started programming new worlds in VR. This was our most popular article of 2021!

2021 Wrap-Up

We at Citizen Upgrade have explored this “changing nature of work” through our writing, and we highlight here our 5 most popular articles of 2021. We are happy to continue to provide you with interesting content that empowers you to make positive impacts in your life and community.

We wish you a happy new year and all the best in 2022!

Warm regards,

-The Citizen Upgrade Team

Citizen Upgrade is a community of experts covering technology, society, and personal development. Visit us at our website, on Facebook, or on Twitter. Join our mailing list to access more great content and other helpful resources.