ITC 7 MBA-I Evening

7

7-3

7.1 Convergence,

Portability, &

Personalization



_{Digital Convergence}

 Describes the combining of several industries –

computers, communications, consumer electronics, entertainment, and mass media – through various devices that exchange data in digital form

 Pros:

 Multiple-use machines such as Xbox that can play games,

display DVD movies, and play music CDs

 Cellphones with enhancing features such as address books

and digital cameras that also shoot videos

 Cons:

 Multiple features that compromise the primary feature—no

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Portability, &

Personalization



_Portability

 _{Devices that enable phone and email access from}

anywhere, portable digital music, and convenient cheap digital photos that allow people to remain connected even while on the move

 _Cons

 Bombardment by emails and phone calls

 _{Lack of face-to-face contact can lead to misinterpretations}

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7.1 Convergence,

Portability, &

Personalization



_{Personalization}

 Tree-and-branch telecommunications model

 _{A centralized information provider sends out messages}

through many channels to thousands of consumers

 Used by AM/FM radio and by TV broadcasters

 Hard to personalize

 Switched-network communications model

 _{A common carrier provides circuit switching that creates a}

temporary two-way connection between one public user and another

 In a telephone network, the connection is made by dialing

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Portability, &

Personalization



_{Personalization Advantages & Disadvantages}

 People are unhappy when they have too many choices

 _{Regret: People are more likely to regret their decisions}

 Inaction: People can’t decide now, because they might later

regret their decisions

 _{Excessive Expectations: Reality has a hard time meeting}

the expectations when there are so many choices

 _{Self-blame: People blame themselves for making the wrong}

decision

 Having many personalized devices leads to

multitasking, which can lead to “absent presence” and nonfocus.

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7.1 Convergence,

Portability, &

Personalization



_{Popular personal technologies}

 Satellite, high-definition, and internet radios

 _{Digital cameras}

 Personal digital assistants and tablet PCs

 The new television

 E-books

 Smartphones

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7.2 Portable Media Players



_{MP3 is a format that allows audio files to be}

compressed so they are small enough to be sent over

the internet and stored as digital files



_{Portable media players (PMPs) are portable devices}

that play digital audio, video, and still image files

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7.2 Portable Media Players



_{Technology Considerations: What’s Useful to Know?}

 Sampling rate

 _{Transferring files}

 Battery life

 Color screens and photo viewing

 Other features such as:

 _{FM radio reception}

 Music recording using extra microphone

 _{Car stereo adapter to connect player to your car’s speakers}

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7.3 High-Tech Radio



_{Satellite radio}

 Digital radio signals are sent from satellites in orbit

around the earth to subscribers that have special radios

 CD-quality sound is better than normal radio

 More channels than regular radio

 Providers are Sirius satellite radio (merged with XM

satellite radio in 2008)

 Commercial-free

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7.3

High-Tech Radio



_{Satellite Radio}

 Provides CD-quality sound

 No commercials

 _{No limits to format}

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7.3 High-Tech Radio



_{HD Radio}

 Provides CD-quality sound

 Allow broadcasters to squeeze one analog and two

digital stations on the same frequency

 Broadcasts are free—no subscription charges

 Broadcasters are hoping HD radio can introduce more

local or innovative programming

7-13

7.3 High-Tech Radio



_{Internet Radio}

 Internet users can listen to radio on their computers and

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7.3 High-Tech Radio



_Podcasting

 Involves the recording of internet radio or similar internet

programs

 Requires no studio or broadcast tower and is not

regulated by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

 Allows amateur deejays and hobbyists to create their

own radio shows and offer them on the internet

 _{Podcasting-receiving software, called an aggregator, is}

necessary

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7.4 Digital Cameras



_{Cameras that take photographs but do not require film}

_{Types to consider}

 Point-and-shoot digital camera

 _{Automatically adjusts settings such as exposure and focus}

 _{Easy to use, but manual controls can allow you to tweak the}

settings to get better photos (under $500)

 Single-lens reflex (SLR) digital camera

 _{Uses a reflecting mirror to reflect the incoming light so the}

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7.4 Digital Cameras



_{Resolution: Megapixels and Sensors}

 Megapixels = millions of picture elements; the more

megapixels, the higher the resolution

 7 – 12 megapixels common for point-and-shoot cameras;5 –

12 for SLR

 The larger the sensor chip, the sharper the images



_Lenses

 Digital zoom

 Means the image is cropped in the camera

 Lowers the resolution and so can produce a grainy photo

 Optical zoom

 Enlarges the subject without you needing to move closer  Lens extends to focus on distant objects; clearer image

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7.4 Digital Cameras



_Storage

 Use flash memory cards inside camera; cards are reusable



_{Viewing images}

 Optical viewfinders let you see the image to be

photographed before you snap the picture

 LCD screens let you review the photos you have taken

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7.4 Digital Cameras



_{Start-up time}

 Digital cameras require time to start up

 Look for one that has a short start-up time

 _{Also, the shutter can lag, delaying the time between}

when you press the button and the shutter clicks; look for a camera that allows “burst” or “continuous “ mode

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7.4 Digital Cameras



_{Battery life}

 The camera requires a battery to function

 Some rechargeable batteries are available with many

models

 Some recharge in the camera, while others require a

separate charging stand



_{Video clips}

 _{Most digital cameras can shoot movies, too}

 1-gigabyte memory cards can shoot as many as 44

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs

 _{Have touch-sensitive screens so you can enter data with a}

stylus by tapping or writing on screen

 _{Store data in RAM that stays on even when the unit is off by}

using the PDA’s battery

 _{Can be augmented by flash memory}  _{Commonly use lithium ion batteries}

 _{Transfer files to your PC in one of three ways}

 Pull out the PDA’s flash card and insert it into the

PC’s card reader using a USB port

 Put your PDA into a special cradle plugged into a

USB port

 Transfer data wirelessly

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs



_{Many cellphones are usurping features from PDAs}

_{To compete, PDAs must develop new features}



_{Examples of possible PDA evolution}

 Handheld weather meters

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7.5 PDAs & Tablet PCs



_{Tablet PCs}

 A special notebook computer with a digitizer tablet and a

stylus so the user can handwrite input from the screen

 Recently only about 3% of laptops being sold

 Used in niche markets such as schools

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7.6 The New Television



_{New equipment available for TV}

 _{Lets you interact with the show you’re watching}

 Internet TV

 Television distributed via the internet

 Internet-Ready TV

 Allows viewers to watch TV shows as well as go online to

get news, stream movies, view photos, etc.

 Mobile TV

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7.6 The New Television

 _{Three kinds of TV}

 _{Digital television (DTV)}

 _{FCC has mandated that all TV stations be capable of digital}

broadcasting

 _{People with analog TVs use a converter box to deal with digital}

broadcast signals

 _{High-definition television (HDTV)}

 _{Works with digital broadcasting signals}

 Has broader screen and higher resolution than analog TV  _{Uses a lot of bandwidth}

 Standard-definition television (SDTV)

 Uses lower resolution than HDTV and so can transmit more

information within the HDTV bandwidth

 _{Allows multicasting}

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7.7 E-Book Readers



_{E-Book, or electronic book}

 An electronic text, the digital-media equivalent of a

conventional printed book



_{E-Book Reader}

 _{A device specifically designed to allow people to read}

electronic books



_Examples

 Amazon’s Kindle

 Sony’s Reader

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7.7 E-Book Readers

 _{How an E-Book Works}

 _{Different e-books use different e-software formats}

 _{Vizplex technology (E Ink) reduces eyestrain and battery}

consumption

 _{E-books are downloaded by wireless access (3G or Wi-Fi)}

 _{Some benefits}

 _{One e-book reader can store hundreds or thousands of books}  Easy to download books by wireless access; books are less

expensive

 Type size and face can be adjusted  _{Usually can be read in low light}

 _{Automatically opens to the page where you left off}  Text can be searched and cross-referenced

 _{Dictionary automatically available}

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7.7 E-Book Readers



_{Drawbacks of E-Book Readers}

 Photos, charts, diagrams, foreign characters, and tables

not as good as in print version—or are left out of the e-book

 Battery needs to be recharged

 Reader doesn’t own the downloaded books

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7.8 Smartphones



_{Smartphone = cellphone with microprocessor,}

memory, display screen, and modem

 Allows phone calls, email, web browsing, music

availability, text messaging, videogames, digital TV viewing, search tools, GPS, personal information management, and so on

 Storage

 Data is stored in ROM

 _{Data does not disappear when phone is turned off}

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7.8 Smartphones

 _Input

 Have a keypad for entering numbers and text

 _{Microphone for picking up your voice, such as for}

voice-activated dialing

 May have a touch-sensitive screen or a screen that uses a

stylus

 Output

 _{Speaker to hear voice calls}

 Display ranging from LCD to full-color high-resolution

plasma

 MP3 players

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7.8 Smartphones



_{Smartphone Services}

 _{Text messaging and SMS}

 Download ringtones

 Email

 Internet access

 Photography

 Games

 Radio and music

 TV and video

 GPS

 _Payments

7-31

7.9

Videogame Systems



_{These may be the “ultimate convergence machine”}



_{People buy them to play games, but they do a lot more}



Xbox 360