Characteristic of Computers - Term Paper Example

Application Service Provider (ASPs) Application Service Providers (ASPs) are companies who sell services like electri water, telephone, softwareand software services. They were available before the birth of world wide web (WWW). The main work of ASPs is to manage and maintain business application and to deliver them to customers via Internet. Some of the services are charged while others are freely offered to all customers who can connect to the server host. ASPs play an important role for both large businesses by providing web hosting services and e-mail. It reduces the high cost of “specialized software” for small business as well as for large business and also eliminates the up gradation expenses and other costs which small business are unable to afford. Using ASPs small business and large business can use the services of fax machine, server, and specialized software by paying a monthly fee or at free of cost. The main benefit of ASPs is it is cost saving, technical support, automatic software up gradation; it needs lesser use IT staff and guaranteed uptime, which is most vital. The companies that offer an ASPs services are primarily software companies. ASPs market can be broken into five categories, i.e., software vendors, hardware vendors, ISP’s and telecom carrier, Pure Play ASP’s, and Vertical ASPs. The way this ASPs market is moving, it will make all of us familiar with all the service providers. ASPS are becoming more and more attractive to the business owners because of the benefits it offer. So the choice of customer to use ASPs depends on the need of the customer. Global Positioning System Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based system of navigation, which was mainly used for military purposes. The concept of GPS is based on triangulation with four satellites. The three sectors, which derive utmost benefit from this technology, are business, military and private sectors. The main purpose is to track different places. The GPS has three main components – a series of satellites transmitting signals to the earth, the control that helps to make adjustments to position of a satellite and clock signals by sending commands from ground stations. The receiver system consists of base station and handheld receivers. The 24 GPS satellites are present in an orbit with a12 hour time and are positioned to cover almost the entire earth. GPS is applied in the three major verticals – aircraft, navy and the military. For instance, the artillery units using GPS aided system is able to hit a target lying at a far distance of more than twenty miles. The Operation Desert Storm is one such example. The Navy ships used the application of GPS in rendezvous, minesweeping operations, and aircraft operations. Truck and car rental companies use GPS to track vehicles. Unauthorized use of trucks and vehicles may be prevented using GPS. The most significant area of use is surveying. Even private citizens use GPS to hunt and hike. Cellular phones incorporate vast application of GPS services. Besides, golf and fishing are other important areas of application. With advancement in technology GPS will find greater use and application. Bionics Bionics or Cybernetics refers to the technology or science that assists in joining of biological organs with technological interfaces. Some of these technological aspects like pacemaker devices are quite old. However the latest advancements are exciting and use direct neurological interface. What human beings thought years back and produced as media pieces of entertainment are on the way to become a reality. Instead of indirect interfaces like voice recognition or keyboard, it is time to use Biological Neural Network or BNN. The open loop mechanism facilitates it far advanced than its predecessors and helps it respond to though. The close loop helps to stimulate feedback. A closed loop helps a person feel the impact of the artificial limb and helps the nervous system convey the messages to the brain. This happens in three different ways – interface to biology, biology to interface and biology to interface to biology. Interface to biology is the simplest part of bionics. The second component allows the user to interact with the computer or electronic device directly. This is therefore concerned with human output. The final component of the interface is the biology to interface to biology. This uses an advanced technology and helps people who have lost their limbs. Thus bionics will help in repair and damage of human organs and tissues and has helped us to dream big and feel secured. Topic Map Topic Maps were developed to manage the amount of information available in electronic world. They are an index overlay that are constructed separately from a set of resources, identifies the subject and relationship with the resources and relationship within the resource set. The main work of topic maps is to structure and associate knowledge with information resources. The main constituents of topic maps are topics, association and occurrence. Topics are the items of topics maps. The way of linked between two topics is known as association which can be multidirectional. The information resources relevant to a topic are known as occurrence or occurrence role that can be in the form of an article, a picture or a reference to the topic map. In order to create a topic map, a XML document, specialized software is needed. After that it is to be decided where the map is to be stored and maintained. To store and maintained a database is required. The main function of this type of map is to solve the problem of knowledge management. The user can also navigate the information by utilizing a standard, interchangeable hypertext with topic maps. It also helps system designer a way to organize information into true knowledge base. It is also used to build the structure of the websites. Topic maps can also be merged with other maps to create endless source of information. It helps to get accurate and specific information on any topics only by defining a topic, occurrence and association on any topics. Mapping the Genome Genome refers to a collection of genetic substance of an organism. There are around 31,000 genes situated on the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a human cell. Genes determine protein formation by carrying information. The human Genome Project aims at identifying the chemical base pairs and the 30000 genes in the model. The growing chance of tailor made treatments based on individual genetic characteristics has been developed. The project is also supposed to address the social and ethical issues related to the genome. Ethical issues usually arise in case of designer babies and clones. The genome treatment could be applied to bring about cure for certain diseases. There are essentially two kinds of genetic mapping – linkage mapping or genetic mapping and physical mapping. Physical mapping involves placement of genes at certain distances from each other. The genome mapping techniques allow the scientist to connect the specific disease with the gene concerned. This helps in resolving the biochemical processes that are responsible for human diseases. The genome is basically a long molecule, which carries the information required to build human beings. It is formed of four beads of molecules arranged in a line. If we consider the genome as a long piece of information, it may be considered as a written order. Linux Linux is an operating system developed by Lines Tuvalu and was supposed to be used mainly as an alternative to the existing Operating Systems like DOS, Windows and Unix. The program is based on an efficient and small kernel and Linux OS can be run from a 1.44 MB floppy, that is, it requires little space to be stored. The basics of LINUX have been derived from MINIX. More people adopted LINUX and more people especially it gained popularity among hackers. Due to easy availability of Linux source code, users could contribute added features and applications and make it run on other platforms. Companies like Red Hat, Calderas, Defiant, and later on SUSE offered pre packed distribution of Linux. The Beowulf system, which is required by the Operating System to run Linux, is used to run supercomputers. Linux fits the need for low cost as well as efficiency. It has grown to support various platforms or CPUs. All major IT companies like IBM, Dell and HP have been producing Linux based products. The Linux Super Computer Clusters is used for different applications in fields like genomic projects, seismic oil exploration, nuclear simulations and Electronic Design Automation. However for an application to run faster it is not always necessary to run it on a supercomputer especially when the application does not make use of the advanced features and technology of the mainframe computer. However upgrading is easy in Beowulf software. Understanding various issues related to advantage, disadvantages and other dimensions. However this is a circular process and would not be ready for long despite the positive sides. Web based monitoring One of the crucial challenges faced by manufacturing environment is improving profitability because most of these manufacturing companies compete in a price taker’s market. In such a system a company does not have the liberty to set its price to a large extent but the only option is reduction of operating costs. Reducing the maintenance cost of plants is a profitable way to reduce cost effectively. As critical production equipments break down, firms do not have the option to continue in a profit-oriented manner. One of the best ways to achieve this is by using machine monitoring software in combination with IT infrastructure to gain long term cost reduction and maximization of profit. In order to ensure timely production excess capacity policy may be followed or a rebuilding schedule may be arranged. However such redundant and excess capacity process engage essential capital, which could otherwise find application in productive activities. Predictive maintenance, condition based maintenance and traditional scheduled maintenance are the three methods or alternatives. The non-destructive techniques used for testing are encouraged. Condition-based maintenance is more effective than traditional maintenance. Self contained hardware centric solutions and gathering the real world information and building of new architecture in order to bridge the gap between corporate networks and real world assets. A computer based maintenance system is composed of programs and data files that help in managing huge amount of data that is generated by inventory control, purchasing and maintenance. Wi-Fi Wi-Fi is the technology that allows wireless networking through the transmission of microwaves. Wi-Fi was originally introduced in 1997 in form of protocol 802.11.Using this technology; wireless networks can be installed at any any place. A location that employs Wi-Fi technology is known as hot spot. Due to wireless fidelity radio chip installed in it, any device can sync up to a hotspot to access the Internet. These technologies operate through the transmission of radio waves. A DSL line is connected to the server and distribution antennas on top of a building. These antennae transmit a directional signal to multiple hotspots. On the receiving end, a special radio chip is installed to exchange information through microwave transmission with the Wi-Fi host. The four primary layers in the Wi-Fi network are Venues, the hotspot operators, or HSO’s, the aggregator, the brand layer. The cost factor of Wi-Fi has been rapidly dwindling, due to increased market competition. Due to the decreasing costs of its components there has been a rapid growth of Wi-Fi. Though the price got reduced but there were several key challenges that hampered the widespread use of Wi-Fi. The challenges that this technology faced are industry’s lack of ubiquity due to necessity of the footprint of hotspots, fragmentation. Other challenges that this technology faced are the difficult user experience, the lack of focus by the large providers. In order to come out from these challenges, the Wi-Fi industry took different methods like taking pages from the ISP history etc. With the decreased cost and the beneficial possibilities Wi-Fi is used in Laptops, Cell phones, PDA’s – Personal digital assistants, automobiles, Digital cameras etc. The industry improves and simplifies the experience of the customers by producing equipment that are sold Wi-Fi compatible, which makes this technology more and more part of our daily life. Middleware Middleware is software invisible to the user and finds several applications in businesses. Middleware is used by placing it between layers of software to make the layers work with each other. It is also known as enterprise applications integration or EAI. The information is shared in a seamless manner across functional departments, geographic and applications. The application renders benefits like customer service, forecasting and planning. A step ahead of Linux, it is also helpful for watching from mainframe functioning to client or server applications. Computer Telephony and Software Interfaces are two primary applications concerning java based middleware applications. EAI was introduced mainly when it was realized that the existing applications and data within ERP system could not be leveraged adequately. They understood the benefits of linking multiple businesses processes. Among other drivers of the EAI market we have packaged applications, which addresses the potential problems of the new millennium, B2B integration, web applications and advances made in the technology in the field of developing EAI. EAI involves architecture, hardware, software and processes at every level of an enterprise system. This occurs at different levels: Business process integration, application integration, data integration, standards of integration and process of integration. In order to implement Middleware the various dimensions of Application Programming Interfaces needs to be considered. Java middleware is the deployment of middleware building upon the roots of clients/server. Java helps in reducing the contexts of diversified applications. Navy It is necessary in today’s 21st century to find a way to make efficient use of US Navy ‘sailor. Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Raytheon Electronics and Bath Iron Works (BIW) with Lockheed Martin Corporation tried to build up a newest “Smartship” the DD21 a Zumwaly class destroyer. The most remarkable feature of the new ship is it uses an electric propulsion system via the standard gas turbine generator engines of current U.S warship. The ship is powered by an electric drive, which is used by efficient, low maintenance engines connected to a new highly efficient generator to provide electric power to motors. These motors are so connected to the propellers, so that it can save space for crew for other purposes. As the durability of this electric drive is more than the conventional one, the ship’s survivability is more at the time of battle. DD21 can also conduct aviation operation in day and night launching and recovery, in-flight refueling and it also provides hanger facility, maintained rearming of 2 H-60 helicopters and detaching of unmanned Arial vehicle. Due to the efficient design, it employs less human crew. A shore battle gun is deployed with automated ammunition-handling units, so no human intervention is required at the time pf loading and firing from the surface-to-surface gun. A sleuths technology is used in this model top hide its Radar. A visual and acoustic signature is used to avoid attacks of enemies. A robotic fire fighting capabilities is used to fight with fires without human helps and high frequency sonar is used to detect mine threats. The life of the crew is also improved by providing them staterooms, video teleconference to keep in touch with family. This new warship has revolutionized the way of war. Read More