Sunday, January 24, 2010

Technology

Technology deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its natural environment. The word technology comes from the Greek technología (τεχνολογία) — téchnē (τέχνη), 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline.A strict definition is elusive; technology can be material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques.

Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.
Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

Technology deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its natural environment. The word technology comes from the Greek technología (τεχνολογία) — téchnē (τέχνη), 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline.A strict definition is elusive; technology can be material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Technology in the modern world, opining that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

Computer

A programmable machine. The two principal characteristics of a computer are: It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner. It can execute a prerecorded list of instructions (a program). Modern computers are electronic and digital. The actual machinery -- wires, transistors, and circuits -- is called hardware; the instructions and data are called software.
All general-purpose computers require the following hardware components:
Memory : Enables a computer to store, at least temporarily, data and programs. Mass storage device : Allows a computer to permanently retain large amounts of data. Common mass storage devices include disk drives and tape drives.
Input device : Usually a keyboard and mouse, the input device is the conduit through which data and instructions enter a computer.
Output device : A display screen, printer, or other device that lets you see what the computer has accomplished.
Central processing unit (CPU) : The heart of the computer, this is the component that actually executes instructions.

Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is considerable overlap:
Personal computer : A small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. In addition to the microprocessor, a personal computer has a keyboard for entering data, a monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data. Workstation : A powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor and a higher-quality monitor.
Minicomputer : A multi-user computer capable of supporting from 10 to hundreds of users simultaneously.
Mainframe : A powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously.
Supercomputer : An extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail.

Most traditional communications media, such as telephone and television services, are reshaped or redefined using the technologies of the Internet, giving rise to services such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and IPTV. Newspaper publishing has been reshaped into Web sites, blogging, and web feeds. The Internet has enabled or accelerated the creation of new forms of human interactions through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking sites.

The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage; each constituent network sets its own standards. Only the overreaching definitions of the two principal name spaces in the Internet, the Internet Protocol address space and the Domain Name System, are directed by a maintainer organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The technical underpinning and standardization of the core protocols (IPv4 and IPv6) is an activity of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a non-profit organization of loosely-affiliated international participants that anyone may associate with by contributing technical expertise.

Mobile

A mobile phone or mobile is an electronic device used for mobile telecommunications (mobile telephony, text messaging or data transmission) over a cellular network of specialized base stations known as cell sites. Mobile phones differ from cordless telephones, which only offer telephony service within a limited range, e.g. within a home or an office, through a fixed line and a base station owned by the subs as opposed to a radio telephone, a cell phone offers full duplex communication, automatised calling to and paging from a public land mobile network (PLMN), and handoff (handover) during a phone call when the user moves from one cell (base station coverage area) to another. Most current cell phones connect to a cellular network consisting of switching points and base stations (cell sites) owned by a mobile network operator.criber and also from satellite phones and radio telephones.In addition to the standard voice function, current mobile phones may support many additional services, and accessories, such as SMS for text messaging, email, packet switching for access to the Internet, gaming, Bluetooth, infrared, camera with video recorder and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video, MP3 player, radio and GPS.


Mobile phones have gained increased importance in the sector of Information and communication technologies for development in the 2000s and have effectively started to reach the bottom of the economic pyramid. Mobile phone features: Mobile phones often have features beyond sending text messages and making voice calls, including call registers, GPS navigation, music (MP3) and video (MP4) playback, RDS radio receiver, alarms, memo and document recording, personal organiser and personal digital assistant functions, ability to watch streaming video or download video for later viewing, video calling, built-in cameras (1.0+ Mpx) and camcorders (video recording), with autofocus and flash, ringtones, games, PTT, memory card reader (SD), USB (2.0), infrared, Bluetooth (2.0) and WiFi connectivity, instant messaging, Internet e-mail and browsing and serving as a wireless modem for a PC, and soon will also serve as a console of sorts to online games and other high quality games. Some phones also include a touchscreenor too. Today all the things related with mobile has become a very important nessisity of modern lives.

Communication

Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs". Although there is such a thing as one-way communication, communication can be perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of thoughts, feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or direction (information).
Communication is a process whereby information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and imparted by a sender to a receiver via some medium. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a sender, a message, and a receiver. Communication requires that all parties have an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speech, song, and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means, such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, and writing.

Technical communication is the process of conveying technical information through writing, speech, and other media to a specific audience. Information is usable if the intended audience can perform an action or make a decision based on it (Johnson-Sheehan 7). Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create products (deliverables) for various media, including paper, video, and the Internet. Deliverables include online help, user manuals, technical manuals, White papers, specifications, process and procedure manuals, reference cards, data sheets, journal articles, patents, training, business papers and technical reports.

Technical domains can be of any kind, including the soft and hard sciences, high technology including computers and software, consumer electronics, and business processes and practices.

Importrance of technology

The public is keeping very big interest with the technology changes. More than ever, individuals value the importance of technology changes in education. Take a look at the following importance of technology on many sectors:
The "experts" have presumed about the emergence of technology in Exploring the History of Technology; review some reports on how technology has worked its way into our culture in Exploring Technology in Society; and find out some interesting features and facts on education change in Exploring Technology Changes in Education. You must take into consideration the changes happening every day in today's businesses. It is the responsibility of our schools to provide the necessary tools for students to transition into the workplace. Take a look at this information to see what changes are going on in the workplace today.

Our schools thrive on information. In the ever-changing world filled with new technology, our teachers and students require the right information, from the right sources, today. Having direct access to industry information gives the competitive edge needed to succeed. Student performance can be improved when the enhancement of teaching and learning using technology is adopted as the norm. " Why Technology?" will lead you to a new understanding for how technology can impact your district, the schools, and the many lives united within your community.

Our schools thrive on information. In the ever-changing world filled with new technology, our teachers and students require the right information, from the right sources, today. Having direct access to industry information gives the competitive edge needed to succeed. Student performance can be improved when the enhancement of teaching and learning using technology is adopted as the norm. " Why Technology?" will lead you to a new understanding for how technology can impact your district, the schools, and the many lives united within your community.

Technology as a necessity

At a conference presentation on the Cybernetic Teen, Jason Cranford Teague used the word “necessity” when talking about technology for teens today. He provided an interesting comparison between a teen’s tech use in 1987 and a teen’s tech use today. He also provided a definition of the word “necessity” which made sense within the context of his presentation. And it got me thinking about whether or not I’d agree that certain technology is a necessity for teens today. Because it was on my mind, I talked it over with several people today and found that we all seem to be divided on the issue.
Teague said that a teenager in 1987 would have been unlikely to have a home computer, especially one with Internet and that a personal mobile phone for teens then was possible but highly unlikely. (He also noted that they’d be using a Walkman for music and playing a Nintendo Game System for fun.) By this definition, it makes sense to me that he was saying these things are necessities. But in a general context, do I think that’s true? I do believe that a home computer with Internet access is a necessity for a majority of kids in a Western World today. (Teague did note that he was speaking about Western countries, but he didn’t differentiate between urban and rural teens and I believe that the argument could be made that teens in some rural areas don’t currently meet the minimum standard for the term “necessity” to be applicable. I don’t have the numbers on that handy, though, so I could be wrong.) Although I believe that his definition probably accurately describes the cell phone as necessity for teens, I’m not sure that I think it’s truly a necessity. I believe that teens today could appropriately communicate with their peers through IM and social networking sites without the use of their cell phones and not be “out of the communication loop”. But of course the underlying assumption for that is that I believe the home computer and high speed Internet to be “necessities”.hen he argued that today it’s a necessity for kids to have a computer with Internet access at home and that it’s almost a necessity for them to have a cell phone.

Science and technology

In the US and Europe alike, science and technology policy initiatives in the early 1980s have focused much on improving the capacity to apply their good science base in practice, expecting aresulting increase in technological advancement and implicitly improved market presence and enhanced economic growth.

Some advanced industrial economies do not conform to the expected relationship between science and technology, whereby strong performance in science shall lead to strong technological performance.The relationship between science and technology is very much interdepent science-technology link in a country may depend on the over all scientific and technological level of development in that country. The strength and interdependent nature of this link has a historical evolution that varies across fields of science and technology. The strength of thelink between science and technology in a country is affected by scientific and technological specialization.The strength and primary direction of the relationship at a given moment in time varies largely by field of science or technological innovation, as well as across long periods oftime.

Different technological fields have different scientific intensities, or degrees of building upon the science base Specialization of countries across scientific and technological fields varies, making it natural for the strength of the science-technology link to differ from one country to another. The high technological specialization of a country may impact its technological performance more than its immediately current scientific performance does.

As there are plausible explanations for the puzzling behavior of the science-technology link in developed countries, into a few suggested policy recommendations, with applicability to developed countries and to developing countries alike.

History of technology

The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques, and is similar in many ways to the history of humanity. Background knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversely, many scientific endeavors have become possible through technologies which assist humans to travel to places we could not otherwise go, and probe the nature of the universe in more detail than our natural senses allow.

Technological artifacts are products of an economy, a force for economic growth, and a large part of everyday life. Technological innovations a
ffect, and are affected by, a society's cultural traditions. They also are a means to develop and project military power.Many sociologists and anthropologists have created social theories dealing with social and cultural evolution. Some, like Lewis H. Morgan, Leslie White, and Gerhard Lenski, declare technological progress to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilization. Morgan's concept of three major stages of social evolutioncan be divided by technological milestones, like fire, the bow, and pottery in the savage era, domestication of animals, agriculture, and metalworking in the barbarian era and the alphabet and writing in the civilization era.

According to Leslie White in the first, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second, they use energy of domesticated animals. In the third, they use the energy of plants (agricultural revolution). In the fourth, they learn to use the energy of natural resources: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness nuclear energy. Lenski identifies four stages of human development, based on advances in the history of communication. In the first stage, information is passed by genes. In the second, when humans gain sentience, they can learn and pass information through by experience. In the third, the humans start using signs and develop logic. In the fourth, they can create symbols, develop language and writing. Advancements in the technology of communication translates into advancements in the economic system and political system, distribution of wealth, social inequality and other spheres of social life. He also differentiates societies based on their level of technology, communication and econonomy.

Finally,in the 21st century, technology is being developed even more rapidly, especially in electronics and biotechnology. Broadband Internet access became commonplace in developed countries, as did connecting home computers with music libraries and mobile phones.

Evolution of technology

Technological evolution is the name of a science and technology studies theory describing technology development, developed by Czech philosopher Radovan Richta. According to Richta and later Bloomfield, technology evolves in three stages: tools, machine, automation. This evolution, he says, follows two trends: the replacement of physical labour with more efficient mental labour, and the resulting greater degree of control over one's natural environment, including an ability to transform raw materials into ever more complex and pliable products.. The emergence of technology, made possible by the development of the rational faculty, paved the way for the first stage: the tool. A tool provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, and must be powered by human or animal effort.Hunter-gatherers developed tools mainly for procuring food. Tools such as a container, spear, arrow, plow, or hammer that augments physical labor to more efficiently achieve his objective. Later animal-powered tools such as the plow and the horse, increased the productivity of food production about tenfold over the technology of the hunter-gatherers. Tools allow one to do things impossible to accomplish with one's body alone, such as seeing minute visual detail with a microscope, manipulating heavy objects with a pulley and cart, or carrying volumes of water in a bucket.

The second technological stage was the creation of the machine. A machine is a tool that substitutes the element of human physical effort, and requires the operator only to control its function. Machines became widespread with the industrial revolution, though windmills, a type of machine, are much older. Examples of this include cars, trains, computers, and lights. Machines allow humans to tremendously exceed the limitations of their bodies. Putting a machine on the farm, a tractor, increased food productivity at least tenfold over the technology of the plow and the horse.

The third, and final stage of technological evolution is the automaton. The automaton is a machine that removes the element of human control with an automatic algorithm. For example:computer programmes, auotomatic telephone switches, digital watches and cameras, etc. It's important to understand that the three stages outline the introduction of the fundamental types of technology, and so all three continue to be widely used today.

Science vs technology

Science:
1.Drawing correct conclusions based on good theories and accurate data.
2.Pursuit of knowledge and understanding for its own sake.
3.Corresponding Scientific Processes.
4.Discovery (controlled by experimentation).
5.Analysis, generalization and creation of theories.
6.Reductionism, involving the isolation and definition of distinct concepts.
7.Making virtually value-free statements.
8.The search for and theorizing about cause.
9.Experimental and logical skills needed. Technology:
1.Taking good decisions based on incomplete data and approximate models.
2.The creation of artifacts and systems to meet people's needs.
3.Key Technological Processes.
4.Design, invention, production.
5.Analysis and synthesis of design.
6.Holism, involving the integration of many competing demands, theories, data and ideas.
7.Activities always value-laden.
8.The search for and theorizing about new processes.
9.Design, construction, testing, planning, quality assurance, problem solving, decision making, interpersonal and communication skills.

Demand for technology skills

Information is un like traditional renewable and nonrenewable resources which diminish as they are consumed and suffer from over consumption. Information does not diminish as it is consumed. Instead information grows with wider distribution and consumption. Unlike traditional resources rationing information does not preserve this precious resource, but rather as access to knowledge is reduced fewer contributors are able to pass on their precious knowledge and knowledge is lost. Knowledge and information does not stand in isolation. Much of how our Information Technology has developed and will develops direct result of the particular nature of information.

Much has changed since the early years of main frames, to UNIX work stations, to personal computers, to web enabled technology. Accessibility and low cost distribution are the hallmarks of success. At the same time proprietary software companies restricted access to the knowledge required to build their increasing complex computers systems. This gave advantage to the largest corporation which could assemble the largest pool of knowledge and contributors. In areas where communication and storage standards were not defined the largest corporation had ability to define proprietary formats and insure these formats were propagated through the large user base. However with the traditional proprietary model the knowledge required to understand the systems inner workings was a deeply held secrete, which met outside contribution was highly restricted.

The growth and economic benefits of Information Technology has presented an increasing demanded for engineers and scientists. Deep knowledge of proprietary licensed systems is restricted, driving contributors to explore open systems with optional sharing or mandatory sharing, BSD licenses or GPL licenses. Proprietary technology may come and go, but openly shared technology which comes out of BSD and GPL licensed solutions will remain. Information Technology businesses require access to engineers and scientists trained in the deep inner workings of Technology on which Information Technology is based.

Information Technology spans virtually all industries; industrial and mobile control, manufacturing automation, finance, distribution, sales, communications, consumer electronics and entertainment. I believe Universities of Science and Technology have an important role to play meeting the business demand for skill engineers and scientists.