Module 2.2
E-communications
Introduction
In today’s modern times, mobility and portability has become the norm in terms of electronic (‘e‐‘) communication. People want to be able to access their e‐mail, browse the Internet, update their blogs, tweet and much more whilst on the go.
In fact, this is so much the case that more tablets and smartphones have recently been sold than old‐style desktop PCs. Even laptops, though they are not nearly as mobile as a tablet or smartphone, outsell desktops. The whole desktop PC industry is in a decline, with fewer PCs being sold each year.
Mobile technology
Mobile technology is driven by ease of access, user experience and the need and desire to be ‘always on, always connected’. Let’s see what we mean by this:
Ease of access to technology
Longer battery life, smaller size, permanent connectivity (within signal range) – these are just some of the reasons why it is easier to gain access to, and use this technology. Because it is easy to access, you tend to use it more often. You don’t have to go to a specific location to use the technology. People enjoy this convenience.
User experience
You don’t need training or advanced courses to know how to use these devices. Touch screen interfaces and an operating system that does not lag, but responds immediately to your touch, are appealing. People feel as if the device is an extension of themselves rather than a complicated computer that they have to learn how to use. Most programs designed to run on portable devices (‘apps’) are kept simple and focus on single tasks that they do well – further enhancing the user experience. This makes using the device easier and more natural to use than having to learn to use a desktop or laptop computer.
The need and desire to be ‘always on, always connected’
This is an essential driving factor for mobile technology. Ease of access and a great user experience alone would not make mobile technology as popular as it has become. People are social beings, they love to communicate and share – and mobile technology creates the
irresistible – and drives its popularity and use way beyond the group of people who would normally use computing technology. Let’s start our investigation of mobile communications by looking at the devices themselves.
Mobile devices
Laptops, notebooks and netbooks are all examples of portable computers, not mobile devices. The differences include size, the fact that they are not ‘always on’ and that they need a separate device in order to connect to the Internet (e.g. a WiFi network adapter or a 3G (cellular) modem). This means that mobile devices consist of: Smartphones
Smartphones are cellphones that include a mobile operating system designed for a mobile device and the ability to install and run third‐ party software (software developed by vendors other than the company that developed the computer's operating system). They generally include a touch screen interface and multiple sensors such as GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, etc.
Tablets
These are what we refer to as consumer tablets to differentiate them from Tablet PCs. They generally use a touch screen interface, have longer battery life, include built‐in cellular communication and, most importantly, use a mobile (not a desktop) operating system. Tablets generally have a screen size of 7" or more.
Getting the most from your mobile operating system
The two main mobile operating systems are Android (created by Google and the operating system of most non‐Apple mobile devices) and iOS, which is only found on Apple devices
such as the iPhone and iPad. Given that the biggest difference between, for example a Tablet PC and a tablet (consumer tablet) is the operating system, we need to take a little time to learn more about what a mobile operating system is, what it offers and how to make the most of it. If you ever hear someone talking about ‘Phablets’ then they are referring to the monstrously big smartphones with screen sizes bigger than 4" and the word is a combination of phone and tablet. Some manufacturers refer to the term
feature phone which is a model
between a conventional cellphone with no ‘intelligence’ (can make phone calls and text) and a smartphone. They are difficult to categorise as technology and features evolve all the time. The only real distinguishing feature is that these phones are cheaper than top‐end smartphones and have fewer features than these models.
Understand ‘always-on’ functionality
The operating system is designed to help keep the device on and working at all times unless you specifically choose to shut it down completely. Even when the screen is ‘dark’ and the device appears to be off, it is really in a low‐power mode and the operating system is performing tasks in the background such as monitoring for messages, phone calls, notifications from applications, etc.
Improving battery life
The many functions of a mobile device consist of a variety of electronic components running in the background, even when the device appears to be off. Some of these components can be turned on and off according to use and needs. The apps that you leave running can seriously affect the battery life of the device. Most of these items can be changed by going into the settings for the operating system. Here are some examples of how to reduce power consumption:
The screen
The screen is one of the biggest power drains in a mobile device. Setting it to its brightest level or leaving it on for a long time is guaranteed to drain your battery quickly. Set the device to automatically switch the screen off after a time when you are not using it.
Multitasking
After the display, the CPU is the next biggest drain on the battery. When you run multiple applications each app requires CPU time and so the more apps that are running, the more work the CPU has to do and the quicker the battery will drain. Think carefully – do you really need to keep those 10 apps running on your device?
GPS
The GPS is a separate radio receiver inside the device. It only gets switched on when you run an app that needs GPS data. If you leave a GPS app running the GPS keeps working and this adds extra drain on the battery. On top of this, the GPS is only really useful if you are looking at the map, so keeping the display on makes the battery drain faster.
Bluetooth connectivity and WiFi
Both Bluetooth and WiFi use separate transmitters in the device. If you want to maximise your battery life then you can turn these off, though their power drain is not significant. They both use much more power when communicating.
Media
Playing music uses the built‐in speaker and also uses up power. Playing video uses the speaker and the screen and therefore uses significantly more power.
Mobile browsers
Most people are used to using a web browser to access the Internet. All mobile operating systems include a browser and you can install different third party browsers if you don’t like the one that comes with the operating system.
These browsers operate in exactly the same way as the browser that you use on your laptop or desktop PC. There are some differences though – and many of these are not determined by the browser itself:
Screen size
Mobile browsers are capable of displaying most web pages. The problem is that the screen of the device is so small that it might be impossible to read the text. To fix this, the browsers allow you to do tricks such as double tapping on the text portion of the page, causing it to zoom in and making it easier to read.
Flash content
Adobe Flash was the standard for video, animation and interactive elements on the Web. The problem is that applications that use flash technology tend to be large, slow and need a lot of processing power. HTML 5 is being developed as an
alternative to Flash and is already widely used so the issue of Flash content on mobile devices is becoming far less significant.
Standard versus ‘mobile’ pages
Web designers are aware of the fact that their pages are increasingly viewed on mobile devices. Now when you connect to a web page, your browser sends information to the server telling it what type of browser is connecting to it. As a result web designers include code in their pages which either
o allows the page to automatically resize the page to fit the screen size as needed
o displays a differently formatted and laid out page to work better with a mobile browser (e.g. the mobile formatted page might not contain a Flash animation whilst the desktop version might include the Flash animation).
JavaScript, pop‐up dialogs and cookies
Some of these elements may or may not work with your mobile browser depending on how the developer created the web page and what these elements are used for.
Apps instead of browsers
In many cases people using mobile devices use apps to access web‐based data rather than a web page. In fact, many well‐known web sites have specifically developed apps that people can use to see the information on their site because apps
need to transfer less data leading to faster speeds give users a better interface
give users more control over what they can do
allow users to receive automatic updates and notifications when content on the web is changed or added.
Sometimes you get specific mobile versions of a website and these often have an ‘m.’ prefix and have a domain (they end with) .mobi. Often just visiting a normal web page on a mobile device will redirect (send) you off to the mobile version automatically, so you don’t need to know or type in the .mobi address in any case.
Mobile or wireless e-communication
Mobile communication is very similar to the e‐communication tools and techniques used on desktop and laptop PCs – but they are streamlined to make the process simpler and faster, and to use less data (because ‘mobile data’ is more expensive).
E‐mail is the composing, sending and receiving of messages electronically over a network, including the Internet.
This is just as true for e‐mail on mobile devices. Mobile e‐mail apps are designed with some of the following in mind:
Notifications
As a user you don’t need to check for e‐mail, you will be notified with a sound and an on‐screen message when you receive a new e‐mail.
‘Push’ technology
‘Push’ is when the server notifies the device that a new message has arrived and then
downloads it to the device automatically. Not all e‐mail services offer push technology so most mobile e‐mail apps allow you to set them to check your e‐mail account at fixed intervals (say every 5 minutes). Push technology is faster because you receive the e‐mail immediately.
Simplified interface
The e‐mail on a mobile device is designed to be used on the go – and usually one handed (for a smartphone) and must be as simplified and basic as possible. This means that there are fewer options than in most desktop e‐mail software.
Alternative input
Because people use mobile e‐mail whilst on the go, the input often includes the ability to dictate a reply using voice recognition (for when you can’t type because you are busy doing something else).
Use of less storage
Often your device limits you to a maximum number of messages (you can choose how many) that are actually stored on the device to conserve storage space, unlike on a desktop or laptop.
Attachments
You may have fewer apps installed on your device to open or access attachments to an e‐mail message. Attachments are usually not automatically downloaded to reduce data usage.
Blogging
Weblogs or just plain blogs are websites that are updated often with news and events in
chronological or sequential order. A blog reads like a journal with the most recent entry at the top. A video blog (vlog) is a form of blog which uses video as the medium. Entries on the vlog normally combine video supported by text and images.
Mobile technology is part of what has transformed blogging from a personal journal into a news publishing tool – often referred to as ‘citizen journalism’. People are able to add content (text, images, etc.) to their blogs from wherever they are using their mobile devices. This has enabled blogs to be updated more frequently but sometimes creates a quality problem. Competition for readers between the various blogs is so intense that often bloggers write and publish articles as quickly as possible in order to ‘break’ (be first with) the news and so attract the most readers. Unfortunately this means that they often do not have time to check facts for accuracy. This can cause rumours and gossip to be published as the truth. .
Microblogging
Microblogging refers to posting short (usually text) entries often via a cellphone/smartphone. A microblogging service (‘Micro’ is used to describe the service because the maximum message length is small e.g. ‘tweets’ in Twitter can’t be longer than 140 characters.
Microblogging is a way to broadcast a message to all the people who ‘follow’ you at one time. You don’t get to choose who receives the message – people get to choose if they want to follow you or not.
Microblogging was designed with mobile technology in mind. Most people ‘tweet’ on the go from their mobile devices – quickly sharing their ideas, information and activities with their followers in the moment. Most tweets simply would not happen if you had to wait and remember to post them when you got back to your computer and Internet connection instead of simply typing something quickly on your mobile device.
The ability to receive the message immediately when it is sent allows you to feel part of what the other person is doing or to respond to the contents of the message quickly. Mobile devices can be set to alert you with sound and/or visual notification whenever a new message from someone you are following is posted.
SMS
SMS (or texting) is sending short text messages to a specific phone number. It is popular because it allows you to communicate directly without speaking to someone – and allows you to get a message through even when a phone call would be inconvenient.
Texting is expensive – cellular service providers charge SMS rates for text messages that are very expensive. Anyone with a smartphone and some knowledge about how to use it should rather use Instant Messaging applications instead because it is much cheaper.
Instant Messaging
Instant Messaging (IM) is a data based alternative to text messaging. You usually need a specific application such as WhatsApp or MXit to make use of IM. An IM application such as WhatsApp can be across various platforms such as on a desktop and laptop PC as well on most smartphones (iPhones, BlackBerrys and Android devices). Another benefit is that you can send text, video, images and audio.
VoIP and video conferencing
VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and allows you to make phone calls – i.e. talk to someone using a data connection via a network such as the Internet. VoIP is much cheaper than making long distance and international phone calls. An example of a VoIP application is Skype. Most VoIP software includes the ability to IM (Instant Messaging) instead of talking. You can also make conference calls (more than two people in the conversation), have group IM chats and do video conferencing.
Video calling is the same as making a voice call using VoIP software, except it includes a live video feed as well so that you can see each other as well as hear each other. This is the reason why most mobile devices include two cameras – one on the back for taking normal photos and one on the front that is used for videoing yourself when you make a video call.
Video conferencing is the same as a voice conference call – multiple people can talk to and see each other at once.
VoIP and especially video calls require a reliable, fast data connection and can use up a lot of data, especially if you are using video.
Media creation
Mobile devices include cameras and microphones and so can easily be used for creating media that can be distributed electronically. It is very easy to take photos and add them to a blog or e‐mail it to people – or even add it to a service like Facebook or Twitter. On top of that, these devices are perfect for the two most common media based forms of e‐communication, namely:
Podcasting
A podcast is an audio file (often in an MP3 format) that is made available to download for free or to purchase from the Internet. Many radio
stations make chat shows and talks available on the Internet for downloading.
Video casting
A video podcast (vodcast) includes video clips or photos and is downloaded and played as a movie.
Wireless technologies
Connecting wirelessly allows us to use smaller, portable devices to connect to networks such as the Internet virtually anywhere in the world, as long we can get a ‘signal’.
Access points
When a wireless network is installed, it usually has wireless access points that allow wireless (radio) communication between devices. These access points are in turn still connected to a cabled network for access to the server and other devices. If a wireless network were to be installed in a school for example, access points would have to be installed around the school which send out the radio waves that allow the communication to occur. The number of access points will be determined by a
number of factors including the size of the school as well as the distances between buildings.
GPS
GPS technology is being used more widely and although we focus on its use, it is good to have an idea how it basically works:
GPS (Global Positioning System) is a navigation system that consists of two parts – a set of satellites that orbit the earth, continually broadcasting signals, and a receiving device that you use on earth, that can calculate your position when it receives those signals. Mostly people only mean the receiving device when they talk about GPS. Receivers can be built into almost any electronic device and are now commonly part of smartphones and tablets.
A GPS device lets you accurately (within 5 m) determine your position anywhere on earth. In order to calculate your position, the device has to receive signals from at least three of the many GPS satellites orbiting the earth. The device then uses maths and a process called triangulation to calculate your position from the signals it receives. GPS devices usually include mapping software that
contains maps for a country, region or continent
contains a database of POIs (Points Of Interest) that you can search (e.g. if you need to find the nearest bank, police station, hospital, etc.)
displays your current location
can provide you with directions to any destination that is within the map data loaded on the device.
Other GPS applications besides mapping applications include: tracking the location of your smartphone (and by implication you!)
being used (with a suitable app) as part of tracking systems for vehicles and also in the event of your smartphone being stolen!
being used in cameras to record the physical location a photo was taken –referred to as geo‐tagging.
using it together with social networking as so‐called geo‐location apps. These apps let other know that you are in their vicinity and identify you when you enter locations such as your favourite coffee bar e.g. Foursquare. They are often used in this way by businesses and restaurants as part of their customer loyalty programmes.
3G/4G
3G and 4G are generations of cellular(mobile) technologies. 4G (also known as LTE) is the latest generation of cellular technology that operates at speeds of up to 100 Mbps (compared to 3G which works between 1 Mbps and 4 Mbps). They consist of a high‐tech infrastructure of networks and a web 3G/4G‐enabled handsets such as cellphones and smartphones. They enable cellphones to offer high‐speed Internet access as well as high‐quality data, video and music services using cellular phone networks.
In South Africa, cellular companies such as Cell C, MTN, Telkom 8ta and Vodacom offer this service using a web enabled cellphone or using a 3G/4G USB modem connected to your computer, allowing you to connect to the Internet.
Your cellphone can also act as a modem for connecting your computer to the Internet by: attaching it to the computer with a USB cable
creating its own WiFi network to which many devices can join linking to the computer using Bluetooth
You do not pay for the connection time, but you pay for the amount of data you upload and download. This is built into your monthly cost unless you go over your cap.
WiMAX
WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an upgrade on WiFi. WiMax is a more secure wireless networking technology that allows wireless devices to communicate with one another over a wider area than WiFi. The WiMax towers are able to cover an area measured in kilometres. It provides secure, broadband access for business and home users.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth refers to a wireless technology that allows devices such as mice, printers and cellphones to communicate over a relatively short distance. Bluetooth can be used as a way for a mobile hotspot (or even a cellphone) to share its Internet connection with other devices, although the speed will not necessarily be that great.
Difference in range and bandwidth (non-technical)
Bandwidth refers to the total amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another in a given period of time. It is normally measured in Kilobits per second (Kbps) or Megabits per second (Mbps).
Range refers to how far a radio signal can travel. Range is often given as a theoretical maximum, unobstructed distance. If obstacles such as walls, people, trees, etc. come between devices then the range can decrease quite drastically.
Specifications keep on changing and evolving and can easily be looked up if you need specific distances and bandwidth capacity. What you should know is how to rank the different types of wireless data connections.
Protocols
A protocol is a set of rules for encoding and decoding data for transmission.
Protocols are developed for a specific purpose – e.g. the protocol for transferring a data file that will be ultimately saved to disk (FTP) is not designed for displaying live video during a video call. There are many different protocols designed for transferring different types of data and programs are written to use a specific protocol suited to the type of data that they want to transfer.
Some examples of protocols and their uses:
Protocol Use
SMTP This is the most common protocol used for sending e‐mail via the Internet. It specifies both the format the message must have and procedure to route the e‐mail via the Internet via SMTP servers on the Internet.
POP3 This is the most common protocol used for downloading e‐mail via the Internet from POP3 servers.
FTP Transfer actual files between computers to save to storage.
HTTP Transfer text, images, video and other data for displaying as a web page in a web browser.
HTTPS The same as above but including security and encryption to protect the information / communication process.
VoIP Transfer voice / video for live, real‐time communications.
Activity
1. Give three broad factors that have led to more and more users making use of mobile technology, besides any factors relating to costs.
2. Companies such as Apple have ‘app’ stores online. What is meant by the term app?
3. Mention three ways in which the use of portable devices such as smartphones have been made easier and attractive to use.
4. Give three hardware components you would typically find on a smartphone as opposed to a dumb phone that can just be used to make calls and send and receive SMSs.
5. Some adverts make reference to feature phones. Explain what is meant by this term. 6. Smartphones are all the rage but what makes a smartphone smart?
Explain your answer by referring to a suitable definition or description of a smartphone. 7. You mom said she heard someone at work talking about a phablet. What on earth is a phablet
she asks?
8. Name the two main mobile operating systems, as well as well as the companies that developed them.
9. Operating systems on mobile devices are designed to help keep the device on and working at all times – even when the screen is ‘dark’ and the device appears to be off, it is really in a low‐ power mode and the operating system is performing tasks in the background.
What typical type of background tasks does the operating system perform when the device is in a lower power state?
11. Give two reasons why the use of multimedia apps could reduce the battery life of a mobile device.
12. Why would leaving a GPS app running add extra drain on the battery life of your mobile device? 13. Explain why an increased degree of multitasking can be detrimental to the battery life on a
mobile device.
14. A radio station advertised that they can be contacted on their mobi site. What is meant by the term mobi site?
15. Give two ways you could recognise that a URL belongs to a mobi site.
16. What software technology has been developed that will probably replace Flash technology completely?
17. Give two ways in which a web page is designed for viewing on a mobile device might differ from standard web pages.
18. Give three reasons or benefits of using apps to access web‐based data rather than a web browser.
19. Explain what push technology is in terms of mobile users making use of e‐mail facilities. 20. Besides push technology, list three other potential differences between desktop‐based e‐mail
systems and e‐mail systems designed for mobile users.
21. Explain why the quality or accuracy of information on blogs in general may be poor. Explain what a blog is as part of your answer.
22. How does a vlog differ from a normal blog?
23. Twitter is perhaps the most common example of a microblogging service.
Explain what a microblog is and how it differs from a normal blog.
24. Give three broad benefits of using an Instant Messaging (IM) app like WhatsApp as opposed to sending SMS messages.
25. A friend complained that she ‘Skyped’ her friend in London and her data cap was significantly reduced.
Explain what it means to Skype someone and why your friend’s data cap may have been reduced so drastically.
26. The IT teacher wants to keep up with the latest trends in technology but says he does not have the time to read all the latest material. Someone suggested podcasts as a solution.
Explain what a podcast is and why this might be a good solution for the IT teacher. 27. What is a vodcast?
28. The school is considering adding wireless connectivity throughout the school and have been advised to purchase a number of wireless access points.
Briefly explain what the function of a wireless access point is and why they are needed in this situation.
30. Give three applications of GPS technology other than just using it to ‘get directions’.
31. What is the name given to the cellular (mobile) technology that is taking over from 3G and that can operate at speeds of up to 100 Mbps?
32. Describe two ways in which your cellphone can act as a modem for connecting your computer to the Internet.
33. Arrange the following in terms of their effective range, from shortest to longest: WiMax, WiFi and Bluetooth
34. Explain what the function and significance of a protocol is in the context of e‐communications.
35. A friend was setting up an e‐mail account
where he came across the following settings (shown in the screenshot).
Explain what the POP3 and SMTP protocols are used for in the context of e‐mail.
36. Explain the difference between the http and
https protocols.
37. What protocol does Skype use?
38. What communications protocol is used to transfer large files between computers via networks such as the Internet?
