WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is an evolutionary new technology being developed. As a student I found this technology particularly interesting mostly because like many students I have a laptop and I am in a constant search for a wireless connection whenever I‘m not on campus or at home. WiMAX would forever eradicate that problem because in layman’s terms it is a wireless connection that would cover almost all areas like a cell phone connection. Not only does this technology affect me personally it will also have an affect on how organizations do business. WiMAX needs two things to be operational. The first is a WiMAX tower similar to a cell phone tower that can deliver wireless Internet to an area of up to 3000 square miles. The second thing needed is a receiver that hopefully will be built in to laptops like WiFi is now. Unfortunately WiMAX is not at the stage where you whole cities are covered, but organizations are using this technology to lengthen their wireless signals, these are just fixed wireless networks but eventually they will be nomadic. Just last month Sprint Nextel pledged to start a new wireless broadband network using WiMAX which means that nationwide coverage may be available by 2008. This development puts WiFi (the current wireless) and WiMAX in direct competitions, which can only benefit the consumer and organization.
The obvious advantage of WiMAX is the fact that it would supply wireless Internet to the whole country so anyone can access the Internet at any time. This would beneficially affect businesses because they could get to data at any time, any place. Also WiMAX would supply Internet to black out zones, zones where there is no wireless and no cable connection to the Internet. For certain organizations like oil companies where employees work in remote locations this would make there jobs easier because they could get the information they need from coworkers that may work in the city. Another advantage of this technology is that it is extremely easy to access the internet, it would be automatic once you enter the service area. My last advantage of WiMAX is the fact that unlike the system used now (WiFi) there wouldn’t be a constant battle for a connection with varying amounts of broadband width. Each customer gets so much broadband and when it is all used up the rest of the customers are directed to another WiMAX tower. This makes WiMAX reliable and companies can invest in one tower instead of a bunch of access points.
A disadvantage of WiMAX that has been talked about lately is that it says its signal goes for about thirty miles but under non-ideal conditions that number can be as low as five miles. Therefore if companies build them thirty miles apart there will be areas that the signal does not reach. It is also being said that you need a line of sight for farther then five miles and that poor weather conditions like rain or snow can disrupt the signal. This brings a cloud over the otherwise exciting new technology. Another disadvantage of WiMAX at the moment is the fact that because the towers aren’t built yet no one can use the technology and also so many people use WiFi and already have all the hardware for it for most people there is no incentive to change. Overall this gives WiMAX a hard time in trying to build it self up until it is nation-wide.
Reference:
How WiMAX works. (2007). Howstuffworks. Retrieved on September 27th 2007 from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wimax.htm
Sprint’s Boundless Ambition. (2007). Business Week Online Magazine. Retrieved on September 27th 2006 from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060808_244294.htm?chan=top+news_top+news
WiMAX holds promise to help narrow the digital divide. (2006). WiMaxxed. Retrieved on September 27th 2007 from http://www.wimaxxed.com/wimax_reports/20060224/wimax_holds_pro.html
WiMAX the future of wireless Internet access?. (2006). ChristopherJason.com. Retrieved on September 27th 2007 from http://www.christopherjason.com/articles/wimax-broadband-internet/
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The Bluetooth Revolution
Bluetooth a technology that over the last couple of years have changed the way that different electronic devices communicate. Before bluetooth to connect devices you need cords and wiring, bluetooth’s aim is to get rid of all that by connecting things through low energy wireless networking connections working on a 2.45 ghz radio frequency to transmit data. This frequency is split into different channels so that your bluetooth-enabled products can receive and transmit data from different sources simultaneously, here is a wonderful diagram and description of that process called spread-spectrum frequency hopping. At this low power frequency you can transmit data from 10 meters away as well a synchronize data for instance if you put a contact into your phone if your computer is with in range it will also be recorded on your computer. You have probably seen people walking down the street and talking to themselves until you realize they are actually talking on a headset. Those headsets are an example of bluetooth technology where a cell phone sends a call to an already connected bluetooth enabled headset that answers the call. This is only one of the thousand possible applications for bluetooth technology. When bluetooth was first introduced it was mainly used in cell phones, computers and PDA’s put has now moved into thousands of different devices according to the official bluetooth website only 55% of bluetooth technology goes into the above mentioned categories. The rest go in technology as diverse as gaming consoles like PS3 to cars like the 2006 Dodge Charger. With few new cell phones being developed without bluetooth technology I can only imagine that in the close future all of our devices will be sending information to each other.
Blue tooth drastically affects organization through many different ways and has many good points that can help business. Firstly with employees using bluetooth technology information can be conveyed without connecting with wires that can be costly. Not only is it cost efficient but also it can make employees offices simpler by getting rid of the cords allowing them to for instance take a laptop out of the office (but only 10 m away) to show a co-worker and still be connected to a printer to print out a report. Another possible application for business is in a board meeting you can send files to everyone in the rooms PDA without using the energy that it would require to send an email. Also bluetooth is relative inexpensive to incorporate in a device. A big advantage of bluetooth that has big business drooling is the potential for marketing with bluetooth-enabled devices specifically cell phones. A possible marketing strategy is proximity marketing where every time a blue tooth enabled cellphone goes near a designated area it would send the consumer an advertisement. For example every tine a consumer walks near a movie theatre, they are sent the movies playing at the time or every time a consumer walks near a fast food restaurant they are sent the latest deal. Potentially organizations would have unlimited free marketing that could catch people when they are with in range to buy something from the business.
The biggest disadvantage to bluetooth technology is the security risk. This video shows how easy it is for anyone to manipulate your bluetooth-enabled devices and steal from you. In the video they show a form of hacking called bluebugging, which is when someone sees that your bluetooth on your phone is on so they connect to it and place calls using your cell phone. When this happens it won’t even tell you that you are connected to someone. The second type of security risk is bluejacking where someone sends your phone a business card (text message) and possibly can add himself or herself to your contact list. Also if you don’t have the right security potentially someone might be able to access important information from your devices without you knowing it. Another disadvantage of bluetooth is that if organizations can take advantage of your phone for marketing your phone would be eventually plagued by advertisement.
Reference:
Bluetooth Applications. (2001). Mobile Info. Retrieved September 28th 2007 from http://www.mobileinfo.com/Bluetooth/applic.htm
How Bluetooth Works. (2007). Howstuffworks. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bluetooth5.htm
Bluetooth. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
Real Hustle Bluesnrfing. (2007). YouTube. Retrieved September 28th 2007 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dltjEnrePxc
Product Directory. (2007). Bluetooth. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dltjEnrePxc
Blue tooth drastically affects organization through many different ways and has many good points that can help business. Firstly with employees using bluetooth technology information can be conveyed without connecting with wires that can be costly. Not only is it cost efficient but also it can make employees offices simpler by getting rid of the cords allowing them to for instance take a laptop out of the office (but only 10 m away) to show a co-worker and still be connected to a printer to print out a report. Another possible application for business is in a board meeting you can send files to everyone in the rooms PDA without using the energy that it would require to send an email. Also bluetooth is relative inexpensive to incorporate in a device. A big advantage of bluetooth that has big business drooling is the potential for marketing with bluetooth-enabled devices specifically cell phones. A possible marketing strategy is proximity marketing where every time a blue tooth enabled cellphone goes near a designated area it would send the consumer an advertisement. For example every tine a consumer walks near a movie theatre, they are sent the movies playing at the time or every time a consumer walks near a fast food restaurant they are sent the latest deal. Potentially organizations would have unlimited free marketing that could catch people when they are with in range to buy something from the business.
The biggest disadvantage to bluetooth technology is the security risk. This video shows how easy it is for anyone to manipulate your bluetooth-enabled devices and steal from you. In the video they show a form of hacking called bluebugging, which is when someone sees that your bluetooth on your phone is on so they connect to it and place calls using your cell phone. When this happens it won’t even tell you that you are connected to someone. The second type of security risk is bluejacking where someone sends your phone a business card (text message) and possibly can add himself or herself to your contact list. Also if you don’t have the right security potentially someone might be able to access important information from your devices without you knowing it. Another disadvantage of bluetooth is that if organizations can take advantage of your phone for marketing your phone would be eventually plagued by advertisement.
Reference:
Bluetooth Applications. (2001). Mobile Info. Retrieved September 28th 2007 from http://www.mobileinfo.com/Bluetooth/applic.htm
How Bluetooth Works. (2007). Howstuffworks. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/bluetooth5.htm
Bluetooth. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
Real Hustle Bluesnrfing. (2007). YouTube. Retrieved September 28th 2007 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dltjEnrePxc
Product Directory. (2007). Bluetooth. Retrieved September 27th 2007 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dltjEnrePxc
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Beginnning of E-Ink Technology
Can you imagine a newspaper that with the touch of a finger can change from yesterday’s headlines to todays? The implications for this technology is astounding and two organizations have already jumped on the bandwagon, Xerox and E ink to distribute this emerging technology to other organizations. E-ink works by having millions of tiny little “micro-holes” in the paper (about 100,000 per square inch of paper), these holes are then filled with a liquid ink like substance. Finally floating in the “micro holes” are tiny negatively charge balls. This electronic ink can the be used on any paper that regular ink can be used on but for now it is applied to a thin plastic making e-paper. The E-ink covers the paper creating tiny cells like pixels on a television. In the e-paper there is implanted microelectronics that deliver a charge to the cells turning them from positive to negative and vies versa, by doing this the cells create an image or text. This is an image of how the electronic ink works. By seeing how the e-paper works we can see how paper is reusable and how it is surprisingly durable since it is just a thin sheet a plastic.
There are many advantages to E-ink technology, one of the most important one to organizations is the cost. Currently according to a recent US department of commerce study 5% to 15% of companies’ expenditures outside of labour is devoted to paper and printing related supplies. E-ink can cut this number in half. At the moment corporations like Motorola are backing e-Ink in the hope that it can replace electronic display screens because it is so much cheaper to produce then regular screens. E-ink would also create displays with a low power input, reducing the cost to consumers and organizations. An aspect of e-ink that is particularly exciting for the world we live into today is its durability. Instead of the average American office worker produces over 2lbs of paper waste a year, things could be printed with e-ink greatly reducing our waste and helping the environment. Environmental consciousness is an ever growing part of an organizations public profile and this technology can bring them closer to meeting there goals. An industry that is particularly excited about thins emerging technology is the publishing industry. Their plans for this technology is to create e-books where you can read a book through a display that only uses power to turn the page instead of old technology where power was expended by just having the screen on. This would revolutionize publishing by reducing their costs and maybe exposing them to a new market. At the moment many companies like Sony have created e-book readers using e-ink technology and are selling them online. Another advantage of this technology is that it is easy on the eyes because it isn’t lit up like LCD screens. As well it can store a lot of data on a single sheet of paper, making it more efficient for organizations because of handing out huge packets of papers to its employees and investors it would just hand a single sheet.
Disadvantage of this technology are that in its current state the refresh between pages is slow and because of that it may not adhere itself to consumers. As well if an organizations needs to be able to flip through data quickly this technology might not be the best for them. Also like all new technology organizations might not see the benefits for themselves and will be resistant to change from regular paper to e-ink paper. This e-ink would also not be good for every situation, for instance if you only need to print out one page report it would be a waste to use the e-paper since it is extremely more expensive per sheet in comparison to regular paper.
References:
Things to Know About Paper Consumption. (2003). MDF Systems Inc. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://www.mdfsystems.com/artman/publish/article_42.shtml
How Electronic Ink Will Work. (2007). How Stuff Works. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/e-ink.htm
E-Ink: Your Hands Will Thank You. (2001). Wired Online Magazine. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/e-ink.htm
Phony Reader. (2006). If:book A project of The Institute for The Future of the Book. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/eink/
There are many advantages to E-ink technology, one of the most important one to organizations is the cost. Currently according to a recent US department of commerce study 5% to 15% of companies’ expenditures outside of labour is devoted to paper and printing related supplies. E-ink can cut this number in half. At the moment corporations like Motorola are backing e-Ink in the hope that it can replace electronic display screens because it is so much cheaper to produce then regular screens. E-ink would also create displays with a low power input, reducing the cost to consumers and organizations. An aspect of e-ink that is particularly exciting for the world we live into today is its durability. Instead of the average American office worker produces over 2lbs of paper waste a year, things could be printed with e-ink greatly reducing our waste and helping the environment. Environmental consciousness is an ever growing part of an organizations public profile and this technology can bring them closer to meeting there goals. An industry that is particularly excited about thins emerging technology is the publishing industry. Their plans for this technology is to create e-books where you can read a book through a display that only uses power to turn the page instead of old technology where power was expended by just having the screen on. This would revolutionize publishing by reducing their costs and maybe exposing them to a new market. At the moment many companies like Sony have created e-book readers using e-ink technology and are selling them online. Another advantage of this technology is that it is easy on the eyes because it isn’t lit up like LCD screens. As well it can store a lot of data on a single sheet of paper, making it more efficient for organizations because of handing out huge packets of papers to its employees and investors it would just hand a single sheet.
Disadvantage of this technology are that in its current state the refresh between pages is slow and because of that it may not adhere itself to consumers. As well if an organizations needs to be able to flip through data quickly this technology might not be the best for them. Also like all new technology organizations might not see the benefits for themselves and will be resistant to change from regular paper to e-ink paper. This e-ink would also not be good for every situation, for instance if you only need to print out one page report it would be a waste to use the e-paper since it is extremely more expensive per sheet in comparison to regular paper.
References:
Things to Know About Paper Consumption. (2003). MDF Systems Inc. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://www.mdfsystems.com/artman/publish/article_42.shtml
How Electronic Ink Will Work. (2007). How Stuff Works. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/e-ink.htm
E-Ink: Your Hands Will Thank You. (2001). Wired Online Magazine. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/e-ink.htm
Phony Reader. (2006). If:book A project of The Institute for The Future of the Book. Retrieved on September 29th 2007 from http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/eink/
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