SOURCES AND SERVICES
Chapter 57 Issues and Trends in IT
57.1 Issues Affecting Libraries and Information Centers
Even if there are so many developments in hardware, software, and network technologies, there are several issues in IT that are of great concern to libraries and information centers.
• Licensing - Like in any of the many areas of commerce in which licenses are required, licensing applies also in commercially-distributed software.
This is a very big concern since the cost of licensed software is too high nowadays. Some institutions who cannot afford to purchase a licensed software resort to the use of pirated software. An alternative to expensive licensed software is the use of shareware (software that is distributed on the basis of an honor system), or freeware (a computer program given away free of charge). Most shareware is distributed free of charge but the author usually requests that you pay a small fee if you like the program or use it on a regular basis. Freeware is often made available on bulletin boards and through user groups. An independent program developer might offer a product as freeware either for personal satisfaction or to assess its reception among interested users.
• Piracy - Software piracy is a crime of robbery for private ends. Software programs are reengineered and redistributed by unauthorized bodies for their own gains. They usually unlock the software by providing passwords, serial numbers, or codes required for installation. There are also times at which they unlock the software by using cracking program tools.
• Computer viruses - A computer virus is a program that "infects" computer files (usually other executable programs) by inserting copies of itself in those files. This is usually done in such a manner that the copies will be executed when the file is loaded into memory, allowing them to infect still other files, and so on. Viruses often have damaging side effects, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. PC users can safeguard their files using anti-virus software packages such as Norton Anti virus, McAfee Virus Scan, AVG Anti-Virus, and so on. These programs can detect viruses, and often repair the damage done by them. The increase in transactions over the Internet has greatly increased the chance of virus infection, so anti-virus measures have been introduced to promote the growth of electronic business. Digital certificates can be used to validate the identity of people and organizations on the Internet, digital signatures can prove the identity of an individual, and Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) mechanisms have been developed to allow safe credit card transactions. E-mail viruses remain a major threat, however-during 2000, many large organizations were brought down by a virus attached to an
e-mail message entitled "I Love You". In 2002 a new type of virus appeared that allowed unauthorized users to access private information (such as credit card details). This virus, known as "Bugbear", was carried via e-mail and affected many users.
• Data theft - This is a more serious problem than software piracy.
Computer system hackers (or crackers) mutilate the encryption of restricted databanks and databases and make unauthorized use of the information/data contained in them. The use of these data may be intended for unlawful activities like theft.
• Spam and junk mails - Spam or unsolicited e-mail is the electronic equivalent of junk mail. People usually send spam in order to sell products and services, to draw traffic to Web sites, or to promote moneymaking schemes. Unlike physical junk mail, spam does not stop if it is unsuccessful. When marketing departments send junk mail they incur some expense, so give up if they do not succeed. Spam costs virtually nothing to send and so it persists, whatever the recipient does. Spam can easily be confused with legitimate bulk e-mail. According to Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS), an electronic message is regarded as spam only if the recipient's personal identity is irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many others; the recipient has not granted permission for it to be sent; and the message appears to the recipient to give a disproportionate benefit to the sender. Spam has become a big problem over the past few years as it consumes large amounts of the recipient's time and Internet capacity. It is also an enduring problem as it is virtually impossible to determine where it originates. The first spam was sent as long ago as 1978 by a Digital Equipment Corporation sales representative to advertise a computer equipment demonstration. The initial defense against spam was to block mail from domains that are known to be senders but it is relatively easy for spam senders to send from a new domain. The most effective measure now available is to use one of the e-mail filters on the market that saves the user from having to manually sift though his or her inbox. Legislation introduced in the European Union in December 2003 makes it a criminal offence to send spam unless the recipient has agreed in advance to accept it. Similar legislation was signed into law in the US in the same month.
• Obsolescence of hardware and software - The very fast developments in computer technology mean the very quick obsolescence of computer devices. Both hardware and software are subject to this problem. This can be resolved by downloading software updates from the Internet. Unused computers which are left because of purchasing newer one can be
donated to charitable institutions so that they become useful once more.
Computers drain critical resources such as electricity and paper. They also produce unwanted electrical and chemical, and bulk-waste side effects. As a society, we should adopt a more environmentally position with respect to use, manufacture, and disposal of computer equipment and devices. This is known as green computing (environmentally sensible computing).
• High costs in electricity - A computer will never work without electricity.
The electrical consumption of computers becomes a big deal if the institution has many computer units which are run simultaneously. Always set the computer to a mode at which the monitor and the hard drive is automatically turned off when not in use. Green computing is also a solution to this problem.
• Health issues - Ergonomics (or human factor engineering), the science and technology emphasizing the safety, comfort, and ease of use of human-operated machines such as computers,. Its goal is to produce systems that are user-friendly, safe, comfortable, and easy to use. Institutions which make use of computers in their daily activities should consider using ergonomically correct furniture (e.g. chairs and tables) and devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard, etc.).
57.2 Trends and Future Developments
The following are just some of the trends in the development of information technology.
• Computer system capabilities - Computers continue to become smaller, faster, more reliable, less expensive to purchase and maintain, and more interconnected within computer networks and other electronic gadgets and devices.
• Input technology trends - Input devices are becoming more natural and easy to use. Even programming languages are becoming to be structured like human language, making them easier and faster to learn.
• Output technology trends - Output devices are geared toward direct output methods that communicate naturally, quickly, and clearly.
• Trends in storage media - The capacity of data storage media is continuously growing. Primary storage media are starting to use microelectronic circuits while secondary storage media are using magnetic and optical media.
One continuing trend in computer development is microminiaturization, the effort to compress more circuit elements into smaller and smaller chip space. Researchers are also trying to speed up circuitry functions through the use of superconductivity, the phenomenon of decreased electrical resistance observed in certain materials at very low temperatures. As the physical limits of silicon-chip computer processors are being approached, scientists are exploring the potential of the next generation of computer technology, using, for instance, devices based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
The fifth-generation computer effort to develop computers that can solve complex problems in ways that might eventually merit the description "creative" is another trend in computer development, the ideal goal being true artificial intelligence. One path actively being explored is parallel processing computing, which uses many chips to perform several different tasks at the same time. Parallel processing may eventually be able to duplicate to some degree the complex feedback, approximating, and assessing functions of human thought. One important parallel processing approach is the neural network, which mimics the architecture of the nervous system. Another ongoing trend is the increase in computer networking, which now employs the worldwide data communications system of satellite and cable links to connect computers globally. There is also a great deal of research into the possibility of "optical" computers-hardware that processes not pulses of electricity but much faster pulses of light.