The Impact of Wireless Technology on the Field of Communication and Computer Engineering - Essay Example

The impact of "Wireless technology" on the field of Communication and computer engineering. The world changed a lot over the past few decades. Although the world had started to change since the industrial revolution of the 19th century, yet the change has never been as big as it has been since the creation of computer and especially the internet. Today, we have wireless technology. Examples of wireless technology are all around us including mobile phones, laptops, USB internet, and cameras etc. These technologies are very important because they help us stay connected with each other all the time. The impact of wireless technology on communication and computer engineering is very big. In this paper, it has been discussed how big the impact of wireless technology on communication and computer is engineering. Communication is conversation, interaction, or change of words, ideas, or messages between two or more than two people at the same time. For a long time in the history, when there used to be no wireless technology or even wired technology, people used to send letter to each other through post. That was a very time consuming process. The postman delivered the letters by hand. It took even more time for the sender to get the reply from the person through letter. Then came wired technology. The history of wireless technology can be traced back to “1896 [when] Marconi took his apparatus to England where he was introduced to Mr. (later Sir) William Preece, Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office, and later that year was granted the worlds first patent for a system of wireless telegraphy” (nobelprize.org, 2013). When telephone was created, it changed communication a lot. It took the quality of communication and its speed to a whole new level. People contacted each other by phone. Those used to be large phones with bells and buttons containing digits. Although those wired telephones improved communication a lot, yet they were difficult to set up as one needed to do proper wiring in order to be able to talk through them. Then came mobile phones. In the start, only few people had mobile phones and it was considered a status symbol. However, over the last decade, mobile phones became very common and even very poor people started having them. Mobile phones took the communication to an even higher level. Using mobile phones, people did not have to connect to each other through wires because mobile phones were wireless. They worked by catching signals from the air. This shifted the responsibility over to the mobile phone companies and the telecommunication companies to install their towers everywhere so that the signals would propagate everywhere. Once these towers were installed, people became very free. They could talk to each other both within the country and outside using mobile phones. Communication became completely wireless. Over the passage of time, mobile phones improved in quality. They became thinner, smarter, and sharper in that their features were improved. Then came mobile phones with cameras installed in them. This further improved communication because people could not only talk to each other, but also exchange photos with each other that were captured using the mobile phone’s camera. Internet is another technology that is available in wireless form and has had a great impact over communication and computer engineering. Today, internet is available in different forms. There is a wired form and there is a wireless form also. In the wired form, internet companies provide wired connection to the users at their homes. They connect their computers or laptops to the internet device using wires. Wires are inserted in ports, one in the desktop computer and the other in the internet device. Laptops have an edge over desktop computers because they consist of wifi facility. Wifi catches signals of the internet device so that internet can be run on the laptop without having to connect it to the internet device using a wire. Using such internet connections, people started communicating with each other in an even better way that they would through mobiles. Programs and websites like Skype and Facebook allowed people to stay connected with one another 24/7. All they have to pay for such a magnificent service is the bill of internet at the end of the month that is negligible as compared to what would calling through mobile 24/7 cost the users. Once someone has internet, he can make free video calls from Skype. Both the caller and the person who receives the call can see each other through the cameras fitted in the laptops. Hence, it has become like two people are sitting in front of each other and talking to each other. Not just this, people can talk to one another in groups. All they have to do is make an account on Skype. Once an account has been made, all users can make a group call to each other. It becomes like a conference in which there are different windows displaying live videos of different people who are communicating with one another on the same screen. “The advent of advanced cell phones, tablet computers and other high-tech hand-held devices connected to the wireless network has also greatly improved the ability of workers to share information when away from their desks” (Kazmeyer, 2013). Communication crossed all barriers except for occasional fault of internet signals. Wireless technology has done a lot to advance all fields in general and the computer engineering field in particular. Every year, new models of mobile phones, internet services, and laptops are introduced to the users. “August 15, 2011, the announcement is made that Google will acquire Motorola Mobility” (wirelesshistoryfoundation.org, 2011). The rapid advancement of these models can be attributed to the development of wireless technology. Computer engineers are trained in several fields that include but are not limited to electronic engineering, integration of hardware and software, and design of software. Computer engineers do work in different computing aspects of hardware and software ranging from the individual microprocessors’ designing to making of circuit design, supercomputers and personal computers. Computer engineering is not just limited to the way computer systems work, but also extends beyond that to include the integration of computers into the larger systems. In order to compete with new and technology intensive companies in the market, it is imperative that companies who are already in business take measures to modernize and advance themselves. One of the most important ways in which this can be achieved is by integration of computers and latest technologies into the work system. Traditionally, it was very difficult for organizations to take this step because they had to buy all the wires along with the technology and equipment, select places from which the wires would pass in the office, get them installed with the help of technicians, and then work with the technology. Organizations not only had to pay a lot of money in doing this, but they also had to take a lot of headache in deciding the places and getting the technicians and making the required tools available to them. After all the work was done, there were still a lot of chances of breakage of wires at any time. If the wire got distorted at some place under the carpet or inside the walls, it was hard to locate the point from which the wire had broken and get that repaired. It was a very tough process overall. These days, with the availability of wireless technology, organizations are spared all this headache. All they have to do now is to purchase the technology and place it in the office. There are no wires to be purchased or connected. This has brought immense improvement in the whole system. “Wireless technology can provide many benefits to computing including faster response to queries, reduced time spent on paperwork, increased online time for users, just-in-time and real time control, tighter communications between clients and hosts” (Eremin, 2004). Now owners have to face no problem of locating the defects in wires as everything is wireless. A good example of this is purchasing a DSL internet, placing it at some suitable place in the office where it would catch signals, and giving the employees laptops which themselves catch the signals from wifi automatically without requiring any wires. Wireless networks are cheaper to install as well as maintain as compared to wired networks (is4profit.com, 2013). Concluding, wireless technology has brought immense change and improvement in communication and computer engineering. Using wireless technology, people can talk to each other wherever on earth they are and at whatever time they want to communicate. They can not only talk to each other, but also see each other live at the same time using the wireless technology. Wireless technology has empowered the computer engineers also. Every year, new models of mobile phones and laptops come into the market. Integrating technology into the workplace has become a lot more easier with the use of wireless technology. There is a growing debate about the possible negative implications of the use of wireless technology on health, though no objective conclusions have been made by any research so far. References: Eremin, AA 2004, Effects of wireless computing technology, [Online] Available at http://arxiv.org/html/cs/0406018 [accessed: 14 March 2013]. is4profit.com 2013, Wireless Communications, [Online] Available at http://www.is4profit.com/business-advice/it-telecoms/wireless-communications/the-benefits-of-wireless-communication.html [accessed: 14 March 2013]. Kazmeyer, M 2013, The Impact of Wireless Communication in the Workplace, [Online] Available at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/impact-wireless-communication-workplace-55252.html [accessed: 14 March 2013]. nobelprize.org 2013, Biography, [Online] Available at http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1909/marconi-bio.html [accessed: 14 March 2013]. wirelesshistoryfoundation.org 2011, Wireless History Timeline, [Online] Available at http://www.wirelesshistoryfoundation.org/wireless-history-project/wireless-history-timeline [accessed: 14 March 2013]. Read More