Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Ubiquitous Internet
Ubiquitous Computing: Big Brother's All-Seeing Eye - Part 1
Introduction
Ubiquitous Internet means connection between virtual internet and physical world at anytime, anywhere by anything, anyone.
I found an interesting article relating to ubiquitous internet access on campus of University of Nottingham. Students are enjoying internet access anytime anywhere, buy merchandise using e-wallet, make free phone calls and unified messaging service within the network of the campus. Wouldn’t it be more interesting if they can expand the services from campus to a big city in near future?
Ubiquitous Internet and e-Commerce
Ubiquitous Internet will create a lot of opportunities for e-commerce. The first one will be the telecommunication company. The emerging technology has improved the connection to internet from dial-up in the past to broadband and wireless now. Many telecommunication companies are starting to build their networks and providing Wi-Fi services. Besides, internet users are continuing demand for faster speed connection. Therefore, the telecommunication company with the most wireless “Hotspots” and fastest network in the future will be capable to control in this field. An example of a country with wide broadband penetration will be South Korea. By increasing the numbers of cyber café, hotspots and reduce the internet access fee, South Korea has reach an 83% of penetration rate.
The next important thing for ubiquitous internet will be the mobile devices. Examples of mobile devices such as PDAs, laptops, mobile phones and other devices must be capable to connect using wireless. Consequently, the application of these mobile devices must include big display size, battery power and memory, high security and high connection maintenance. For example, Yahoo! Go has built a gateway to mobile internet but only to certain hand phone models only. In present days, people making phone calls through network service provider such as Celcom, Digi and Maxis and charged based on duration of call. It will become more flexible and cheaper if we all connect to the internet with our mobile phones for communication.
Lastly, with ubiquitous internet, we can connect many devices with internet. With the technological convergence between internet and the devices, we can make our life a lot easier. I had put videos on the ubiquitous computing innovated by Korean in this blog. As the technology is emerging frequently, the “internet of things” is beyond of our imagination. In future, almost every physical thing can be digital transform and virtual items can be realistic. As for myself, I would like an ATM machine which automatically prints out cash from my bank account when my wallet is out of money.
Ubiquitous Computing: Big Brother's All-Seeing Eye - Part 2
References:
Top 10 Most Connected Cities, viewed 27 August 2008
How To.com
Total Broadband Experience - Extreme Broadband, viewed 27 August 2008
Extremebb.net
Yahoo! Mobile, viewed 27 August 2008
Mobile.Yahoo!Go
Posted by Kang Loong at 1:47 PM
Labels: Ubiquitous Internet
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In addition to ubiquitous Internet, the web- based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has also contributed to a better planning of supply chain management. According to Sunil Hazari (2000), companies that have operational centres around the globe would face difficulties in sharing data between their facilities. Hence, with the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, the web- based ERP has enabled companies to share the supply chain data through data integration. With these data available, companies would able to make decisions on their ordering of inventories in real-time. The web- based ERP would also helps in tracking the stocking availability and also pricing of the supplies, whether are they enough to meet the current market demand.
The web-based ERP is seen as a beginning to the ubiquitous Internet's era. In the future, the Internet is expected to be everywhere around us. Like in the situation given in lecture, even fridge and bath tubs would also have the ability to receive our commands and complete tasks for us, in the future. Meanwhile, according to Ritter, T, Powell, A & Middleton, C (2004), with the ubiquitous Internet in the future, where Internet should be available everywhere for users, extensive infrastructure is needed to enable users to get the Internet connected to their devices anywhere they are even in fast moving mobile environment like train and airplane. Hence, users would be able to access the service at multiple locations.
According to a publication on Goliath Business News (2008), the technologies that would play vital roles in developing the new Internet include RFID, VoIP and IPv6. With the RFID which stands for Radio Frequency Identification, devices with this technology allows data transmission, and also changing of stored data in midst of processing. It is also presumed that with the small RFID device inserted in stock animals, farmers would be able to track their lost stocks and even detect the change of their stocks’ temperatures to prevent spread of animals’ diseases.
As for the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), it is expected that the use of applications like Skype would increase in the near future where users would be able to make more calls from and to PCs, without incurring any costs. Furthermore, by utilizing the same IP network, communications between different devices would be possible through the same connection.
Next, the IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) allows smoother and safer traffic flow even with many different vehicles on the road, as it supported by hardware manufacturers and major operating systems in Japan. IPv6 also enables multicast broadcast which supports single broadcaster, and the broadcasts can be viewed by multiple viewers. As a result, this would opens up more new business opportunities for the Internet broadcast industry. Moreover, with the new IPv6, users need not worry about losing connection when making calls on their devices after they pass by a network segment to another, for example watching the broadcasts in a moving train, because the Mobile IP and IPv6 has taken moves to enable platforms to carry out such applications without any network disruptions.
In conclusion, I personally think that the ubiquitous Internet would be able to benefit all of us in the near future. With all things and everyone getting connected, tasks can be completed faster, without much hassles and it would also help in business growth with the help of high technological devices in tracking movement of stocks in real-time.
References:
Sunil Hazari 2000, The evolution of eCommerce in Internet Time, University of Maryland, viewed 3 September 2008, http://www.westga.edu/~shazari/documents/ecomeval.htm
Ritter, T, Powell, A & Middleton, C 2004, Should the Internet be everywhere?: perspectives on ubiquitous internet access, University of Sussex, viewed 3 September 2008, http://www.broadbandresearch.ca/ourresearch/ritter_powell_middleton.pdf
Goliath Business News 2008, The new Internet: the transition to a ubiquitous Internet society, The Gale Group, viewed 3 September 2008, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4938446/The-new-Internet-the-transition.html#abstract
Nowadays, internet is a major development to push for ubiquitous access to rich multimedia content but it do requires the incorporation of adaption techniques which will transform media into different formats which suitable for different equipment. These devices or equipment being ubiquitous means there will be more and more tiny high technology things, computer, in either office or home by doing specialized task on its own. Sometime we call them as supercomputer too.
However, accessing to the Web may not always be through desktop computers. Devices such as the telephone, toaster, microwave, mp3 players can even connect to the Web. So, these devices can automatically connect without user’s participating. The goal of ubiquitous computing is to move computers away from the central focus of the user's attention and into the invisible world.
As a result, day by day, internet has become something is giving all information that we wants. It will exist no matter where you are cars, planes, even inside a toilet. On the other hand, why is the ubiquitous internet is needed? Many will agree that they will like to have the latest technology in hand. Compare to the olden days, companies got information about consumer behavior by doing formal studies through research but now, it has been replace by using electronic information gathering.
Market researchers rely on credit cards a lot because they will leave a trail of transactions recorded by computer that can be studies. By then, they will also sell this information about your buying habits to marketing firms so that those firms will send message to your mail without you asking for it. We normally refer this kind of mail as junk mail, so do we really need this kind of services? Bear in mind that internet is also our tools for secretive information in our life because cookies of our viewed website will be kept in our computer and it can be tracked down easily.
Also, in the olden days, all records were recorded into a record book or will be filed. But nowadays, this system has grown into a tighter net whereby banks are now planning for the near total replacement of untraceable paper currency with electronic money cards. Therefore, sooner or later, we are unable to make a single purchase without it going on your permanent record.
On the other hand, computation that is being added to homes, desks, clothing and other daily product which is connected through the Internet may benefit us as well. For example, Nissan is working on smart cars which sense the driver's intentions before an action is taken in order to share control of the car with the driver. Office can use smart desk to recognize workers and adapt to their preferences as well as to red user’s interaction through electronic devices. Ubit, one of the companies in Tokyo has developed a phone that is able to fulfill businessman. User can now check number of hits and download and manage their sites accordingly without the knowledge or programming or systems.
In conclusion, ubiquitous computing is the wave of the future. Microchip is the most important tools that will be inserted to our daily life and therefore improving our life and enhancing our lives too.
References:
Burbey, I 1996, 24.Ubiquitous internet computing: conclusion, viewed 3rd September 2008, http://ei.cs.vt.edu/book/chap24/chp24-09.html.
Burbey, I 1996, 24.Ubiquitous internet computing: smart homes, viewed 3rd September 2008, http://ei.cs.vt.edu/book/chap24/chp24-09.html.
Goliath 2005, The new internet: the transition to a ubiquitous internet society, Goliath, viewed 3rd September 2008, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4938446/The-new-Internet-the-transition.html.
Turner, J 2005, The new internet: the transition to a ubiquitous internet society, BNET, viewed 3rd September 2008, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_65/ai_n15797829.
According to Turner, J (2008), the ubiquitous Internet era has also evolves local information search by using the Naviblog technology for mobile- blogging. Through Naviblog, users can blog specifically on locations surrounding them. For example, you are driving past a new restaurant in town and you can blog it inside your vehicle; adding information of the new restaurant into the database. Meanwhile, this information would help to create awareness of the new eatery among other users and you can also add in your own customers review to give others an insight of the restaurant. With Naviblog, mobile phones with GPS features would be able to search for its own user’s location, and with a click, local map would be available.
Furthermore, in the United States, the government has made it mandatory for mobile phones with GPS features to send notifications at emergency times, to help those working in the emergency lines like ambulance, cops or firemen to reach the places of incidents faster. With the GPS, this is made possible as the notifications sent out would help those in the emergency force to locate victims and accident sites.
Reference:
Turner, J 2008, The new Internet: the transition to a ubiquitous Internet society, CNet Networks Incorporation, viewed 4 September 2008, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_65/ai_n15797829/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1
Hi Kang Loong, I’m interested in what you mentioned about “Ubiquitous Internet”. It makes everything become possible in the real-world and the Internet.
I would like to share an article that I found which discussed on “The new Internet: the transition to a ubiquitous Internet society”. According to this article, Japan is possibly the closest to achieve a “ubiquitous society”. Due to the government of Japan, it will have a potential to build and develop it, for example, e-Japan policy encourages and resources provided to facilitate the growth in the Internet and technology.
The current objectives are to “continue to be the world’s most advance IT nation in 2006 and beyond” and to “realize a vigorous, safe and convenient society through the use of IT” (Jack Turner, 2005). From here, Japan aims to build up the ubiquitous society that connects everyone and everything, where anyone, anytime and anywhere can benefit from the use of terminals and networks without even being aware of the existence of the network.
Apart from the technology of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), I would like to talk about Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) as what Ai Sing mentioned. IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet expanded address format used. It allows every device to have its own IP number and able to resolve a problem associated with the growth of the number of computers attached to the Internet.
Moreover, IPv6 allows devices to “move about” on the network. For instance, users are participating in a video conference call on PDA in train. It will most likely pass from one network segment to another as the train moves. PDA devices will still maintain the feed to the conference call during the transition, without any loss of connection.
Reference
Jack Turner, “The new Internet: the transition to a ubiquitous Internet society”, Bnet, 2005, viewed 4 September 2008,
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTN/is_65/ai_n15797829/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1
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